Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1770 - July 15 2011

Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1770 with a release date of
Friday, July 15 2011 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a Q-S-T. The deployment of ARISSat One is delayed,
the FCC initiates a big project to bring the Internet to students and
schools; the Hurricane Watch Net is looking to expand its storm spotter
database, and love triumphs at Field Day. Find out the details are on
Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) report number 1770 coming your way right
now.


(Billboard Cart Here)


**

HAM RADIO IN SPACE: ANOTHER ARISSAT-1 DELAY

The orbiting of ARISSat One has been delayed for a few weeks. Bill
Pasternak, WA6ITF, is in the newsroom with the latest details:

--

According to ARISSat One Project Manager Gould Smith, WA4SXM , the
former Suit-Sat will not make an appearance in space until sometime in
August.

In a news release, Smith said he and ARISS Hardware Engineer Lou
McFadin, W5DID participated in a teleconference call this week with
NASA to review the Roscosmos spacewalk procedures for the release of
ARISSat One during E-V-A 29. For those who never heard the term before,
E-V-A is an acronym for Extra Vehicular Activity and is NASA-ese for
describing a spacewalk

Smith now says the discussion centered on preparation procedures
including the battery being charged and assembled into the satellite.
Also discussed were the procedures to remove the protective quilts from
the solar cells and turning on the safety switches prior to deployment.

During a later teleconference Sergey Samburov, RV3DR announced that the
ARISSat One battery will be charged in late July and a test of the
system will be conducted from the ISS from 1915 UTC July 30th to about
1200 or 1400 UTC July 31st. The standard ARISSat One 2 meter downlink
band plan should be transmitted as well as the FM signal also
downlinked on 437.55 MHz.

The ARRISSat One team believes that it is looking at an August 3rd date
for actual deployment, but notes that this is all subject to change.

More information as it becomes available. For the Amateur Radio
Newsline, I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, in the newsroom in Los Angeles.

--

More on ARISSat One in future Amateur Radio Newsline reports. (ANS)

**

RADIO EDUCATION: FCC ANNOUNCES LEARNING ON THE GO

The FCC has officially launched an innovative program for 20 schools
and libraries in 14 states aimed at giving participating Kindergarten
through 12th grade students off-premises connections to the Internet.
This, to increase access to digital textbooks, cutting-edge interactive
learning tools, and other innovative wireless technologies. Amateur
Radio Newsline's Norm Seeley, KI7UP, has the details:

--

The new FCC wireless pilot project is called "Learning On-The-Go," and
will provide up to $9 million for the 20 schools and libraries selected
for the 2011-2012 funding year. It builds on the FCC's major
modernization of the E-rate program last fall, and follows
recommendations of the National Broadband Plan. Previously, the E-rate
program supported on-campus connectivity only.

According to a 2010 E-rate survey, approximately 50 percent of the
schools and libraries that responded indicated that they plan to
implement or expand the use of digital textbooks and other wireless
devices for digital learning. The 20 selected projects include
initiatives to improve off-campus access to e-textbooks for students;
connectivity for netbooks for students living in remote, isolated areas
and access to flexible, online education programs for home-bound
students unable to attend classes.

To initiate the funding process, the FCC has issued an order listing
the 20 selected project applicants, outlining participant reporting
requirements and more detailed information about the program.

Last September, the FCC initiated the pilot program in its Schools and
Libraries Sixth Report and Order and, in November, it issued a public
notice setting a December application deadline. The Commission received
94 applications and, in March, issued a public notice announcing the
initial selected project participants.

Qualified pilot programs will be funded in the 2011through 2012 school
year, assuming compliance with all other program requirements.

This pilot program is one of a series of initiatives in the FCC
Education Agenda to modernize the E-rate program to help bring fast,
affordable Internet access to schools and libraries across the country.
In addition to this program's goal to support off-campus wireless
Internet connectivity for mobile learning devices for schools and
libraries across the country, the Schools and Libraries Sixth Report
and Order is also helping to bring super-fast fiber connections to
schools and libraries all across the country via unused fiber optic
lines already in place.

The FCC has also opened the door to what it calls "School Spots" where
schools have the option to provide Internet access to the local
community after students go home. This the regulatory agency says can
bring the benefits of super-fast broadband to people who otherwise lack
access to the Internet.

