Amateur Radio NewslineT Report 1735 - November 12 2010 Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1735 with a release date of Friday, November 12th 2010 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a Q-S-T. Ham radio continues its emergency respond in Indonesia, a South African ham helps save two on board a stricken yacht; the FCC closes a number of loopholes in the Vanity Call Sign program, Dayton says its time to start sending in nominations for the 2011 Hamvention awards and W5KUB to provide a day long streaming video tour of M-F- J. All this and more on Amateur Radio NewslineT report number 1735 coming your way right now. (Billboard Cart Here) ** RESCUE RADIO: HAMS RESPOND TO INDONESIAN TWIN DISASTERS Amateur radio is doing its part after a pair of disasters hit Indonesia back to back. Jason Dee, VK2LAW, of the WIA News has the latest: -- Following two natural disasters, an earthquake triggered tsunami and separately an erupting volcano, radio amateurs are providing their help as the enormous response effort continues. ORARI, the Organization of Amateur Radio in Indonesia's International Affairs coordinator, Wisnu Widjaja YB0AZ has provided initial information about the nvolvement of radio hams in the dual disasters that hit the Indonesian archipelago this week. He said that the ORARI Communication and Rescue Task Force has joined the team of the Disaster Management of Directorate General Post and Telecommunications, Ministry of Communication and Informatics Republic of Indonesia. They has been operating in the field and provide communications support to the government and communities in the area where the eruption of Mount Merapi catastrophe at Yogyakarta province and the earthquake also followed by tsunami at Mentawai of West Sumatra, said Wisnu YB0AZ. Media reports that at least 170 died, mostly drowned after the tsunami triggered by a 7.7 magnitude offshore earthquake struck the Mentawai islands late Monday week off the west coast of Sumatra. Up to 400 others are missing. While on the island of Java, several hundred kilometres away, 29 were killed when the volcano, Mount Merapi, erupted on Tuesday releasing clouds of hot gas, rocks and laver into the air. almost 42,000 people had fled to temporary shelters around the nearby city of Yogyakarta as the area is covered in volcanic ash. I'm Jason, VK2LAW -- The remoteness of the affected areas, poor communications, and the ongoing disaster response and relief efforts are likely to see the Organization of Amateur Radio of Indonesia Communications and its rescue task force involved for some time yet. (VK3PC) ** RESCUE RADIO: SOUTH AFRICAN HAM HELPS RESCUE STRANDED YACHT A real time rescue at sea with the aid of a South African sailor and ham radio operator. Hamnet's Francois Botha, ZS5BUU is here with the details: -- Roy Cook, ZS5CB was instrumental earlier this week in the rescue of 2 yachtsmen aboard a yacht called Houbo that ran into difficulties off the coast of Mozambique. Roy had intercepted a call for assistance, via a Ham Radio marine VHF monitoring frequency, and contacted NSRI Richards Bay on Saturday afternoon the 30th of October. He reported that the yacht Philigic had by chance come across the yacht with two Frenchmen, on board and in a desperate state of disrepair, some 200 nautical miles off- shore from the Mozambique coast. The yacht Houbo unfortunately had been caught up in severe tropical weather out at sea and had not only capsized and corrected itself but that the two yachtsmen had lost most of their food, drinking water, and that the boat had been severely damaged. Their radio equipment and antenna system was non functional with result they could not radio for help. Richards Bay NSRI under the control of Dorian Robertson indicated that the yacht was out of range for a rescue operation but the team were placed on alert to monitor the situation. Roy, in the meantime had been able to maintain contact with the other yacht and kept the Richards Bay NSRI up to date with information on the progress of the two yachts. Once the yachts were in South African waters by Monday afternoon around 16h00, the Richards Bay NSRI launched the rescue craft and rendezvoused with the Houbo 12 nautical miles off-shore in a 25 knot North Easterly wind and a 1 to 2 meter swell. A towline was attached to the yacht and safely brought to the safety of Richards Bay harbor. Both the yachtsmen were unhurt but will spend quite a while repairing the yacht before they continue on their journey. Reporting for Hamnet this is Francois Botha, ZS6BUU. -- The final destination of the damaged yacht is at this stage is unknown, but it may