Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1885 - September 27 2013
Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1885 with a release date of
September 27 2013 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a QS-T. Hams in Australia may keep access to part of
the 2300 MHz band; amateur radio operators in Portugal get new spectrum
and some rules changes; Congress asks why first responder radios failed
during Washington Navy Yard shooting; the FCC says no to encrypted ham
radio communications and researchers admit that Solar Cycle 24 is quite
puzzling. Find out the details on Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) report
number 1885 coming your way right now.
(Billboard Cart Here)
**
RESTRUCTURING: VK AMATEURS MAY WIN PARTIAL REPRIEVE FOR 2300 MHZ
Some good news for hams down-under in V-K land. This with word that
the Australian amateur radio community could win a partial reprieve on
the expected loss of 2300 to 2302 MHz. Amateur Radio Newsline's Jim
Meachen, ZL2BHF, has the details:
--
The Wireless Institute of Australia reports that VK amateurs may win a
partial reprieve for access to the 2300 to 2302 MHz amateur band. This
is spectrum that is currently under threat of reallocation and
restructuring.
This past February the Australian Communications and Media Authority or
ACMA released a discussion paper proposing to withdraw the 2300 to
2302 MHz amateur allocation so that the band from 2300 to 2400 MHz
could be re-allocated for other spectrum licensing.
The Wireless Institute of Australia filed a response to the discussion
paper, seeking to have a 150 kHz segment, from 2300 to 2300.15 MHz,
retained for the amateur service on at least a co-primary basis.
The ACMA has posted a report on its website on September 17th saying
that it had received 124 submissions in response to the discussion
paper, from which an overwhelming number objected to the ACMA's
proposal. Specifically, a staggering 93% of submissions disagreed with
the ACMA's suggestion, and of those, 30% indicated support for the
position advocated by the Wireless Institute of Australia.
Even so, the ACMA has advised that, after considering the information
provided in the submissions, its view is that the amateur service would
not be able to retain co-primary status if 2300 to 2400 MHz was
relicensed. However, the ACMA goes on to say that it will work closely
with the Wireless Institute of Australia to test whether a coexistence
licensing arrangement might be developed under section 138 of that
nations Radiocommunications Act. Section 138 provides for a license to
be issued within spectrum where it would not result in unacceptable
levels of interference to equipment operated under the primary users
spectrum license.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF, across the
Tasman Sea in Nelson, New Zealand.
--
In its own statement, the Wireless Institute of Australia says that it
looks forward to working with the regulatory authority to achieve a
positive outcome for the 2300 to 2302 MHz band in that nation. More is
on-line at tinyurl.com/good-news-down-under. (VK2ZRH)
**
RESTRUCTURING: NEW SPECTRUM IN PORTUGAL
CT1JHQ reports that hams in Portugal have some new operating spectrum
as well as a few rules changes. He says that on September 6th the
nation's telecommunications regulator issued an addendum to Portugal's
National Table of Frequency Allocations. In summary, the changes
include the allocation of the new 472 to 479 kHz band to the Amateur
Service with secondary status, and changes to conditions for access to
the 50 to 52 MHz and 1270 to 1300 MHz bands. The latter affects only
some license classes. More about this restructuring is on the web as a
PDF file in the Portuguese language at tinyurl.com/new-Portugal-bands.
(CT1JHQ, South
**
RESCUE RADIO: COLORADO FLOOD FOLLOW-UP
A follow up to last weeks report on ham radios response to the massive
flooding that hit the state of Colorado. Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, is in
the newsroom with the latest:
--
Ham radio volunteers assisting in damage assessment following the
recent flooding to hit parts of Colorado have a new piece of equipment
to work with. These are remote control drone aircraft equipped with
fast scan amateur television cameras that permit ARES volunteers the
ability to provide actual real time pictures to served agencies from
the air. Amanda Alden, K1DDN, lives in Canyon City, Colorado and is
part of the Ham Nation reporting team:
--
K1DDN: "... They've done some awesome things with amateur TV and using
drones at the same time. Its... Allen Bishop who controls this and he
is one of those up there in Boulder ARES. It has been a pretty neat
introduction to helping them see where damage has been in remote
locations and things like that."
