Amateur Radio NewslineT Report 1682 - November 6 2009 Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1682 with a release date of Friday, November 6th, 2009 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a Q-S-T. Georgia hams are given a $165,000 grant to build a D-Star rescue radio network, two hams help save a life on Catalina Iasland, the next Global Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Conference will take place in Curaco and two pre-teens come up with a cheap solution to the Digital Reception problem in the USA. Find out the details on Amateur Radio NewslineT report number 1682 coming your way right now. (Billboard Cart Here) ** RESCUE RADIO: GEORGIA HAMS GIVEN $165,000 TO BUILD D-STAR RESCUE RADIO NETWORK Its one of the largest government grants ever given to ham radio emergency communications. This as $165,000 in Federal funding has been secured by Georgia Emergency Management Agency to complete a statewide D-Star based ham radio emergency communications network.. Amateur Radio Newsline's David Black, KB4KCH, has the story of the grant and the all digital rescue radio network that it will create: -- The network's creation is the result of a dream that started in 2005 according to John Davis, WB4QDX. That's when a vision was born for what amateur radio emergency communications could one day achieve in the state of Georgia. Mark Fehlig, WA6NGC, is the former director of Engineering for the state's Public Broadcasting System. When the opportunity arose to install two amateur radio antennas on each of nine television towers providing statewide coverage, Fehlig jumped into action. Fehlig designated Georgia's Amateur Radio Emergency Service to control the use of those sites for emergency communications. The next task was to figure out the best technology to use at those sites. Linked FM repeaters and packet were among the modes considered. But radio amateurs were also watching emerging D-Star technology. They recognized it as a state of the art platform providing simultaneous voice and data communications. Knowing that D-star also allows repeaters to be linked on a flexible basis and that it permits simultaneous voice and low speed data along with high speed Internet connectivity at 1-point-2 Gigahertz...and the decision was made to go D-star for the state's new system. When the network is finished, radio amateurs will have access to voice and data repeaters on all nine towers across the state, operating on 2 meters, 440 MHz and 1-point-2 Gigahertz. Because those towers are strategically located to provide maximum public television coverage, amateur radio communications will benefit from wide area coverage, as well. Commercial grade inch and 5/8 transmission lines will connect the antennas, which will be between 500 and 600 feet above ground. Georgia's Public Broadcasting Network will provide indoor space for equipment, along with backup power at each site. Internet access will be available, too, thanks to the broadcasting system's DS-3 data network...this means flexible linking of repeaters will be possible using a stock D-Star interface. The federal money will also pay for 20 dual-band D-star radios to be installed at EMA offices across the state, along with a portable UHF D- Star repeater available for emergency deployment. In addition, three 1- point-2 Gigahertz D-star radios with laptops for sending data and photos from field locations will also be purchased. The money will also be used to build a robust reflector to serve the state's network during emergency conditions and also for general use during non- emergency times. Two of the emergency network's D-star repeaters are already on the air. One is located at Pembroke, Georgia, near Savannah. The second operates from atop Stone Mountain, serving the Atlanta metro area. The complete Georgia D-star amateur radio emergency communications network is expected to be in operation in early 2010. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm David Black, KB4KCH, at the South- East bureau in Birmingham, Alabama. -- The Georgia network will complement other D-Star based emergency communications systems planned or in operation in the neighboring states of Alabama, Florida and South Carolina. Once all are in operation, it will create a regional ham radio emergency capability across the American Southeast. This monetary grant is only second in size to one of $250,000 given by the governor of Oregon in 2007 to that states ham radio first responders. This, to build a Winlink-based state-wide amateur radio emergency communications network. (WB4QDX, Georgia ARES via Southgate) ** RESCUE RADIO: TWO HAMS CREDITED WITH SAVING A LIFE ON CATALINA ISLAND Karl Tso, KI6PCW, and wife Deborah Ava, KJ6CRZ, put their ham radio emergency training to use to help rescue an unidentified man after an accident on Catalina Island. This as the recently trained volunteer ham radio operators rescued a man after he fell more than 40 feet onto rocks below. Tso and Ava are both of Topanga, California which is a Los Angeles suburb and are members of the Topanga Disaster Radio Team. The couple had climbed a hill on Catalina Island to check out a repeater when they saw a 61-year-old man bleeding and moaning. Tso and Ava had their hand-held radios