Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1882 - September 6 2013
Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1882 with a release date of
September 6 2013 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a Q-S-T. A trans-Pacific emergency communications
test is deemed a success; a ham radio satellite band at 5 Gigahertz
could be in jeopardy in Europe; registration is now open for the
Western Hemisphere's biggest transmitter hunting event; a ham flies a
Presidential Medal to the International Space Station and some very
unexpected words at the wrong time from on high. Find out the details
on Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) report number 1882 coming your way right
now.
(Billboard Cart Here)
**
WORLDBEAT: PAN PACIFIC RESCUE RADIO EXERCISE DEEMED AN UNQUALIFIED
SUCCESS
A follow-up to our recent story on a planned joint MARS and civilian
trans-pacific emergency communications drill. It was called operation
Pacific Endeavor-13 and it teamed the United States Military Auxiliary
Radio System with hams across the Pacific in an ocean spanning
emergency exercise. Amateur Radio Newsline's Don Wilbanks, AE5DW, has
the details:
--
Everything about the August 25th and 26th Pacific Endeavor-13 simulated
emergency response was staged except for one unexpected occurrence.
Electric power actually did fail in the pretend nation of Pacifica
which was the supposed disaster beaten Asian nation that a small band
of ham radio operators were trying to assist.
The power failure happened right at the start of the globe-spanning
exercise organized by the U.S. Defense Department. At 9N1AA in Nepal,
the real "Pacifica," operators kept going on battery power with only 25
watts output. But a stroke of the other kind of luck provided a
low-power digital link to an amateur in Afghanistan. That was Tim
McFadden, T6TM. He is a retired Army communicator now helping train
Afghan troops who had only joined Army MARS less than a month before
the exercise
Although the operation only lasted just under three hours, months had
gone into its planning. The Pentagon and U.S. Pacific Command set it
up as a test of amateur emergency support in Asia after Japan's tsunami
catastrophe, using procedures of the International Amateur Radio Union,
the Military Auxiliary Radio System, military stations and radio
amateurs.
When power was restored in Nepal there were some limited voice contacts
with Afghanistan and Germany. Hawaii could hear but not talk to Nepal
because propagation lasted only a few minutes.
But the real star of the exercise was the digital mode PSK31 that
appeared to propagate well on low power. This even in the otherwise
poor High Frequency band conditions experienced during the exercise.
Only one negative note. During rehearsals, messaging was disrupted by
hams seeking to contact Nepal, which is rarely heard on the air. That
was alleviated by the use of abbreviated call signs plus the dependence
on digital communications during the actual exercise itself.
One unique feature of the event was use of the Defense Department's
open bulletin board for civil emergencies called the All Partners
Access Network or APAN. Army MARS Operations Chief David McGinnis
coordinated information flow via APAN to the Department of Defense and
U.S. Pacific Command.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Don Wilbanks, AE5DW, in New
Orleans.
--
A preliminary account had a total of 60 stations logged at MARS
headquarters at Fort Huachuca and to the station in Germany of MARS
region director Daniel Wolff. (N1IN / AAR1FP via QRZ.com)
**
WORLDBEAT: AMATEUR RADIO LICENSING EXAM TO BE HELD IN BANGLADESH
After a five year wait the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory
Authority has announced that an amateur radio licensing exam session
will be held on November 9th. The test will be made up of 50 multiple
choice questions covering the fundamentals of radio engineering, basic
electronics, that nations amateur radio rules, and several other
topics. An applicant must score at least 50% to pass. More information
is on the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Authority website at
www.btrc.gov.bd. (S21SM, Southgate)
**
RESCUE RADIO: HAM RADIO SUPPORT IN FIGHTING RIM FIRE WINDS DOWN
The California Rim Wildfire continues and so does the volunteer
communications support provided by radio amateurs. Bill Pasternak,
WA6ITF, has been following this story and has the latest:
--
As we go to air, there's good news. Shifting weather patterns have
brought some level of moisture to the fire ravaged area. This together
with massive firefighting efforts means that at airtime that the Rim
fire is about 80% contained. That does not mean the fire is under
control, but rather its not expected that the blaze will be able to
move past those areas of the containment line.