--
The Allen Bishop that Amanda refers to is Boulder County ARES Emergency
Coordinator K0ARK. According to ARRL Colorado Section Manager Jack
Ciaccia, WM0G, Bishop is one of the key people involved in rescue radio
operations and kind of the father of the Mountain Emergency Radio
Network or MERN as described in last weeks newscast. Meantime Ciaccia
says that amateur television played another role early on in this
emergency:
--
WM0G: "We have been broadcasting live ATV pictures of the evacuation
choppers from the National Guard back to the EOC's and we have been
linking that through the Internet all across the country back to FEMA
headquarters in D.C.."
--
While the rains are gone there's still a lot of damage assessment to be
done. And as Jack Ciaccia, WM0G, told us last week, ham radio
volunteers will be there for as long as they are needed.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, in the
newsroom in Los Angeles.
--
More on this story as developments warrant. (ARNewsline(tm), Ham
Nation)
**
RADIO FROM SPACE: SCIENTISTS ADMIT SOLAR CYCLE 24 LOW IS PUZZLING
Predictions that 2013 would see an upsurge in solar activity and
geomagnetic storms have proved to be a false alarm. Instead, the
current peak in solar cycle 24 is among the weakest for a century.
Amateur Radio Newsline's Stephan Kinford, N8WB, takes a look at what
scientists are saying:
--
Subdued solar activity has prompted controversial comparisons with the
Maunder Minimum. The Maunder Minimum, also known as the prolonged
sunspot minimum, is the name used for the period starting in about 1645
and continuing to about 1715 when sunspots became exceedingly rare, as
noted by solar observers of the time. These minimums supposedly
coincided with the coldest period in the last millennium.
But Giuliana DeToma, a solar scientist at the High Altitude Observatory
in Colorado says that the unusually low number of sunspots in recent
years is not an indication that we are going into a Maunder Minimum,
but added that researchers do not know how or why the Maunder Minimum
started. As such, they really cannot predict the next one.
Other solar experts think the downturn is linked a different phenomenon
called the Gleissberg cycle. The Gleissberg cycle, named after
Wolfgang Gleissberg, is thought to be an amplitude modulation of the
11-year Schwabe Cycle which predicts a period of weaker solar activity
every century or so. If that turns out to be true, the sun could remain
unusually quiet through the middle of the 2020s. However, as
scientists still do not fully understand why the Gleissberg cycle takes
place, the evidence is, at best, inconclusive.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Stephan Kinford, N8WB, in
Wadsworth, Ohio.
--
The bottom line appears to be that the sun has gone unusually quiet and
no one really knows why or how long this lull in activity will last.
(Macedoniaonline.eu)
**
BREAKING DX NEWS: VIETNAM COMING TO THE AIR IN OCTOBER
Vietnam will be on the air in a few weeks. This with word that N0ODK
will be operational from Ho Chi Minh City as 3W2DK between October
17th and the 24th. He will then travel to Phu Quoc Island and be
operational from there using the call XV4MN between October 24th
through the 29th. His operations will be on 20, 17, 15 and 10 meters
from both locations. After his Phu Quoc Island operation, he will
return to Ho Chi Minh City and will again be on the air from there
until November 2nd. If you work this rare one, QSL via N0ODK, direct,
by the Bureau or Logbook of the World. And we will have more DX related
news for you later on in this weeks newscast. (OPDX)
**
BREAK 1
Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio
Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including the
Twin City Amateur Radio Club Net serving Champaign Urbana Illinois.
