Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1598 - March 28, 2008

Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1598 with a release date of Friday,
March 28tht, 2008 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a Q-S-T. Washington state invites it ham radio community
to join the Amber Alert system, a ham radio satellite gets a workout in a
rescue radio drill, CQ Magazine says Kosovo is an awards country and Pierre

is here with a look at the future of hand held wireless
communications. Find out the details on Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) report
number 1598 coming your way right now.


(Billboard Cart Here)

**

RESCUE RADIO: WASHINGTON STATE INVITES HAMS TO JOIN AMBER ALERT SYSTEM

Hams in Washington state are officially invited to join that states Amber
Alert public notification system. Burt Hicks, WB6MQV, reports:

--

According to a news report aired on Spokane television station KHQ, there
are some 27,000 licensed radio Amateurs in Washington to whom the states
Emergency Management System and State Patrol have jointly invited to take
part in the Washington's Amber Alert program.

Representing the local Spokane ham community on the KHQ newscast was Jack
Tiley, AD7FO. Tiley is the Spokane County ARES and RACES Assistant
Emergency Coordinator. He indicated that the advantage ham radio it that
it has people on the roads with two way radios in their vehicles. If they

are aware of an Amber Alert, and then spot the fugitive car with a kidnap
victim, that they can quickly call in the information to authorities. He
also noted that hams have communications into areas of Spokane where
cellphones simply do not work.

Washington State Trooper Jeff Seventhy appeared by telephone in the KHQ
report. He said that the addition of the ham radio community to the
program is truly welcome. He said that the main goal is to find kids who
are missing as quickly as possible and that the more people out there
helping, the better.

No mention was made as to whether any of the states ham radio repeaters
plan to install decoders to permit direct relay of Amber Alert
messages. Some hams in other states do not think doing so is legal, others

do but nobody has ever petitioned the FCC to get a definitive ruling. You

can see the entire KHQ report at http://tinyurl.com/28tpjc

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Burt Hicks, WB6MQV, in Los Angeles.

--

For those not aware, the nations Amber Alert System is named in honor
of Amber Hagerman of Arlington, Texas. She was only 9 years old when she

was abducted on January 13, 1996. Four days later her body was found in a
drainage ditch four miles from her home. Her kidnapping and murder still
remain unsolved. (KMQ-TV)

**

RESCUE RADIO: HAMSAT USED IN HOSPITAL DRILL

Ham radio in space became rescue radio in space. This, when Shands
hospital in Gainesville, Florida conducted a simulated emergency
communications drill on Wednesday, March 12.

Students and faculty with the Gator Amateur Radio Club at the University of

Florida participated. The University of Florida Dental School club
station, W4DFU, used their satellite ground station to distribute an e-mail

test message though the GO-32 amateur radio satellite. This provided proof

of concept in a disaster scenario to augment Amateur Radio voice
communication if all telephone and internet services were down.

Keeping patient privacy laws in mind the ham radio operators could not
transmit sensitive personal or health related data. However, in support of

the larger disaster scenario the ham radio satellite e-mail concept could
be useful for getting list of supplies, reporting hazardous situations, and

status reports.

**

HAM RADIO IN SPACE: CUBESAT PROPOSES D-STAR OPERATIONS ONLY

D-Star may soon be heading into space. This as a new European Amateur
Radio CubeSat project is proposing to using the D-STAR
digital-communication protocol for all aspects of its operations.

Called OUFTI-1, the bird will be built by students at the University of
Liege in Belgium. Its purpose is to provide hands-on experience to
students in the design, construction, and control of complete satellite
systems. One that will ultimately serve as the basis for a variety of
space experiments.

The most innovative feature of OUFTI-1 will be the use of the Japan Amateur

Radio League-developed D-Star digital-communication protocol. D-Star would

be used as a means of satellite control and telemetry, as well as for relay

communications for hams operators worldwide.

Future plans call for D-Star to be used to command on-orbit experiments as

well. More on this exciting development is on-line at
http://www.leodium.ulg.ac.be/cmsms/ (OUFTI-1 release)

**

RESCUE RADIO: HAMS RESPOND TO GEORGIA TORNADOES

Meantime, ham radio was on scene when tornadoes swept through Georgia on
Friday, March 14th. At 9:38 PM Eastern time an F-2 tornado touched down
in downtown Atlanta. The National Weather Service said the twister was 6
miles long and 200 yards wide. An F-2 tornado has wind speeds from 111 to
135 miles per hour and the ability to tear roofs off houses, completely
destroy mobile homes and snap apart tress as if they were toothpicks.