Under the "Learning On-The-Go" pilot program, mobile learning devices
enable teachers and parents to tailor school curriculum and interactive
learning to students' skill sets. Digital textbooks never go out of
date and students will have greater opportunities to access the latest
educational curriculum available.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Norm Seeley, KI7UP, in Scottsdale,
Arizona.

--

The FCC's adds that its E-rate program will continue to support schools
and libraries across America working toward the goal of helping ensure
that the nations students receive the best education and the high-tech
skills to compete in the 21st Century economy. A copy of the FCC Order
is available on the FCC website at tinyurl.com/fcc-learning (FCC)

**

RESCUE RADIO: HURRICANE WATCH NET LOOKING FOR ADDITIONAL REPORTING
STATIONS

The Hurricane Watch Net is currently looking for amateur radio
operators who are located in hurricane prone areas to become part of a
database of "Official Reporting Stations."

One of the functions of Hurricane Watch Net is to provide on the
ground, real-time weather data to the forecasters at the National
Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida. The Hurricane Watch Net gets this
information from amateur radio reporting stations who volunteer their
time to monitor data from their home weather stations and report that
data to the net that operates on 14.325 MHz.

One important benefit of registering in the database is that the
Hurricane Watch Net will notify you of upcoming activations should you
be located in the affected area of a storm. If you are interested in
joining the Hurricane Watch Net's team as one of its Official Reporting
Stations, take your web browser to www dot hwn dot org. Then click on
the words "Join Our Team" and complete and submit the short web form
that you will see on your screen. Also keep in mind that this is one
ham radio activity where the information you provide as a net member
could help save lives. (HWN)

**

RESTREUCTURING: EUROPEAN CB'ERS GET SSB OPERATION

A decision by the European Union has paved the way for the use of
Single Sideband on 27 MHz CB across the British Isles and Europe. The
revised regulation will permit European CB operators the use of SSB
equipment running 12 watts Peak Envelope Power output in the frequency
band 26.960 to 27.410 MHz. The European Union decision to permit SSB
on 11 meters came into force on June 24th and carries a preferred
implementation by national telecommunications administrations of
October 1st. (Southgate)

**

RADIO RULES: LIGHTSQUARED MAY BE ATTEMPTING TO BYPASS FCC REGULATION

The GPS versus broadband saga continues. According to the July 7th
issue of the aviation industry newsletter ainonline.com, LightSquared
appears to be attempting do an end-run around the FCC to try to get its
proposed high speed broadband service into operation.

Possibly recognizing that the July 1st final report on GPS testing
showed that interference from its proposed broadband system was worse
than predicted, the newsletter says that LightSquared lawyers are now
bypassing the FCC and submitting technical papers directly to the
United Nation's International Telecommunications Union in Geneva.

As we all know, the I-T-U is the world body that allocates frequency
bands internationally within the radio spectrum to different user
groups such as aviation, surface and weather. It also regulates and
monitors their use. As such, ITU rules are regarded as much stricter
than the typical recommendations made by any government
telecommunications agency.

Meanwhile, both LightSquared and the GPS community are accelerating
their public-relations campaigns. LightSquared is announcing initial
customers and statements of support from Internet and
voice-over-Internet providers for its 4G broadband system. This, while
the GPS industry warns of ominous test results regarding interference
from LightSquared's signals that could become a matter of life and
death for first responders, such as ambulances, police and fire
department vehicles.

In Congress, the House of Representatives included in a financial
appropriations bill a prohibition on further FCC expense on
LightSquared's proposal, even including staff salaries, until the
company presents a complete GPS protection plan.

And in a late breaking development, a federal report documenting GPS
interference by the proposed LightSquared satellite-terrestrial
broadband network has been released. In its findings, the National
Telecommunications and Information says that it supports a
recommendation that additional tests be performed and also recommends
that the FCC continue to withhold authorization for LightSquared to
commence commercial operations until all the available test data can be
analyzed and all valid concerns have been resolved. More is on-line at
tinyurl.com/arn-lightsquared-3. (ainonline.com, RW)

**

BREAK 1

From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline,
heard on bulletin stations around the world including the WD6HFR
repeater serving the region around Palomar, California.


