Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
#1
![]() |
|||
|
|||
![]()
Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1594 - February 29, 2008
Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1594 with a release date of Friday, February 29th, 2008 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a Q-S-T. An Australian digital ham radio group is shutting down, the March Clipperton Island DXpedition is going live to the web and Japan launches its own emergency communications satellite. Find out more about it on Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) report number 1594 coming your way right now. (Billboard Cart Here) ** RESCUE RADIO TECHNOLOGY: VK PACKET GROUP SHUTTING DOWN The cost of keeping a radio program going has become to much for one Australian crew. After many years of service, Australia's Queensland Digital Group is closing down and transferring its ham radio networks to that nations Wireless Institute Civil Emergency Service better known by the acronym WICEN. With the story behind the story here's W-I-A newsman Graham Kemp, VK4BB: -- Brisbane Area WICEN is set to take over the Queensland Digital Group packet and Voice networks as the QDG Inc. can no longer maintain the networks and will run out of funds within twelve months. In order to keep the radio sites for Amateur use QDG reluctantly decided to close down, this way they are able to pass on the networks as a going concern, complete with some funds for maintenance and on going technical support. A number of QDG Inc. members have joined WICEN to help maintain the equipment. This decision has taken over three years while they have tried other means to keep the networks going but this is the only logical choice left. The QDG's VK4DGQ packet mail-server will also close, due to the decline in packet usage. The Queensland Digital Group has started the slow process of shutting down feeds to Queensland and interstate packet BBS. Invisible to users, VK4DGQ has none the less been an integral part of the world wide packet radio network for twenty years and will be missed by many hams. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Graham Kemp, VK4BB of the WIA News in Brisbane, Australia. -- VK4BB also reports that as the era comes to a close, so to does the VK4TX packet radio Bulletin Board Server run by Neville Mills and bearing his callsign. First on line in 1982 the well known Australian B-B-S was soon attracting packet users in the Brisbane region and was very popular in the 1980's and 1990's. Over the last few years it has as a packet forwarding gateway. (WIA News) ** RESCUE RADIO TECHNOLOGY: JAPAN LAUNCHES EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS DATA SATELLITE Japan has successfully orbited an experimental satellite aimed at providing high-speed emergency Internet access across Asia. This, even if the terrestrial infrastructure were to be destroyed. The Kizuna satellite was launched at 08:55 GMT on February 23rd from the Japan Space Center on Tanegashima island using a Japan developed H-2A rocket. The 342 million dollar bird will allow super-high speed data communications of up to 1.2 Gbps. That rate translates to 150 times that of the average high-speed ADSL connection rate of 8 Mbps, or 12 times the speed of a fiber-optic communication delivery to an Internet subscribers premises. Japan is looking to use the satellite to allow communication when a ground-based network is severed by a disaster in any Asian country. It would be used to transmit data to crisis management offices by satellite transceiver equipped first response teams in the field. The space agency is also hoping to use the satellite as an educational or medical communications tool to reach people in remote or mountainous areas. The word Kizuna means "bond" in Japanese. The satellite is expected to be commissioned to full service with terrestrial infrastructures this coming July. (Space) ** ON THE AIR: CLIPPERTON 08 GOING LIVE TO THE WEB It's a DXpedition that you will be able to take part in, at least vicariously. This with news that the upcoming TX5C DXpedition expects to be active from Clipperton Island March 7th to March 17th has arranged to bring much of its operation into your shack over the World Wide Web. Thanks to the generous sponsorship of satellite phone dealer Outfitter Satellite Inc, the TX5C operation will be able to provide DX'ers with rich high bandwidth content from the DXpedition including more online log updates, webcams and live video from Clipperton Atoll. Bob Grimmick, N6OX, will lead the international team to Clipperton. The major sponsors include Icom America, SteppIR antennas, Alpha Radio Products, the Northern California DX Foundation, and the International DX Association. Operation