And as seen in T-V coverage the damage was extensive. Eyewitness accounts
said that huge hunks of metal and broken glass were everywhere in Atlanta
and that the Olympic Centennial Park was a mess. The high winds caused
major damage to several other landmarks including the Georgia World
Congress Center. Grady Memorial Hospital, the major trauma center for the
Atlanta metro area, had its 100 foot tall communications tower blown off
the hospital roof, disabling communications with emergency medical
personnel.

According to the ARRL Letter, soon after the twister hit, hams sprang into

action. According to ARRL Georgia Section Manager Susan Swiderski, AF4FO,

William Chandler, KG4JTK, went from house to house in the wind and the rain

checking for any injuries in the homes that had sustained damage by falling

trees and debris. At the same time, he issued reports via radio to Barry
Kanne, W4TGA, the Emergency Coordinator for neighboring DeKalb County
regarding fallen trees, billboards, power lines and other threats to public

safety. Kanne relayed this information to the Atlanta 911 center and to
the Grady Hospital Emergency Operations Center.

In Effingham County, near Savannah on Georgia's coastline a tornado took
down six power towers during the annual St Patrick's Day celebrations, and

thrusting the community into total blackout conditions. A local 2 meter
SKYWARN net, with Greg Tillman, N4VAD, serving as net control, provided a
vital link for the staff at Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah.

And there has already been words of praise for the volunteer work performed

by Georgia's ham radio community. Dr Ra Meguiar, N4RVM, a physician and
senior hospital administrator, sent a letter of appreciation in
recognition. He thanked the local hams for staying with us through the
weather and the power outage. (ARRL, others)

**

RESCUE RADIO: PHILADELPHIA NWS TO OFFER SKYWARN TRAINING

If you live in and around Philadelphia Pennsylvania or Southern New Jersey

and want to become a SKYWARN trained operator, listen up. The National
Weather Service, in conjunction with the Skywarn Program of the Camden
County Office of Emergency Management, will conduct the Basic Skywarn
training program on Wednesday, April 9th. The venue is the Camden County
Boathouse in Pennsauken with the class beginning at 7:00 pm Eastern
time. To reserve a pace please pre register by calling 1-866-CAMDEN
COUNTY. That's 1-866-226-3362. More information on the overall SKYWARN

program is on-line at www.nws.noaa.gov/skywarn/ (N2PHI via QRZ.com)

**

WITH NEWSLINE: SPEAKERS NEEDED FOR HAM RADIO TOWN MEETING

If you are planning to attend the 2008 Dayton Hamvention and would like to

be a speaker at one of the major sessions, then listen up. Have we got a
deal for you.

Each year, we at the Amateur Radio Newsline host an open discussion forum
called the Ham Radio Town Meeting. Its where we take a topic of interest,

bring in some experts and then open it up for discussion with the live
studio audience. In years past we have covered such controversial topics
as no code licensing, and the digitalization of ham radio to mention only a

few. But this year, we have decided to make it a truly fun two hours by
taking a trip back in time to what some might call a kinder and gentler ham

radio.

This years topic is titled "Grandpa's Ham Radio - The Magic of
Yesteryear." It will take a look back at the hobby over the past
half-century to see where it was in the latter 1950's through the mid
1980's. We have already assembled some top names in ham radio whose
career go back into the latter half of the 20th century, but we still have

a few spots open that need to be filled. First we need someone who
remembers what it was like to take a Novice or Technician test by mail and

then face the local FCC office to upgrade to General or higher. We also
need someone who can talkk on the old days of emergency communications
before the advent of F-M and repeaters. Last but by no means least, we are

looking for a female ham who was first licensed as a teen or pre-teen in
the early 1960's who can talk about what it was like to be one of the few
gals in what was then a make dominated hobby.

If you are planning to be at Hamvention 2008, and would like to have a bit

of fun talking for about 10 minutes on any of these topics, please send us

an e-mail to with the name of the topic, your
contact information including a phone number and a short bio. We will get

back to you very quickly.

Again that e-mail address is And whether you are a

participant or an audience member we hope to see you at the Ham Radio Town

Meting at Hamvention 2008. (ARNewsline(tm))

**

BREAK 1

From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline,
heard on bulletin stations around the world including the W1JLI Memorial
repeater serving Norwood, Massachusetts.