With the 80 percent containment the sheriff's offices in Tuolumne and
Mariposa counties have been able to lift evacuation advisories for
several communities. This includes those with several thousand
structures that were in the fire's path. It also means that after some
sixteen days of continuous duty that volunteer ham radio operators with
Tuolumne County ARES and RACES were able to stand down and return to
their normal lives.
As previously reported, ham radio was first asked to assist back on
August 19th. That was when communications assistance was required to
the towns of Tuolumne and Mi-Wuk Village which were under voluntary
evacuation alert.
We've since learned that hams also served duty assisting the Red Cross
in setting up an evacuation center in the town of Groveland and later
at the Tuolumne County Fairgrounds in the city of Sonora. Operators
associated with the Amateur Radio Emergency Service provided
information into and out of these centers during the time that evacuees
were being housed and fed at those locations. At the height of the
evacuation news reports say that the Tuolumne Fairgrounds was the
temporary home to upward of 100 evacuees.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, in the
newsroom in Los Angeles.
--
Full containment of the Rim Fire is not expected until September 20th
at the earliest.
**
RADIO LAW: CEPT CONSIDERS USE OF 5830-5850 MHZ HAM RADIO SATELLITE
BAND
Ham radio satellites could wind up being forced to share spectrum at 5
point 8 Gigahertz with terrestrial devices. At least in those nations
that are CEPT signatories. Amateur Radio Newsline's Bruce Tennant,
K6PZW has the particulars:
--
A CEPT Short Range Devices or SE24 meeting took place in Vienna,
Austria on August 26th and 27th. This to discuss the future use of
5350 to 5470 MHz and 5725 to 5925 MHz for wireless access systems
including wireless or radio-based local area networks.
The Amateur Satellite Service has a downlink band lies from 5830 to
5850 MHz. Those involved in space communications believe that
introducing such ground based services in this spectrum would
inevitably raise the noise floor. This in turn could make the weak
signals from satellites difficult if not totally impossible to receive.
Right now, no final decision on the future of this spectrum has been
made by the CEPT, but as the squeeze for more commercial bandspace
grows, the entire 5 Gigahertz band appears a prime target for more
sharing on an international basis among CEPT signatories and that
includes most of Europe and possessions of European nations.
More on this recent meeting is on the World Wide Web at
www.cept.org/ecc
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, in Los
Angeles.
--
CEPT stands for the European Conference of Postal and
Telecommunications Administrations. It was established in 1959 by 19
countries, which expanded to 26 nations during its first ten years of
existence. Today 48 countries are members of CEPT's with the
organizations activities including co-operation on commercial,
operational, regulatory and technical standardization issues.
(Southgate, CEPT, others)
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: FIRST DANISH ASTRONAUT TO FLY TO THE ISS IN
Andreas Mogensen will be the first Danish astronaut to make a trip to
the International Space Station. Mogensen will ride to the ISS on board
a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to be launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
in Kazakhstan in September 2015. During his stay onboard the ISS,
Mogensen will conduct a series of experiments in preparation of future
missions and in the orbital testing new technologies.
This 10 day mission will be Mogensen's first foray into space. The
flight is directly connected to the new era in ISS operations where 2
experienced spacefarers from the USA and Russia will work on the ISS
for one year starting in May of 2015.
More about his upcoming space adventure is on the web at
tinyurl.com/Andreas-Mogensen-ISS. And we will have more ham radio
space related news later on in this weeks newscast. (ESA)
**
BREAK 1
We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around
the world including the WA2JWR repeater serving Toms River New Jersey.
(5 sec pause here)
**
RADIO LAW: CHANGES COME TO THE TRAVELERS INFORMATION STATION SERVICE
The FCC has updated its rules governing Travelers' Information or T-I-S
radio Stations. It's also seeking public input on further planned
changes. Amateur Radio Newsline's Stephan Kinford, N8WB, has more:
--
The commission created the Travelers Information Service in 1977. At
that time it authorized stations to operate low power transmissions on
530 kHz on a primary basis and in the 535 to 1705 kHz band on a
secondary non-interfering basis with broadcasters who are the primary
spectrum users.
