Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1559 - June 29, 2007

Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1559 with a
release date of Friday, June 29, 2007 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a Q-S-T. Ham operating mobile
in New Jersey win an exemption from a tough new
cellphone law, hams in California practice their
emergency communications skills in a mock bird
flu exercise and on the FCC dismisses a pair of
Regulation by Bandwidth petitions but leaves the
door open to future requests. Find out more on
Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) report number 1559 coming your way right now.


(Billboard Cart Here)

**

RADIO LAW: HAMS WIN MOBILE IN MOTION EXEMPTION IN NEW JERSEY

Amateur Radio has won an important exemption in
New Jersey. One that should keep the states hams
running mobile for a long time. Amateur Radio
Newsline's Henry Feinberg, K2SSQ, reports:

--

New Jersey Assembly Bill A 4146 and Senate Bill S
1099/2764 were introduced in the New Jersey
legislature to restrict cell phone use and text
messaging while driving. The twin measures were
passed on June 21st and await the governor's signature.

As originally introduced, the bills would have
prohibited the use of any and all electronic
communications devices for talking, listening or
text messaging while driving. This could have
meant that New Jersey hams would have effectively
been banned from operating while mobile in motion.

But that won't be the case. This is because the
combined measure as passed includes a sentence
that makes Amateur Radio the only service exempt
from the all inclusive ban. That hard fought for
exemption reads -- and we quote: "For the
purposes of this section an 'electronic
communication device' shall not include an Amateur Radio".

Talk about getting a broadly worded exemption
that covers every aspect of Amateur Service
communications. More important it means that use
Amateur Radio while driving will continue to be
permitted in New Jersey. The only caveat is that
it is done safely and the ham operator is not engaging in inattentive
driving.

The new law goes into effect four months after
the governor signs it. From that point on, hams
are advised to keep a copy of the measure and
their Amateur Radio license in your glove
compartment if you drive in the Garden State.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Henry
Feinberg, K2SSQ, in West Orange, New Jersey.

--

The exemption for Amateur Radio came about thanks
to the work the hams in the Northern New
Jersey and Southern New Jersey ARRL sections who
contacted their legislators. This, to make sure
that Amateur Radio mobile operations weren't
adversely affected by the then pending legislation (Published reports)

**

RADIO LAW: REGULATION BY BANDWIDTH PETITIONS DISMISSED BY FCC

With little fanfare, the FCC granted separate
requests to recall two petitions for rulemaking
dealing with Regulation by Bandwidth. On June
25th the commission approved requests from the
Communications Think Tank and the American Radio
Relay League to withdraw petitions RM-11305 and
RM-11306 respectively. In a brief notice issued
on June 27th, the FCC stated that both Petitions
for Rulemaking are dismissed without prejudice.

Without prejudice is legal term. It means that a
claim, lawsuit, or law proceeding has been
brought to a temporary halt but that no legal
rights or privileges have been determined,
waived, or lost by the result. In this case it
means that these two parties can file petitions
on this matter again, if they choose to do so. (FCC)

**

RESCUE RADIO: MOCK EPEDEMIC CHALLENGES CA HAMS

The scenario of a mock bird flu a pandemic was
the basis of a simulated emergency exercise,
called "Operation Kung Flu." This, involving
about 200 Santa Barbara California County public
health and disaster planning officials along with
medical service representatives and of coarse a
number of ham radio volunteer
communicators. Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, has the rest of the story:

--

The drill took place on June 20th. In past
exercises members of the Santa Barbara Amateur
Radio Emergency Service have played an important
role in the Health Department's backup
communications between it and the local
hospitals. In this drill officials realized the
only contact they had with medical clinics and
facilities for the was by telephone and cell
phone. Neither would be very reliable if all
members of the community were to try to use these
services at the same time. So they requested the
ARES group conduct a communications survey during
the exercise to evaluate how effective it could be as a backup.