(5 sec pause here)

**

RADIO AWARDS: CQ TO ACCEPT KOSOVO FOR ITS AWARDS PROGRAMS

CQ says that Kosovo is a country and effective immediately it is being
added to the list of countries and territories recognized for CQ DX
awards. Amateur Radio Newsline's Don Carlson, KQ6FM, has mo

--

Kosovo's status has been the subject of some controversy in the amateur
radio community as well as the world community. Ham radio wise, the ARRL
recently declared that the special operations from there on February 17
will count as Serbia, not Kosovo, in terms of DXCC credit. The League says

it is waiting for Kosovo to become a member state of the United Nations or

be issued a callsign block by the International Telecommunications Union
before taking any action to recognize it as a separate DXCC entity.

While CQ the magazine's editor says that because it is their policy to
grant credit for contacts with 'new' entities as of the date that their
status changes, it has decided not to wait for U.N. action. Instead it
will follow the lead of the United States and other countries that have
recognized Kosovo's independence. Therefore it will grant credit for
contacts made with stations in Kosovo as of its independence day. That
date was February 17, 2008. Its also good news for those radio amateurs
who have made contact with stations in Kosovo and are anxious to have it
recognized as a new nation by all.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Don Carlson, KQ6FM, in Reno.

--

In a related development, on March 26th it was announced that the Worked
All Europe award committee of the Deutsche Amateur Radio Club had voted to

add Kosovo to the W-A-E country list. The CQ World Wide DX Contests and
the CQ DX Marathon both use a combination of the DXCC and WAE lists as the

basis for their country lists. Therefore, Kosovo will now be considered a
separate entity for both the CQ DX Marathon held this past February 17th
and for the upcoming CQ World Wide DX Contests, beginning with the RTTY DX

Contest this coming September 27th and 28th. (CQ)

**

BREAKING DX NEWS: ZS6GCM ON HIS WAY TO MARION ISLAND

Some breaking news from the world of D0X. Petrus Kritzinger, ZS6GCM says
that he will be active from Marion Island within the next month or
so. Definitely by mid-May.

Hardly having touched soil in South Africa after his trip to Bouvet,
Kritzinger is already on his way to Marion and will be operating as
ZS8T. ZS6GCM says that he will be active on 160, 80, 40, 30, 20, 17, 12
and 10 meters using SSB, CW and RTTY. He expects to start operation in May

2008 depending on his work load on the island.

Further information on Krizinger's D-X exploits is on-line at
www.sarl.org.za. We will have more D-X news at the end of this weeks
newscast. (OPDX)

**

ENFORCEMENT: FCC PROPOES $7000 FINE FOR NON CERTIFIED CB GEAR

The FCC has proposed a $7000 fine against CB Shop & More, LLLP of Loveland,

Colorado. This for willful and repeated violations of of the
Communications Act and the Commission's Rules by offering for sale non
certified transceivers capable of operation in the 11 meter Citizens Radio

service.

The story is an all to familiar one. A retailer caught by the FCC selling

what it claims to be 10 meter ham radio gear but which the FCC says is easy

to make work on 11 meters. In this case it was transceivers carrying the
Connex and Galaxy brand name labels.

CB Shop was specifically cited on a Galaxy transceiver. The FCC says that

the unit is really C-B sets disguised as ham gear in order to skirt their
rules. CB Shop argues that the gear at issue and does not require
Commission approval because it is not a CB transceiver. The company has
hired a lawyer who already responded to the FCC's initial notice in this
case. Chances are that this one could eventually wind up being adjudicated

in the federal courts. (FCC)

**

RADIO LAW: MOTOROLA KOREA FINED FOR FAIR TRADE VIOLATIONS

The subsidiary of one of the worlds largest telecommunications
equipment providers has some legal issues overseas. Fred Vobbe, W8 HDU,

has the details:

--

South Korea's Fair Trade Commission has levied a fine of 696 million won,
or $729,000, on Motorola Korea Inc.. This, for allegedly helping three
South Korean companies collude to get orders from government agencies.

Leenos Corp. and two other South Korean companies were fined a combined 282

million won or $295,000 for their part in conspiring to coordinate their
bidding prices for the supply of mobile telecommunications devices to state

police agencies, the antitrust agency said in a statement.

The three companies worked as sales agents for Motorola's trunked radio
system, sold in the South Korean market. Motorola Korea, the South Korean
unit of U.S. electronics manufacturer Motorola Inc. as might be expected,
it criticized the Fair Trade Commission ruling.