will be on all the high frequency bands using C-W, SSB and RTTY plus 6 meter CW and SSB. This happens to be the 30th anniversary of the 1978 FO0XA-XH operation from the atoll and the goal in 2008 is to hold 100,000 or QSO's worldwide. More is on-line at http://clipperton2008.org. We will have more DX news later on in this weeks Amateur Radio Newsline report. (Clipperton 2008) ** DX DISASTER: BAD WEATHER FORCES XR7W EARLY SHUTDON Being at the center of a DX pile up not only involves a lot of hard work, but it can also be dangerous and expensive. That's the story of the now concluded Wager Island operation. Amateur Radio Newsline's Bruce Tennent, K6PZW, has mo -- On February 9th, the XR7W Wager Island team experienced some truly horrible weather conditions. They were forced to leave the island after some 24 hours of gale force winds and pouring rain. Abandoning their DXpedition was bad enough, but once on the mainland the team suffered a rather serious accident. They were on their way back to Coyhaique, Chile when their van slipped of a gravel road. It hit a rock and flipped upside-down. Four operators were hospitalized. RV1CC was diagnosed with a broken left upper arm. CE6TBN received cuts, bruises and a broken rib. RA0FU had a number of cuts while HA1AG suffered a broken finger, a broken rib and compression on the thorax bone. Thankfully none of the operators lost their life. Despite all the problems, the XR7W operators managed some 2,400 QSO's from the rare Wager Island location. The damage in van, to their equipment and additional costs are estimated in excess of 11,000 Euros. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, in Los Angeles -- Wager Island is off the coast of Chile. You can read an in depth first hand account of the accident written by HA1AG on line at http://dx-is.com/news/?p7 (Southgate, HA1AG, others) ** DX NOW: KOSOVO AND DXCC The DXCC status of the newly independent nation of Kosovo remains in question. In a lengthy press release last week, the ARRL's DXCC Manager Bill Moore, NC1L, said he understands that there are many questions about the DXCC status of Kosovo, but indicated that a decision on adding it to the approved countries list could be sometime off . Moore said the DXCC rules, modified in 2000 to better handle inclusion to DXCC, are clear on how additions can be made. He says that for inclusion in the DXCC List, certain conditions must be met. He says that gaining entry on the DXCC List is not contingent upon whether operation has occurred or will occur, but only upon the qualifications of the Entity" Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia on February 17th. This set off new speculation on what this means to Amateur Radio and specifically, to the DXCC program. According to Moore, adding Kosovo to the DXCC List would be considered under the "Political Entity" DXCC guidelines. These DXCC rules state that Political Entities are those areas which are separated by reason of government or political division. When Kosovo might be put up for such consideration, Moore did not say. We will have more DX news near the end of this weeks newscast. (ARRL) ** BREAK 1 From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including the KD1RJ repeater serving the city of Fairfield, Connecticut. (5 sec pause here) ** RESCUE RADIO: HAMS TRAIN FOR SKYWARN IN TERRE HAUTE INDIANA Back in the USA, amateur radio operators and others in Terre Haute, Indiana took time out on Monday night, February 25th to learn how to identify dangerous storms. This, at a class where trainee storm spotters got a lesson in spotting potentially severe weather formations. Dave Tucek, KC9CNF, is a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Indianapolis. He spoke to more than 60 amateur radio operators and other weather spotters gathered for the 2008 Weather Spotter Class sponsored by Illiana Indiana Skywarn. He says that storm spotters are vital in identifying dangerous storms at the ground level. He said that weather radar often only tells the National Weather Service what is happening several thousand feet above the ground but not what's going on down here at ground level. Weather spotters, such as those in Illiana Skywarn, are vital for issuing correct severe weather warnings, watches and advisories, Tucek said. Skywarn, a national organization that works with the National Weather Service to help identify severe weather at the ground level. (Terre Haute Star) ** ENFORCEMENT: DEATH CANCELS PIRATE STATION FINE The FCC has canceled a $10,000 fine against the late Henry Gaye for operating an unlicensed radio transmitter. This, because Gaye has passed on. The text from the FCC was short and to the point. Dennis Carlton, regional director of the South Central Region of the