(5 sec pause here)


**

RESCUE RADIO: FCC REMINDS VPD'S OF OBLIGATION TO AIR EMCOMM
INFORMATION TO THE DISABLED

The FCC says that in light of the recent flooding in the south, the
tornadoes in various parts of the country, and the already active storm
season, that it is issuing a Public Notice on information distribution.
This, to remind video programming distributors of their obligation to
make emergency information accessible to persons with hearing and
vision disabilities in accordance with section 79.2 of the Commission's
rules. Amateur Radio Newsline's Jim Davis, W2JKD, has the details:

--

Under section 79.2, emergency information encompasses what the
regulatory agency calls critical details regarding the emergency and
how to respond to it. It also must provide information for consumers
about how to contact their video programming distributor or the
Commission regarding compliance with the rule. Those affected include
broadcasters, cable operators, satellite television services, and "any
other distributor of video programming for residential reception that
delivers such programming directly to the home.

The FCC adds that the need to comply with section 79.2 and make the
critical details of urgent information accessible is not always
limited to the immediate geographic areas affected by the emergency.
This is because in some cases information such as the relocation of
individuals outside that immediate geographic area also falls within
the rule's mandate. Accordingly, compliance with section 79.2 could
include providing information to non-impacted areas sheltering
individuals displaced by a large-scale disaster. This might include
incidents such as the recent tornado devastation to Joplin, Missouri or
in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast.

Im Jim Davis, W2JKD.

--

The FCC says that all video programming distributors that air emergency
information are required to make this information accessible who are
visually or aurally handicapped. There are no exemptions to section
79.2. A local broadcast licensee is responsible for complying with
section 79.2 regardless of the technology used to deliver its signal to
consumers. (FCC)

**

RESCUE RADIO: TORNADO VIDEO NOW ON LINE

A anthology of broadcast television and radio coverage of recent
tornadoes and their aftermath that was shown at the recent National
Association of Broadcasters Education Foundation's Celebration to
Service to America Awards is now available for anyone to view on-line.
The six-plus minute clip shows the twisters along with a series of TV
meteorologists warning people to take cover.

One clip from a live news chopper shows the tornado funnel from the
level of the cloud ceiling. Another shot shows a twister hitting what
appears to be a Mack truck and shredding it into sheets of metal that
blow away like tissue paper.

The second half shows aftermath stories including relief efforts. The
video is in cyberspace at tinyurl.com/arn-tornado-video (TVB)

**

RESCUE RADIO: HUNTINGTON BEACH CA. ROLLS OUT NEW EMCOMM UNIT

Huntington Beach, California has introduced its new emergency
communications trailer to the public. According to Wayne Yoshida,
KH6WZ, on Field Day weekend the new response unit made its first public
appearance.

Yoshida says that the new unit was purchased by the City of Huntington
Beach using homeland security grant funds. In addition to amateur
radio, the trailer is also equipped with two-way radio gear for the
city's police and fire departments making it a universal mobile command
station tool. (KH6WZ)

**

ENFORCEMENT: NEW FINES INSTITUTED FOR ILLEGAL USE OF LASERS

Federal aviation officials say they will start imposing fines against
people who point lasers at planes and helicopters, which can
temporarily blind pilots. Agency officials released a new legal
interpretation they said will allow them to fine people who point the
lasers as much as $11,000 per incident.

According to the FAA, pilots have reported over 1,100 such incidents in
the U.S. so far this year. These incidents have also increased rapidly
around the world over the past six years. This as online sales of
newer and more powerful handheld lasers have soared.

The lasers are being marketed as an astronomical tool to point out
stars at night but a government spokesman says that people are also
pointing them at truck drivers, bus drivers and even individual
motorists. The spokesman calls that this is a ridiculous kind of
behavior and it needs to be stopped and stopped quickly.

So far this year, the Phoenix and Dallas-Fort Worth regions have each
recorded more than 45 such dangerous laser events. Meantime, the Los
Angeles, Philadelphia and Houston areas each have recorded more than
illegal 30 laser pointings. (FAA and other published news reports)

**

ENFORCEMENT: BIG FINE FOR TOWER LIGHT FAILURE REDUCED

A fine against Big Fish Broadcasting for antenna lighting violations
has progressed to a forfeiture order.

Big Fish owns a tower in Greenwood, S outh Carolina and used to own one
in Chappells, South Carolina. It sold the latter one to Radio Training
Network Inc. in April 2010.

