Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1679 - October 16 2009

Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1679 with a release date of
Friday, October 16th, 2009 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a Q-S-T. A family looses its lives trying to help a
ham put up an antenna, Australia unveils a free Electromagnetic safety
calculator that covers the VHF and UHF ham bands, Midway Island finally
makes it on the air and D-Star goes to new heights and then jumps out.
Find out what we mean on Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) report number 1679
coming your way right now.


(Billboard Cart Here)

**

RADIO SAFETY: THREE ELECTROCUTED INSTALLING HAM ANTENNA IN FLORIDA

Three people trying to help a Florida ham by installing an antenna for
her have been electrocuted in a bizarre accident that happened after
dark. Amateur Radio Newsline's Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, has the details:

--

A mother, father and their 15-year-old son died on Monday, October
12th. This, after being electrocuted while attempting to erect a ham
radio antenna.

The Palm Bay Florida Police Department identified the victims as
Melville Braham, 55, Anna Braham, 49, and their 15 year old son
Anthony. None were licensed radio amateurs but they appeared to have
been assisting an area ham with an antenna installation.

Authorities say the family was attempting to raise the antenna mast
when they lost control and it struck an overhead power line. It made
contact with the overhead wiring and sent 13,000 volts down through the
antenna mast the three were holding,

When paramedics arrived, they found all three on the ground not
breathing. Rescue crews immediately tried to resuscitate them. Anna
Braham was pronounced dead at the scene. The father and son were taken
to a local hospital, where they were later pronounced dead.

Florida Power & Light Co. crews also responded to the scene. They shut
off power in the area while authorities collected evidence and
documented the scene.

According to news reports, Anthony Barham attended Southwest Middle
School. Grief counselors were available at the school on Tuesday
October 13th to help students deal with the tragic loss of their
friend.

Federal Communications Commission records do not show that any of the
victims were licensed amateur radio amateurs. They do, however, show a
license issued to a Barbara V. Tenn, KJ4KFF, at the address where the
electrocutions occurred.

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

--

This appears to be yet another case of those trying to put up an
antenna not realizing the potential danger of nearby overhead high
tension electric distribution, and the fact that these wires are all
but invisible at night. (Published news reports)

**

RADIO SAFETY: NEW EMI CALCULATOR AVAILABLE FROM THE ACMA

Australia's Swinburne University, together with EM Software and
Systems, has developed an online tool that will allow users to
calculate exclusion zones around antennas where radiation levels exceed
safety standard limits.

Commissioned by the Australian Communications and Media Authority, the
exclusion zone calculator will allow people to conduct safety
assessments of transmitting antennas, such as those found on boats,
four wheel drives, at fixed station locations and even communication
networks operating in the VHF and UHF spectrum. This includes ham
bands from 2 meters on up through 2.4 GHz.

To calculate the zone, all users need to do is enter the antenna type,
transmitter power, antenna gain and frequency band into the online
tool. Click your mouse and the program will automatically calculate
the safe distance around the antenna in metric distance.

The ACMA has also produced a booklet entitled Human Exposure to
Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Radiation Information for Licensees of
Radio-Communications Transmitters. Both the on-line tool and a
booklet that explains EME health exposure can be found at
www.acma.gov.au. (ACMA)

**

HAM RADIO IN SPACE: AMSAT-NA ANNOUNCES NEW FM CUBESAT

AMSAT North America says that its once again headed back into space.
This time with a brand new cubesat that will be like no other before
it.

During the board meeting held Oct. 8 in conjunction with the Annual
Space Symposium the AMSAT Board of Directors adopted the Engineering
Task Force recommendation that low-cost launch options be pursued
immediately. This means that the AMSAT engineering team will develop a
1U CubeSat design effective immediately.

The new AMSAT CubeSat's initial capability is planned to add to the
popular low-earth orbit FM transponder fleet allowing hams to continue
to use their existing handheld and portable antenna systems. Such a
satellite also continues the accessible entry path for new satellite
operators to get started.

