Amateur Radio Newsline(TM) Report 1912 - April 4, 2014
Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1912 with a release date of April
4 2014 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a QST. Ham radio responds after an earthquake hits
northern Chile; The ARRL tells the FCC that its time to step up amateur
radio rules enforcement; a House of Representatives committee issues a
white paper on certain aspects of the Communications Act; WRTC 2014
receives an assist in the form of a Colvin grant; the FCC tells
Congress that it needs a computer system upgrade and Amateur Radio
Newsline opens its Young Ham of the Year Award program for 2014. Find
out the details are on Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1912 coming
your way right now.
(Billboard Cart Here)
**
RESCUE RADIO: HAM RADIO RESPONDS TO CHILI EARTHQUAKE
Amateur radio has responded after a major 8.2 magnitude earthquake of
struck off the coast of northern Chile on Tuesday, April 1st. We have
more in this report:
--
According to news reports, the quake caused at least 5
deaths and triggered a Tsunami that pounded Chili's shore
with 2-meter-tall waves. Officials said that most of the
dead were people who were crushed by collapsing walls. The
Chilean government evacuated that nation's northern coast
and President Michelle Bachelet declared the area a disaster
zone.
The Radio Club de Chile has been activated due to
earthquake. It is working in collaboration with Chili's
National Emergency Office of the Ministry of Interior and
Public Security. According to a posting on Facebook,
Chilean hams have established several emergency assistance
as well as health and welfare nets. As we go to air, these
nets are operating on 7.055, 14.255, and 21.315 MHz
depending on propagation and time of day. The net controls
are asking other radio amateurs to please keep these
frequencies clear until further notice.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Heather Embee, KB3TZD,
in Berwick, Pennsylvania.
--
More on this story as information becomes available.
**
ENFORCEMENT: ARRL TELLS FCC MORE VISIBLE ENFORCEMENT NEEDED
The ARRL has told the FCC that renewed and more visible
enforcement is needed to curtail violations of the Amateur
Radio Service Part 97. Amateur Newsline's Bill Pasternak,
WA6ITF, is in the newsroom with the details:
--
In comments filed in response to the FCC's February
14th Report on Process Reform in G N Docket 14-25, the ARRL
has called for a more visible, responsive Amateur Radio
enforcement program.
According to the ARRL, the visibility of the Commission's
enforcement program for the Amateur Service is wholly
inadequate, resulting in a widespread, albeit inaccurate,
public perception that there is no active enforcement in our
service. The ARRL said that deterrence based on visibility
is a critical component of a successful compliance campaign.
The ARRL asserted that most successful and visible period of
Amateur Radio enforcement in recent years was between 1997
and 2008. Compliance during that period, the League said,
was a result of the visibility in the Amateur Radio
community of a single member of the Commission's Enforcement
Bureau staff at Amateur Radio events and of keeping the
Amateur Radio media fully informed on what was being done to
resolve a particular enforcement issue.
The League went on to note that FCC imposed constraints in
more recent years have had a devastating effect on the
entire philosophy of the program and its success. Among
other factors, the ARRL pointed to the "extensive approvals"
required before the release of enforcement correspondence.
Enforcement actions that are taken, the League continued,
are not released to the Amateur Radio media. This deprives
radio amateurs of the knowledge that the Commission is
indeed investigating and responding to a given enforcement
problem. The result is the perception that nothing is being
done in a given case, and frustration builds rapidly among
the radio amateurs who have to endure the rule violator on
an ongoing basis.
The ARRL stressed that the limitations imposed on the
visibility of enforcement actions in recent years have
significantly reduced the effectiveness of the program and
directly resulted in notable and unacceptable increases in
rule violations, most especially malicious interference.
The ARRL says that it believes that Enforcement Bureau
personnel responsible for Amateur Radio enforcement should
be empowered with greater autonomy in addressing problems as
they arise. The League also said it was concerned that FCC
policies for adjudicating certain complaints of interference
to radio amateurs, especially those involving electric
utilities, provide no incentive for the utilities to resolve
them.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF,
in the newsroom in Los Angeles.