The commission says the red obstruction lights were out for both towers
and that the company didn't notify the FAA of the outages. In a recent
decision, the agency said both towers required painting and a lit,
flashing red beacon up top, along with steady burning red side
obstruction lights.

Responding to a complaint about tower outages, the FCC's Atlanta office
had contacted the FAA, which said no outage report had been filed for
the towers. As a result, no Notice to Airmen or NOTAM had been issued
for the unlit structures.

According to the Commission's summary of the case, in July 2009, the
agency notified told Big Fish's owner the towers were his
responsibility. He responded that he would check into it and notified
the FAA about the outages that month. That October and again in
November, the FCC confirmed the towers were still unlit after sunset
and there was no power to the site. The agency said the local power
company confirmed electricity to both towers was shut off in 2009.

In July 2010, the commission issued a $20,000 fine to Big Fish. In
response, the broadcaster argued that it did not receive the notice
until 30 days after its release and, by then, had already taken steps
to fix the violations. Big Fish also said the company couldn't pay the
full amount and asked for a reduction based on past good compliance
with FCC rules.

The FCC expects violations to be corrected so it did not knock off any
penalty because of that; however it did cut the fine to $7,000 based on
documentation proving the company couldn't pay the full amount. Big
Fish was given the customary 30 days to pay or to file an appeal. (RW)

**

ENFORCEMENT: $10,000 FINE AFFIRMED FOR UNLICENSED OPERATION

The FCC has affirmed a $10,000 Forfeiture Order issued to Antonio
Robinson for willful and repeated violation of section 301 of the
Communications Act. The alleged violations involved Robinson's alleged
operation of an unlicensed radio station on 105.5 MHz from his
commercial suite in Miami, Florida.

Back on May 5th, the Enforcement Bureau's Miami Office issued a Notice
of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture in the amount of $10,000 to
Robinson. Since that time Robinson has not filed a response to the
Notice. Based on the information before us, the FCC has affirmed the
forfeiture order and has given Robinson the customary 30 days to pay or
to file an appeal. (FCC)

**

THE SOCIAL SCENE: EMCOMM EAST CONFERENCE ON SEPTEMBER 25 IN ROCHESTER,
NY

Turning to the ham radio social calander, word that the 2011 EmComm
East Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Conference is now slated
for Sunday, September 25th at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, New
York. The featured speaker will be ARRL Emergency Preparedness and
Response Manager Mike Corey, W5MPC.

EmComm East is sponsored by Monroe County Amateur Radio Emergency
Service, Inc. Registration is now open. More information is on-line
at www.emcommeast.org or by e-mail to info (at) emcommeast (dot) org.
(Emcommeast)

**

NAMES IN THE NEWS: VK4XJJ WALKING ACROSS AUSTRALIA OPERATING HF

Jeff Johnson VK4XJJ is walking across Australia to raise Money for a
charity known as the Newborn Emergency Transport Service. At last
reports, he is now roughly half way across the country and he is
looking for contacts from stations in the west on 14.090 MHz Upper
Sideband at 06:30 UTC. Jeff will also be found on 7.045 Lower
Sideband at 07:30 UTC, Jeff then moves back to 14.090 at approximately
07:40 UTC. More is on the web at www dot jeffswalk2 dot com. (WIA
News)

**

CORRECTION: RIGHT COMPANY BUT WRONG CALL

And a quick correction to my story about the Internet podcast Ham
Nation on last weeks Newsline. It turns out that it was Eric Swartz,
WA6HHQ, that was Leo Laport's college roommate, not Wayne Burdick,
N6KR. Swartz and Burdick are of coarse the two hams that founded
Elecraft several years ago. (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)

**

RADIO GEER: ANYONE NEED AN RCA FM BROADCAST TRANSMITTER

Anybody got a good home for an RCA FM broadcast transmitter? According
to Radio World on-line, the box in question is a model BTF-40E FM
transmitter that currently resides on Cougar Mountain near Seattle,
Washington.

The BTF-40E is described as actually being a pair of model BTF-40E's
using a combiner to produce about 33,000 watts total power out. And
before you ask, no, we do not know if it can be converted for use on
the two meter band. Besides which, the power put out by the driver
stage would likely exceed the maximum that's legal on the ham radio
bands. But, on the other hand, it could make a nice living room
conversation piece for any ham whose X-Y-L would let it in the front
door.