--

No word whether any of the companies involved plan to appeal. (BN)

**

RADIO LAW: FCC SAYS NO APPARTMENT HOUSE CABLE EXCLUSIVITY

A divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has
refused to bar the Federal Communications Commission from enforcing rules
that abolish exclusive contracts between cable companies and apartment
building owners.

The request for stay, rejected in a February 28th order, was sought by the

National Cable and Telecommunications Association. The N-C-T-A wanted a
stay pending appeal insofar as the FCC's rules voided existing contracts to

serve multiple dwelling units. Without issuing an opinion, the panel voted

2-1 to deny NCTA's request, stating that the trade group failed to satisfy

the stringent standards governing requests for such relief. (BD)

**

EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: THE DTV TRANSITION - AN UPDATE

In less than a year most of the nations analog television transmitters will

fall silent by government decree. And, if you want to keep watching your
favorite shows, and are not subscribed to either cable or satellite, you
will need a set top converter. Up till now these units have been scarcer
than hens teeth and almost so expensive that you might think they were made

of gold. But that too is changing as Uncle Sam puts your tax money where
his mouth is to subsidize the purchase of these units. Jack Parker, W8ISH,

is in Indianapolis, with mo

--

Come February 2009 your analog TV may be useless. On that day TV stations

across America will turn off their analog transmitters and broadcast only
in digital. Viewers who get their television over the air from a roof
mounted antenna or rabbit ears will turn on their sets and see nothing but

snow. That is, unless you have received a government issued coupon or
bought a converter box on your own.

Each home may get two forty-dollar coupons to purchase an analog to
digital converter box giving your old TV set a new lease on life. Most big

box electronic stores now carry the converter box as well as new High
Definition TV's. As of Christmas 2007, most stores no longer carry analog

TV's.

While the move to high def will make your sitcoms look better and sound
better, the Environmental Protection Agency has cause for
concern. Discarded analog TV's contain about five pounds of lead. They

fear that could cause widespread contamination of America's landfills.

So, if you have a cable TV or satellite TV converter box then you are
already ahead of the game. Like old ham radios, you can sit back and
enjoy what you have while the broadcast television industry gets ready for

its February 2009 analog to digital transition.

Reporting for Amateur Radio Newsline, this is Jack Parker W8ISH.


--

So what now? Well if you watch TV with an antenna on your roof or rabbit
ears on your set, now is the time to get you set top converter boxes
coupons. The coupons will became available this past January 1, 2008 and
you can get them through March 31, 2009. All households that own a TV using

over-the-air analog reception are eligible. A link to the needed
application is on line at www.dtv.gov (W8ISH from FCC information)

**

NAMES IN THE NEWS: VO1VZ NEW LABRADOR SM

Some names in the news. First up is Charles Marsh, VO1VZ, who has been
elected Radio Amateurs of Canada Section Manager for Newfoundland and
Labrador. Marsh ran unopposed, thereby eliminating the need for a balloted

election. He begins a two-year term on July 1, 2008. (RAC)

**

RADIO HAPPENINGS: WHAT GOES UP MAY NOT STAY UP
The saga of the KFI AM radio tower rebuild in Los Angeles continues. This

after the installation of the stations new antenna structure grinds to a
halt as the structure crumbles to the ground.
The story goes this way. Back on December 19, 2004 the main tower for KFI

A-M on 640 kHz, was hit by a private plane. The entire tower came
crashing to the ground, folding into pieces but for the most part missing

the buildings around the tower base. About 2 weeks ago, construction of the

replacement tower finally got underway. But on Tuesday, March 18th, as the

new tower had almost reached the 300 foot mark when it suddenly collapsed.
According to eye witness Dino Darling, K6RIX, afternoon around
2:00PM. Darling says that two levels of guy wires were in place. The third

set of guys were slowly being brought into place, when the failure occurred.

Thankfully, nobody was on the tower during this phase of the installation.

Only one person was hurt when the North East guy structure gave way. There

was some minor damage to a couple of trailers and the top 8' of the gin
pole came through a warehouse roof.

Darling says that the third level guys were slacked at the time of the
failure. Right now it looks as if the KFI tower installation is kind of
back to square one. (K6RIX)

**

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)

**


CHANGING OF THE GUARD: RETIRED NEWSMAN ROBERT DYK, NW1A, SK

The changing of the guards in Amateur Radio continues. This with word
that former ABC network correspondent and longtime Maine broadcaster Robert

Dyk, NW1A, died of cancer at his Falmouth home on March 22nd.

