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Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1768 - July 2 2011
Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1768 with a release date of Friday, July 2, 2011 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a QST. A New York State representative introduces anti distracted driving legislation in Congress. Will it affect amateur radio? Also, Alberta Canada get a strange exemption from a new distracted driving law set to go into effect this fall, two people are held in connection with the death of a Wisconsin ham, the U-S Supreme Court to review the so-called safe harbor for children broadcasting rule and in the future the time on your clock may vary. Find out what we mean on Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) report number 1768 coming your way right now. (Billboard Cart Here) ** RADIO LAW: ANTI DISTRACTED DRIVING MEASURE INTRODUCED IN US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Federal legislation to ban use of handheld phones and other mobile devices while driving has been introduced in the United States House of Representatives. Amateur Radio Newsline's Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, reports: -- According to published news reports, Representative Carolyn McCarthy of New York said the legislation titled the "Safe Drivers Act of 2011" would direct the Department of Transportation to set a national standard to prohibit drivers from using hand-held mobile devices, except in certain emergency situations. The legislation, as now proposed, states a handheld device would at this time not include voice-operated, vehicle-integrated, or hands-free devices that allow an individual to operate that device without the use of either hand -except to activate or deactivate a feature or function. In addition to developing a national handheld ban, the legislation would also require the Department of Transportation to conduct a study on all aspects of distracted driving. In particular, the study would look at cognitive distraction which involves whether drivers can still be dangerously distracted while using mobile phones even when they are operated with hands-free devices or voice commands. Within two years of the proposed law's passage, the Department of Transportation would be required to report on its findings and possibly tighten its restrictions even further on the use of all mobile device used in vehicles. States that did not comply with the Federal government's standard within two years would be penalized by having 25% of their federal highway funding withheld. It's unknown whether or not the use of handheld push-to-talk microphones used by two-way radio users such as police, fire, delivery services, CB operators and hams would be exempted from McCarthy's proposed national ban. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I;m Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, in Los Angeles -- The complete text of the proposal as currently written is available for download in pdf format at tinyurl.com/3w63f9t (Detroit Free Press, Infrastructurist.com, SFGte.com, others) ** RADIO LAW: ALBERTA CANADA HAMS GET TEMPORARY EXEMPTION FROM DISTRACTED DRIVER LAW Hams in Alberta Canada have received a kind of strange dispensation from a new distracted driver law set to take effect on September 1st. The new statute will restricts drivers from using hand-held cell phones, texting or doing emailing using electronic devices like laptop computers. It also bans drivers from using video games, cameras, video entertainment displays and programming portable audio players, entering information on GPS units, reading printed materials in the vehicle writing, printing or sketching, and performing any form of personal grooming. However, Alberta hams and other operators of two-way radio gear have been granted a temporary reprieve. This, in the form of an exemption that says any an individual who holds a Canadian radio operator certificate issued under the Radiocommunication Act may drive or operate a vehicle on a highway while holding, viewing or manipulating a 2-way radio communication device. So whats the catch? It comes in Section 5 of the new law. It says that for the purposes of ensuring that this Regulation is reviewed for ongoing relevancy and necessity, with the option that it may be re-passed in its present or an amended form following a review, this Regulation expires on June 1, 2016. The bottom line: It appears as if Alberta Province ham radio operators and other licensed two-way radio users don't create problems for 5 years, the exemption may be extended for many years to come. (VE6TEQ, VA6GCT via QRZ.com) ** RADIO LAW: TWO HELD IN CONNECTION TO MURDER OF WISCONSIN HAM Two people are being held in connection with the murder of John Aegerter, WA9GAR, of Brookfield, Wisconsin. Amateur Radio Newsline's Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, is in the newsroom with mo -- Authorities in Brookfield, Wisconsin have ordered Tommy V. Douyette, held on $750,000 bail on suspicion of first-degree intentional homicide and Lynn M. Hajny held on $500,000 bail on suspicion of first-degree intentional homicide, party to a crime. This in the death of 63 year old John Aegerter, WA9GAR. Aegerter's body was discovered by Brookfield police after officers