At inception, the agency envisioned local governments would use
Travelers' Information Stations to reduce traffic congestion.
Commercial broadcasters opposed the creation of the service on grounds
that the information conveyed would duplicate what they provided and as
such would siphon off their add revenues or cause interference to their
operations.
The government prevailed and over the years, Travelers' Information
Station operators have wanted to broaden the scope of their content and
eliminate the restriction that confines their transmitting sites to
areas near roads, bridges, highways and public transportation terminals
like bus stops, train stations and airports. For example the American
Association of Information Radio Operators wanted to broadcast excerpts
of NOAA Weather Radio transmissions and AMBER Alerts. As a result
AMBER Alerts are now allowed on Travelers' Information stations.
In its latest decision FCC has clarified that Travelers' Information
stations operators can already transmit weather alerts regarding
difficult or hazardous conditions. This is in addition to information
regarding motor vehicle crashes, emergency points of assembly, road
closures and construction, parking, current driving travel times, air
flight status, truck weigh stations, driver rest areas, locations of
truck services, and road closures.
The FCC says that all transmitted content must remain noncommercial and
must relate to travel, an emergency or an imminent threat of danger. As
such, the commission has nixed the idea of routinely retransmitting
entire NOAA Weather Radio Alerts. However, the commission will now
allow Travelers' Information Stations to integrate those alerts into
broadcasts but only during especially hazardous conditions.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Stephen Kinford, N8WB, in
Wadsworth, Ohio.
--
In a Further Notice, the agency is proposing deleting requiring the
filtering of Travelers' Information Station audio frequencies above 3
kHz. So far those commenting for the most part have told the agency
that filtering makes it harder to hear the broadcasts while adding
little to interference protection of commercial AM stations. (FCC, RW)
**
PUBLIC SERVICE: IDAHO HAMS NEEDED FOR KOOTENAI RIVER RIDE SEPT 14
An Idaho Amateur Radio Emergency Services group will be providing radio
communications for that states Kootenai River Ride to be held September
14, and the group is in need of additional licensed radio amateurs to
assist. A planning session is slated for Tuesday evening September
10th at the Bonners Ferry Main Fire Station in Boundary County and any
radio amateur from that area who wants to be a part of this outing is
invited to attend. If being a part of this very worthwhile public
service is of interest you them please contact Gary Leonard by e-mail
to gary (at) pvfd (dot) us. (newsbf.com, eHam.net)
**
NAMES IN THE NEWS: FCC'S GREG COONS IS HEADING BACK TO VIRGINIA
Some names in the news. First up is Greg Coons, who currently works as
an agent in the FCC's Denver field office, but has been promoted to
resident agent to be based in Norfolk, Virginia. Coons grew up in
Virginia Beach and started his commission career in Norfolk in 1991. He
was transferred to Denver in 1996 after a reorganization of FCC field
offices, and has been based there for 17 years. He received his BSEE
from Old Dominion University in 1986. (SMPTE Rocky Mountain Section and
SBE Chapter 48)
**
NAMES IN THE NEWS: ASTRONAUT HAM FLIES PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL TO ISS
An astronaut aboard the International Space Station has paid tribute to
the late United States president John F. Kennedy by flying a medallion
to the orbiting outpost that bears the likeness of the 35th President
of the United States. NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy, KF6KDR, who is
serving as a flight engineer on board the space station, radioed photos
down to Mission Control on Wednesday, August 21st showing the medal
floating in front of a window with a view of the Earth below.
The 3-inch bronze medallion that Cassidy took to the space station was
created as part of the U.S. Mint's presidential medallion series. The
front of features a bust of the late United States president. Its
reverse side in inscribed with a quote from Kennedy's 1961 inaugural
address which says: "We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any
hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the
survival and the success of liberty."