Meantime, word that the flight version of ARISSat-1 replacement for
SuitSat 2 has been developed to be adaptable into the CubeSat model.
This will allow a modular approach to mission design using proven
subsystems and components.


The ARISSat-1 mission planned in 2010 and will be the initial flight
test of AMSAT's modular satellite. According to Tony Monteiro, AA2TX,
who is AMSAT North America's Vice-President of Engineering, this
approach to building flight hardware gets AMSAT back up in space with
new satellites by leveraging the skills and technology it has today.

AMSAT says that there's another reason for this fast track approach.
This is because the existing FM satellites are starting to show their
age. (AMSAT, N3TL)

**

BREAKING DX NEWS: MIDWAY ISLAND TEAM FINALLY ARRIVES ON THE ISLAND

It took a few more days than planned but the Midway Island DXpedition
has finally arrived and is on the air. The K4M team was supposed to be
on the island on Friday, October 9th, but an oil line leak in one of
the engines of the Grumman Gulfstream 1 turbo-prop aircraft chartered
to carry them from Hawaii to Midway kept them on the ground an extra
two days.

The team arrived safely on Midway Atoll at 07:00 UTC on Monday morning
October 12th. At daybreak they began assembling their antennas to put
the stations on air.

As reported last week, the multi-national team of 18 operators will
activate Midway Island through October 19th. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service had authorized this amateur radio operation from this rare U.S.
entity for only a 10 day period beginning on the 9th but has told the
team that no extension can be granted due to the migratory schedule of
the islands indigenous bird population.

This is the first amateur radio activity from Midway in almost 10
years. Midway Island ranks number 24 world-wide and number 13 in
Europe on the DX Magazine's "Most Wanted List".

We will have more DX news later on in this weeks Amateur Radio Newsline
report. (K4M Press Release)

**

DX FOLLOW-UP: GLORIOSO DX TEAM REACHES 50000 QSO'S

The FT5GA Glorioso Island operation is now QRT and the operators are
happy that the goal of 50,000 QSOs' was reached. This by the crew of
five hams with two and sometimes three stations on the air.

The operation was forced to end operations on October 7th. This was a
day earlier than expected due to the military flight schedule.

According to their Web page, they have made a total of 50,427 QSOs with
15,250 unique callsigns. Of these some 24,235 were on CW, 21,080 on
SSB and 5,112 scored the path using RTTY.

The QSL Manager for this operation is Didier Senmartin, F5OGL. And we
will have more DX related news later on in this weeks Amateur Radio
Newsline report. (Southgate)

**

PUBLIC SERVICE: HAM RADIO AND THE CHICAGO MARATHON

Ham radio helped make the recent Bank of America Chicago Marathon an
overwhelming success. The race took place on Sunday, October 11th with
about 75 hams helping to coordinate the event while providing a safety
web to oversee the almost 35,000 runners.

Coordinating the ham radio aspect of the event was Jerry Martin,
KC9BDA, of Beech Park, Illinois. He assembled a team that came from
ARES. RACES, SATERN, the local American Red Cross chapters and many
other local clubs. The hams set up two- separate networks covering
medical emergencies and logistics. They also manned 21 aid and medical
stations while maintaining liaison with other volunteer groups and the
National Weather Service.

The communications effort began in the wee hours of the morning and
lasted until the final runner crossed the finish line. Hams mainly
used dual band handhelds backed up by portable battery operated high
power stations to communicate over the 26.2 mile course. Several
repeaters donated their services and were held on stand-by in case they
were needed

The winner of the men's competition was Kenya's Sammy Wanjiru, with a
total time of 2 hours, 5 minutes and 41 seconds. The women's first
place went to Liliya Shobukhova of Russia. She completed the course in
2 hours, 25 minutes and 56 seconds. There were also separate
competitions for handcycle and wheelchair entries as well.