--
In its closing comments, the ARRL said that it was not being
critical of any individual FCC staffers or managers.
Rather, the League's remarks are directed at the
Commission's policies and processes and address issues that
result, in large part, from the unenviable necessity of
allocating scarce and in some cases inadequate human
resources available to the regulatory agency. There's lots
more to this story and you can find it on the web at
tinyurl.com/arrl-on-enforcement (ARRL)
**
RADIO LAW: HOUSE COMMITTEE ISSUES WHITE PAPER ON
COMMUNICATIONS ACT
Should the FCC be able to classify the funds it can get for
a license as a public interest benefit? That is one of the
questions raised in the latest white paper from the House
Energy and Commerce Committee released on Tuesday, April
1st.
The white paper points out that in order to issue spectrum
licenses, the Communications Act requires the FCC to make an
affirmative finding that granting the license serves the
public interest, convenience, and necessity. Moreover, the
Communications Act prohibits the FCC from basing its finding
on the expectation of auction revenues. As such one of the
key questions is whether or not the Communications Act
should be changed to permit the FCC to use expected auction
revenue as the basis for a public interest finding.
Other questions the paper asks include what structural
changes might be necessary, the appropriate role of
unlicensed spectrum, how to give the government added
incentive to be more efficient spectrum users, and whether
all FCC licenses should show more flexibility in regard to
broadcasters.
This is the second in a series of communications white
papers that are a part of its effort by the House Energy and
Commerce Committee to gather input on an overall revamp of
communications laws. The committee says that it wants
responses by April 25th as a part of planning for a year
long look at communications policy. This with an eye toward
tackling a Communications Act rewrite next year. (B&C)
**
PROPAGATION: X-1 SOLAR FLARE BRIEFLY INTERRUPTS CQ WW SSB
CONTEST
Our home star the sun unleashed a major solar flare on
Saturday, March 29th causing a radio blackout for several
minutes on Earth in the midst of the CQ World Wide SSB
Contest. One operator here in the Los Angeles area was
heard to comment that it was almost as if 20 meters folded
up and went away on a vacation.
The brief X1-class flare erupted from the now decaying
sunspot A R 2017 at 17:48 GMT according to a report from the
Space Weather Prediction Center. The Center noted that even
though this sunspot is dissipating that it still holds the
potential to produce more solar flares before it's gone.
The radio blackout here on Earth lasted less than an hour
before propagation began to normalize. (Space Weather
Prediction Center, NASA)
**
WORLDBEAT: MORE DETAILS ON GAREC 14 ANNOUNCED
Further details of the upcoming Global Amateur Radio
Emergency Communications or GAREC Conference in August have
been announced. Amateur Radio Newsline's Stephan Kinford,
N8WB, reports:
--
GAREC-14 will be held in Huntsville, Alabama on August 14th
and 15th which precedes the Huntsville Hamfest by two days.
The focus for the 2014 gathering will be on the application
of advanced technologies available in emergency
communications.
According to Jim Linton, VK3PC, the actual agenda to be
finalized shortly will include reports by IARU regions.
Also information will be presented by those involve in
recent emergency communications work and the technology that
can be used to assist responders in crisis situations.
This is the second time Huntsville has hosted a Global
Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Conference. The last
instance was back in 2007.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Stephen Kinford, N8WB,
reporting
--
More information can be found on the GAREC 14 website at
w4ozk.com/GAREC14.htm
(VK3PC)
**
BREAK 1
Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur
Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world
including the WR6ABD on Mt. Loma Prieta and serving San
Jose, California.
(5 sec pause here)
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: LITHUANIA PRESIDENT'S GREETINGS MESSAGE
SENT FROM SPACE
A greetings message from the President of the Republic of
Lithuania Dalia Grybauskait‰ has been sent from the amateur
radio satellite LituanicaSAT-1. Her words "Greetings to all
Lithuanians around the world" were recorded on a memory chip
in the satellite and the message was successfully
transmitted back from space on March 22, 2014 at 4:17 UTC.
