AA7BQ
11-24-2006, 04:32 PM
RADIO JUSTICE: FIRST CONVICTION IN HAM RADIO MURDERS
Jennifer Deleon of Long Beach, California, has been found guilty of murder in the killings of Thomas and Jackie Hawks, KD7VWJ and KD7VWK . Murders that took place off the Newport Beach, California, coastline in November of 2004. Amateur Radio Newsline's Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, has been following this story and has the latest:
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It took the jury only about 5 hours of deliberations spread over two days to find Jennifer Deleon guilty of two counts of murder with special circumstances. The verdict, announced on November 17th included an allegation for committing multiple murders for financial gain.
Back in November 2004, Thomas and Jackie Hawks placed an advertisement for their 55-foot boat named the "Well Deserved" asking $440,000. They wanted to spend more time with their new grandchild in Arizona.
Answering the advertisement was Jennifer Deleon's husband Skylar. He is a former child actor who had appeared in the TV series Power Rangers some years ago.
At trial, the prosecution presented evidence that Jennifer Deleon along with her husband and three others identified as John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Alonso Machain, and Myron Gardner Sr. participated in the murder of the Hawks. This, to take the couples their boat and life savings.
Testimony presented showed Skylar Deleon and Machain staked out the boat and the victims on November 6th of 2004. Jennifer Deleon, who was pregnant at the time, gained the trust of the Hawks by bringing her then 9 month old baby to meet the Hawks on November 9th. The state showed that before their murder at sea, the Hawks' had been pressured under extreme duress by Skylar Deleon and his accomplices into signing ownership papers and a power of attorney to him.
After the murders, evidence was presented showing that Jennifer and Skylar Deleon cleaned the boat with bleach and destroyed evidence and personal items belonging to the Hawks. Skylar Deleon then bribed a Notary Public to notarize the papers with backdates. The Deleons then took money out of the Hawks bank account in Arizona and transferred it to an account in Mexico.
It was at about this time that hams across the states of Arizona and California were alerted to keep an eye open for the Hawkes' Honda CRV which had gone missing when they disappeared. At that time it was not yet known that the Hawkes' were dead. Some hams formed voluntary patrols to look for the missing vehicle. Others set up watch near U-S and Mexico border crossings. The car was eventually found sequestered at a home in Mexico.
During trial, the people presented proof that Jennifer Deleon had multiple phone conversations with Thomas Hawk's brother after the couple disappeared. During those calls she told him that her and her husband had purchased the yacht and the Hawkes' were last seen driving away. Jennifer Deleon also lied to police on multiple occasions during taped interviews.
On January 16, 2005, Skylar Deleon was arrested while he was trying to leave for Mexico. Machain was arrested on March 2, 2005, Gardner was jailed the next day, Kennedy a week later, and Jennifer Deleon was taken into custody on April 8th.
During closing arguments Deleon's lawyer tried to prove that his client was no more than an unwitting pawn manipulated by her husband. He said she didn't know of the killings until after they occurred and reminded the jury that the case was built on circumstantial evidence alone.
But for this jury the evidence was overwhelming to convict. Jennifer Deleon now faces life without the possibility of parole when she is sentenced next February 23rd .
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, reporting.
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Skylar Deleon and John Fitzgerald Kennedy are scheduled to go to trial in January 2007. The Orange County District Attorney is seeking the death penalty in that case. (ARNewsline™ adapted from Orange County CA. District Attorney's Office release)
**
HAM RADIO POLITICS: CHALLANGER OUTS VICE DIRECTOR IN ARRL ROANOKE RACE
An upset in the ARRL Roanoke Division Vice Directors election. This, as challenger Patricia Hensley, N4ROS, defeats Reverend incumbent Les Shattuck, K4NK, in a lopsided 2280 to 996 vote.
Patricia Hensley is a retired school principal from Richburg, South Carolin. She has served in ARRL volunteer positions for the past 15 years including that of South Carolina Section Manager from February 2000 to December 2002. Hensley is also a recipient of the ARRL Instructor of the Year award and is currently the South Carolina state director for Air Force MARS.
Patricia Hensley ran on a platform wanting to make the term 'Amateur Radio operator' a highly respected title. She said she feels that an Amateur Radio license no longer fosters respect from community and national Leaders. She notes that even FEMA finds it more comfortable to hire part-time individuals to provide emergency communications because amateurs are volunteers.