Enforcement Bureau, wrote: "Th e Tampa Office has since learned that Mr. Gaye passed away. Because Mr. Gaye is no longer living, we cancel the NAL." (RW) ** ENFORCEMENT: U.K. RAID NETS 20 PIRATES OFF THE AIR Ofcom, the United Kingdoms telecommunications regulator has announced that it recently carried out enforcement action against over 20 illegal broadcasters in various parts of London. The operation was carried out between February 6th and 16th in cooperation with the Boroughs of Hackney, Haringey, Tower Hamlets and Islington, and the Metropolitan Police.. This enforcement action resulted in three arrests, one studio raid, and the removal of 22 transmitters from the airwaves. Ofcom estimates that there are still over 150 illegal stations operating in the UK, with half of those broadcasting across London and the South East. (GB2RS) ** RADIO LAW: FOR THE BIRDS FCC Commissioner Michael Copps says that he is pleased with a decision by a federal appeals court to vacate the commission's denial and dismissal of the Gulf Coast migratory bird petition. Instead, the court ordered the commission to conduct a study of the effect of communications towers on migratory birds. The commission has an open proceeding on the issue of whether communications towers, such as radio, TV, cell and two-way towers, cause or contribute to migratory bird deaths. Environmentalists say they do; broadcasters say they do not or that the problem is overstated. The FCC has not decided whether to appeal the decision but Copps called the decision a wake-up cal. He ays that it is time to stop acting as if a problem will go away if we just keep kicking it down the road. (RW) ** REPEATER PROBLEMS: UK D-STAR REPEATER GOES OFF DUE TO INTERFERENCE FROM UNLICENSED DEVICES A newly operational D-Star repeater in the United Kingdom has been forced off the air due to interference on its input from unlicensed devices. The Radio Society of Great Britain's Emerging Technology Co-ordination Committee website reports that the GB7YD dash C, 70cm D-Star system has been removed from service until an alternative frequency can be found. According to the coordinating committee, problems have been experienced at other United Kingdom 70 cm D-Star repeaters with an input on 433.9125 MHz. Unfortunately this part of the Amateur Band in the U-K was made license exempt and is used by a large number of micro power consumer electronic devices for remote control and telemetry applications. This includes automobile key keyless entry systems, wireless door bells and data links for in-home weather stations. (Southgate) ** HAM TECHNOLOGY: D-STAR GROWING IN THE UK But its not all bad news from our neighbors across the Atlantic pond. 2 meter D-Star repeaters have been springing up like weeds across the United Kingdom in recent days. First was GB7DG in Glasgow on February 15th. It was soon followed on the air by GB7YD in Yorkshire, GM7MI in Manchester and GB7DE in Fife. United Kingdom D-Star repeaters have already become well established in the 70 cm band. The new 2 meter repeaters make D-Star accessible to many more U-K Radio Amateurs. The offer by Icom UK of 2 meter or 70 cm D-STAR repeaters for £1000 which is equivalent to about 1900 U-S dollars has undoubtedly been a factor in the rapid growth of the United Kingdom's D-Star repeater network. So even with the interference from unlicensed devices, D-Star in the United Kingdom is still quickly gaining in popularity. (Southgate) ** HAM HELP WANTED: PSR LOOKING FOR WRITERS AND ARTICLES The Tucson Amateur Packet Radio publication Packet Status Register is looking for a few good writers. Of particular interest are ham radio operators working on the digital side of our hobby who would like to publicize their activities. Since 1982 Tucson Amateur Packet Radio publishes the Packet Status Register quarterly as a membership journal featuring both technical and non-technical articles. Its editorial staff can handle just about any text and graphic format. The deadline for the next issue to be released at the 2008 Dayton Hamvention is March 31st. Submissions go to WA1LOU at tapr dot org. (TAPR) ** HAM RADIO BUSINESS: HARBACH PURCHASES RIGHTS TO PETER W DAHL TRANSFORMERS The name Peter W. Dahl and the transformers and chokes he designed will live on. This with word that Jeff Weinberg, W8CQ of Harbach Electronics, has purchased the rights to the name, along with the original transformer and choke specifications and designs, and the design equipment. Weinberg e-mailed at least one ham to confirm that the deal had been made. In his note he indicated that the next generation of Dahl designed transformers will be built by MagCap Engineering using the original specifications, and sold through Harbach Electronics under the Peter Dahl