ARES members identified 34 facilities in the area
and sent a team out to each location to record
G-P-S coordinates. They also drew a map of
directions to each location, conducted a radio
check using mobile and handheld gear and sent
back a slow scan television picture of the site.
The exercise proved ARES could establish solid
communications at all locations tested. The data
will be used to develop an information packet
containing details on each facility for ARES
members to use should they be deployed in an emergency.

During the actual drill, the County's Emergency
Operations Center was activated. It dealt with
the challenges of coordinating health, logistics,
communications, law enforcement, and information
distribution to the media and public. Because of
this the ARES radio station at the E-O-C was
itself brought on line. It was used for both
voice communications and to receive slow scan
pictures from the teams in the field.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, in Los Angeles.

--

Following the exercise Bruce Carter, the Manager
of the Office of Emergency Services for the
County of Santa Barbara issued a letter praising
the ARES hams. He said and we quote: "ARES is
always there, willing and up to any task." (N6ZKJ)

**

RESCUE RADIO: MORE HAMS MAY BE NEEDED IF WEATHER SAT FAILS

Ham radio severe weather spotters could have
additional responsibilities come their
way. This, if an aging weather satellite crucial
to accurate predictions on the intensity and path of hurricanes fails.

According to published news reports, the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's chief
said the failure of the QuikScat satellite could
bring more uncertainty to forecasts. Also that
it could force his agency to widen the areas that
are placed under hurricane watches and warnings.

If the QuikScat were to die on-orbit, then
forecasters may have to rely on less accurate
satellite observations and alternate sources of
data. Experts estimate that the accuracy of
two-day forecasts could suffer by 10 percent and
three-day forecasts by 16 percent. This could
translate into miles of coastline and the
difference between a city being evacuated or not.

As of now, plans to launch a replacement
satellite have been pushed back seven years to
2016. And if QuikScat dies before that launch
takes place it will likely also mean that many
more severe weather storm spotters would be
needed along coastal areas of the United
states. This is a job that has traditionally
fallen to ham radio volunteers. (Science Online)

**

HAM RADIO TRENDS: LEAGUE CITES NO-ODE AS REASON FOR MEMBERSHIP GROWTH

Thee ARRL Letter says that its membership in the
League is up and the trend is toward continued
growth. With now close to 152,000 members,
Customer Service Manager Amy Hurtado, KB1NXO,
says the League is a viable, up-to-date
organization that every ham should be a part of.

Hurtado credits the rise in membership in part to
the FCC rule changes earlier this year that
eliminated Morse code testing for the General and
Amateur Extra license classes. She says that
since more people are upgrading their licenses as
a result of there being no Morse code
requirement, the League is now successfully able
to show them the benefits of being an ARRL member. (ARRL)

**

BREAK 1

From the United States of America, We are the
Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin
stations around the world, including the Antelope
Valley Amateur Radio Net serving Lancaster, California.

(5 sec pause here)


**

THE BPL FIGHT: SARL SPEAKS OUT IN OPPOSITION TO BPL

Broadband over Powerline Internet access is not
an acceptable system while interference to High
Frequency communications is potentially high. So
says one of the worlds most respected national
ham radio societies. Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, has mo

--

Broadband over Powerline is not an acceptable
system to provide Internet access
connections. This, while the interference
potential to High Frequency communications remains high.

This was the message that the South African Radio
League delivered to a Broadband Conference held
last week. One where the proponents of B-P-L
see it as the solution to bridging the digital divide.

These people must think again, says the S-A-R-L's
Hans van de Groenendaal, ZS6AKV. van de
Groenendaal told delegates that bridging the
digital divide is about access to Personal
Computers and computer literacy and not about cheap broadband delivery.

ZS6AKV said that the South African Radio League
is not against new technologies. This, as long
as these technologies are not at the cost of the
High Frequency spectrum which he terms as a scarce national resource.

van de Groenendaal said that radio amateurs are
always embracing new technologies. It is part of
being an communications experimenter.