When he returns to Earth this fall, Cassidy will deliver the medal back
to the JFK Library, where it will become a part of its permanent
collection. The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is
located in Boston, Massachusetts and has a permanent exhibit devoted to
the race for space that began in the 1960's. (space.com,
VenturesInSpace, other news reports)
**
NAMES IN THE NEWS: CUBAN AMATEUR LOOKING FOR UK CONTACTS
CO6CBF is looking for stations in the United Kingdom to try contacts
with him over the FO-29 amateur radio satellite. Currently, when the
satellite is in apogee, it has a good footprint that covers both the UK
and Cuba for a few minutes. Anyone wanting to try a FO-29 contact with
Cuba should e-mail Hector via co6cbf (at) frcuba (dot) co (cu) cu.
(GB2RS)
**
HAM HAPPENINGS: QRP OPS NEEDED FOR 2014 THIRTEEN COLONIES SPECIAL
EVENT
Ken Villone, KU2US, writing via eHam.net, says that the 13 Colonies
Special Event is looking to enlist one dedicated SSB and CW QRP
operator for each the original colony states state for 2014 and beyond.
Applicants must hold a General class or higher United States Amateur
Radio license but there are no special station requirements.
KU2US notes that this will be a QRP to QRP operation only as planners
want to give the low power stations a chance to get a 13 Colony States
"Clean Sweep" endorsement on his or her certificate. Those interested
should contact KU2US via e-mail using the information found on QRZ.com.
More information on the recent 2013 event as well as the early planning
for next year is on the web at www.13colonies.info. KU2US adds that
the New York QRP position is already filled for 2014. (KU2US via
eHAM.net)
**
HAM HAPPENINGS: ARRL - TAPR DCC IN SEATTLE SEPTEMBER 20-22
A reminder that the 32nd Annual ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications
Conference is less than three weeks away. The gathering will take place
September 20th to the 22nd, in Seattle, Washington. The DCC is an
international forum for radio amateurs involved in digital
communications technology to meet, publish their work, and present new
ideas and techniques. Presenters and attendees will have the
opportunity to exchange ideas and learn about recent hardware and
software advances, theories, experimental results, and practical
applications. More about this event is on the web at www.tapr.org/dcc
(DCC)
**
RADIOSPORTS: CALIFORNIA QSO PARTY OCTOBER 5 AND 6
The 47th running of the California QSO Party or CQP is slated this year
to begin at 1600 UTC on October 5th and end at 2200 UTC on October 6th.
The Northern California Contest Club sponsors this annual event and
offers a variety of awards open to stations inside and outside of
California. These include plaques for the top operators in various
categories including a youth award for those under the age of 18. A
list of the awards is included in the rules and can be found on-line
www.cqp.org. (N6WM, W6TCP)
**
BREAK 2
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)
**
RADIOSPORTS: ORGANIZING THE 2013 USA ARDF CHAMPIONSHIPS
Registration is now open for the Western Hemisphere's biggest
transmitter hunting event of 2013, and you might become a medal winner
there. Newsline's Joe Moell, K0OV, has the details.
--
The mountains of North Carolina will be the setting for the 13th USA
championships of on-foot hidden transmitter hunting. Fans of this
international sport, which is also called foxtailing,
radio-orienteering and ARDF, are making travels plans now, and they
want you to join in.
Tuesday, October 8 will be arrival day for the optional practice
sessions on both two meters and 80 meters, which begin early on
Wednesday. Thursday and Friday will have two specialty events, sprints
and foxoring.
Those who cannot be present for all five days will arrive Friday,
October 11 for the classic championships. Saturday morning will be the
two-meter main event, followed in the evening by the banquet and awards
presentation. The 80-meter main event will be on Sunday morning with
awards presented afterwards, in time for those who must hurry home.
Organizing the 2013 USA Championships are Joseph Huberman, K5JGH and
Ruth Bromer, WB4QZG. Both have competed at previous USA Championships
and earned medals. Setting the courses will be Nadia Scharlau, with
radio support from Charles Scharlau, NZ0I. Nadia learned ARDF as a
youth in the Soviet Union and won her first gold medal by competing for
USSR at the European Championships in 1984. In 2006 in Bulgaria, she
became the first Team USA member to win a World Championships medal.