(5 sec pause here)
**
RESCUE RADIO: CONGRESSIONAL LAWMAKERS ASK WHY NAVY YARD RADIO FAILED
DURING SHOOTING
Two California lawmakers are calling on federal regulators to
investigate reports that first responder radios failed during the
recent shooting at Washington's Navy Yard. The newspaper The Hill
reports that Representatives Henry Waxman and Anna Eshoo sent a letter
on Monday, September 23rd to the heads of the Federal Communications
Commission and the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications
and Information Administration, urging them to work with other federal
and local officials to investigate the problems.
In their letter of inquiry, the two lawmakers reportedly stated that it
is imperative that lawmakers understand what happened to these
communications systems and why. They also urged the officials to
ensure that FirstNet, which is a planned nationwide wireless network
for first responders, avoids similar communications breakdowns.
The newspaper had previously reported that some federal firefighters
and police officers were unable to communicate using their radios
during the Navy Yard attack. According to union officials for first
responders some equipment stopped working as officers entered buildings
and at least one officer was forced to rely on his cellphone. There
were also widespread reports of battery problems that prevented the
some of the radios from working. More on this story is on the web at
tinyurl.com/Washington-shooting-radio-fail. (The Hill)
**
RADIO LAW: FCC SAYS NO TO ENCRYPTED HAM RADIO COMMS
Encrypted communications won't be coming to ham radio anytime soon.
This as the FCC dismisses a rule making request from a Massachusetts
ham who had asked the regulatory agency to amend the Part 97 Amateur
Service rules to permit the encryption of certain amateur
communications during emergency operations or related training
exercises.
RM-11699 was filed earlier this year by Don Rolph, AB1PH. In it, he had
asked the regulatory body to add an exception to section 97.113 so as
to permit limited encryption during crisis communications or training
exercises related to readiness for such events. He argued that
communications when participating in emergency services operations or
related training exercises which may involve information covered by
medical privacy requirements or other sensitive data required such
encryption.
However in denying Rolph's rule change request the FCC concluded that
while the proposal could advance one purpose of the Amateur Radio in
its value to the public that it would at the same time undermine other
characteristics and purposes of the service. Therefore the FCC says
that it agrees with those who filed comments opposed the concept of
encryption and turned away the request.
Among those who filed in opposition to RM-11699 was the American Radio
Relay League. As we go to air we have not heard if AB1PH will appeal
the Commissions decision in this matter. (FCC)
**
ENFORCEMENT: ATLANTIC CARE ISSUED $4000 NAL FOR UNAUTHORIZED OPERATION
The FCC has issued a $4000 Notice of Apparent Liability to Atlanticare
Medical Center E-M-S of Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey. This for
operating radio transmitting equipment on 154.4825 MHz from an
unauthorized location in Hammonton, New Jersey.
In its September 23rd release, the FCC said that on October 17, 2012,
the Enforcement Bureau's Philadelphia Office received a complaint of
interference from Sunshine Communications in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, alleging that an unidentified digital transmitter was
causing harmful co-channel interference on 154.4825 MHz. Agents from
the Philadelphia Office monitored radio transmissions immediately after
receiving the complaint. They then T-Hunted it to a mobile relay
station operating from a water tower in Hammonton, New Jersey. The
agents conducted an inspection of the radio transmitting equipment,
which was located inside the Water Tower. With the assistance of a
Town of Hammonton employee, the agents soon confirmed that Atlanticare
was operating a mobile relay station on the frequency 154.4825 MHz from
that location.
After the inspection, the agents searched the Commission's records and
found that Atlanticare holds a license for Private Land Mobile Radio
Station WQME366, but that it did not authorize operation of a mobile
relay station from the water tower.
Now, in issuing its decision, the FCC says that pursuant to the
Commission's Forfeiture Policy Statement and Section 1.80 of the Rules,
the base forfeiture amount for operating on an unauthorized frequency
is $4,000. As such, Atlanticare was given the customary 30 days to pay
the proposed fine or to file an appeal. (FCC)
**
RADIO LAW: FCC ANNOUNCES OCTOBER 3 WEBINAR ON LOW POWER FM RADIO
The Federal Communications Commission has announced that it will hold
its second webinar to answer questions about low power FM or LPFM radio
stations and the process for applying for a new license during the
upcoming October 15th to the October 29th open filing window. The
webinar will be held Thursday, October 3rd, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Eastern Time and will be broadcast live over the Internet at
www.fcc.gov/live.