With so many successful and more mature
technologies available, ZS6AKV concluded by
saying that it is difficult to understand why PLT
is still pursued so vigorously.

At the studio in Los Angeles, I'm Bill Pasternak
reporting for the amateur Radio Newsline.

--

Currently there is no Broadband over
Powerline equipment "type approved" by for use
in South Africa and no licenses for it have been
issued. The South African Radio League and the
South Africa ham community are hopeful to keep it that way. (Southgate)

**

ENFORCEMENT: SAN DIEGO FCC OFFICE JUMPS ON THE
LATEST 96.9 MHZ UNLICENSED STATION

Back in the United States, the San Diego FCC
field office lost no time in going after the
latest unlicensed broadcast operation on 96.9
MHz. A Notice of Unlicensed Operation was issued
June 12th to Jose Partida of Chula Vista. In it
the regulatory agency warned Partida to cease
operation at once or face sanctions that could
include heavy fines, seizure of station
equipment and criminal sanctions including
imprisonment. Partida was given ten days from
the June 12th date of the notice to respond. (CGC)

**

RADIO LAW: FCC DENIES UFO CALLSIGN

The FCC has denied a request that the call sign
NM5UFO be assigned to the New Mexico's Saucer
Ridge Amateur Radio Association. In filing its
request the club had maintained that the
assignment of NM5UFO would be in keeping with the
theme that Roswell, New Mexico which has been
known since 1947 as the site of a UFO crash. In
denying the request the FCC simply said that the
requested call did not follow the
agency's sequential callsign assignment system. (HandiHam News)

**

HAM RADIO TRENDS: THE ICOM ON-LINE SURVEY

Icom is conducting an on-line survey to find out
how, where and when hams operate their
stations. And as an incentive for taking part
you will be entered to a drawing to win one of two IC-R5 portable receivers.

The survey is quite simple and takes only a few
moments to complete. And you do not have to own
or use any Icom brand gear to take part. All you
need to do is take your web browser over to
www.icomamerica.com/amateur/survey and follow the
simple instructions. According to Icom your
opinions are very important to its Product Development Team.

Again, the URL for the Icom survey is
www.icomamerica.com/amateur/survey Just fill it
in and one of these days you might find yourself
listening to an IC-R5 that you won for simply
taking part. (Icom Release, WB9QZB)

**

HAM RADIO BUSINESS: KENWOOD SAYS ITS HERE TO STAY

Once again the bloggers are wrong. Contrary to
what some hams have conjectured on the Internet,
Kenwood Communications has no plans to leave the
ham radio marketplace. Amateur Radio Newsline's
Fred Vobbe, W8HDU, has the rest of the story:

--

Kenwood, which has just announced that is
acquiring famed consumer electronics manufacturer
J-V-C from Matsu****a Electric says that it sees
ham radio as an important part of its overall
future business plan. And in a letter to the
Amateur Radio community, Phil Parton , N4DRO, who
is the Kenwood's National Sales Manager for
Amateur Products makes it clear that the company is in ham radio to stay.

Parton writes -- and we quote: "I would like to
take a moment of your time with this open letter
and help dispel rumors, and falsehoods that have
been stated as fact. I have been assured from
Top Management in Japan and the U.S. and I can
assure you that the Kenwood Communications Sector
has no intention of exiting the Amateur Radio
Marketplace. It is a viable market. The Amateur
Division has been running in the black since our
restructuring several years ago. In fact, even
with the loss of models over the last four years
the Amateur Division has grown in market,
speaking highly of Kenwood quality and the
loyalty of our customers." -- End quote.

Parton goes on to say that at the recent Dayton
Hamvention, Kenwood introduced its new dual band
TM-V71A and that dealers report many were sold at
the show. The TM-V71A is billed as the worlds
first Echolink ready transceiver with ten
dedicated Echolink memory channels as well as
Echolink sysop mode of operation.