were asked by one of his employees to go to his home check on him because he had not shown up for work. His body was found face down in the garage. His ankles were tied with a black electrical cord, and a white electrical cord was around his neck. A sleeping bag had been placed partially over the body. According to court records Aegerter may have been strangled or had his neck broken during the attack at his home in a dispute over money. Authorities said that they could not comment on what led them to arrest Douyette and Hajny. However, court records indicate that Hajny's cousin called police and told them Hajny had telephoned her and told her she had killed someone. Sometime after that call, Hajny and Douyette showed up at the woman's home and said they had been at Aegerter's home. Hajny then told her cousin Aegerter was in the garage "dead with his feet tied," and that she had taken his house and car keys, $75 in cash from his wallet and his credit card. Hajny's husband, Albert, at one time was employed by Aegerter, and Hajny had asked him about money he owed her husband, court records state. Friends of John Aegerter say that he was an intelligent businessman who collected antique radio transmitters and other communications equipment. Jack Hughes, identified in news articles as a fellow ham radio operator is quoted as saying that Aegerter was proud to have built up his own companies. That at age 63 was a workaholic who still climbed his towers to maintain them rather than hiring others to do it. Another friend identified as Keefe John said WA9GAR developed one of the first mobile data communications systems used in police squad cars. At airtime, formal charges against Doyoutte and Hajny were pending. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bill Pasterenak, WA6ITF, in the newsroom in Loa Angeles. -- Authorities say that an autopsy was being conducted on Aegerter remains to determine the exact cause of death. Aegerter, who lived alone, owned a communications business and several radio towers used by cellular telephone, pager and two-way radio companies. More on this story is on line at http://www.jsonline.com/news/waukesha/124418999. html (KM6X, K9KHJ, jsonline.com) ** BREAK 1 From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including the WA2EHL repeater serving Burlington New Jersey. (5 sec pause here) ** ENFORCEMENT: FCC ISSUES NOTICE OF UNLICENSED OPERATION TO CALIFORNIA CORPORATION A major shopping center in California has come under FCC scrutiny for allegedly operating a repeater without proper licensing. Don Wilbanks, AE5DW, has the details: -- The FCC's Los Angeles Office has issued a Notice of Unlicensed Operation to the Irvine Company which operates the Irvine Spectrum Center in California. This, after the commission received information that an unlicensed repeater was operating on a frequency pair 462.5875 and 467.5875 MHz in the Irvine area. Back on April 27th an agent from the FCC's Los Angeles office confirmed by direction finding that radio the signals were emanating from the Irvine Spectrum Center. An inspection determined that portable radios used by the maintenance staff were simultaneously retransmitted on 462.5875 MHz by a Motorola Radius repeater. The Commission's records show that no license had been issued for operation of a radio station at this location on 462.5875 MHz. It should be noted that the frequencies 462.5875 MHz and 467.5875 MHz are only available for use under the Family Radio Service. The repeater at the Irvine Spectrum Center could not legally operate on FRS frequencies because it does not meet the FCC's technical regulations for F-R-S operation and therefore was not certified for use under the Family Radio Service rules. The regulatory agency's notice warned the Irvine Company to immediately cease operation of the illegal repeater station. It also gave the Irvine Company 10 days from the June 3rd date of the Notice of Unlicensed Operation to respond and provide any evidence that it has any form of authority to operate on those frequencies as granted by the FCC. Im Don Wilbanks, AE5DW, reporting for the Amateur Radio Newsline. -- At airtime, any response made by the Irvine Center to the FCC has not been made public by either entity. (FCC) ** RADIO LAW: US SUPREME COURT WILL REVIEW FCC AUTHORITY IN SAFE HARBOR PROGRAMMING CASES The Supreme Court says that it will review the First Amendment fight over what broadcasters can put on the airwaves when young children may be watching television. Amateur Radio Newsline's Norm Seeley, KI7UP, has the details: -- A June 27th release says that the justices will re-examine appeals court rulings that threw out the Federal Communications Commission's rules against the isolated use of expletives as well as fines against broadcasters who showed a woman's nude buttocks on a 2003 episode of ABC's "NYPD Blue." In a landmark 1978 decision, the court upheld the FCC's authority to regulate both radio and television content, at least during the hours when children are likely to be watching or listening. That period includes the primetime hours before 10 p.m. For many years, the FCC did not take action against broadcasters for one-time uses of curse words. The policy stemmed from the 1978 decision that upheld the FCC's reprimand of New York radio station WBAI for airing a George