Dyk, who had a background in radio and television, was an anchor and
reporter for WMTW from 1987 to 2004. He began his professional career as a

page at CBS television in Los Angeles and transferred to CBS News as an
editorial assistant during the network's coverage of the 1960 Democratic

convention, working with broadcast luminaries such as Edward R. Murrow,
Walter Cronkite and Don Hewitt.

Among the highlights of his career was being the only American network
correspondent on the scene in Tehran in 1979 for the first four days of the

Iranian hostage crisis, when radical students stormed the U.S. embassy in
support of Iran's revolution and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days.

He came out of retirement last year to work as a part-time anchor-reporter

for WGAN and was working as recently as last month. Robert Dyk, NW1A, was
71. (KT1B)

**

THE CHANGING OF THE GUARD: NEWSLINE REPORTER MICHAEL CORBIN, K0ACL - S.K.

And we are very sad to report the passing of one of the newest members of
the Newsline family. Michael Corbin K0ACL, who had done reports for
Newsline died of complications following a stroke on Wednesday, March 19th,

Michael Corbin, lived in Denver, Colorado, and was host of the
nationally-syndicated talk radio program called A Closer Look.. He had
become a member of the ham radio community in March of 2006. He had only
joined the Amateur Radio Newline team earlier this year after volunteering

to cover ham radio happenings in the United States Mountain time zone area.

According to one report Michael suffered a massive stroke and was found in

his car at the side of a Denver road by a passer-by on Tuesday March
18th. He passed away the following day. Michael Corbin, K0ACL, was only
age 52. (WY0X)

**

HAM RADIO FROM SPACE: SOLAR ACTIVITY IS SURGING

Spaceweather dot com says that solar activity is surging. Three large
sunspots have materialized and at least one of them holds the promise
of energy for strong solar flares.

An M2-class eruption on March 25th hurled a coronal mass ejection or C-M-E

into space and emitted radio bursts audible in shortwave receivers on Earth.

Translated into information useful to ham radio operators this all means
you can expect some interesting propagation or lack of propagation
depending on the bands you frequent and the amount of solar activity that
actually develops in the coming days. (Spaceweather)

**

EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: GIVE THE CUSTOMER A NEW TV SET

Sometimes even big business takes the easy way out. Witness the recent
incident where it appears as if UK telecommunications giant British
Telecom bought a customer a new TV set. Because of interference. No, not

interference to the customers television reception. Rather because of the

amount of interference to operations that the old one was causing to
broadband users. It seems that a faulty power supply in the old television

receiver was disrupting broadband services for a 200 meter radius. (MM0KGB)

**

WORLDBEAT - AFRICA: NEW FOUR BEACON ON 70 MHZ FROM GUNIA BISSAU

The SV2DCD blog carries a report that J5FOUR is a new 70 MHz 4 meter beacon

is now operational from Guinea-Bissau. According to CT1FFU, the J5FOUR
beacon came to life on March 10th using 20 watts out to a 4 element yagi
designed by YU7EF specifically for this project. The antenna is beaming 20
º
to cover all Europe.

Formerly the Portuguese colony of Portuguese Guinea, Gunia Bissau is one of

the smallest nations in continental Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to
the north, Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its
west.

And its not at all surprising to hear that a new 70 MHz beacon has taken to

the air from Gunia Bissau. Interest in 4 meters seems to be spreading with

a growing world-wide with the number of countries granting their Amateurs
some form of access to 70 MHz increasing every month. (Southgate)

**

ON THE AIR: NEW 2 METER SSB NET IN CALIFORNIA

On the air, if you live in California and operate on VHF, this is for you.

A newly created Santa Barbara Two Meter SSB Roundtable meets every
Wednesday evening at 8:30 PM Pacific time on 144 point 210 MHz on Upper
Sideband. The net is dedicated to developing interest in the use of SSB
above 50 MHz. More information is available on-line at
www.n6kth.com/vhf (Press release)

**

WORLDBEAT - POLAND: CELECRATING 75 YEARS OF THE SP DX CONTEST

The 2008 SP DX Contest takes place on April 7th and 8th. This year edition

celebrates the 75th anniversary of the contest which was first organized
in 1933. To celebrate the Polish Amateur Radio Union and SP DX Club are
sponsoring a special Jubilee Award. Called the SP DX Contest - 75th
Anniversary Award it is available free to all licensed operators and SWL's

who meet specific criteria. Complete rules are on line at
www.spdxcontest.info. (SP8AJK - SP75N)

**

DX

In D-X, HB9BEI and HB9AUZ will be at work in Liberia through the end of
April. Expect activity only during their rare spare time. Listen ouut for

HB9BEI will on CW and the digital modes. HB9AUZ works only CW. QWSL as
directed on the air.