LituanicaSAT-1 was launched to the International Space
Station on January 9th and was deployed with other amateur
radio satellites on February 28th. President Grybauskait‰
is believed to be the first President of any nation to have
a greetings message sent back from space since President
Eisenhower did so back in 1958. (Press Release)
**
RASDIOSPORTS: WORLD RADIOSPORT TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP RECEIVES
COLVIN GRANT
WRTC 2014, Inc., the host of the 2014 World Radiosport Team
Championship competition has received a significant
financial contribution in the form of a Colvin Award Grant.
The Colvin Award is managed by ARRL and funded by an
endowment established by the late Lloyd D. Colvin, W6KG. The
award is conferred in the form of grants in support of
Amateur Radio projects that promote international goodwill
in the field of DX.
Doug Grant, K1DG, is the Chairman of WRTC 2014. He says
that the organization is honored to receive this prestigious
award. Grant added that more than just a radio competition,
the World Radiosport Team Championship is a place where
competitors from around the world can create or renew
lasting friendships.
Fifty-nine teams of top amateur radio contest operators from
more than 40 countries will travel to the New England area
July 10 to the 14 to compete in WRTC2014. (OPDX)
**
RESCUE RADIO: FCC MIGHT REQUIRE SPANISH VERSION OF
BROADCAST WEATHER ALERTS
The FCC is again considering whether to require that
broadcasts of emergency announcements be provided in
multiple languages, primarily Spanish. This in addition to
the current English only alerting system. Amateur Radio
Newsline's Norm Seeley, KI7UP, gives us the background:
--
On Thursday, March 25th the Federal Communications
Commission said it is reconsidering a rule that would
provide Spanish broadcasts of emergency alerts and other
important announcements. Such a rule was originally
recommended in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Back
then, groups including the Minority Media and
Telecommunications Council petitioned the FCC to require
broadcasters to notify Spanish listeners in the event of an
emergency.
In deciding to re-open the procedure for additional public
comment, the regulatory agency said that such a rule would
require certain stations to air all presidential messages in
both English and Spanish. To a lesser extent, emergency
broadcasts in certain areas may also be aired in other
languages, such as French or Mandarin.
The Minority Media and Telecommunications Council filed its
petition on September 22, 2005, in response to its perceived
deficiencies in distributing multilingual emergency
information in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Spanish
is the primary language for more than 38 million people
living in America, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, but
many Spanish speakers do not understand English, so the FCC
wants to ensure that they can be reached by emergency
broadcast.
The petition called for state and local governments to
designate a local primary Spanish channel for emergencies.
It also called for state governments to establish a local
primary multilingual station in local areas where a
substantial proportion of the population has its primary
fluency in a language other than English or Spanish. At
least one broadcaster in every market would be required to
monitor and rebroadcast emergency information aired by the
local primary Spanish stations.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Norm Seeley, KI7UP, in
Scottsdale, Arizona.
--
Whether or not the FCC will proceed with this into a formal
Rule Making procedure is not known at this time. (The Hill)
**
RESCUE RADIO: HAMS RESPOND TO WASHINGTON STATE LANDSLIDE
Amateur Radio volunteers were called out in Snohomish
County, Washington, to assist in operating the Emergency
Operations Center and to support communication with American
Red Cross shelters set up in the wake of the tragic
landslide on March 22nd near the town of Oso. The slide
swept a massive avalanche of trees, wet soil, rocks, and
debris across the rural Northwest Washington community along
State Route 530.
The County's Auxiliary Communications Service Radio Officer
Scott Honaker, N7SS. He told the ARRL that his organization
has been active but at a fairly low level. Honaker said the
slide damaged some of the communication infrastructure, with
fire and law enforcement personnel using cell phones to keep
in touch while Search and Rescue units along with air
operations utilized VHF radio.
Honaker said that the ham radio Auxiliary Communications
Service volunteers were coordinating their activities on the
Granite Falls 146.92 MHz repeater and using cell phones.