All of the ham radio operators who volunteered to provide
communications were required to have previous experience in public
service events. (WB9QZB, others)

**

PUBLIC SERVICE: THE ISTANBUL MARATHON

Chicago is not the only place that ham radio is involved in a marathon
event. Members of the TRAC Istanbul Branch will activate their new
club station using the special callsign TC1IEM between October 16th to
the 18th. This to assist and commemorate the 2009 Istanbul Eurasia
Marathon.

The Istanbul Eurasia Marathon is the only race of its type that starts
in Asia and ends in Europe. All of the commemorative operations will
take place on the high frequency bands. More on the race is on-line at
www.istanbulmarathon.org (Southgate)

**

BREAK 1

From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline,
heard on bulletin stations around the world including the Zero Beaters
Amateur Radio Club's WA0FYA repeater serving Dutzow, Missouri.

(5 sec pause here)


**

ENFORCEMENT: HOW THE SOCAL 2 METER CEMENT JAMMER WAS FOUND

A follow-up to last week's story of the proposed $4000 FCC fine that
was levied against the Shimmick Construction Company and Obayashi
Corporation for illegally operating in the amateur two-meter band.
This was an excellent example of the close cooperation that now exists
between the Los Angeles area FCC office and hams in the Official
Observer and Amateur Auxiliary program. Amateur Radio Newsline's Joe
Moell, K0OV, has the rest of the story in this report:

--

It all started in late April, when hams in central and northern Orange
County began hearing conversations on 146.025 MHz, the output of
K6SOA/R, which is owned by the South Orange Amateur Radio Association
or SOARA. The transmissions were clearly for business and appeared to
be related to construction work. SOARA has regular hidden transmitter
hunts, so some of the club members were already equipped to go into
action to find the source. Two of them, Richard Saunders, K6RBS and
Richard Clark, N6UZS, reported strong signals in the cities of Orange
and Costa Mesa. However, the strength and direction of bearings were
not the same from one day to the next.

Other transmitter hunters and members of the Official Observer corps
soon joined in. The search wasn't simple because the activity wasn't
daily and it was sporadic on the days when it occurred. Next came
reports of strong signals in Anaheim and Yorba Linda. Between the cuss
words, the T-hunters heard conversations suggesting that they were
listening to the handi-talkies of a concrete supplier at various job
sites around the county.

On May 21, Dan Welch W6DFW, the Orange Section Official Observer
Coordinator, hit pay dirt at a construction site of the Diemer
Filtration Plant in Yorba Linda. His photos and recordings went to the
FCC and within a week, the interference was gone. It should be noted
that the concrete supply firm had obtained its handi-talkies from a
commercial two-way radio supplier, which had mistakenly programmed them
to transmit and receive on 146.025 MHz instead of 156.025 MHz. With no
frequency readout and with tone squelch operational in their receivers,
the concrete workers could not hear the SOARA repeater and had no idea
that they were using an Amateur Radio frequency. Nevertheless, as the
licensee for the radios, Shimmick-Obayashi got the Notice of Apparent
Liability for Forfeiture and will have to either appeal it, pay the
fine, or try to get their radio supplier to do so.

From southern California, where our regular T-hunts keep us ready to
find intruders to our bands at a moment's notice, this is Joe Moell
K0OV for Amateur Radio Newsline.

--

The ham radio community in southern California developed a close
working rapport with the local FCC office several years ago during the
investigation into the activities of convicted jammer Jack Gerritsen.
From this latest quick enforcement action one might speculate that the
relationship appears to be cast in concrete. (K0OV, ARNewsline(tm))

**

ENFORCEMENT: UNLICENSED UK BROADCASTER GETS BANNED FROM ROOFTOPS

The British may have stumbled on a unique solution to keep pirate
broadcasters off the air. Don't let them have outdoor antennas. Don
Carlson, KQ6FM, has mo

--

An unlicensed broadcaster has been banned from every roof top in
London, England. This, after he pleaded guilty to installing pirate
radio equipment on a tower in the city.