The session primarily will be a question and answer period where
potential applicants can ask Media Bureau staff their specific
questions on areas such as using the LPFM Channel Finder, filling out
the application and any other issues related to the LPFM filing window.
Participants will be able to submit questions by e-mail during the
webinar to or by Twitter using the hashtag,
#LPFMquestions. The Bureau says that it will respond to as many
questions as possible during the session. Open captioning will be
provided.
The FCC says that it created the Low Power FM broadcast service in 2000
to create opportunities for new voices to be heard on the radio
airwaves. (FCC)
**
RADIO BUSINESS: YAESU INTRODUCES SYSTEM FUSION DIGITAL AUDIO AT DCC
Yaesu used the occasion of the recent ARRL and TAPR Digital
Communications Conference held in Seattle, Washington to introduce the
latest links in its chain of new products aimed at the VHF and UHF
digital voice market. Called System Fusion, the new product line uses
the previously introduced C4FM / FDMA mode introduced in the company's
FT 1DR Handheld and FTM 400DR mobile digital and analog dual band
transceivers coupled with its soon to be released DR-1 dual mode
repeater. It will also have an optional interconnect to the Internet
using a stand alone HRI-200 Wires X interface unit.
Yaesu's System Fusion repeater differs in one important way from most
previous entries into the ham radio digital marketplace as it retains
traditional FM interoperability along with C4FM / FDMA digital voice
operation. This according to Yaesu means that both analog and digital
users can share one repeater and communicate with each other.
The presentation of the new System Fusion was made by Dennis
Motschenbacher, K7BV, who is Yaesu's Executive Vice President Amateur
Radio Sales. It was video recorded by Gary Pearce, KN4AQ, of Ham Radio
Now dot TV. You can see it on line at
tinyurl.com/yaesu-digital-audio-dcc. Theres also a new remailer set up
to comment on this new digital voice system. Its at
groups.yahoo.com/group/YaesuSystemFusion and YaesuSystemFusion is
spelled as one word. (Yaesu, HamRadioNow, ARNewsline)
**
NAMES IN THE NEWS: W6OBB TALKS ABOUT HIS SIRIUS XM RADIO SHOW
Some names in the news. First up is radio talk show host Art Bell,
W6OBB, who appears in a recently posted video where he discusses his
new Sirius XM show Dark Matter with Las Vegas journalist George Knapp.
In the interview, which was recorded before the premiere of Dark
Matter, W6OBB, explains that it simply the right time to come back.
Bell notes that many questions that he first brought to radio more than
a decade ago are still out there. Also, that they more important now
to many people then when he was doing the original Coast to Coast AM
show on terrestrial radio.
Art Bell's Dark Matter premiered on Monday, September 16, on Sirius XM
channel 104. It airs live Monday through Thursday from 10:00 pm to
1:00 am Eastern Time. We are sorry we can't bring you any sound bites
from the interview as it is copyrighted material, but you can see it on
the web at tinyurl.com/art-bell-video. (Southgate, YouTube)
**
NAMES IN THE NEWS: COSMONAUT LEAVES SPACE PROGRAM FOR JOB IN GAS
INDUSTRY
Space travel seems to have lost its magic for at least one person. This
after a Russian cosmonaut Colonel Yury Lonchakov, RA3DT, quit as a
commander on a future mission to become a gas industry worker.
The Mail Online newspaper reports Lonchakov opted out of the Russian
space program for a what the newspaper called a more interesting job
and forgoing his chance to lead a flight to the International Space
Station.
Why leave what's definitely one of the most interesting jobs a person
could ever get? The Mail says that as a gas company worker he is
expected to make two to three times the salary as that of a Cosmonaut.