be a long time before its back at sea. (ARMI) ** RADIO LAW: FCC CLOSES LOOPHOLES IN VANITY CALL PROGRAM The FCC has closed some loopholes in the vanity call sign program. Mark Abramovich, NT3V, reports from the City of Brotherly Love: -- It has been nearly 14 years since the Vanity Call Sign system was rolled out by the Federal Communications Commission. And, in that time, tens of thousands of amateurs have taken part. The regulatory panel decided only last year it might be time to revisit some issues that it felt were either left unresolved or needed clarification. Now, the FCC's report and order are out regarding the vanity call sign system and there are some adjustments. There is one, though that the FCC did not go for - a request to eliminate the fee for a first-time application for a vanity call sign - and the renewal fee for that call sign. The fee for each will remain $13.30. The term of the license, like the standard amateur radio license, is 10 years. Something else also contained deeper in the report and order was discussion and a decision regarding restricting an applicant's vanity call sign to the call region in which he or she lives. The FCC notes in discussion of this issue that "the applicant's choice of vanity call signs would be reduced to 10 percent of less of the call signs that would otherwise be assignable to the station." The FCC continues "a limitation based upon the person's place of residence...could easily be circumvented by using a mailing address in another call sign region." Therefore, the FCC decided there will be no change in the existing rules which allow someone say in the Third Call area to apply for a vanity call sign in any area, including the Third Call area. What else? From now on, any new trustees for a club station license or vanity call sign may not serve as a trustee for multiple clubs and station licenses. But those who already do so will be grandfathered - meaning they can continue to do so for now. And, there are also new restrictions on who can file applications on behalf of a club regarding a change in trustee. That application must now be signed by an officer of the club making the application to the Club Station Call Sign Administrator. The FCC says this should "prevent a departing trustee from making off with the club license and call sign, or refusing to agree to a change in trustee." The FCC also says this requirement will also address "instances in which a trustee becomes incapacitated." And, finally, what about the two-year wait until the call sign of a deceased ham can be assigned to someone else in the vanity system? The FCC decided to clarify that issue by stating that the countdown - so to speak - would begin on the date of death of the licensee and not the notification date to the FCC. In addition, the FCC decided to add a 30-day waiting period before that canceled license - due to death - is put into the database and available to give all an equal opportunity to complete for the license. And what about the close-relative exception - that is a close relative being put first in line to apply for the call sign of a deceased relative as a memorial to that person? The FCC says that's now the rule and clarified who is covered. Here's what the FCC decided: "the term in-law is to include only a parent, stepparent, sibling, or step sibling of a licensee's spouse, and the spouse of a license's sibling, step-sibling, children or stepchild, or the spouse of a licensee's spouse's sibling or step-sibling. That expands the pool of relatives quite a bit. And, finally, the FCC says if you held a license and let it expire, you'll be able to get it back within a two-year window before it's entered in the vanity call sign system. And, one more thing for those of you who still might hold a Novice license. The FCC now says you can be the trustee of a club station license. The FCC reasoned that the license classification "is not a reason to prohibit them from being club station trustees, for frequency and operating privileges are determined soley by the class of the operator license held by the control operator, rather than the license held by the club station trustee." For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mark Abramowicz, NT3V, in Philadelphia. -- In summarizing the changes, the Commission said that it believes that the public interest will be served by amending its rules in order to make the amateur service's vanity call sign system more equitable and transparent. It also believes that changes in the rules governing club station licensing will promote a more equitable and administratively efficient licensing process. (FCC, ARNewslineT) ** BREAK 