JD1BMM will be active from Minami Torishima on H-F working in
CW/SSB/digital modes through about April 7th. QSL via the JARL bureau or

to his address on QRZ.com.

F6BUM is going to activate several islands belonging to the Gulf of
Tongking South Group through April 2nd. QSL via the bureau to F6BUM.

Also, word that the ARRL DXCC desk has approved two recent operations for
DXCC credit These are the VP6DX DXpedition to Ducie Island and the TX5C
DXpedition to Clipperton Island. Both were considred as highly uccessful
operations in the world of D-X.

Lastly, this one looks like it could be the first ever no-code
DXpedition. This as several operators from Belgian and members of South
Africa's Radio Club Secunda activate as 7P8FC from Katse Dam in Lesotho.
The operation runs from March 27th to April 3rd and they will use SSB only

on 160 meters, SSB and RTTY on 80 metres and SSB, RTTY and PSK all other HF

bands except 30 metes. They do not appear not to be using any CW. Further
information can be obtained from www.7p8fc.be.

(Above from various DX newsletters and other ources)

**

THAT FINAL ITEM: NEW HT MAY COMBINE HAM RADIO - CELLPHONE - CB SET --
WAFFLE IRON AND MORE

And finally this week, cellular telephone technology has come a long, long

way since Motorola introduced its first lug along cellphone more than three

decades ago. Nowadays a cellphone not only fits in your pocket, but can
also function as a camera, a music player and even provide Internet access

and e-mail on the go. When might some of this technology show up in our ham

rigs? Our April 1st roving reporter Pierre Pullinmyleg says that day may
not be all that far away:

--

Eef you, like me, follow all of ze latest whistles and cowbells een
technologee, zen you are most likely aware of ze new Sumsing Turbo 3000 XI

Multitasking cellular telephone recently seen demonstrated on zee YouToob.

Eef you have not seen eet, eet is not only a telephone, a camera and a
museek player, but also a hair dryer, air pump, waffle iron and more.

I am pleased to announce excluseevelee here on Newsline zat in a unique
technology-sharing agreement wis Sumsing, amateur radio manufacturer
I-Ken-Ten-su-rola will soon introduce a multitasking handheld as well. Ze
new unit will not only operate on all ham bands as well as C-B, F-R-S and
MURS, but it also will include a talking GPS system zat will be able to
tell you where to go -- and how to get zere -- in a dozen languages, as
well as an S-W-R bridge, frequency counter, soldering iron, propane torch,

five-kilowatt amplifier, emergency power generator and seex-thousand
candlepower spotlight.

Oh yes, it will also include a cell phone in case no one is listening when

you call for help on your local repeeeater. Ze new radio, from Sumsing and

Ken-Ten-su-rola, will sell for five dollars and ninety-five cents, and will

be called "Sumsing Else."

For ze Amateur Radio Newsline, zees ees Pierre Pullinmyleg reporting.

--

Until the "Sumsing Else" ham rig becomes available, you can see an actual
demonstration of the amazing Turbo 3000 all purpose communications device
on-line at www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYIOIM6hHBk

You may be amazed by what you see. Then again, maybe not.

And lest we forget -- a happy April Fools Day to one and all.

(Courtesy of the Annual April 1st Pierre Pullinmyleg Ever Roving Report
News Service)

**

NEWSCAST CLOSE

With thanks to Alan Labs, AMSAT, the ARRL, the CGC Communicator, CQ
Magazine, the FCC, the Ohio Penn DX Bulletin, Radio Netherlands, Rain, the

RSGB, the Southgate News and Australia's W-I-A News, that's all from the
Amateur Radio Newsline(tm). Our e-mail address is
. 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.

Before we go we want to remind you that the nominating period for the 2008

Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year is now open. Any licensed
radio amateur age 18 or younger residing in the United States or Canada is

eligible for the award. Full details and both downloadable and on-line
nominating forms are in cyberspace at www dot YHOTY dot org.


For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors desk, I'm Don
Wilbanks, AE5DW, saying 73 and we thank you for listening.

Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.