with them. They used the equipment to make contact with other radio amateurs on the California mainland, who called 911 to report the emergency. Los Angeles County firefighter paramedics responded and the injured man was quickly flown by medevac helicopter to St Mary's Hospital in Long Beach for treatment. Authorities say that the couple's quick thinking and knowledge of ham radio helped save the injured man's life. The Topanga Disaster Radio Team they work with is a part of the Topanga Coalition for Emergency Preparedness. (Published news reports) ** RESCUE RADIO: GAREC-2010 TO BE HELD IN OCTOBER 2010 IN CURACO GAREC-2010, the next Global Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Conference it will take place next fall in Curaco. The dates will be October 11th and 12th with the theme of the meeting to be "Learning through practicing.. More details of next Octobers gathering will be announced as they become available. Meantime keep an eye on the conference website for updates. The URL is www.rientola.fi/oh3ag/garec (OH1VR) ** ON THE AIR: HAMS TO HELP FIGHT AIDS WITH HIV/AIDS AWARENESS THROUGH AMATEUR RADIO OPERATION Ham radio is joining the world-wide campaign to help find a cure for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome better known by the acronym AIDS. Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, has more: -- To do its part to conquer this killer disease, a special amateur radio station will be operating at the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS or UNAIDS headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. This, from December 1st to the 7th using the special event callsign 4U1AIDS. The operation is part of an invitation from UNAIDS to all peoples globally to observe the "World AIDS Day" and demonstrate global H-I-V awareness. Begun on December 1st, 1988, the aim of "World AIDS Day" is to raise money, increase awareness, fight prejudice and improve education regarding H-I-V and AIDS. UNAIDS estimates, there are now 33.2 million people living with H-I-V, including 2.5 million children. Those who hold QSO's with 4U1AIDS on any three bands will awarded a special commemorative World AIDS Day Award certificate. Amateur radio stations that have radio contact with 4U1AIDS on five bands will be awarded a special commemorative UNAIDS pennant. All contacts will be sent a special 4U1AIDS QSL card. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, in Los Angeles. -- For further information, please contact with Andrey Fedorov, UNAIDS, 20 Avenue Appia, CH-1211, Geneva 27, Switzerland. More information is on- line at www.DX-World.com/4u1aids (UNAIDS release) ** RADIO RULES: CANADA BEGINS ISSUING 500 kHz EXPERIMENTAL LICENSES - FIRST TRANS-ATLANTIC CONTACT MADE Some good news for our listeners to the North. After months of negotiations between Radio Amateurs of Canada and telecommunications regulator Industry Canada the first two licenses granted to Canadians for experiments at 504 to 509 kHz have been issued. This, in preparation for the 2012 World Radiocommunications Conference. Jack Leahy, VE1ZZ, has been assigned call sign VX9PSO in the Developmental Service for his experimental transmissions. Joe Craig, VO1NA, has been assigned call sign VX9MRC. Both of these stations have been on the air already, with VX9PSO having been reported at 504.6 kHz and VX9MRC at 507.77 kHz. And this late news. Finbar O'Connor, EI0CF, in County Donegal ,Ireland reports that he has had a QSO with Joe Craig, VX9MRC. He says that Joe was on 507.77 khz while he was on 507..056 khz. The respective reports were, EI0CF heard in Canada at 559 and VX9MRC heard at 529. The mode was CW, using straight Morse keys. This is the first Ireland to Canada contact on the 500 khz band. Signal reports to any of the now operational 500 kHz stations can be sent to their call book addresses. Two more authorizations, in Ontario and British Columbia, are expected soon. (Radio Amateurs of Canada, IRTS) ** BREAK 1 From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including the N7GAD Puget Sound Amateur Radio Club repeater serving Seattle, Washington. (5 sec pause here) ** RESTRUCTURING: THAILAND EXPANDS 40 METER HAM ALLOCATION Thailand's 7 MHz expansion has received a go ahead from that nations telecommunications regulator. John Gagen, W2YR reports that he's just received information from the International Secretary of the Radio Amateur Society of Thailand that the Thai National Telecommunications Council has approved the society's recent request for the expansion of 40 meters. This giving hams in that nation a primary status of 7.0 to 7.2 MHz. For those not aware, this is the same bandplan that had been approved internationally at the WRC-03 conference and was to be effective March 29 this year, pending approval on a country-by-country basis. For Thailand it happens about the time that this weeks newscast goes to air on Friday, November 6th. (W2YR via OPDX) ** ARISS CELEBRATES ITS 500th SCHOOL ROOM CONTACT The 500th ARISS classroom to space station contact has taken[place. On Tuesday, October 27th, I-S-S Commander Frank De Winne, ON1DWN answered questions from students at the new Copernic Science Center in Warsaw, Poland. This was the 500th school contact since ARISS began operations