Also that the Emergency Services Coordinating Agency was
active staffing the Red Cross shelters, using their 442.200
UHF repeater near Arlington for purposes of organization and
management.
As this report is prepared at least 21 are confirmed dead
with another 30 still missing. (ARRL)
**
RADIO LAW: CHAIRMAN WHEELER SAYS FCC'S AGING TECHNOLOGY
LEAVES IT VULNERABLE TO CYBER ATTACKS.
The Federal Communications Commission says that its
Information Technology equipment is so deficient that its
leader has gone to Congress pleading for an upgrade. At
recent hearings before the House and Senate Appropriations
subcommittees that handle his agency's budget, FCC Chairman
Tom Wheeler said that the FCC needs $13.5 million to upgrade
what he termed as its antiquated technology.
According to Wheeler, the agency has more than 200 different
computer systems and 40 percent of its technology is at
least 10 years old. He says that money not spent on
upgrades next year will be spent within two years on what he
terms as expensive maintenance.
But more importantly Wheeler told the committee that
vulnerability to cyber attacks is a top concern. He noted
that many of the FCC's computers still use Windows XP which
is the 13-year-old operating system that Microsoft is ending
support for on April 8th.
Improving the agency's efficiency and accountability is a
high priority for Congress and the new chairman. Without
new Information Technology in place it difficult to achieve
those goals.
(nationaljournal.com, other published news reports)
**
NAMES IN THE NEWS: CLEAR CHANNEL COMMUNICATIOS INTRODUCE
RADIO ENGINEERING MENTORING PROGRAM
Some names in the news. First up is Clear Channel Media and
Entertainment which has announced its intention to mentor a
new generation of radio station engineers.
Jeff Littlejohn is Clear Channel Executive Vice President of
Engineering and Systems Integration. He says the company is
making a strategic investment in the future of broadcast
engineering. Littlejohn says that the company hopes to
attract and expose new talent to the ever-changing world of
radio while also fostering the growth and development of our
existing employees.
Clear Channel says the new mentoring program was created in
response to a decline in the number of engineers choosing to
go into radio broadcasting, coupled with a spike in those
retiring or close to leaving the industry. This new program
is in addition to an electrical engineering co-op program
the company created three years ago. Currently the
broadcaster has more than 400 engineers. (RW)
**
NAMES IN THE NEWS: KATIE ALLEN, WY7KRA, NAMED CQ SALES &
MARKETING MANAGER
Katie Allen, WY7KRA, has been appointed Sales and Marketing
Manager for CQ Communications, Inc., effective immediately.
An active DXer and contester who recently earned her Extra
Class license, Katie Allen entered the world of amateur
radio as the ARRL's Membership Manager in the early 2000s,
earning her first ham license under the guidance of other
League staff members. She then sparked an effort to
revitalize the ARRL staff radio club and station, W1HQ, both
of which had fallen into inactivity. She also helped move
ham radio into the world of multimedia by producing and
posting various operating videos on You Tube.
Katie Allen lives in Sundance, Wyoming with her husband,
Dwayne, WY7FD. In her new job she will be responsible for
advertising sales for CQ Amateur Radio magazine including
the CQ Plus digital supplement as well as marketing efforts
for all CQ Communications products. (CQ)
**
HAM HAPPENINGS: NAB HAM RADIO RECEPTION APRIL 9 IN LAS VEGAS
If you are a ham who will be attending the National
Association Broadcasters gathering in Las Vegas, you are
invited to attend the free annual Ham Radio Reception on
Wednesday evening April 9th. This years gathering will be
co-hosted by Heil Sound, Broadcast Supply Worldwide and DX
Engineering. The location will be Ballroom B in the
original Las Vegas Hilton Hotel at 6 P.M. Pacific Daylight
Savings Time. Bob Heil, K9EID, says that he hopes to see
many of you there.
(Heil Sound)
**
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)
**
CHANGING OF THE GUARD: AMSAT VP-ENGINEERING ANHONY MONTIERO
AA2TX - S.K.