As always, our national Championships are open to anyone of any age who
can safely navigate the woods. Most will be licensed hams, but that's
not required, so encourage your unlicensed-but-athletic friends and
family members to join in. You can watch and learn from the best in
the country, as well as visitors from around the world.
Registration is now open on the Web and there is an e-mail reflector
for Q&A with the organizers. Learn all about the championships and the
sport of radio-orienteering at www.homingin.com. That's homingin, as
one word, homingin.com. I hope to see you there. From sunny southern
California, this is Joe Moell, K0OV, for Amateur Radio Newsline.
--
Again if you missed it that URL is simply www.homingin.com (K0OV)
**
RADIO TO SPACE: US SHUTS DOWN US AIR FORCE SPACE SURVEILLANCE RADAR
The US Air Force Space Surveillance Radar or AFSSS has stopped
transmitting. This, as a result of sequester budget cuts mandated by
Congress.
The Space Surveillance Radar which has been operational since 1961 and
is only one part of the nations global Space Surveillance Network. The
system is designed to transmit what the military calls a "fence" of
radar energy into space to detect all objects intersecting it. The
operational advantage of is its ability to detect objects in a random
or non cued fashion, rather than tracking objects based on previous
information. The disadvantage is the inherent inaccuracy of the data,
based on its dated design.
Military officials have devised what they call modified operating modes
for the Perimeter Acquisition Radar Characterization System located at
Cavalier Air Force Station, North Dakota and for the Space Surveillance
Radar at Eglin Air Force Base, in Florida. This allows the
discontinuation of the older Air Force Space Surveillance Radar
operations while still maintaining solid space situational awareness.
The AFSSS radar's final echoes came from a Russian satellite and a
sporadic meteor. You can see those traces at
tinyurl.com/last-radar-traces. Deactivating the old system will save
the Air Force Space Command $14 million annually starting in fiscal
year 2014. (Space News, VHF Reflector, WB4JGG)
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: NEXT PHONE SATS TO LAUNCH IN NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER
EDN magazine reports that the next generation of Phone-Sats which are
microsatellites built around smartphones will launch on November 6th
and December 6th. In an interview with the magazine developer Jasper
Wolfe said that these next Phone-Sats will transmit using Packet Radio
on 437.425 MHz using AFSK at 1200 bits per second. Coding will be AX
dot 25 and the transmit polarization will be vertical.
These and the previous Phone-Sats were developed by young engineers at
the NASA-Ames Research Center. One of the new birds will remain
on-orbit for up to two years while the other will have a far shorter
lifespan of only three months. The entire article including photos is
on the web at tinyurl.com/generation-2-phonesats. (EDN, Southgate)
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: UK FUNCUBE 1 TO LAUNCH I LATE NOVEMBER
AMSAT-UK and AMSAT-NL have been advised that the launch date for
FUNcube-1 is now expected to be November 21st. This date is still
subject to final approval by the authorities. FUNcube-1 is a 1 unit
CubeSat that will provide a signal directly from a satellite to
classrooms with a signal level that can easily be received by schools
and colleges. (AMSAT, Southgate)
**
DX
In DX, OH2YY hopes to be on the air from Nepal between October 2nd and
the 5th. He has applied for the callsign 9N2YY, but the confirmation
will not take place until he arrives in that nation. After Nepal he
will be visiting the Kingdom of Bhutan between October 6th and the 10th
where he has already been assigned the callsign A52YY. Listen out for
him during his evenings and nights on 20 through 10 meter SSB. QSL via
OH2YY, the bureau or direct. Electronic QSL's go via Logbook of the
World.