in 2000. This was a telebridge contact operated by ARISS ground station of Shayne Lind, VK4KHZ located in Queensland, Australia. At the end of the contact, De Winne thanked Lynd for the many years of providing ARISS telebridge contacts. Lynd in turn shared these thanks with his colleagues of the 11 other telebridge ground stations which cover all five continents. (ARISS) ** HAM RADIO IN SPACE: STUDENT PAPERS INVITED TO FLY ON ARISSAT 1 Still with ham radio space and educational news, word that the ARISSAT One development team is inviting school students from around the world to submit papers or other visual items that will be flown on that ham radio satellite. Submissions should be in jpg or pdf format such as a paper or a study done on science, technology, engineering, or math. Also accepted will be items such as a drawing of space craft , a schematic, a journal kept on an educational topic, a story, photo or news article about a class doing a hands on educational project. To take part, the student or teacher should submit the material by e- mail to Dave Jordan's to aa4kn (at) amsat (dot) org and also copied to gaston (dot) bertels (at) skynet (dot) be. They will check that content is appropriate to students and select those to fly on ARISSAT One. The deadline for submissions is on Sunday, November 15th. (ON4WF) ** ENFOECEMENT: UNLICENSED BROADCASTER HIT WITH $2500 FINE The FCC has issued a $2500 fine to Frankie Grover of Lakeland, Florida. This for operating an unlicensed transmitter on 87.9 MHz from a location known as the Kingston Lakeside Inn and using the unassigned call letters WGBC FM According to the FCC, its agents used direction finding to locate the signal. On August 18, 2009, the Tampa Office issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture to Mr. Grover in the amount of $10,000. This, for the apparent willful and repeated violation of Section 301 of the Act. Grover submitted a response to the NAL. He admitted to operating the station but requested a reduction or cancellation of the proposed forfeiture saying the level of proposed fine would pose a financial hardship. He also provided the FCC with the required financial records to prove his claim. The FCC accepted his evidence and has reduced the fine to $2500 which he was given the customary 30 days to pay or to file a further appeal. (FCC) ** ENFORCEMENT: IRMA FRAUSTO HAS COMPANY IN THE UK You probably remember the story of Irma Frausto of Compton, California that we reported on a few weeks ago. Her amplified TV antenna allegedly self-oscillated on 840 MHz and caused interfere to a cell site. The FCC sent her a Citation even though there was nothing in the Commission's write up to suggest that she knew about the self- oscillations or had the wherewithal to eliminate them. Well now Irma has company. A 12 year old schoolboy in Great Britain by the name of Nickie Chamberlain has been busted because his self- oscillating TV antenna was interfering with air traffic over his home in Linslade, Beds in the UK. The Ofcom engineer ordered the father to dispose of the aerial immediately. Air traffic controllers first noticed the communication problems on the flight path into London Luton Airport on October 6th .According to Ofcom, pilots coming into land at the airport were loosing contact with the control tower because the faulty antenna preamp was transmitting on the same frequency as the aircraft radios. You can read more at http://tinyurl.com/yhj37ab (CGC, Telegraph.com) ** RESCUE RADIO: IARU GLOBALSET 2009 ON NOVEMBER 14 Saturday November 14TH, is the date of the International Amateur Radio Union will activate "GlobalSET 2009.", This is a Global Simulated Emergency Test running from 1800 to 2200 UTC that encourages hams world wide to pass simulated emergency traffic using standard National Traffic System format. This drill is being billed as a great opportunity for all radio amateurs to observe and their practice important traffic passing skills. These are skills that are deemed fundamental to the role of amateur radio in crisis communications conditions. Rules and a list of participating stations may be found at www.iaru- r1.org. Search under the heading, Emergency Communications Working Group. (IARU) ** RADIO LAW: REFARMING TV SPECTRUM FOR BROADBAND Federal regulators are considering taking back some spectrum from television broadcasters and auctioning it off to wireless companies. This so as to increase the availability of wireless broadband services for the general public. At this stage, FCC officials are mostly trying to get input from broadcasters and others. The proposal will be released in February of 2010. TV station owners are likely to fight the plan, although the FCC is envisioning paying broadcasters for any airwaves that are repossessed and auctioned away. (FCC) ** HAM HAPPENINGS: SEVHFS CONFRENCE CALLS FOR PAPERS The Southeastern VHF Society is calling for the submission of papers and presentations for the upcoming 14th Annual Southeastern VHF Society Conference. The event is slated to be held at Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky on April 23rd and 24th of 2010. The deadline for the submission is February 5, For more information please visit www dot sevhfs dot org on the World Wide