Some sad news to report. This with word that AMSAT Vice
President of Engineering Anthony J. Monteiro, AA2TX, died
from cancer on Wednesday morning, March 26th at age 55.
Monteiro was first licensed in 1973 as a Novice and
subsequently went on to achieve his Extra Class Amateur
Radio License. His interest in amateur radio and
electronics led him to earn a Bachelor of Science in
Electrical Engineering from Drexel University and a Masters
in Computer Science from Stanford University.
Monteiro joined AMSAT in 1994. Among his many technical
contributions to the amateur satellite community was the
Instant Tune Automatic Radio Tuning software, A Simple
Desense Filter for Echo and several other extremely low cost
projects.
Monteiro also played a significant role in space-based
hardware development. As AMSAT's Vice President of
Engineering, he served as the software designer for the
Software Defined Transponder on ARISSat-1 that was deployed
from the International Space Station by in August 2011. He
also led the Fox-1 Engineering Team from its inception in
2009 and pioneered AMSAT's efforts to apply for acceptance
of Fox-1 in the NASA Education Launch of NanoSats in 2011
and Fox-1B in 2012. He also established relationships with
several universities to secure scientific payloads for Fox-1
and Fox-1B, including student experiments.
Anthony Monteiro, AA2TX, is survived by his wife, Mary Lou
and daughter, Veronica, who is a college freshman. In lieu
of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Radio
Amateur Satellite Corporation, 850 Sligo Avenue, Suite 600,
Silver Spring, MD 20910.
(AMSAT)
**
SWL CORNER: VOICE OF RUSSIA BIDS FAREWELL TO SHORTWAVE
The shortwave broadcast bands are a bit thinner after the
Voice of Russia bid farewell to the airwaves at midnight on
April 1st local Moscow time.
Earlier reports published in 2013 claimed that Voice of
Russia, formerly known as Radio Moscow, was to cease its
shortwave service as of January 1st of this year due to
budget cuts mandated by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Last December 9th Putin signed a decree stating that the
Voice of Russia as an independent agency officially ceased
to exist and was to be merged with several other news
agencies as part of the state run Rossia Segodnya
international news service
As of this past February 3rd, the Voice of Russia had cut
its shortwave broadcast schedule back to only 18 hours a day
in English, Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese. It had also
shaved its digital shortwave schedule to 22 hours a day in
English, Spanish, German, French, Hindi, Urdu, and Russian.
Margarita Simonyan is the editor-in-chief of both
the English language television news network R-T and Rossiya
Segodnya. She has been quoted as saying that Voice of
Russia will end its shortwave broadcasting effective the
first day of April. She added that one reason for the
secession from shortwave was that it was an obsolete
broadcasting model where the signal is transmitted without
any control and that it is impossible to calculate who
listens to it and where.
( SWLing.com, BBC, other published news sources)
**
WORLDBEAT: MOTORTBO DMR REPLACES D-STAR REPEATER IN
SCOTLAND
A MotoTRBO digital voice repeater has taken the place of a D-
STAR system that was under-utilized in Scotland. On March
4th the GB7DD D-STAR repeater in Dundee was shut down due to
lack of use. It was replaced by a Motorola MotoTRBO DMR
digital voice repeater, provided by Martin Higgens, MM0DUN.
According to the Radio Society of Great Britain, the GB7DD
is the first DMR repeater on the air in Scotland and is a
UHF system on 439.6625MHz with a -9 MHz split.
(RSGB)
**
WORLDBEAT: SNAKES AND LADDERS - A MORSE RADIO GAME
The European CW Association has introduced a new on-the-air
Morse based game called Snakes and Ladders. The game is
designed to promote increased activity on all amateur bands
by encouraging friendly contacts. As such it is not a
contest but rather a way of making the hobby more fun.
Full rules are available in English from the Snakes and
Ladders web page at www.eucw.org
(EUCW)
**
RADIO FROM SPACE: NASA RELEASES LRO LUNER POLAR REGION
MOSAIC
Scientists have created the largest high resolution mosaic
of the moon's North Polar region amassed to date. According
to NASA the photo comprised of 10,581 pictures that have
been radioed back to Earth as part of the Lunar
Reconnaissance Orbiter project.