It adds that quitting the space industry was his personal decision. He
thought he did enough for space program and got an offer he could not
turn down. (WIA News, MailOnLine)
**
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)
**
RADIO IN SPACE: VOYAGER 1 ENTERS INTERSTELLAR SPACE
NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft is now officially the first man made object
to venture into interstellar space. Amateur Radio Newsline's Heather
Embee, KB3TZD, reports:
--
New data indicates that the Voyager 1 spacecraft has been traveling for
about one year through plasma, or ionized gas, present in the space
between stars. The 36-year-old Voyager is about 19 billion kilometers
from our sun in a transitional region immediately outside the solar
bubble, where some effects from our home star are still evident.
Voyager 1 first detected the increased pressure of interstellar space
on the heliosphere in 2004. That's bubble of charged particles
surrounding the sun that reaches far beyond the outer planets. It was
at that point in time that scientists then ramped up their search for
evidence of the spacecraft's interstellar arrival, knowing the data
analysis and interpretation could take months or years.
Voyager 1 does not have a working direct plasma sensor, but does carry
a plasma wave instrument. As luck would have it, a massive burst of
solar wind and magnetic fields that erupted from the sun in March 2012
provided scientists the data they needed. When this energy from the
sun eventually arrived at Voyager 1's location on April 9th of this
year the plasma around the spacecraft began to vibrate causing the
plasma wave instrument to detect the movement. The pitch of the
oscillations helped scientists determine the density of the plasma. The
particular type of oscillations meant the spacecraft was bathed in
plasma more than 40 times denser than what they had encountered in the
outer layer of the heliosphere. This was to be expected and was the
confirmation astronomers needed to prove that Voyager 1 had entered
into interstellar space.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Heather Embee, KB3TZD, in Berwick,
Pennsylvania.
--
Voyager 1 and its twin, Voyager 2, were launched 16 days apart in 1977.
Mission controllers still talk to or receive transmissions from the
twin Voyager probes daily though the signals are currently very faint.
Data from Voyager's instruments is transmitted to Earth typically at
160 bits per second, and captured by NASA's Deep Space Network
receiving stations. Traveling at the speed of light, a signal from
Voyager 1 takes about 17 hours to travel to Earth. (Space and Science)
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE : DIGITAL ATV FROM ISS COMMISSIONING TO BEGIN
According to a note from ARISS Europe chairman Gaston Bertels, ON4WF,
the new Digital ATV transmitter on board the International Space
Station, will soon be installed in the Columbus module and
commissioned. This will be done in several steps, each during a full
pass of the ISS over the Matera ground station. It is not yet known if
these passes will be chosen in close succession, or if they will cover
several weeks.
ARISS has proposed to the European Space Agency to operate so called
"blank" transmissions during the commissioning period. If this is
accepted, it means that Ham Video will transmit permanently without
camera. The camera will not be used because it is fed on batteries and
servicing it would require a prohibitive amount of crew time.
Transmitting recordings is part of a future project, but not available
presently.
Although ground stations will receive a black image without audio,
these so called blank transmissions will contain all information needed
for the setting up and the fine tuning of the station. Collected data
will be used for a performance study of the ARISS L/S-band antennas as
well as for an evaluation of the global system. (ARISS Europe)
**
HAM RADIO TO SPACE: SAY HELLO TO JUNO ON OCTOBER 9
NASA has invited hams around the world to say hello to its Juno
spacecraft as it passes close to Earth on October 9th. The experiment
will utilize the amateur 10 meter band using CW and you will need to
know basic Morse to send the two letters HI. More information on how
to take part is on the web at www.jpl.nasa.gov/hijuno (NASA)
**
ON THE AIR: AZ QSO PARTY OCTOBER 12 - 13
The 2013 Arizona QSO Party, sponsored by the ARRL Arizona Section and
Catalina Radio Club, takes place from 1600 UTC on October 12th and runs
through 0600 UTC on October 13th. It then continues at 1400 UTC on the
13th and finally concluding at 23:59 UTC on that same date. Modes will
be phone, CW and Digital on 160, 80, 40, 20, 15 10, 6 and 2 meters.
