Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1390 * April 2, 2004


Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1390 with a release date of
Friday, April 2nd, 2004 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a Q-S-T. Ham radio helps with a rescue at sea, the
Federal Emergency Management Agency clarifies its position on
Broadband Over Powerlines as B-P-L technology brings lots of radio
noise Manassas, Virginia. Hear it for yourself on Amateur Radio
Newsline report number 1390 coming your way right now.



(Billboard Cart Here)

**


RESCUE RADIO: VK HAM BRINGS BOAT TO PORT SAFELY - BY RADIO


A pair of Australian and American hams are credited with being a
lifeline to a storm damaged boat with six people on board. The
Australian was at his home QTHand the American was at sea on the
stricken ship. Q-News Robert Broomhead, VK3KRB, in Waverly,
Australia picks up the story from he


--


Bernie VK2ABN on March 4 was in QSO with VK2ABT/VK3ACA and heard a
weak and distorted signal, KA7MWL Shawn, who was aboard a Ukrainian
registered schooner sailing from Wellington NZ to Sydney Aust.,
sails had blown out and they were making slow progress just on 4
knots.


At that speed they had calculated that they would run out of fuel
before reaching port. Bernie VK2ABN ascertained 6 people were on
board, BUT NO EPIRB! All this information was relayed to Sea Safety
Canberra.


With the schooners satellite communication system also out of action,
the Ham aboard, Shawn KA7MWL operating around 5 watts on 7070 Khz was
the only contact.


Sea Safety Canberra QSY'd from 8176 kHz to the 40 meter band but as
their transmitter was in Charleville, SW Queensland, no contact
could be established.

Bernie arranged a for sked in 24 hours time, this time things a lot
better, radio and safety wise, the schooner expected in Sydney ahead
of previously estimated time.


As Bernie said: "I hadn't realised you can now call MAYDAY on the
various DISTRESS frequencies but nobody is listening any more. Since
the advent of GMDSS a computer scans the frequencies looking for
encoded tones. If it finds one it attracts human intervention."


VK2ABN Bernie says " It was a bit like the Tony Hancock Radio Ham
Sketch in retrospect, anyway that's what his wife thought and our
telephone sure ran hot for a couple days!"


--


According to Q-News, the Sydney Australia Water Police stayed in
contact with VK2ABN to keep abreast of the situation. With no High
Frequency facilities that could hear the stricken craft, they were
totally reliant on ham radio. (Q-News)


**


THE BPL FIGHT: CLARIFYING FEMA'S CLARIFICATION ON BPL


The debate surrounding Broadband Over Powerline Internet access has
taken a new twist. Opponents are now raising fears about the contents
of a letter recently released in the FCC's BPL public comment files.
It was sent by the Federal Emergency Management Agency's top
administrator to FCC Chairman, Michael Powell. Opponents say the
letter clearly shows FEMA is now reversing course on its vehement
opposition to nationwide BPL deployment. Amateur Radio Newsline's
Mark Abramowicz NT3V has the very latest


--


The letter was written by Michael Brown, Undersecretary of Emergency
Preparedness and Response in the Department of Homeland Security.
That's where the Federal Emergency Management Agency was placed in
President Bush's restructuring of agencies related to the security of
the United States.



Brown's letter to Powell actually was briefly mentioned in February
articles on the FCC's BPL action that were written for two nationally-
circulated computer magazines. But it apparently got little notice
and its contents were not fully detailed.



Now that the letter is part of the FCC BPL file, its contents are in
the public arena.



Brown tells Powell in the letter dated January 8 that FEMA wants to
clarify its December filing so it is "not misunderstood or
misconstrued."



Brown goes on to say FEMA is aware that some of what he
labels "distinct approaches" to BPL may cause interference to FEMA's
H-F emergency communications network.



But then, and this is the section that has BPL opponents worried,
Brown writes: "However, we continue to study the BPL proceeding and
have not concluded there is a material interference problem or that
all of the distinct technological approaches to BPL pose risk of
interference."



Compare that to the language in FEMA's December 2003 filing on BPL
with the commission prepared by Barry West, FEMA's chief information
officer.



West writes: "FEMA has grave concerns regarding the interference that
likely would be caused to government communications by unlicensed BPL
systems."