Parton also notes that the company also had a
pre-production prototype of the Dual Band
TM-D710A was under Plexiglas. This radio, due
out in late August, will serve as a replacement
for the soon to be discontinued TM-D700A.

In his letter, Parton also touches on the reason
Kenwood has been taking its time in bringing our
new models. He says that a good portion of the
delay is because Europe has already adopted a
Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive and
the rest of the world is likely soon to follow
their lead. The directive sets collection,
recycling and recovery targets for electrical
goods and is part of a legislative initiative to
solve the problem of huge amounts of toxic
electronic waste. This means that all new
consumer electronics that you will buy in the
coming years will have to meet the directives
criteria. Developing products to meet the new
standard has taken a bit of time, but since ham
radio gear is a world wide market Kenwood
believes that it is imperative that any new
products it brings to that marketplace do comply.

The bottom line says Parton is that Kenwood is
very much alive, well committed to serving the
needs of the world-wide Amateur Radio community
for years to come. He ends by saying to please
standby for more quality products bearing the Kenwood name.

For the amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Fred Vobbe, W8HDU, in Lima, Ohio.

--

One thing you can be sure about. Whatever new
products Kenwood introduces will be
environmentally friendly. Phil Parton says that
some of them will soon be coming your way
soon. (ARNewsline(tm) from Kenwood open letter to all hams.)

**

NEW PRODUCTS: HEIL SOUND ANNOUNCES THE PR-R

Another new product from ham radios own Mr.
Audio. This with word that Bob Heil, K9EID, the
president of Heil Sound has announced the model
PR-R omnidirectional microphone designed
specifically for Electronic News Gathering and news reporting.

The PR-R is 12 inches long and features a
moving-coil dynamic element with an internal
shock mount that reduces handling noise. It also
has a non-glare, slim profile; and zinc die-cast
body construction. The latter means that it can
withstand physical and environmental conditions
encountered during field production operations.

Frequency response is 50 Hz to 16.5 kHz,
sensitivity is -68 dB and output impedance is 600
ohm balanced. Additional features include a foam
pop shield and extended frequency response with rising high end.

Heil Sound says the mic is now in production with
delivery expected in August. Amateur Radio
Newsline had a chance to try out a pre-production
unit at the recent Dayton Hamvention. Even just
connected to our $30 G-E microcassette recorder
the PR-R really proved its ability to make
interview audio easy to understand even in the
noisy environment of the Hara Arena. To us, that says a lot. (RW)

**

NAMES IN THE NEWS: WB4GCS WINS TECH AWARD

Some names in the news. First up is Jim Sanford,
WB4GCS, who has been named as this years ARRL
Atlantic Division Technical Achievement Award winner.

Sanford was selected for this honor in
recognition of his involvement with AMSAT where
he is currently serving as the Project Manager
for the OSCAR Eagle project. Eagle is the next
generation high earth orbit satellite under
construction now by AMSAT North America. (K3IO, Southgate)

**

NAMES IN THE NEWS: PAVEK MUSEUM HONORED FOR PRESERVING ELECTRONIC MEDIA

Meantime, Minnesota's Pavek Museum of
Broadcasting has been presented with the Richard
M. Uray Alpha Epsilon Rho Award for Excellence
for its efforts and achievements in preserving
the history of electronic communication.

The museum is said to feature one of the world's
finest collections of early radio, television,
broadcasting and recording equipment, as well as
an archive of regional radio and television
program material. Pavek also is home to the
Museum of Broadcasting Hall of Fame.

The award is given by the National Broadcasting
Society and Alpha Epsilon Rho. The latter is a
national honor society of electronic media students. (RW)

**

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)

**

EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: GOOGLE MAP IMAGRY GOES TO THE STREETS

Want to see your antenna farm from street level
from the comfort of your hamshack? Well Google
has announced that it will soon be introducing
street-level map views of various U.S. cities,
giving Web surfers a panoramic, 360 degree images
as well as the overhead views Google Maps has offered.