Web. (K4IDC) ** NAMES IN THE NEWS: TWO FCC SPECTRUM EXPERTS TO LECTURE DOWN-UNDER. Some names in the news. The New Zealand Ministry of Economic Development has announced that it will welcome FCC spectrum experts William Sharkey and Mark Bykowsky to lecture down-under. Both are Senior Economists at the FCC Office of Strategic Planning in Washington, D.C.. The two will present a seminar on Current Research in Spectrum Allocation Issues and Auctions. The seminar session is being sponsored by the Ministry and the PING Research Group at Auckland University. (WIA News) ** NAMES IN THE NEWS: WA6ITF RETIRES FROM FOX TV AFTER 30 YEARS And from Los Angeles comes word that our own producer Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, has retired from Fox Television after a career that spanned close to three decades at the networks flagship station KTTV. He started in 1980 as a bench technician maintaining 3/4 inch U-Matic videocassette recorders used by the stations news operation. Over the years he did just about every job one finds at a television station. He says that the last 12 years working as the engineering contact with the news department have been the ones he has enjoyed the most. There he's not only worked the technical side but also has been on the air several times as an expert on all things electronic and radio communications for news stories reported by Hal Eisner, Phil Schuman and others. Bill tells Newsline that he's only retired from broadcasting but not from life. He says that he has a number of projects he wants to undertake including the production of a television documentary on a medical researcher and completing the script for a two act stage play. He also will be continuing his V-H-F column in Worldradio Magazine and producing these weekly Amateur Radio Newsline reports. That coupled with a wife, daughter, son-in-law and four very active grandkids will keep Bill a very busy 67 year old boy. Pictures of his surprise retirement party put on by his many friends at KTTV are on Bill's photo album page on the Facebook Social Networking service. Look for his album under the name Bill Pasternak +titled Saying Goodbye to KTTV after Almost 30 years. (ARNewslineT) ** NAMES IN THE NEWS: ARRL PRESIDENT JOEL HARRISON, W5ZN, NOT TO SEEK REELECTION Someone else retiring is ARRL President, Joel Harrison, W5ZN. Late last week Harrison announced that he has decided not to seek reelection when his current term expires on January 16, 2010. Joel Harrison served two terms as ARRL president. He began his ham radio political career in 1983 when he became the Section Manager in the League's Arkansas Section. Subsequently, he has served as Delta Division Director and as an ARRL Vice President. In 2000, he was elected First Vice President. He was elected League President in 2006. (ARRL) ** BREAK 2 Coming to you this week from beneath the Southern Cross in Auckland, New Zealand, this is ham radio news for today's radio amateur. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline with links to the world from our only official website at www.arnewsline.org and being relayed by the volunteer services of the following radio amateur: (5 sec pause here) ** CHANGING OF THE GUARD: FORMER ARRL DIRECTOR PAUL VYDARNEY, WB2VUK - SK Some sad news to report. Word that former ARRL Director Paul Vydareny, WB2VUK, of Tarrytown, New York, passed away Thursday, October 22, from a brain aneurysm. Paul Vydareny had a long record of volunteer service with the ARRL. Prior to becoming Director, he served as Section Manager of the Eastern New York Section from 1980 to 1996 and as Vice Director from 1987 to 1996. In those days Vice Directors were once allowed to serve simultaneously as Section Managers. Vydareny was elevated from Vice Director to Director when then-Director Steve Mendelsohn, W2ML, was elected ARRL First Vice President . But he resigned as Director in September of 1996, citing job and church obligations as preventing him from doing what he considered a proper job of fulfilling his duties as Director. Paul Vydarney, WB2VUK, was only age 65 when he passed. In his honor every net in the 2009 New York City Marathon was announced as: "This is -- whomever -- at the mic of the WB2VUK Marathon Network." (ARRL, W2ML) ** HAM RADIO IN SPACE: LUSAT-1 FALLS SILENT AMSAT-Argentina reports that its LUSAT-1, LO-19 ham radio satellite stopped transmitting CW telemetry on 437.125 MHz on or around October 20th. LU1ESY says that he last received a signal on October 11th after which he noted a drift in the downlink frequency beyond the expected Doppler shift. AMSAT-Argentina says that it hopes to revive LUSAT to allow it to celebrate its 20 years in space next January 23. It also adds that it welcomes any reception reports of the now out of communications ham radio bird. (AMSAT-Argentina) ** RADIO HISTORY: THE WORLDS FIRST RADIO STATION What is the world's first radio station? Although AM radio broadcasts were tested in 1906 and used for voice and music broadcasts up until WW1 it wasn't until 1916 in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania when 8XK began regularly scheduled broadcasts. 