Or this comment: "This interference will severely impair FEMA's
mission-essential HF radio operations in areas serviced by BPL
technology."



In an interview with a Philadelphia radio station, a FEMA spokesman
insisted there is no material change in the agency's position.



The spokesman says Brown's letter was sent to Chairman Powell to
clarify that FEMA is still studying the issue and recognizes and
supports the FCC's desire for a greater broadband capability for the
nation.



The spokesman says Brown wants to see more studies on the
interference issue and is working with other federal agencies.



However, the FEMA spokesman emphasized that any deployment of BPL
should not pose an interference threat to the agency's H-F emergency
communications network.



Those close to the BPL debate say Brown's letter, has only muddied
the agency's position and sections could be embraced by both sides.



We'll let you decide.



Come to our website: www.arnewsline.org and click on this week's
script and select the Text script and scroll to this report to find
the internet U-R-Ls leading directly to Brown's letter and FEMA's
original December filing.



(Letter from Michael Brown, Undersecretary of Emergency Preparedness
and Response, FEMA. January 8, 2004)



http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/retrieve.cgi?
native_or_pdf=pdf&id_document=6516083909



(FEMA's December 2003 filing)



http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/retrieve.cgi?
native_or_pdf=pdf&id_document=6515292045



For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mark Abramowicz, NT3V, in
Philadelphia.


--
In a communication posted to members of its Public Relations
Reflector, the American Radio Relay League suggests avoiding
references to the FEMA position for now in any BPL discussions or
comments. (ARNewsline(tm))


**


THE BPL FIGHT: BIG NOISE IN MANASSAS


BPL has come to Manassas, Virginia and the hams there say that its
not fun to listen to:


--


BPL audio


---


That's the racket being created by the latest of three Broadband Over
Powerline or BPL installations opened in Manassas. This, as
provided in a sound file on the www.W4OVH.org website, courtesy of
George Tarnovsky, KE2AM. The interference level appears to be such
that it would be all but impossible to hear a radio signal through
it.


The kicker here is that this is reported to be an underground
electrical feed that utilities claim are far less noisy than overhead
wiring. However, having the wires underground does not seem to
reduce the interference. At least not in this case.


And if you want to know more about the BPL hazard to America's
communications, go get a copy of the of CQ. Joe Lynch, N6CL has an
excellent analysis article in his "VHF Plus" column in the just out
April issue of that magazine. (VHF Reflector, PR Reflector, W2VU)


**


THE BPL FIGHT: SOUTHERN OREGON GOES GLASS


Meantime, to the West in Oregon there's some good news on the BPL
front. It comes from southern Oregon where the obnoxious radio
pollution of BPL has lost out to quiet fiber optic delivery.


According to Doug Beck, K6ZX, in the town of Merlin, a private
company, forming public and private partnerships with local
government has wired the city of Ashland with what's called the
Ashland Fiber Network. It has also extended fiber to the city of
Medford with some 74 miles of glass cable connecting all schools to
provide VOIP audio and video conferencing.


But that's not all. The partnership is also in the process of
connecting to Grants Pass and will wire all the local schools and
government offices as well. The best part is that all excess
bandwidth is being made available to local citizens and wireless last
mile technology is being explored to connect rural users.


Beck says over the VHF Reflector that the area is aiming to have a
broadband connection available to all rural users without any
Broadband over Powerlines in the area. (VHF Reflector)


**


Break 1


From beneath the Southern Cross in Auckland, New Zealand and from
our studios in Los Angeles, California, this is the Amateur Radio
Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including the
Metro Atlanta Telephone Pioneer Amateur Radio Club net in Atlanta
Georgia.