Carlin monologue containing a 12-minute string of expletives in the middle of the afternoon. This is when the FCC created the so-called safe harbor hours prohibiting the airing this type of material when youngsters were likely to be listening to the radio or watching television programming. The "NYPD Blue" episode led to fines only for stations in the Central and Mountain time zones, where the show aired at 9 p.m.. This was inside the safe harbor child-friendly hours than the show's 10 p.m. time slot in the East and 3 hour delay in the Pacific time zone. Another part of the case that involves fleeting expletives involving the awards shows has been to the high court before. Three years ago, the justices narrowly upheld the policy, but in a ruling that pointedly avoided dealing with First Amendment issues. Instead, the court directed the appeals court to undertake a constitutional review. The Obama administration objected that the appeals court findings in these cases had in essence stripped the FCC of its ability to police the airwaves on matters dealing with adult language that was not suitable for children's ears and not video that parents would likely find objectionable for youngsters to see. On the other side, the television networks claim that the FCC's long-time safe harbor for children who might see such programming policy is outdated. This is because it applies only to broadcast television, leaving unregulated the same content if transmitted on cable TV or over the Internet. For the amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Norm Seeley, KI7UP, watching this case from Scottsdale, Arizona. -- No date was given for arguments before the court to begin nor is it known how long it might take for the justices to render their opinion. (Published news reports) ** NAMES IN THE NEWS: VE3NUZ NAMED NEW DIRECTOR OF SATERN Some names in the news. First up is Major Rick Shirran, VE3NUZ, of Toronto, Canada, who has been appointed as the new Director of the Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network. Major Shirran obtained his amateur radio license in 1975. He served 12 years as a member of the Royal Canadian Navy as a Radio Operator and Communications Technician. He is a Commissioned Officer and Pastor in The Salvation Army Canada and Bermuda Territory. Prior to his appointment, Shirran served as the Emergency Disaster Services Director and SATERN Director for The Salvation Army in Canada and Bermuda Territory. Shirran replaces Major Patrick McPherson, WW9E, who founded the Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network back in 1988. (SATERN, ARRL, Southgate, Others) ** NAMES IN THE NEWS: VE3FFK APPOINTED AS RAC ADVISOR TO NATIONAL FIELD SECRETARIAT Mike Kelly VE3FFK has joined Radio Amateurs of Canada as an advisor to the RAC National Field Organization Secretariat. With a wealth of emergency preparedness knowledge and experience, Radio Amateurs of Canada says that Kelly is regarded as a much needed presence in the Ottawa area in dealing with both the Federal and Provincial governments on matters relating to Wireless Radio Interoperability. According to the RAC press release, Kelly has had a long standing relationship with the Canadian Emergency Management College and is the "go to" guy to be registered for their training programs. He is also a regular volunteer at Radio Amateurs of Canada headquarters in Ottawa. (RAC) ** NAMES IN THE NEWS: KM0A AWARDED ARRL FRED FISH MEMORIAL AWARD NUMBER 4 A word of congratulations to Mark Ammann, K-M-Zero-A of Florissant, Missouri who has been awarded the ARRL Fred Fish Memorial Award #4. According to an announcement from Contest Branch Manager Sean Kutzko, KX9X, Ammann submitted the final batch of QSLs to ARRL about a week or so ago and the cards were approved by both Kutzko and ARRL Awards Branch Manager Bill Moore, NC1L. More information on the Fred Fish Memorial Award is on-line at www.arrl.org/FFMA (VHF Reflector, KX9X) ** NAMES IN THE NEWS: W5KUB TO NETCAST 2011 HUNTSVILLE HAMFEST And Tom Medlin, W5KUB, says that he will once again be netcasting live from the 2011 Huntsville Hamfest in Alabama on August 20th nand 21st. This is a large hamfest that pulls many people from not only the South-Eastern states but also from across the entire United States. As is usual, Tom says that he will have prizes for his viewers. He adds that as this is an all indoor hamfest at the famed Von Braun Center, it should have perfect connectivity to enable him to stream the event with what he terms as great quality video. Toms netcast from the Huntsville Hamfest complete with ongoing chat-room will be carried live at w5kub dot com. If you cannot be there in person, this is definitely the next best way to take part. (W5KUB) ** HAM HAPPENINGS: ARNEWSLINE LOOKING FOR SPEAKERS FOR HAM RADIO TOWN MEETING IN TORRANCE CALIFORNIA ON SEPTEMBER 10 Amateur Radio Newsline will be hosting a 90 minute Ham Radio Town Forum on Saturday, September 10th at the 2011 Southwestern Division Convention. This will be a reprise of the highly successful "How to Make a Ham Radio Video in the 21st Century" conference held at the Dayton Hamvention several weeks ago. We are currently looking for speakers from within the Southwestern Division or others who may be visiting the area and who work in the T-V or film industries to speak