With the new "Street View" feature in Google
Maps, street level images will be available for
maps of the San Francisco area, New York, Las
Vegas, Denver and Miami. The service will
then expand to other metropolitan regions nationwide.

Users looking at Google Maps through a Web
browser will be able to navigate around a
city,. This will mean web surfers can virtually
walk the streets, check out restaurants and
landmarks and even zoom in on street signs to make travel plans.

No word as to how often the street level images
will be updated or if they will be clear enough
to pick out rusty mounting hardware on your tri-band quad. (Google)

**

EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: APPLE SAFARI BROWSER NOW FOR WINDOWS

Apple has released a new version of its Safari
Web browser for Windows-based PC. The free
program is the latest move by Apple to expand its
reach beyond its Macintosh computers and, at the
same time, attract new converts to its products.

Safari, was released a few years ago for Apple's
Macintosh computers. It has so far captured
about 5 percent of the world's market share for
Internet browsers with more than 18 million
users. Microsoft's Internet Explorer is the
dominant browser with a 78 percent share, while
Mozilla's Firefox has rapidly climbed to gain about 15 percent of the
market.

The release of Safari for Windows is seen as yet
another part of Apples multi-pronged encroachment
of what has long been held to be Microsoft's
almost private turf. (Published news reports)

**

WORLDBEAT - AUSTRALIA: VK6XW NEW WIA INTRUDER WATCH COORDINATOR

Karl Hennig VK6XW has been appointed by the
Wireless Institute of Australia Board as its new
Intruder Watch Coordinator. The WIA operates the
Intruder Watch program as a centralized regional
clearing house for reports on intrusions from non
amateur activities in the ham radio
bands. Hening replaces Glenn Dunstan, VK4DU, who
retired from that post at the recent Wireless
Institute of Australia annual general meeting. (WIA News)

**

WORLDBEAT - JAPAN: TOKYO TO HOST WORLDS TALLEST TOWER

Wired.com says the tallest broadcasting tower
ever built is coming to Tokyo, Japan.. The 2001
foot high structure, which still doesn't have a
name, will host the digital radio and television
transmissions plus a mobile TV network. When
completed in 2011 the concrete-and-steel tower
will be the highest free-standing antenna in the world. (RW)

**

WORLDBEAT - UK: VOLUNTEER COMMUNICATORS NEEDED FOR THE TOUR DE FRANCE

The United Kingdom's Raynet emergency
communications system says that ham radio
volunteers needed for the British leg Tour de
France bicycle race. Hams free on July 8th are
invited to apply. If you can help contact Dennis
Spalding, by e-mail to
as soon as you possibly can possible.
(GB2RS)

**

WORLDBEAT - UK: GB2RS TO DISCONTINUE PACKET NEWS

Call this one the end of an era. This with word
that the Radio Society of Great Britain's GB2RS
News Service will no longer be distributed via
Packet Radio. This, after Roger Harris, G3ZFR,
is no longer in a position to distribute the
weekly GB2RS news bulletin via that early digital mode.

The GB2RS news will continue to be distributed
with scheduled on-the-air broadcasts and via the
Internet. The RSGB also hosts a subscription
remailer on yahoogroups for those who want their
news to come to them by electronic mail. (GB2RS)

**

WORLDBEAT - UK: HAM RADIO COMEDY ON YOUTUBE

Still in the U-K, an episode of the 1960 BBC TV
comedy series 'Hancock's Half Hour' starring Tony
Hancock as a bungling ham radio operator is now
on YouTube. This classic episode shows Hancock
as a ham radio enthusiast who receives a mayday
call from a ship in distress but keeps getting
distracted just before he can take down its
position. The episode is split into three parts.
To view this and other classic Hancock clips, go
to www.youtube.com and enter Tony Hancock in the search box. (GB2RS)

**

ON THE AIR: SCHEDULE CHANGE FOR WEST COAST QUALIFYING RUN

On the air, the ARRL has announced that there
will be a slight change to the July 2007 West
Coast Qualifying Run schedule. The Run will be
transmitted by the Maritime Radio Historical
Society station using the call KPH stroke K6KPH.
This station is the same one that sends out the
W1AW Field Day Bulletin for the benefit of West Coast amateurs.