According to a report on UK telecommunications regulator Ofcom website,
Kieran O'Sullivan received the anti-social behavior order following a
successful prosecution by the regulatory agency. He also received an
18 week custodial sentence suspended for 12 months, a three month
curfew, a £1,200 fine, and had his radio equipment seized.

Ofcom worked with Camden Council and police to secure the prosecution
following complaints from residents about Freeze FM operating from
estates in Hampstead. Neighbors had complained about pirate radio
operators using roof tops to install equipment, which caused a nuisance
to residents and damaged property.

And I'm Don Carlson, KQ6FM, in Reno.

--

You can read the full Ofcom report
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consumer/200...o-rooftop-ban/
(Ofcom, BBC, others)

**

RADIO LAW: NEW ON-LINE FEDERAL REGISTER LAUNCHED

The Federal Register online version is now in an easier-to-read format
at Data.gov. Now in XML format it is it easier to transport data from
a Web site and store it, manipulate it or customize it elsewhere.

The Federal Register is published by the Office of the Federal
Register. It in turn is a part of the National Archives and Records
Administration and is updated Monday through Friday except on federal
holidays.

The register went online in 1994 and is the official publication for
rules, proposed rules and notices of federal agencies and
organizations. It also provides executive orders and other
presidential documents. (RW)

**

HAMVENTION 2010: AMATEUR RADIO CLUBS WORLDWIDE: THE LIFELINE

"Amateur Radio Clubs Worldwide: The Lifeline" will be the theme of the
2010 Dayton Hamvention slated for next May 14th to the 16th at the Hara
Arena in Dayton, Ohio. According to Asst. General Chairman Michael
Kalter, W8CI, we all recognize how much amateur radio clubs and
organizations contribute to the service. This is especially true in
the way clubs pull together in disasters, field days, contests, working
with youth, teaching classes, and sponsoring hamfests. And says Kalter
there are parts of the world where a ham radio club truly is the
communication link to the world.

In order to help celebrate the world of radio clubs, Hamvention
planners are asking for pictures from radio clubs around the world that
it can use on the front and back cover of the Hamvention 2010 program
magazine. It is also looking for stories of interest from interesting
radio clubs as well.

In other Hamvention related news, Kalter says that all of our volunteer
committee chairs and their assistants are in place for 2010 and have
been meeting to make this the best Hamvention you have ever attended.
He also notes that the organizations new online program for taking and
tracking orders is up and running. He notes that many hours have been
spent since he close of Hamvention 2009 to make all of these necessary
improvements. The site can be accessed at www.hamvention.org so you
have the chance to make your 2010 plans early. (Dayton Hamvention®)

**

HAM HAPPENINGS: HAM RADIO CRUISE NIGHT IN VIRGINIA IN MAY 2010

Many of you are familiar with cruise-in events at restaurants,
drive-ins, shopping centers or other venues. That's where participants
bring their cars, trucks and motorcycles to display and compete for
awards.

Ham radio operators are also proud of the time and effort invested in
transportable stations and one radio club feels its time for them to
show off as well. The Albemarle Amateur Radio Club in Central Virginia
will sponsor the first Virginia Ham Radio Cruise-In from 10 a.m. until
4 p.m Eastern time on Saturday, May 1st, 2010. And like automotive
buffs, this will be a chance for hams to meet, greet and show off their
mobile and portable gear.

If it sounds like fun to you can get more information from Jim Crosby,
K4JEC. His e-mail address is jecrosby at comast dot net (K4JEC)

**

NAMES IN THE NEWS: K7CR STEPS DOWN AS CHAIRMAN OF SBE EAS COMMITTEE

Some names in the news. First up is well known Washington state
amateur and repeater coordination pioneer Clay Freinwald, K7CR. He is
stepping down from the board of the Society of Broadcast Engineers due
to term limits and is also leaving his post as chairman of the SBE's
EAS Committee for the same reason.