at this session. If you are interested in being a part of this session please contact us by e-mail to Newsline (at) arnewsline (dot) org. This years Southwestern Division Convention runs from Friday, September 9th to the Sunday the 11th. The venue is the Marriott Torrance South Bay, 3635 Fashion Way, Torrance, California. More about it is on-line at www.hamconinc.org. We hope to see many of you there. (ARNewsline(tm)) ** 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: ALE HFN REACHES 4 YEARS OF CONTINUOUS OPERATION The Global Automatic Link Establishment High Frequency Network has set a new time on the air record. This, by operating continuously on all international amateur radio shortwave bands 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for 4 years. While crested to foster High Frequency interoperability between all types of organizations, agencies, individual ham operators and nets with a primary focus in international emergency communications, the service also has ample capacity for radio operators everywhere to use for ordinary calling and QSO's, including some DX'ing. And with about 2000 registered operators, the High Frequency Network covers a vast area of the planet. All radio stations in this worldwide system scan the ham bands every 10 seconds, rapidly maintaining contact through short digital bursts of signals using a system known as Automatic Link Establishment or A-L-E. More information is on line at hflink.net (KQ6XA) ** TECHNOLOGY TRYOUT: POWER COMPANIES TO EXPERIMENT WITH NOT HOLDING POWERLINES TO 60 HZ If you are a United States radio amateur that depends on a powerline synchronized clock for logging and other station operations, you might want to look toward buying a stand alone unit that does not rely on the power at your outlet being precisely 60 hertz. This is because of an upcoming yearlong experiment with the nations electric grid could unsynchronize clocks that use synchronous motors to display the time. Since 1930, electric clocks have kept time based on the rate of the frequency of the A-C electrical current that powers them. If the frequency changes from its usual 60 hertz rate, clocks run a little fast or slow. Power companies have long taken steps to keep the frequency as close to 60 hertz as is possible but the group that oversees the U.S. power grid, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, is proposing an experiment that would allow more frequency variation than it does now without corrections being made. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation runs the nation's interlocking web of transmission lines and power plants. At a June 14th company presentation it spelled out the potential effects of the change. It said that synchronous motor driven clocks or any timing device that uses the 60 Hertz powerline as a time base to lock to can be off by ba signifigant amount. On the East Coast clocks could run as much as 20 minutes fast over the year. Clocks West Coast are only likely to be off by 8 minutes during the 12 month long test. The test is tentatively set to start in mid July. More on this upcoming experiment with the time of day can be found on line at tinyurl.com/3h6lfcn and tinyurl.com/3uzut3g along with other on-line news websites. (Various) ** HAM RADIO IN SPACE: JULY 15 DEADLINE TO SCHEDULE ARISS CONTACTS In ham radio space related news, word that NASA is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations in the United States, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station, or ARISS, contact. This, between the dates of January 15 and July 15, 2012. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, NASA is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. During the first six months of 2012, crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in prescheduled amateur radio contacts in addition to random operation. These scheduled radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students and educators to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via amateur radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space. Due to the nature of human spaceflight, organizations must demonstrate the flexibility to accommodate changes in contact dates and times. Interested parties should contact Teaching From Space to obtain information related to expectations, content, format, audience, proposal guidelines and forms by sending an e-mail to or by calling 281-244-2320. The deadline to submit a proposal is July 15th. More information is on-line at tinyurl.com/6fc2lzn (NASA, ARISS) ** SPACE SCIENCE: A YEAR OF THE MOON IN 2 « MINUTES And a new on-line time lapse video of the Moon produced by the Goddard Space Flight Center's Scientific Visualization Studio compresses one month into 12 seconds and one year into 2.5 minutes. Constructed using data data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft, the video shows how the Moon wobbles in its orbit, the way that it changes in libration and axis tilt and the is numerous phases. You will find the video at YouTube by taking the shortcut of tinyurl.com/3ffmhbe (NASA, AMSAT) ** DX In DX, PY2FN will be active as PY0FO from Fernando de Noronha through July 9th. Operations will be on 160 through 6 meters on CW only. Logs will be uploaded to Logbook of the World QSL via his home callsign, direct