NASA says that a complete printout at 300 dots per inch
would require a square sheet of paper wider than a
professional U.S. football field and almost as long. It
also notes that if the complete mosaic were processed as a
single file, it would require approximately 3.3 terabytes of
storage space.
Instead, the compilation was divided into millions of small,
compressed files, making it manageable for users to look at
and navigate using a web browser. The interactive
display also allows viewers to zoom in and out and pan
around an area.
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter entered the moons orbit in
June 2009. (NASA)
**
ON THE AIR: AUSTRIA NEW SPECIAL CALLSIGNS
The Vienna International Amateur Radio Club has announced
that it will operate stations under the newly released
callsigns of C7A and 4Y1A as a host organization. The club
already operates a United Nations amateur radio station with
the callsign 4U1VIC at Vienna International Centre. The new
C7A and 4Y1A callsigns will be activated on special
occasions related to the organizations or as commemorative
operations.
For recognition purposes, the callsign block of C7A to C7Z
has been allocated to the World Meteorological Organization
while 4YA to 4YZ is assigned to the International Civil
Aviation Organization. However both of these callsign
blocks will only count as Austria for DXCC purposes.
(OPDX)
**
In DX, GM4YXI and GM3WOJ will be operational as A35X and
A35V, respectively, from Tongatapu Island , Tonga through
April 18th. Activity will be on 160 to 10 meters using CW
and SSB, with some RTTY. QSL both A35V and A35X via N3SL.
Bill Moore, NC1L, who is the ARRL Awards Branch Manager says
that the recently completed 3C0BYP operation from Annobon
has been approved for DXCC credit. That DXpedition ran from
February 26th through March 6th.
VE3KTB has been active stroke VY0 from Ellesmere
Island since March 25th. The length of his stay is unknown.
But he is mainly operating on 20 meters. QSL via his home
callsign.
Lastly, JA1SVP and JR1GSE will be on the from Palau as T88FA
and T88TH respectively between May 16th to the 19th. Bands
and modes were not announced. QSL each operator via their
home callsign.
**
YHOTY: NOMINATIONS SOUGHT FOR 2014 AMATEUR RADIO NEWSLINE
YOUNG HAM OF THE YEAR
And finally this week, the nominating season for the 2014
Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year Award is now
open.
Created in 1986, this award is offered to recognize the
achievements of a radio amateur age 19 or younger for his or
her accomplishments in service to the nation, his or her
community or to the advancement of the state of the art
through amateur radio.
Nominees must reside in any one of the United States 50
states, its possessions or in any of the 10 Canadian
provinces. Complete details, rules and a required
nominating form in Microsoft Word format are available on
our website at www.arnewsline.org/yhoty. Nominating forms
can also be obtained by sending a self addressed stamped
envelope to Amateur Radio Newsline Inc., Young Ham of the
Year Award, 28197 Robin Avenue, Santa Clarita California,
91350.
Please note that all nominating forms and support
documentation become the property of the Amateur Radio
Newsline and cannot be returned. The cutoff date for
nominations to be postmarked or electronically filed is
Midnight on May 30, 2014.
**
NEWSCAST CLOSE
With thanks to Alan Labs, AMSAT, the ARRL, CQ Magazine, the
FCC, the Ohio Penn DX Bulletin, Radio Netherlands, Rain, the
RSGB, the South African Radio League, the Southgate News,
TwiT-TV, Australia's WIA News and you our listeners, that's
all from the Amateur Radio Newsline. Our e-mail address is
newsline (at) arnewsline (dot) org. More information is
available at Amateur Radio Newsline's only official website
located at www.arnewsline.org. You can also write to us or
support us at Amateur Radio Newsline, 28197 Robin Avenue,
Santa Clarita California, 91350.
For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors' desk,
I'm Hal Rogers, K8CMD, saying 73 and we thank you for
listening.
Amateur Radio Newsline(TM) is Copyright 2014. All rights
reserved.