JK1AJT will again be in Myanmar from September 18th to the 23rd signing
X-Zed-one-Zed . He tells DX Daily that he has spotted a better
location atop a 1557 feet hill and will bring a tri-band Yagi with him
in addition to the Ground Plains that he used last month. This next
operation will be mainly CW. QSL via ClubLog Oh-QRS or direct to
JH1AJT. Meantime the recent X-Zed-one-Zed Myanmar 2013 operation has
been approved for DXCC credit. If you've had it rejected in a prior
application, send a note to to be placed on the list
for an update to your record.
The Martello Tower Group are activating Herm Island again from October
4th to the 9th on 80 through 10 meters including the WARC bands. The
group will be using SSB and some data modes. All QSOs will be
uploaded to Logbook of the World and Club Log. QSL direct or via the
bureau to G6NHU
WB6OJB and K5LBU will be active as A25JK and A25CF, respectively, from
the extreme eastern part of Botswana through September 12th. They
should have two stations running but the A25JK will be the main call to
listen out for. Look for A25JK to operate SSB on 20 through 10 meters
with a possibility of some time spent on 40 and 75. A25CF will be
operating some PSK on whatever bands might be open and A25JK is not on.
QSL via their home callsigns.
DL2MDU and his DO3HDA will on the air 8Q7CF from the Maldives between
September 15th through the 27th. Their activity will be holiday style
on 80 through 10 meters with the possibly 160 meters Modes will be CW
and SSB with some digital. QSL via DL2MDU.
JA0RQV hopes to be operational from Tonga as A35JP/N between September
19th and the 24th. This operation will depend on weather and flight
availability to the island and his time on the air will be limited
because of limited supply of electric power. Operations will be on 80
through 6 meters using CW and SSB. QSL via his home callsign, by the
Bureau, direct or electronically using Logbook of the World.
DL7AFS and DJ7ZG will be operational as D44TXT from Santiago Island,
Cape Verde between October 19th and November 7th. The duo will be on 80
through 6 meters using SSB, RTTY and PSK31. QSL via DL7AFS.
(Above from various DX news sources)
**
THAT FINAL ITEM: UK FUNERAL INTERRUPTED BY RF
And finally this week, we have all heard of RF getting into public
address systems, but this one truly has to take the prize for the
unusual. Amateur Radio Newsline's Cheryl Lasek, K9BIK, has the rather
strange details:
--
Can you imagine being at a funeral service when the sound coming out of
the loud speaker system is suddenly interrupted by airline stewardess'
message to her passengers? Well it actually happened recently in the
United Kingdom when what's been described as a mysterious voice was
heard through a church's public address system during a funeral service
telling passengers on a plane to prepare for landing.
The story goes this way. Friends and family of Brendan Duffy had
gathered at St Edward's Church in Windsor, Berkshire, to pay their
final respects after the Dublin-born grandfather-of-four died on August
8th, at age 78. But as his nephew Joe Duffy was reading the eulogy,
everyone was suddenly told to fasten their seat belts and for the other
flight attendants to prepare the aircraft's doors for landing.
While some might have thought it could have been a sign from the
heavens above a more rational explanation is that the church's wireless
microphone system and the two-way radio system on the aircraft were on
the same frequency. But that would not explain how the announcement
made using a closed loop in-cabin public address system could get
transmitted outside the airplane unless perhaps someone pushed the
wrong button on the flight deck.
That said, as we go to air, the mystery of the RF signal from on-high
remains unexplained.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline. I'm Cheryl Lasek, K9BIK, in Zion,
Illinois.
--
Joe Duffy is a local personality radio. He told a news reporter that
everyone at the service was looking around and up to heaven, trying to
figure out where the voice was coming from. (UK Daily Mail)
**
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, TWiT-TV and Australia's WIA News, that's
all from the Amateur Radio Newsline(tm). Our e-mail address is
newsline (at) arnewsline (dot) org. More information is available at
Amateur Radio Newsline's(tm) only official website located at
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Radio Newsline(tm), 28197 Robin Avenue, Santa Clarita California, 91350
For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors' desk, I'm Jim
Damron, N8TMW, saying 73 from Charleston, West Virginia and we thank
you for listening.
Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2013. All rights reserved.