1 From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including the W6JW repeater serving Amateur Radio Newslines home city of Santa Clarita, California just north of Los Angeles. (5 sec pause here) ** ENFORCEMENT: UNKNOWN SIGNAL AT 500 KHZ BEING INVESTIGATED The Radio Society of Great Britain is beginning an investigation of a mystery signal in the 500 Kilohertz band. This, after UK radio amateurs who operate from 501 to 504 kHz over the past month have reported reception of a wideband signal between 498 and 502kHz. The RSGB is looking into the matter. It says that the signal may be an early trial of a so called e-Navigation system that the maritime service is planning to propose for this part of the spectrum at the WRC-12 preparation meetings. (RSGB) ** RESCUE RADIO: RAC BEGINS REVIEW OF ITS NATIONAL FIELD ORGANIZATION Radio Amateurs of Canada began its National Field Organization Review Project on Monday, November 8th. With the assistance of Hew Lines, VA7HU, Ian Snow, VA3QT, and others, guidelines were adopted to review the entire Radio Amateurs of Canada Field Organization including but not limited to such aspects as the overall structure, the groups focus, the training it affords members and several other points crucial in an emergency communications and public service environment According to the Radio Amateurs of Canada news release, this will be an ongoing process that will look at all aspects of how the program operates and how it can better deliver amateur radio resources to those it serves. Canadian hams looking to assist are asked to contact Doug Mercer, VO1DTM. Mercer is the Radio Amateurs of Canada Vice President Field Services. His e-mail is vo1dtm (at) hotmail (dot) com. (RAC) ** RESCUE RADIO: ANOTHER FALSE RESCUE BEACON DOWN-UNDER An improperly disposed of personal rescue beacon recently caused a major T-hunt in New Zealand. Graham Kemp of the WIA News has more: -- Rescue services were alerted after Tauranga Airport in ZL and an aircraft flying over the Bay of Plenty picked up a distress signal in the region. A helicopter from Rotorua narrowed down the search area, and Radio. Spectrum Management traced it to the Te Maunga refuse transfer station. The beacon was located in the recycling center. The Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand said the beacon had been placed on a glass conveyor belt and was probably triggered when it was lifted off the belt and set aside on a railing. The beacon was operating on the old 121.5MHz or 243MHz frequencies. The incident served as a reminder for people all around the world to dispose of old beacons properly, either by disconnecting the battery or taking the beacon to police, the coastguard or a beacon retailer. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Graham Kemp, VK4BB, of the WIA News in Australia -- No word yet on who the beacon locator beacon belonged to or how it wound up in a trash dump. (WIA News) ** ENFORCEMENT NEEDED: NEW WAY TO ELECTRONICALLY PILFER MOVIES MADE PUBLIC Illegal downloading pirated films are no longer Hollywood's worst nightmare, but that's only because of a newer criminal enterprise in the form of equally illegal offshore subscription services. Fred Vobbe, W8HDU, has the rest of the story: -- Foreign businesses, often with criminal connections collect illegally obtained movies into what are called Cyberlockers. Cyberlockers are similar to Internet storage sites used by individual consumers to squirrel away pirated video. But news reports say that the for-profit version has spawned an array of sophisticated and seemingly reputable websites selling unlimited digital movie files for as little as $5 a month. Fred Huntsberry is the chief operating officer for Paramount Pictures. He recently detailed the evolution of the latest in professional electronic movie piracy methods for hundreds of European movie theater operators attending an opening-day seminar at Cinema Expo. According to Huntsberry It is quite common for Hollywood movies to be made available via illegal for-profit websites within days of theatrical release. He notes that the advent of global releasing now allows the proliferation of individual titles into an array of languages within the first month of a theatrical debut. When movies are later released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc, the illegal Cyberlocker sites upgrade the quality of video offered by the illegally camera recorded images to pristine digital copies. Cyberlocker-based businesses operate from Russia, Ukraine, Colombia, Germany, Switzerland and elsewhere. Several even sell advertising to mainstream, often-unwitting advertisers. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Fred Vobbe, W8HDU -- Paramount's Huntsberry added these Cyberlockers now represent the preferred method by which consumers are enjoying pirated content. (Published news reports) ** THE SOCIAL SCENE: PALM SPRINGS HAMFEST ON JANUARY 29th The Desert RATS Club of Palm Springs and Palm Springs DX Club are holding the Palm Springs Hamfest on January 29th. The gates open at 9:30 a.m. and close at 4:50 p.m. local Pacific Standard Time. Admission is only one dollar and includes a raffle ticket. Also, During the event the Desert RATS will operate a special events station WD6RAT on 3.672, 7.240 and 14.251 Mhz with talk in to the hamfest on the 146.94 WD6RAT repeater. Repeater access requires a 107.2 hertz sub audible access tone. For more information including directions to the venue take your web browser to desertrats.am. (VE7REZ/W6) ** HAMVENTION 2011: NOMINATIONS NOW OPEN FOR HAMVENTION AWARDS The Dayton Hamvention is soliciting nominations for its 2011 Technical Excellence, Special Achievement and Amateur of the Year Awards. Also, by popular demand the Hamvention has decided to continue its new Radio Club of the Year Award and to make it a permanent addition of the Hamvention Awards program. By way of review, the Amateur of the Year is for the special person who has made a long term or lifelong commitment to the advancement of amateur radio. He or she must be a well- rounded individual who has contributed to our hobby in some outstanding way. The Special Achievement Award is for the person who has made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of amateur radio. This award is usually given to a respected amateur who spearheaded a single significant project. The Technical Excellence Award is presented to a radio amateur that has made an outstanding technical advancement in the field of amateur radio. Lastly, the new Club of the Year award recognizes a radio clubs accomplishment, activities, and its service to the public. To be considered for any of these awards, completed nominations must be submitted no later than January 15, 2011. Nomination forms can be found at www dot Hamvention dot org in the awards section or with your Yahoo Groups login directly at tinyurl.com/2alox4g. Send your completed nominating forms and substantiating documentation to Hamvention 2011, Attention Awards Committee, Post Office Box 964, Dayton, Ohio, 45401-0964. Again, the cutoff date to submit nominations is January 15, 2011. (DARA) ** NAMES IN THE NEWS: W8ROG NAMED KNIGHT OF THE LEGION OF HONOR Some names in the news. First up is Ken Kott, W8ROG, of Macomb County Michigan. Kott has recently been named Knight of the Legion of Honor for his actions during World War Two. The award notification issued by Consul General of France, Graham Paul, reads in part: "This outstanding distinction is the highest honor that France can bestow upon those who have achieved remarkable deeds for France. It is also a sign of true gratitude for your invaluable contribution to the liberation of France during these difficult times in the History of our nation." In addition to radioman and reconnaissance duty with the 3rd Armored Division in Europe during WW2, Kott also taught Morse code in the Army. Ken Kott, W8ROG who at age 90 is still an ardent C-W operator is also the father of former Worldrado editor Nancy Kott, WZ8C. (WZ8C) ** NAMES IN THE NEWS: N2ITF APPOINTED SM FOR WEST NEW YORK And word from the ARRL that Steve Ryan, N2ITF, of Ashville, New York, has been appointed Section Manager of the ARRL Western New York Section, effective November 2. Ryan will finish out the term of Scott Bauer, W2LC, who announced his resignation for personal reasons on October 31st. Bauer had served as Section Manager since January of 2000. ARRL Membership and Volunteer Programs Department Manager Dave Patton, NN1N, made the Ryan appointment in consultation with Atlantic Division Director Bill Edgar, N3LLR. (ARRL) ** BREAK 2 This is ham radio news for today's radio amateur. From the United States of America, 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) ** RADIO PROBLEMS: PROPOSED NEW BUILDING IN NYC COULD LEAD TO RECEPTION PROBLEMS IN NJ A New York City developer's plan to build a new 67 story building in midtown Manhattan is drawing a closer look from the regions broadcasters. They are worried that the structure could partially block their transmissions from atop the nearby Empire State Building. Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, reports:: -- The skyscraper, named 15 Penn Plaza, is to be built just two blocks from the Empire State Building. Empire as it is known in the broadcast field has been the home for most FM and television broadcasters in the city since the 911 al- Quida terrorist attacks that leveled the twin towers of the World Trade Center. As a result, Empire is currently home to 19 FM stations and most of the city's television transmitters and had served that same purpose before many stations had moved to the taller World Trade Center. Vornado Realty Trust is the developer behind the proposed 1,190-foot building at 15 Penn Plaza. By comparison, Empire is 1,250 feet, plus a 204-foot antenna structure. Some local observers agree that 15 Penn Plaza could cast a significant signal shadow southwest of the city, and in particular affect FM listening in the New York suburbs. Jim Stagnitto is the Director of Engineering for New York Public Radio. He says that he is concerned about both of his FMs at the Empire State Building. He notes that without a predictive study to examine, there isa really no way to predict how bad it could be. Josh Hadden is Stagnitto's counterpart for Clear Channel Radio in New York. He says that his company is studying the different potential impacts the building could have on his facilities adding that they are watching the development of the plan closely. Reporting for the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, in Los Angeles. -- The building's designer, Pelli-Clarke-Pelli Architects, is known for designing some of the world's tallest buildings, including the Petronas Towers in Malaysia. According to observers, Vornado officials have thus far not indicated any interest in building broadcast facilities atop the new tower. (RW, other published reports) ** HAM RADIO IN SPACE: ASTRONAUTS TAKE PART IN GROUND BASED ARISS TRAINING EXERCISE Turning to ham radio space related news, word that astronauts Joe Acaba, KE5DAR and Aki Hoshide, KE5DNI participated in simulated ARISS school contact with students attending Ralph McCall School in Airdrie, Alberta, Canada. This, on Tuesday, October 26th. The simulated contacts are training sessions for the astronaut hams using ARISS equivalent equipment to make terrestrial-based amateur radio contacts. Acaba, who is slated to fly with Expedition 31, also had an ARISS refresher course on Wednesday, October 27th for his upcoming mission in 2012. (ANS) ** HAM RADIO IN SPACE: NANOSAIL-D TO LAUNCH NOVEMBER 20 NanoSail-D, carrying an Amateur Radio beacon on 437.305 MHz, is planned to launch on November 20th. The spacecraft will be carried into space on board Minotaur-4 rocket. Once in space, NanoSail-D will be in a low earth orbit at 9 degrees inclination. The orbit will be elliptical, 685 km apogee and 340 km perigee, degrading to 200 km at which time it will de- orbit. While in space NasnoSail-D will transmit a beacon signal on 437.305 MHz operating AX25 protocol with one 1/2 second burst every 5 seconds. (AMSAT) ** WORLDBEAT: SOUTH AFRICA'S REMEMBRANCE DAY South Africa's annual Remembrance Day service was to be transmitted Sunday November 14th on the radio program Amateur Radio Mirror International. The service, conducted by the Reverend Jan Kramer, ZS6JRK, is a memorial of radio amateurs who lost their lives in service of their country. The script reading was to be in English and the service in Afrikaans. Clubs wishing to retransmit the service on their local repeater can down load a MP3 audio file. Send an email to armi at sarl dot org dot za to receive details of the URL. (ARMI) ** WORLDBEAT: UK HAMS TO HOLD SOS RADIO WEEK IN JANUARY The next United Kingdom SOS Day will take place on the 28th of January and the Lifeboat Amateur Radio Society will, once again, be organizing SOS Radio Week to coincide with it. SOS Radio Week is a nine days non-competitive, operating occasion held as a fund raising event by United Kingdom radio amateurs for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Taking part is easy. If you are a UK ham, simply take your web browser to saosradiowqeek.org.uk to register. (Southgate) ** WORLDBEAT: CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF GERMANYS REUNIFICATION On the air, listen out for the ham radio festivities surrounding the 20th anniversary of the reunification of Germany are taking place in the city of Bremen. To help in the celebration, the Amateur Radio Club of Bremen has activated the special callsign DL20YDM until August 31st of 2011. If you work this one please QSL as directed on the air. (Various) ** DX In DX, the Buddies in the Caribbean DXpedition which is a group which specializes in 100 watt or less low power operation and the Buddipole portable antenna systems is headed back to St Lucia. They will be