Bryan Jones of equipment dealer RF Specialties Group says one of his
clients is about to dispose of it to make room for a new unit. He
welcomes questions about it by e-mail to bryan (at) rfswa (dot) com.
(RW)

**

EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: UK COMPANY BEGINS MANUFACTURING WHITE SPACE RADIO
GEAR

A UK startup company called Neul has begun manufacturing a white space
radio. This, despite the fact that there isn't a single country where
such a unitwould be legal to use. At least not yet. Amateur Radio
Newsline's Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, reports:

--

Neul which was launched last year in the United Kingdom city of
Cambridge has been talking about protocols and standards for use in the
so-called white space where television broadcast frequencies are not
being used locally. Now the company which is staffed by some of the
UK's top radio developers has real product to sell.

The Neul unit offers connection speeds of up to 16Mb per second for
organizations with proper experimental licenses that want to see what
white space communications can offer them. And at least in the U-K such
licenses are not hard to obtain. Neul says that British
telecommunications regulator Ofcom processed its application within a
couple of weeks.

Now it's reported that within a couple of years such a license
shouldn't be necessary in the U-K as Ofcom is poised to allow
unlicensed exploitation of the nations white spaces. Unlicensed use
will be technology neutral, just as 2.4GHz is now, so any networking
system will have to contend with garage door openers, baby monitors and
the like.

Ofcom says that white space units will be required to check with an
online database to see what frequencies are available. It believes that
this should prevent the more-trivial applications from bothering more
important ones. None the less both regulators and equipment suppliers
expect to see a wide variety of applications filling the bandwidth once
it opens up in the next few years.

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

--

While predictions for embedded, and networked, devices vary by tens of
billions, but most observers agree that they'll be something in the
region of 50 billion such devices looking for a network connection in
the next few decades. (MN)

**

WORLDBEAT: DUTCH PARLIAMENT APPROVES RADIO NETHERLANDS WORLDWIDE CUTS

Some sad news for Shortwave listeners. The possible end to an era in
shortwave broadcasting is here. This after the Dutch parliament votes
against two motions which might have blunted the effect of the budget
cuts facing Radio Netherlands Worldwide.

One of the proposals called for a separate debate devoted to the future
of Radio Netherlands Worldwide. The other criticized the
decision-making as hasty and called for a postponement.

Effectively, this vote means that the cabinet's plans to move Radio
Netherlands Worldwide operations from control under the Education,
Media and Culture Ministry to the Foreign Ministry. Also, to cut the
budget from 46.3 million euros to 14 million.

According to the newsletter of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union, the
Dutch government wants Radio Netherlands Worldwide to focus on bringing
independent information to people in countries without press freedom
and to scrap its other functions of providing information for Dutch
people living abroad and presenting a realistic image of the
Netherlands to other countries. The newsletter said it's unclear how
much of the rest of Radio Netherlands Worldwide's existing content can
be continued.

Meantime, Radio Netherlands Worldwide station management will now have
to draw up an employment cutback plan, which is expected to be
completed sometime in October. (Media Network, RNW News, APU)

**

WORLDBEAT: VK REPEATER BLOWN OFF HILLTOP BY SEVERE WINDS

Australia's recent stormy weather has claimed another victim. The
VK7RNE, north-eastern repeater located on Tower Hill, unexpectedly went
off the air recently.

The cause was immediately apparent to the ground crew on its arrival at
the scene. The shed that housed the repeater was found lying on its
side, along with all its contents, some way down the mountain. It had
literally been knocked off its foundation by the wind.

The radio equipment has been recovered but currently there are no plans
at present to reinstate the repeater. This sad event thus brings about
the close of a chapter in the repeater history of VK7.