Look for K6KPH to transmit the West Coast Run on
three bands on July 12 at 0400 UTC. That
computes as 9 PM PDT on July 11th. The Morse
code speeds will remain at 10 to 40 Words Per
Minute with transmission made on 3.590, 7.047.5 and 14.047.5 MHz.

All Qualifying Run submissions should still be
sent to the ARRL for processing. (ARRL)

**

DX

In D-X, UA4WHX is once again active from Uganda
as 5X1VB. As always there is no indication on
how long he will be there but he has been heard
this past weekend on 80, 17 and 12 meters mostly
CW. QSL via his home callsign, direct or by the bureau. It is recommend
to send direct cards after he has gotten home from his travels.

And word that the 3B7 Dxpedition to the Brandon
Islands was expected to have gone Q-R-T on June
21st. If you worked this one please QSL via SP9SX.

EA5RM, has announced that a multi-national team
is planning to be on the air from Kigali, Rwanda
later this summer. Details will be shortly.
Susan Meckley, W7KFI, who is sailing her boat the
USS Dharma to Johnston Island has been forced to
return to Honolulu because of a bad
toothache. She told the O-P-D-X newsletter that
the pain was so unbearable that decided to return
to Hawaii to see an oral surgeon.

Meckley tells the OPDX that she will again
attempt her trip to Johnston Island in less than
two weeks. It will take about a week to travel
there. Listen out for her on C-W 36 Kilohertz
above any High Frequency ham band edge and on SSB
on selected voice frequencies. She plans on
visiting a number of rare DX spots over next 3 years in the South Pacific.

Lastly, HB9QQ, will be active portable HB0 from Lichtenstein between
June 29th and July 2nd and again between July 6th
to the 9th. Activity will be on the High
Frequency bands along with 6 and 2 meters. QSL via his home callsign
address.

(Above DX news from various DX sources)

**

THAT FINAL ITEM: FIELD DAY 2007

And finally this week, Field Day 2007 seems to
have been a mixed bag. Most hams report less
than good conditions with the upper High
Frequency bands fairly quiet over the entire
operating event. The opposite was true on the
lower bands like 40 and 75 where contact runs
like this one were common in the hours after dark:

--

Contact audio here

--

While the ARRL bills Field Day as an operating
event to test the emergency preparedness skills
of radio amateurs, hams themselves have other
reasons for taking part. Some look at it as yet
another contest to see how many stations they can
contact from a location away from home. Others
look at it as a public relations event to make
the public aware that Amateur Radio is out there,
ready and willing to serve in time of
crisis. Many like James Osment, W6OZZ, of the
Santa Clarita Amateur RadioClub in
California have another reason for taking
part. They see it as a chance to share time with some very special friends:

--

Osment: "For me, I guess its about
comoradory. The people I have met in Amateur
Radio are to me long lasting friends, I mean
that they are forever-lasting friends and to me
that's very important. Its very important in
your lifetimre to have friends that you can turn
to for any problem in the world, and they are
there itt seems to help you, no matter what."

--

It will be a few months before the scores are
tallied and we all know who won in each operating
category. No matter. With Field Day all who
take part win something, in one way or
another. And this operator is already looking
forward to Field Day, 2008. (ARNewsline(tm))

**


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
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www.arnewsline.org. You can also write to us or
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Before we go, a reminder of our latest on-line
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For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the
editors desk, I'm Jim Davis, W2JKD, saying 73 and we thank you for
listening.

Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.