More information can be had for an e-mail sent to info (at) azqsoparty
(dot) org (AZ QSO PARTY)
**
RADIO EDUCATION WWROF TO HOST WEBINAR ON NEW CQ WW CONTEST RULES
The World Wide Radio Operators Foundation has announced plans to host a
webinar to review the updated rules for the CQ World Wide DX Contest.
The cyberspace event will take place at 1900 UTC on Sunday, October 6th
and will be hosted by CQ World Wide DX Contest Director Randy Thompson,
K5ZD. According to a news release, Thompson will also take questions
following the presentation.
The CQ World Wide DX Phone Contest takes place on October 26th and 27th
while its CW counterpart is slated for November 23rd and the 24th.
Pre-registration for the October 6th webinar is required and can be
done on-line at tinyurl.com/cq-ww-contest-webinar. (WWROF, DX
remailer, others)
**
DX
In DX, JF2WGN will be active as AH2EA from Guam between October 17th
and the 21st. His operation will be on the HF bands. QSL via the
bureau to his home callsign only. If you want a QSL direct do not send
your card until after January 2014.
JF1CCH and JA1FUF will be on the air from West Kiribati between
November 28th and December 4th. Activity will be on the HF bands using
CW, SSB, RTTY and PSK. Their callsigns and QSL info will be announced
shortly.
Lastly, HL05GDB will be active from South Korea around until November
3rd. Listen out for him on 80 through 6m using all modes and QSL via
HL4CEL.
(Above from various DX news sources)
**
THAT FINAL ITEM: THE AGE OF DIGITAL DETOX
And finally, if you have been spending far to much time in front of
your computer screen, then a Pennsylvania hospital may be able to help
you. This as it becomes the first to offer an inpatient detox program
for those addicted to the internet. No we are not kidding as we hear
from Amateur Radio Newsline's Cheryl Lasek, K9BIK:
--
Bradford Regional Medical Center in Bradford, Pennsylvania will soon
have a program available to assist those whose lives have spiraled out
of control because of their addiction to the World Wide Web. The
program will offer a voluntary, 10-day in-patient treatment program
that was created by experts in other, more traditional addictions like
alcohol or drugs.
In the hospital wing already occupied by patients with addictions of
other sorts, groups of four internet addicts will take classes and take
part in the sort of group therapy traditionally reserved for chemical
and other dependencies. This program can also intervene with
medication, if needed, to treat withdrawal symptoms and diagnose and
treat the underlying issues that often accompany the web addiction
problem.
Only one catch. The price tag of the program could be prohibitive
enough to keep all but the most desperate of internet addicts away. A
stay for this digital detox facility will cost around $14,000 and
currently no insurance program will cover it. So if you are a ham who
may be addicted to web based contacts or just surfing the web night and
day, it may pay to simply try limiting your time on the Internet and
spending most of it using RF to make contacts on the air.
But before you do anything be sure to consult your physician for
advice. That's because none of us are doctors nor do we play one on
TV.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Cheryl Lasek, K9BIK, in Zion,
Illinois.
--
The United States is not the only place where digital detox will be
taking place. According to a report in The Japan Times, that nations
Education Ministry plans to set up the camps next year, offering
addicted students a chance to unplug from their computers and
smartphones, enjoy some time in the real world, and face their web
based addiction head-on with tablet-free counseling sessions and
lectures. (London Daily Mail, CTV News, other published reports.)
**
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
www.arnewsline.org. You can also write to us or support us at Amateur
Radio Newsline(tm), 28197 Robin Avenue, Santa Clarita California, 91350
For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors' desk, I'm David
Black, KB4KCH, saying 73 and we thank you for listening.
Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2013. All rights reserved.