name. The transformer and chokes will be shipped FOB Canton, Massachusetts and shipped directly to the customer from the MagCap Engineering factory. (QRZ.com) ** THE SOCIAL SCENE UPDATE: MT BEACON HAMFEST IN NY IN APRIL Turning to the ham radio social scene, word that the 2008 Mt. Beacon Amateur Radio Club Hamfest takes place on Sunday April 13th not April 1st as reported last week. The venue is still the same. It's Tymor Park in LaGrangeville, New York. More is on-line at www.wr2abb.org. (WA2BSS) ** THE SOCIAL SCENE: KENNEHOOCHEE HAMFEST MARCH 15TH The 55th Annual Kennehoochee Hamfest, takes place Saturday, March 15th in Jim R Miller Park, on Marietta, Georgia. Gates open at 8 a.m. and close at 3 in the afternoon local time with talk-in on the 146.880 MHz repeater that requires a 100 hertz access tone. More about this event is on-line at www.w4bi.org (E-mail) ** THE SOCIAL SCENE: DX PROGRAMS FOR YOUR CLUB MEETINGS And if you are looking for a program for your next club meeting word that movie maker Jim Brooks, 9V1YC has two new DXpedition videos out. One deals with the 2006 Kermedec Island Zed-L-8-R operation. The other chronicles the 2007 B-S-7-H Scarborough Reef operation. Both are professionally produced, broadcast-quality documentaries on DVD. More about these and Jim's other 8 DXpedition films are on line at www.dxvideos.com. (E-mail) ** 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: BOB BEASLEY, K6BJH - S.K. Some more sad news to report . This, with the passing of famed ham radio cartoonist Bob Beasley, K6BJH, of Homeland, California. Bob Beasley was born and raised in southern California and became a radio amateur in 1953. He once said that he had been interested in comic art ever since he could remember, and decided at an early age that he wanted to be a cartoonist. For many years K6BJH was the resident cartoonist for Worldradio Magazine. After he retired much of his work was released in the book The Best of Beasley. Bob Beasley, K6BJH, died on Saturday, February 16th. He was 83. (Worldradio) ** CHANGING OF THE GUARD: SWL LEADER DON RICHARD SCHMIDT - SK And the world of shortwave listening has lost one of its prominent leaders. This with the passing of Southern California Area DX'ers club Vice President Don Richard Schmidt. According to Stewart MacKenzie, Schmidt died of an apparent heart Attack on Monday, February 18th. McKenzie says that the group will greatly miss Schmidt's services to the hobby of radio listening and to the two club's that he has put his full energy into all these years. MacKenzie says that per Schmidt's wishes there are no plans for a memorial gathering. (SCADS) ** EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: BOEING MUST PROVE WIRELESS BROADBAND SECURITY OF 787 Boeing Aircraft Company still has something to prove when it comes to offering safe Internet access on its new 787 jetliner. This, before the new jet will be permitted to carry passengers with their wireless devices turned on. Boeing has designed the 787 Dreamliner to allow airlines to offer passengers more in-flight Internet options than previous planes have allowed. Those new features and other aspects of 787's computer network go beyond the scope of existing regulations. So the Federal Aviation Administration is requiring Boeing to show the new technology isn't a safety threat. According to news reports, Boeing will have to show that Internet access in the cabin will not leave the flight controls vulnerable to hackers and hijackers. The company claims it has engineered safeguards to shut out unauthorized users, but some security analysts worry navigation and communications systems could still be vulnerable. As to you bringing along your H-T and operating from on-high. Well don't hold your breath. Its doubtful that any major airline will ever permit hams to talk on the air with their own gear as some might please. (Science OnLine) ** HAM RADIO IN SPACE: AO-11 COPIED BUT INTERMITTANT AMSAT reports that its aging OSCAR-11 ham radio satellite was heard from January 22nd to February 1st and again from February 11th to the 15th. Signal levels have been very variable in strength sometimes very strong, and at other time undetectable, even at high elevations. Low signal strength was particularly noticeable towards the end of the transmission periods. OSCAR-11 is expected to switch back on under control of its on-board timer around March 7th. There should be a short period of transmissions before permanent eclipses start in mid March. After that time it is unlikely that the satellite will support any sustained period of operation, and will only transmit for a short time, possibly less than a single orbit, every 21 days. OSCAR-11 has a beacon frequency of 145.826 MHz where it transmits