The VK7RNE has long provided a useful service to that part of the state
and was a tribute to Paul Godden, VK7KPG, and his small group that
first installed and then maintained the facility over the years. Some
members of the group are now silent keys. In recent years the annual
Australian license fee has been underwritten by the North West
Tasmanian Amateur Television Group. (WIA News)

**

ON THE AIR" BATTLE OF BRITAIN STATION BECOMES PERMANENT SPECIAL EVENT

On the air, keep an ear open for U-K special event station GB4BOB to be
active from September 1st to the 20th to commemorate the World War Two
Battle of Britain. After running this station as a one-off for the
battles 70th anniversary, the Pontefract and District Amateur Radio
Society has now decided to keep it as an annual event to remember those
who fought in it. QSL's go direct to G0BPK or via the RSGB bureau.
More is on the Pontefract and District Amateur Radio Society website at
www.pdars.com (Southgate)

**

ON THE AIR: CELEBRATING THE FLIGHT OF LIBERTY BELL 7

Back on this side of thre Atlantic, the 50th Anniversary of the Flight
of the Liberty Bell 7 spacecraft by astronaut Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom
will be celebrated by the Hoosier Hills Ham Club. This, by activating
special event station W9GUS on Saturday, July 23.

The station will be located in Spring Mill State Park at the Grissom
Memorial near Mitchell Indiana. Operation will be 10 am to 4 pm Central
U-S Daylight Savings Time with stations on 40, 20 and possibly 6
meters.

For those of you a bit to young to remember, Gus Grissom was one of the
original NASA Project Mercury astronauts and a United States Air Force
pilot. He was the second American to fly in space and the first
astronaut to fly in space twice. Grissom along with fellow astronauts
Ed White and Roger Chaffee died during a pre-launch test for the Apollo
1 mission at Cape Canaveral on January 27, 1967 when a spontaneous fire
broke out in their command module.

More information about this commemorative operation of the Hoosier
Hills Ham Club special event station W9GUS is on-line at www.w9qyq.org
(WA9JHH)

**

DX

In DX, a group of German operators will be on the air from Ascension
Island as Zed-D-8-D from July 24th through August 9th. These are the
same dates as previously announced, but their location on the island
has changed due to damage to their original planned site. Listen out
for Zed-D-8-D operating from a guesthouse in Georgetown which the group
says is not the most ideal location. This could handicap their
operatrions on 160 and 80 meters. Updates are on-line at www.zd8d.de.

RW6AML will be on Waya Island, Fiji until July 17th. He will be active
as 3D2ML on both CW and SSB. QSLs go to his home callsign.

IK5ASN will be active as 9A8ASN from the island of Cres through the
30th of July. He will be on 40 and 20 meters using only SSB, CW, RTTY
and PSK31. QSL via IK5SAN, direct or preferably via the bureau.

DL8KX and DD8ZJ will be active as 9H3KX from Gozo Island between
October 8th and the 14th. Their operation will be on the High
Frequency bands using CW and SSB. QSL via DL8KX either direct or via by
the bureau.

KF8UN, will be in Peru between July 22nd and August 16th. He plans to
be active stroke OA4 and says that he plans to work 20 meters, devoting
August 8th specifically to amateur radio. At other time he will be
operating casually at all other times hes on the air. He also plans to
be on mobile as time permits. QSL via his home callsign.

Lastly, SM1TDE, will be active stroke O-H-Zero from the Aland Islands
group between July 21st and the 24th. Look for him around 2 kHz from
the band edges on CW on 80 through 10 meters. This operations will be
holiday style meaning he will be on the air only as time permits QSL
via the bureau, and Logbook of the World.

Above from various DX news sources.

**

THAT FINAL ITEM: LOVE AND MARRIAGE AT FIELD DAY

And finally this week, the story of a romance that ended at a Field Day
Wedding. From down-under, heres VK2BUI:

--

When you think about ARRL Field Day, a few things come to mind: food,
radios, food, antennas, food and friends. And food. But one couple
took things a little bit further when they got married at their Field
Day site.

Kevin Shissler, K1FQ, and Debra Hubbard, N1FQ, love Field Day so much
that they decided it was the perfect place to share their love for each
other and for amateur radio.

Wearing their 2011 ARRL Field Day shirts, they tied the knot at the
Field Day, swapping the 20 meter band for a band of gold.

And as an aside, In April 2010, N1FQ donated 60 percent of her liver to
a co-worker Jan Watson. Now Jan -- a happy Jan
-- had her chance to return the favor. She officiated the
wedding.

Amateur radio amour. Do we get bonus points for this?

Reporting the weird and wonderful, I'm John, VK2BUI.

--

Our best wishes to the newlywed couple for a long and happy life filled
with the very best of DX. (ARRL, WIA)

**

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 Newsline (at)
arnewsline (dot) org. 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

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

Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2011. All rights reserved.