or by the Bureau. F8IJV will be active as 6V7Q from the Le Calao resort in Senegal between October 22nd and November 11th. Operations will be on 160 through 6 meters, operating mainly on SSB, possibly some Digital and CW. Log will be uploaded to Logbook of thew World. QSL via his home callsign, direct or via the bureau. Lastly, VA2WDQ, will be on the air portable FP from Miquelon Islland between July 7th and the 11th. Activity will be on 160 through 6 meters using mostly CW with some SSB. His main goal is to participate in the IARU HF Championship on July 9th and 10th. All logs will be uploaded to Logbook of the World and to eQSL once he returns home. Above from various DX news sources ** THAT FINAL ITEM: 13 COLONIES EVENT CELEBRATES AMERICA'S BIRTHDAY And finally this week, from now through July 5th, you'll have a special opportunity to look for and work a group of amateur radio stations operating from the 13 original American colonies. You'll be able to score some nice QSL cards and a great certificate for your effort, too. We get more from Philadelphia, the birthplace of American liberty, from Amateur Radio Newsline's Mark Abramowicz, NT3V, with all the details: -- Yes, the Fourth of July holiday weekend is a long and busy time. But if you have a couple of spare minutes, maybe a few hours, there is an operating event worth your time. It's the annual 13th Colonies special event. Ken Villone, KU2US, is the event manager... "We added more operators and more modes," Villone says. "We're doing CW, we doing side-band, we're doing PSK-31. "In fact, we have one club that's just specifically is going to be operating on PSK-31. "And, this year is the first year that we will have all of the satellites representing the 13 colonies states. So a clean sweep of the colony states on the birds is a possibility. But it's going to be really hard to do this." To emphasize the theme of "Independence," Villone says stations will be on the air during the event from Philadelphia. "It's the whole patriotic theme of the event, the time that it's going to take place during the Fourth of July week," Villone says. "And, also, the Holmesburg Amateur Radio Club fit right in beautifully with the theme because of the Independence Hall." Bob Josuweit WA3PZO is helping to coordinate the Holmesburg club's operations... "We'll have several stations on the air in a Field day-type operation, actually operating from people's homes," Josuweit says. "But, we'll be rotating bands and modes during the course of the holiday so that we can all enjoy part of the holiday with our families but still to keep the call sign on the air and work as many people as possible." Josuweit says this is the first year Philadelphia will be directly represented in the event... "After all, that's where the Declaration of Independence was signed and created," Josuweit says. "And, we'll be using our club call sign of WM3PEN, we affectionately know for William Penn, the founder of Philadelphia." Event coordinator, Ken Villone says, you don't have to be a contester to work the event. He compared operations to the ARRL's Sweepstakes event. But, in this case, he cautions, it may require some patience... "The person who wants to contact us, basically will probably have to work through pile-ups because it's very hard to find where we are just by going through the frequencies and hunting," Villone says. "So you have to really be on top of everything and all of our operators basically, they pick their own time and their own frequency to operate. "There's no set of rules for that. So, it's basically like the same way that you would operate on the ARRL event." Villone says check the DX Clusters and links for callouts. And, if you work a Colony station, he'd love to see you post it there so others can get in on the fun. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mark Abramowicz, NT3V, in Philadelphia. ** For more information about the 13 Colonies, event, check out the website www.13colonies.info (NT3V) ** 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 WIA 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), 28197 Robin Avenue, Santa Clarita California, 91350 Before we go, we have to announce that the nominating period for the year 2011 Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year Award is now closed. The cutoff date for paper nominations to be postmarked was midnight, September 30th your local time. Electronically filed nominations had to be time-stamped the same. It will likely be about three weeks before we have the name of this year's Young Ham of the Year Award recipient. As soon as the judging committee completes its work, we will announce whomever it is that they have chosen on a future Newsline report. Meantime, our thanks to those of you who took the time to nominate a young radio amateur this year. As we all know, today's young hams will be tomorrows leaders and the people who will carry on the traditions of our hobby. For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors desk, I'm Jim Damron, N8TMW, saying 73 and we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2011. All rights reserved. |
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Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1768 - July 2 2011 | Info | |||
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