Freinwald, who holds an Extra Class license and was instrumental in the
formation of the Western Washington Amateur Relay Association is
identified as closely as anyone in the broadcast industry with the EAS.
He is a past recipient of Radio World Magazine's Excellence in
Engineering Award and has served on the SBE board and chaired the EAS
committee for a decade.

K7CR says that he will continue working with the committee under the
new chairman, Ralph Beaver. Beaver operates a company known as Media
Alert based in Tampa, Florida. (RW)

**

NAMES IN THE NEWS: UK FILM MAKER TO WORK WITH RADIO CLUBS

And UK filmmaker Esther Johnson is planning to use three different
amateur radio clubs based in the London area. This, to set up a radio
station during an exhibition of her work on 23rd, 24th and 25th
October. The stations will accompany Johnson's 16mm film Tune In that
she produced in 2006, and which focuses on amateur radio. Johnson will
also be exhibiting photography of radio enthusiasts alongside her film
work. Further information on Tune In can be found at
www.blanchepictures.com/films/tunein.htm. (RSGB)

**

NAMES IN THE NEWS: G5RV LAST LOGBOOK SAVED IN EBAY AUCTION

And the final log/book of one of the UK's best-known radio amateurs has
been saved for posterity.

The late Louis Varney, G5RV, was one of the founder members of the
Chelmsford Amateur Radio Society in 1936. When Chelmsford club member
Duncan Munro, M0KGK, spotted that G5RV's last ever logbook was being
auctioned on e-bay the club decided to buy it.

M0KGK did the bidding and despite fierce competition managed to secure
the logbook in the last eight seconds of auction. The logbook shows
that G5RV's final QSO's were on January 11 2000 with G0WGP and
Chelmsford club President Harry Heap, G5HF. Ironically, the entry
appeared on page 73 of the logbook. Varney was, of course using a G5RV
antenna that he designed for those final contacts (M5AKA, Southgate)

**

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: KEN JOHNSON, W6FU - S.K.

The changing of the guard in amateur radio continues. This with word
that Ken Johnson, W6FU, died of cancer on October 2.

Together with Don Wilson, K6RKE, Johnson founded educational FM station
KPCS which later became KPCC. He also taught broadcasting classes at
Pasadena City College for many years and also served as trustee of the
college's W6BAB Amateur Radio station,.

Ken then traveled with the Los Angeles Dodgers, engineering their
remote broadcasts for KWKW. Working with Jaime Jarrin, he saw four
World Series Championships and collected countless stories.

A memorial service was to be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, October 10th
at the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church in
Pasadena. Ken Johnson, W6FU was age 89. (CGC, N6LL)

**

WORLDBEAT: WIA TURNS 100 IN 2010

The Wireless Institute of Australia turns 100 next year, making it the
world's oldest national radio society. Now, its President, Michael
Owen, VK3KI, says he wants the world-wide amateur radio community to
join in the celebration. A commemorative QSL card will be issued for
contacts with special events station VK100WIA between May and October
of 2010. A limited edition operating award, called the WIA Centenary
Award is also to be available with two contacts with VK100WIA are
required under its rules. Details of the centenary program can be found
on the WIA website at www.wia.org.au. (WIA)

**

WORLDBEAT: D-STAR NOW REPRESENTED ON RSGB'S EMERGING TECHNOLOGY
COMMITTEE

D-Star will now be represented on the Radio Society of Great Britain's
Emerging Technology Committee. According to the RSGB announcement, as
D-Star and digital voice communication continues to grow, it has become
apparent that there is ever-increasing reliance on the Trust Servers
that comprise the network infrastructure.

The administration of this network within the UK is carried out by the
UKIT team who came together voluntarily to take on this vital role.
The RSGB says that it wants to build upon the excellent work done by
the team by giving it a more permanent structure. Following
discussions at the recent UK National Hamfest, it has been agreed that
they will become part of the Emerging Technology Committee. G7LWT will
represent the UKIT on the committee while the other members will work
on a corresponding basis. (RSGB, Southgate)

**

EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: KEYBOARDS THAT LEAK YOUR DATA

And if you think that the letters and numbers you type on your
computers keyboard are secure because you have a good firewall, you
might want to guess again. While your on-line connection might keep
you invisible to others on the net, your keyboard could be sharing your
data with anyone in range of your PC. Frank Lusa, VK2FJL, reports:

--

Audio report only Hear it by downloading this weeks MP3 version of the
newscast at www.arnewsline.org.