there from December 5th to the 13th operating portable J 6 from a north shore villa location. There will be three stations in operation at various times on 160 through 10 meters using CW, SSB, and RTTY. Callsigns to listen for are W3FF, N7UN, K8EAB, W7ZT, N4LA, K4MK, NX8L, and W4OKW. . QSL with a self addressed stamped envelope to each operators home call or electronically using Logbook of the World or eQSL. And keep an ear out for DL2AH on Tristan da Cunha as ZD9AH until December 6th. This is not a DXpedition so he plans to operate mainly SSB on 40, 20, 17, 12 and 10 metres as time permits. Also some RTTY activity during the last two weeks of November. QSL via DL2AH, direct or via the bureau. F4BXW is on the air from Gabon as TR8GV. He will be there through November 23rd operating SSB from the capitol city of Libertyville. If you make contact, QSL to F4BXW. VK4KEV will be on Macquarie Island for about 18 months. During his spare time he will sign VK0KEV in SSB und digital modes mostly on 40 and 20 meters. QSL as directed on the air. Lastly, N0TG reports that the Sable Island DX operation is back on the calendar. The rescheduled dates are December 6th through the 13th. According to N0TG, several critical details were resolved sooner than expected. More is on-line at www dot cy0dxpedition dot com. Above from various DX news sources) ** THAT FINAL ITEM: A VIDEO TOUR OF MFJ ON TUESDAY NOVEMBER 16 And finally this week, its well known in ham radio circles that Martin Jue, K5FLU, made the Great American Dream a reality when he formed MFJ Enterprises back in in 1972. And now you can get to meet him and tour his facilities thanks to ham radio webcaster Tom Medlin, W5KUB. Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, is in the Newsroom with the details: -- Martin Jue, K5FLU, first ham radio product was a high selectivity filter that would enable a receiver to more easily separate Morse code signals on the crowded High Frequency amateur radio bands. The success of this receiver add-on turned out to be the seed for a company that has grown into the MFJ Enterprises of today. And if you have some free time on Tuesday, November 16th, you can see it all and get to know Martin Jue, K5FLU, in a very special day long webcast produced and hosted by Tom Medlin, W5KUB. According to W5KUB, the live webcast will include a tour of MFJ, along with its subsidiary companies including Cushcraft, Hy-gain, Ameritron, Mirage, and Vectornics. The webcast will also show all the engineering, design, manufacturing aspects of the ham gear that's now found in stations around the world. Most of all you will get to meet the company's founder, Martin Jue, K5FLU, and even get to ask him questions over Toms two way interactive w5kub dot com website. So tune in on Tuesday, November 16th to this very special all day tour of MFJ Enterprises to learn how the American dream that has come true in Starksville, Mississippi. A day of ham radio fun brought to you courtesy of Tom Medlin, W5KUB, at his interactive website at w5kub.com. For the Amateur Radioi Newsline, I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, in the Newsroom in Los Angeles. -- Again that's Tuesday, November 16th for this special streaming video tour of MFJ and the chance to meet the company's founder Martin Jue, K5FLU. All of this in a live webcast at w5kub.com. (W5KUB) ** 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 W-I-A News, that's all from the Amateur Radio NewslineT. Our e-mail address is Newsline (at)arnewsline (dot) org. 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, 28197 Robin Avenue, Santa Clarita California, 91350 Please do not forget that in association with the Newark Amateur Radio Society that we are currently conducting a survey to determine where these weekly Amateur Radio Newsline reports are replayed on the air. If you are a bulletin station that transmits these weekly newscasts or a listener who has the following information, we need you to supply to us the call sign of the repeater or bulletin station making the transmission, the frequency where it can be heard, the time and day and days of the week it is broadcast, the time zone and the estimated audience you think it has. Please e-mail that information along with your name and callsign to arnschedule (at) gmail (dot) com. Once again thats arnschedule (at) gmail (dot) com. As always we thank you for your assistance in this survey. For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editor's desk, I'm Don Wilbanks, AE5DW, saying 73 and we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio NewslineT is Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.