(5 sec pause here)



**


RESTRUCTURING: SWEDEN GOES CODE FREE


It now looks likely that Swedish radio amateurs with a Class 2
license which is the equivalent of our code free Technician class,
will be allowed to operate on the High Frequency bands as of early
April. The decision to drop the Morse code requirement for an HF
bands license in Sweden had been postponed from the 1st of January.
A note in the March issue of QTC, the Swedish national society's
magazine, suggested that on or about April 1st is when the change
will be made. (GB2RS)


**


ENFORCEMENT: NO "DELIVER IT" ON 2 METERS


Using an illegal long range cordless telephone to deliver culinary
delights is going to cost a New Jersey Chinese restaurant a good part
of its profits. This, after the FCC levies a $10,000 against the
eatery for operating transmitting equipment on 2 meters without a
license. The FCC's Daryl Duckworth, NN0W, has mo


--


Duckworth: "A Notice of Apparent Liability to Monetary Forfeiture in
the amount of $10000 went to Best Wok of Westville, New Jersey. An
agent of the Philadelphia office had DF'd the signal on 145.8376 MHz
and inspected the base and mobile units. The restaurant manager
stated that he had purchased the long range cordless telephone system
in another country and brought it to the United States to operate at
the restaurant."


--


The FCC citation issued to Best Wok indicated that the telephone in
question is not FCC Part 15 certified and is illegal to use in the
United States. (FCC, RAIN)


**


ENFORCEMENT: IT AIN'T USER RIGHTS


A California ham is the latest to be told by the FCC that if he wants
to challenge a repeater operators authority to kick him off a system,
he will have to do it elsewhere. That the FCC will nor reconsider
the matter.


The situation involves Mark A. Glover, KE6TTL of Garden Grove.
Apparently, Glover has complained to the FCC about his being banned
from using a repeater owned by the Catalina Repeater Association with
the apparent blessing of the FCC. This in a letter from the
regulatory agency to Glover back on February 2nd.


In responding to Glover's February 26th complaint, the FCC says that
its letter of February 2nd explained the right of the repeater
association to make such a request. Also, if Glover has an objection
to the decision of the repeater owner, that he is free to pursue
legal action locally. But says the FCC it won't be involved. There
are no Commission hearing procedures are provided in such matters.
(FCC)


**


ENFORCEMENT: TWO PEOPLE - ONE CALL


The actions of a New York ham in obtaining a call sign have come
under FCC scrutiny. Again, the FCC's Daryl Duckworth, N-N-Zero-W:


--


Duckworth: "A letter went to Frank C. Richards, KG2IJ, of Moers New
York concerning an application filed in 1995 where he requested the
call KB4VU be changed to the next systematically assigned, to change
his address to New York, and to renew the license. Frank C. Richards
of Ft. Meyers, Florida, claims that he is the real licensee of KB4VU,
and filed no application for a call sign or address changes and has
never lived in New York."



--


The FCC says that this raises questions about abuse of the licensing
system and the agency is investigating. It has asked the New York
Richards to provide documented information on where he previously
lived in Florida, when he moved to New York and all FCC Amateur
Service licenses that he previously held. (FCC, RAIN)


**


WITH NEWSLINE: MENTORING PROGRAM UNDERWAY


Joe Eisenberg, K0NEB, who is running the database for the Roy Neal,
K6DUE, Amateur Radio Mentoring Project says that the first matches
have been made. These are in California with one being an e-mail
only contact due to distance.


Joe says more match-ups are on the way. Hopefully as the database
builds we will be able to make all matches face to face.


If you want to volunteer for the program or are in need of an Elmer
to help you learn more, just e-mail us. The address is
. (ARNewsline(tm))


**


HAMFESTS: GAITHERSBERG - RIP


Some news from the hamfest circuit. After struggling to rebuild
attendance from two moves the past four years, organizers in Maryland
have canceled the 2004 descendant of what was once the
popular "Gaithersburg Hamfest." This was a show that dated back to
the 1950s. Amateur Radio Newsline's Newsline's Paul Courson, WA3VJB
reports from Annapolis:


--



"There appears to be no support for this event from the member clubs
of the Foundation or their respective members," according to Dan
Blasberg, KA8YPY, president of the Foundation for Amateur Radio
(FAR).


The group consists of a coalition of ham radio clubs in the Maryland,
Washington, and northern Virginia region, and has used hamfest
revenue to fund scholarships. In recent years it co-sponsored the
event with one of its member clubs, the Columbia Amateur Radio
Association (CARA).


Expressing his dismay that only two people had stepped forward from
FAR to help stage the hamfest that had been scheduled for Sept. 11th
and 12th Blasburg, said the lack of volunteer help is "not fair"
to "carry the burden of a project of this magnitude and scope."