--

One solution is to try shielding your keyboard cable if you are worried
about information leaks. (WIA News)

**

CONTEST CORNER: THE NY QSO PARTY IS BACK

In contest news, its been away for a quarter of a century but the
Rochester DX Association says that the New York QSO Party is back. The
2009 edition will take place on Saturday, October 17th, starting at
1800 UTC and running for the next 12 hours. For rules, county maps and
log submissions take your web browser to www.NYQP.org (Via E-Mail)

**

DX

In DX, HA0HW reports that a group has begun a year long operation from
different Hungarian National Parks. The first of these operating
events took place from the Hortobágy National Park from October 12th to
the 18th using the callsign HG0WFF. Their QSL manager is HA0HW but
cards sent via the bureau are OK.

And a team headed by G3KHZ will be in Papua New Guinea from October
22nd through the 9th of November. Activity will be on 160 through 15
meters using CW, SSB and RTTY. Full details and QSL routing is on the
web at www.425dxn.org.

DO1BEN and DO1IQ will be active portable PD from Texel Island between
October 16th and the 22nd. Activity will be on the HF bands,
propagation permitting. QSL via their home callsigns with the Bureau
preferred.

A Dutch team plans to be active from Benin through the 30th of October.
Check their website at www.benin2009.com for more information.

Lastly, JE2EHP, will be active as 4X stroke K1HP from Tel Aviv and
Jerusalem Israel between October 29th and November 5th. His
operation will be on all the High Frequency bands plus 6 meters, using
CW, SSB and RTTY. QSL is via the bureau to JE2EHP.

(Above from various DX news sources)

**

THAT FINAL ITEM: D-STAR REACHES NEW HEIGHTS

And finally this week the story of a ham who has taken D-Star to a new
height. New height as in 13,000 feet in the sky. Bill Pasternak,
WA6ITF, has the details:

--

According to his posting on the D-Star Reflector, on Saturday October
10 Mark Meltzer, AF6IM, of Palo Alto California went sky-diving and
brought along an Icom IC 91AD D-Star enabled handie talkie.

Meltzer says that on his first jump he opened his chute at about 13,000
feet and worked numerous 2 meter analog FM simplex contacts. He also
held a couple of analog FM QSOs on 1.2 GHz through the W6CYX and W6LRW
linked repeater system on 1282.225.

At about 8000 ft he decided to try D-Star but heard only a garbled
R2D2 sounding reply. At the time Mark says that he was flying his
canopy away from Mt. Diablo which placed my body between the repeater
and the IC 91AD's antenna. So he turned towards Mt. Diablo and the
distortion went away and he was able to work Rick Mc Cusker, WF6O, in
Sacramento clearly through the machine.

AF6IM notes that he was also carrying analog APRS gear that not only
reported GPS derived data that not only included his altitude heading
and speed but also his blood oxygen level and pulse rate. He also
thanks WF6O for being the other half of the D-Star parachute mobile
contact and especially to Tim Barrett, K6BIV for making it all possible
with his D-Star repeater system.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF in the
newsroom near Los Angeles and wondering why anyone would want to jump
out of a perfectly good airplane.

--

The jump took place at Byron, California which is a favorite area for
sky diving. Byron, California is also home to the somewhat well-known
and historical Byron Hot Springs. This is a now-abandoned resort which
was a retreat that attracted many movie stars and famous athletes in
the early 1900s. More information and telemetry data on AF6IM's
accomplishment is on line at www.parachutemobile.org D-Star Reflector)

**

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.

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 2009. All rights reserved.