telemetry. More information is at http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/clivew/ (ANS) ** WORLDBEAT - ANTARCTICA: LOGS FINALLY ARRIVE Some good news for those of you waiting a long time for a confirmation from Antarctica. Adam Brown, K2ARB, reports that he has received the logs for the operation from KC4USV at McMurdo Station for the period October 2004 through February 2007. Among the operators during that period were Mike Poole, KE6ZYK, and Charles Dowdell, N2TYQ. All stations wishing to confirm a QSO or submit an SWL signal report are invited to do so via K1IED at his address as found on QRZ.com. All QSO's will soon be uploaded to Logbook to the World as well. (Modern DX News) ** WORLDBEAT - AUSTRALIA: A NEW HAM ON-LINE WIKI A new amateur radio wiki has been started by Tim Roberts, VK4YEH. Roberts says that he intends for this new wiki to become an online encyclopaedia for hams, rather than just pages of links. Articles of all sorts are welcome, but be aware that the philosophy of a wiki is that articles can be, and probably will be, edited by others. The URL is www.amateur-radio-wiki.net (WIA) ** WORLDBEAT - WORLDWIDE: INTERNATIONAL MUSEUMS WEEKEND This years International Museums Weekend special event will take place on the weekend of June 14th and 15th. Hams world-wide are encouraged to participate in this event by setting up stations in their local museums. The event organizer is Harry Bloomfield, M1BYT. He asks that all those intending to join in should register their museum on the International Museums Weekend website at www.ukradioamateur.co.uk/imw Harry himself can be contacted by email to harry dot m1byt at tiscali do co dot uk. (GB2RS) ** DX In DX, word that F8CHM will be active as FR5EZ from Reunion Island until the 21st of March. He expects to be active on the HF bands and 6 meters using CW and SSB. QSL as directed on the air And weather permitting, the United Kingdom's Luton VHF Group plan to activate the Welsh island of Caldey, on 1st and 2nd March. This, during the 2 meter and 70cm RSGB contest. The callsign will be GW3SVJ. The expedition is a precursor to a much longer and larger expedition planned for the first week of September. Further information is available at www dot vhfcomm dot co dot uk slash LVG. Also the 1st and 2nd of March sees the ARRL DX SSB Contest on all HF bands. It starts at 00.01 on the Saturday and ends at 23.59 on the Sunday. The exchange is RST and serial number. As this is a contest contacts must be kept brief so please do not ask QSL routing. Most major operations will either post this information on the Internet or supply it to DX and contest newsletter. The VP6DX operation was slated to leave the island on February 28th. As this was being written, the VP6DX Web site was reporting around 121,968 QSO's. The U-R-L is www.vp6dx.com Lastly, word that the New Zealand's NZART QSL Bureau ZL1 prefix sub-bureau is closed until further notice. Jack Small, ZL1KQ, has retired from the position he has held since 1980. The national society is now looking for a replacement for Small willing to take on this unpaid volunteer position. (Above from various DX news sources) ** THAT FINAL ITEM: UK MAN STEALS TO BUY RADIOS And finally this week, talk about being addicted to radio. Amateur Radio Newsline's Jim Damron, N8TMW, reports: -- The Halifax Evening Courier reports that a 56-year-old man in the United Kingdom admitted to stealing the equivalent of almost $30,000 from his 71 year old partner and spending it all on receivers. The newspaper says that the Copley, Halifax man was accused of forging his partners signature on checks made out to himself while she was a resident in a nursing home. He reportedly used the money to purchase radios with which he surrounded himself often had them all on at once. Police found about 50 wireless sets in his house. The defense said he had suffered from an obsessive compulsive disorder for 30 years. -- The next time your XYL gives you a bad time over your transceiver and antenna tuner, just tell her about this guy and how lucky she really is. (Halifax EC) ** 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.YHOTY.org. For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors desk, I'm David Black, KB4KCH, saying 73 and we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2008. All rights reserved. |
Reply |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
![]() |
||||
Thread | Forum | |||
Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1695 - February 5, 2010 | Info | |||
Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1594 - February 29, 2008 | Info | |||
Amateur Radio Newsline" Report 1593 - February 22, 2008 | Info | |||
Amateur Radio Newsline" Report 1593 - February 22, 2008 | Moderated |