Blasburg concluded "it has been decided by the leadership of FAR and
CARA to cancel Fall-Fest 2004 (due) to lack of volunteer
participation." His note initially went out on an email reflector and
since has circulated widely.


Blasburg this past week was hopeful his note would prompt people to
step forward to help, but then, on March 27th, hamfest officials were
openly talking about the cancellation and the withdrawal of the site
reservation in West Friendship, Maryland.


What used to be the popular Gaithersburg Hamfest relocated to a
parking lot outside a baseball field in Bowie Maryland in 1999,
struggling as a local fleamarket no where near the size of the
original site. A move to the Howard County Fairgrounds in 2002 did
not help matters much, with attendance gaining marginally.


With the old Gaithersburg Hamfest now GONE, the successor as the
largest in the mid-Atlantic region may now be the Timonium Hamfests
at the Maryland State Fairgrounds north of Baltimore, where two clubs
sponsor a Spring and a Fall Timonium


Paul Courson, WA3VJB, Annapolis reporting for Newsline.


--


Thanks Paul. (ARNewsline(tm))


**


HAMVENTION 2004: THE FCC WILL BE THERE


Some much more positive news comes from Dayton, Ohio. This with word
that two of ham radio's most popular speakers will be back at
Hamvention 2004. Of coarse we are talking about the FCC's chief ham
radio rules enforcer Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, and FCC rules man
Bill Cross, W3TN.


The two were missing from last years Hamvention due to a scheduling
snafu. As planners put together this years outing, the duo was among
the very first scheduled in. You will find them holding forth from
on Saturday, May 15th from 10 a.m. to noon in Hara Arena Meeting Room
1. If you want to know exactly what's happening at the FCC and how
it will affect ham radio, this is the event to be at. (ARNewsline
(tm), Hamvention(r))


**


HAMFESTS: THE URUNGA RADIO CONVENTION

And speaking about hamfests, heres on that's a bit unusual. Its the
annual Easter Convention scheduled for Saturday the 10th and Easter
Sunday the 11th of April at the Senior Citizen's Hall in the city of
Urunga, Uganda. Events include a 3.5 MHz mobile hunt, pedestrian on
2 meter T-Hunt, a 2 meter mobile multi transmitter hunt and lots
more. Sunday will feature the famous Urunga scramble. A mini
contest to see who can make the most contacts in 30 minutes. Its a
great show, if you happen to be in Uganda an Easter weekend. (Q-News)


**


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)


**


HAM HELP: GET WELL WALLY


Unless you live in the American West where this newscast is produced,
you are not aware of the contributions of Wally Foster, N6CDJ. Those
who do know that Wally has been a huge contributor to ham radio in
the state of California.


Over the years, N6CDJ has been responsible for thousands of hours
dedicated to installing the region's packet radio system. He has
also introduced many to packet and APRS and volunteers a lot of time
to emergency services, fundraising, climbing towers and doing a first-
rate job with repeater and station installations.


Wally's in a tough personal battle right now. Please drop him a QSL
with a "get well Wally" message top help keep his spirits up during a
trying time. You can send your wishes to N6CDJ at his callbook
address. (AA6JR)


**


EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: MESH NETWORKS RADIO RELAY SYSTEM


On the emerging technology front, Mesh Networks, whose emergency-
response devices communicate through each other rather than through a
centralized command is expanding its technology. This, to work on
other kinds of wireless equipment including radios used by emergency
service communicators. Rick Johnson, KA9VZD, has mo


--


Originally developed by the U.S. military, Mesh system of networking
lets individual radios serve as repeaters and relay points. This
means that a firefighter too far inside a building to reach his
command post can communicate with a nearby firefighter, whose radio
will then repeat the conversation to the next closest radio. This
is similar to hams using a programmable mobile radio to extend the
hand of their 2 meter or 70 centimeter H-T..


And just like hams have been experimenting, Mesh networks can
transmit video, data and position information in addition to audio.
But heres the departure fronm what radio amateurs are doing. The
Mesh technology also has the ability to create super-sized Wi-Fi hot
spots. This in itself gives the system wide utility in public
service applications.