8XK would receive the first official broadcasting license in 1920 with the call sign KDKA. But there's more to this story. At 6:00 PM on November 2, 1920 the US presidential election returns were announced from a shack in East Pittsburgh by Leo Rosenberg and KDKA became the world's first commercial radio station. More on this story is at the National Museum of Broadcasting website at the U-R-L found in this weeks printed Newsline report. (Do Not Read: http://nmbpgh.org/conrad_project/historical_background/commercial.htm) (K3VR) ** ON THE AIR: MARCONI NOBEL 100 AWARD. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of inventor Guglieliamo Marconi receiving the Nobel Prize, a special on the air event from Sweden is planned. The idea is to listen for and work 10 different special event "SI" prefix stations between November 9th and December 10th. The calls to listen out for are SI0GM, SI1GM, SI2GM, SI3GM, SI4GM, SI5GM, SI6GM and SI7GM. Other Swedish stations may be using the special prefix SI, but only the above stations count. Each anniversary station counts once per band. No endorsements. Logs go to SSA Awards Manager, Bengt Hogkvist, Ostbygatan 24 C, SE-531 37 Lidkoping, Sweden. ( SSA AWARDS) ** ON THE AIR: INTERNATIONAL NAVAL CONTEST DECEMBER 12 - 13 The International Naval Contest 2009 sponsored by Portuguese Navy Hamradio Club takes place starting at 16:00 UTC on Saturday, December 12th and concluding at 15:59 UTC on Sunday the 13th. Modes used are only CW and SSB on 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 meters. For more information by e- mail please write to inc (dot)contest09 (at) nra (dot) pt ** DX In DX, word that DL7VSN is once again heading to Tanzania and will probably be active as 5H1HS, this time from the Kilimanjaro area. He was expected to begin his operations on November 1st but the length of his length of stay was not mentioned. Activity will be 160 through 10 meters using mainly CW and RTTY. If all plans go well he may also get to activate his 5th Islands on the Air group from this DXCC entity for one or two days. DL7VSN says that he will also be in the Serengeti and Tarangire National Park starting November 18th, and hopes to be active from these areas as well. QSL via his home callsign. G4OHX, will be active as 5R8HX from Madagascar between December 28th and January 3rd of 2010. His operation will be mainly using CW. He will also be active portable Zed-S-5 between January 4th to the 17th. QSL direct only via his home callsign. If you are looking for a contact with Singapore then listen out for 9V1JP who is a new operator from there and has been active on 20 meters. James says via QRZ.com that he is in a very challenging environment and is trying hard to put out a decent signal on HF. He also says that in the QSL aera that he is in the process of designing them, and they should be good and ready to begin sending them out in the spring of 2010. JK2VOC says that he will be active from BA4TB station in China. This, between November 27th to the 30th including the CQ World Wide DX CW Contest on November 28th and 29th. QSL via JK2VOC. Lastly, YV5IAL will be portable CE0 from Easter Island between January 8th and 11th of 2010. This will be a QRP, portable, holiday style operation. Activity will use the PSK31 digital mode on 14070.15 kHz from 2200 to 0100 UTC daily. He may occasionally be on 40, 30 and 15 meters as well. QSL via this operation via his home callsign. ** THAT FINAL ITEM: KIDS SOLVE THE DTV RECEPTION PROBLEM And finally this week, if you or someone you know are having reception problems on your new digital television or converter box, the problem is likely with the antenna. Most rabbit ear or loop indoor antennas are insufficient for DTV reception. Unfortunately, a lot of folks are not allowed to put antennas on their roof. With a solution, enter Naiomi and Noah Miller. They are the pre-teen children of FCC O-E-T attorney James Miller. With a little help from dad, the two kids take you on a "Watch Mr. Wizard" like journey into how to homebrew your own indoor D-T-V antenna using the magic of science found in everyday living: -- Audio here from YouTube.com -- The antenna that the Miller kids built is based on the Gray-Hoverman Digital TV Antenna design but without the rear reflector. It in turn is rooted on the design of the late Doyt R. Hoverman who created and did the early work on this design long before the days of computer antenna modeling programs. More on this design can be found at www.digitalhome.ca/ota/superantenna. You can see the video of Naiomi and Noah Miller building their home-brew version of it on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaYDtOqpTOI. Trust me when I tell you that it's a few of the best moments you will spend on-line this week. (CGC, Audio courtesy of YouTube.com) ** 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 and Australia's WIA News, that's all from the Amateur Radio NewslineT. Our e-mail address is [email protected]. 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, P.O. Box 660937, Arcadia, California 91066. For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors desk in Los Angeles in the USA, I'm Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF, in Auckland, New Zealand saying 73 and we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio NewslineT is Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.