For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Rick Johnson, KA9VZD, reporting.


--


Mesh Networks says that it is recognized as the leading developer of
high performance and scaleable mobile ad hoc networking technology.
More about the company and its products is on-line at
www.meshnetworks.com. (Press release)


**


HAM AWARDS: THE VP5 YOUNG CONTESTER


If you are age 18 or younger, a licensed radio amateur and have been
dreaming about going on a D-X contest, listen up. This next story is
for you.


For the second year in a row, a competition has been announced for
keen young contest operators with just such a dream. The winner gets
an all-expenses paid trip to the Turks and Caicos Islands to operate
with the VP5X Contest Group in the CQ World Wide DX phone contest
this October.


Applicants must send an essay of 500 words or more telling how they
got started in ham radio. It also must describe the person who
helped them get started in the hobby and why you should be selected
for this contest DX'pedition to VP5.


The winner must have his or her parents' written permission to make
the trip on their own. Parents may accompany the winner at their own
expense. All entries should be sent by e-mail to by
the 31st of August. (GB2RS)



**


HAM AWARDS: 2004 YHOTY NOMINATIONS BEING SOUGHT


And while we are at it, its time to announce the opening of the
nominating period for the 2004 Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of
the Year Award. This program is open to any FCC licensed youngster
age 18 or younger residing in the contiguous 48 states. One who has
made a significant contribution to the community, the nation or ham
radio though the United States Amateur Radio Service.


As we have said in years past, this award is not a contest for a
prize. The person selected "Young Ham of the Year" is judged on his
or her contributions to society through Amateur Radio. By way of
example, a youngster whose only claim to fame is that of being
licensed as an Extra at age four would not necessarily be judge as
having made a significant contribution to the Amateur Radio service.
On the other hand, a 14 or 15 year old Novice or Technician running a
net during a major disaster or crisis would definitely be given
consideration.


More information and a downloadable on-line nominating form is at our
website. That's in cyberspace at www.arnewsline.org. The cutoff for
nominations this year is midnight on Tuesday, June 31st. (ARNewsline
(tm))


**


DX


In D-X, W3EF reports that the 3B9C dxpedition has already made over
110,000 contacts and with any luck will soon be the biggest
dxpedition in history. He says that besides the sheer volume, this
has also been a carefully planned and executed operation with strict
attention to details such as propagation on all bands to all
regions. W3EF says it has been an absolute blast with a wonderful
team from all over the world. At airtime the 3B9C operation
continues. (W3EF)


In other D-X news, word that K5CM, N5KW and W5AO plan to operate
portable VP5 from North Caicos island through the 7th of April. The
island counts as NA-002 for the IOTA awards. (GB2RS)


Also, F8DVD, will be active slash JW from Svalbard on 80 to 10 meters
to the 10th of April. He says that although it will be very hard to
make contacts on 80 meters due to the very short night, he will make
several attempts to do so. (GB2RS)


Lastly, PA9JJ will be active as C56JJ from Gambia until the 5th of
April. Look for him especially on the WARC bands and on RTTY and PSK
31. For all these operations, QSL as directed on the air. (GB2RS)


**


THAT FINAL ITEM: FCC MAY MANDATE IONESPHERIC DELAY


And finally, a little-known provision of a bill to crack down on
indecency on the airwaves may directly affect Amateur Radio. It went
into effect at 00:01 UTC on April 1st. Roving reporter Pierre
Pullinmyleg, F0OL, reports:


--


I'ts a rather -- er -- interesting -- audio only -- April 1st
report. To hear it download the newscast MP3 file at
http://www.arnewsline.org/quincy If you miss Pierre this week you
will have to wait another year before he returns.


--


Thank you, Pierre, and we hope you can get back to warmer weather
without any -- er -- long delay. (F0OL)


**


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 and Australia's Q-News, that's all from the Amateur
Radio Newsline. Our e-mail address is newsline @arnewsline.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), P.O. Box 660937,
Arcadia, California 91066 in the U-S-A.


For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors desk, I'm Jim
Meachen, ZL2BHF, in Auckland, New Zealand, saying 73 and we thank you
for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline is Copyright 2004. All rights
reserved.