Hensley also acknowledge something that few corporate leaders ever do. In this case that the corporation known as the ARRL is seeing a decline in membership along with leadership positions being filled by default because few want to serve.
Hensley says that more is required than smiling faces behind a hamfest table to solve these problems. She also says that she sees restrictive covenants and interference to frequencies as major issues affecting the Amateur Radio community.
Turning out an incumbent ARRL official is a very rare occurrence. But Hensley ran what may best be called a campaign for proactive change. Her three year term begins at noon Eastern Standard Time on January 1, 2007. (Adapted from ARRL bulletin)
**
RESCUE RADIO: MALAYSIAN STATE TURNS TO HAM RADIO EM COMMS
Malaysian authorities in Kota Baru state will for the first time enlist the services of about 200 licensed amateur radio ham operators. This, in the event of a major flood in the region. Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF is here with more:
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The Malaysia Star reports that officials believe the coming monsoon season may cause severe flooding. It says that authorities are seeking the help of that areas radio amateurs to help to handle any communications emergencies that might arise.
Turning to ham radio is no accident. Back in 2004, almost all wired communications was shut down due to rising flood waters. This caused a communication breakdown between ground rescue workers and the flood relief centers.
To prevent a communications blackout from ever occurring again, State National Security division director Rosle Mamat says that authorities would recruit hams and especially those staying in the low-lying areas. He noted that the flow of information is crucial when handling evacuation and flood mitigation work and effective communication was important.
Mamat was speaking at a media briefing the on preparations for possible floods. At that time he noted that Amateur Radio operators worldwide frequently provide assistance during emergencies. He said that ham radio would come in handy, especially in rural areas where basic communication tools such as fixed and cellular lines were limited.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, in Los Angeles.
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Kota Baru state has already set up 677 flood relief centers. Most are located in schools, with the total capacity to house up to 142,347 potential flood victims . (Malaysia Star)
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RESCUE RADIO: ASIA PACIFIC BROADCAST UNION CALLS FOR TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM
The Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union wants to implement an Emergency Warning Broadcast System in all of its member countries. Plams call for development of an Emergency Weather Broadcast Service to minimize the impact of disasters and for members to urge national regulators to enact the necessary provisions.
The Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union is also calling for members to push manufacturers to produce receivers with the feature. The organizations secretary-general is quoted as saying even 2 years after the great tsunami of 2004 most countries in the region do not have a system whereby they can receive early warnings of potential tsunamis and other natural occurrences which may cause disasters. (RW)
**
Break 1
From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including the N6USO repeater serving Los Angeles, Riverside and San Berndino counties in Southern California.
(5 sec pause here)
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RESTRUCTURING: ARRL TO W1AW TO SHIFT 80 METER DIGITAL TO NEW FREQ
The ARRL is QSY'ing W1AW to a new digital transmission frequency on 80 meters. This, as a result of the recent FCC restructuring that expanded the 75 meter phone band down to 3.6 MHz.
Effective Friday, December 15th , W1AW will shift its 80-meter digital bulletin frequency down to 3.597.5 MHz. The new frequency will be in use beginning with the regularly scheduled 23:00 UTC digital bulletin .
A possible change in the 80 meter CW frequency is being considered by the League. (ARRL)
**
WORLDBEAT: NEW DL 6 METER PROP BEACONS ON THE AIR
Two new 6 meter propagation beacons have come on the air in Germany and a third is on as time permits.
DGØHGW is in the Northeast in grid locator JO64QC. DFØANN in on from the South in grid locator JN59PL. Both came on the air quite quickly after being announced.
A third, located in West Germany is only intermittently on the air. DF7KF, received permission to install and run DBØDUB in grid JO31HF near Dusseldorf. Since he is still building a dedicated transmitter, he is currently using his home station to get DB0DUB on the air. As a result this beacon is only QRV on weekends.
First reports show that DBØDUB has been heard in Denmark via meteor scatter and in Southern Portugal via E skip. All three beacons share 50.083 MHz as an operating frequency. (DARC)
**
THE BPL WAR: BROADCASTERS INTERVENE TO SUPPORT ARRL IN BPL COURT APPEAL
The Association for Maximum Service Television and the NationalAssociation of Broadcasters have filed a joint motion for leave toIntervene. This, in support of the ARRL in its court appeal of the Federal
Communications Commission's Broadband over Power Line rules.
The ARRL Letter reports that the motion to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit s dated November 9th . In part it states that the two groups believe that the regulations under review are arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to law, and will adversely impact their members by, among other things, permitting unlicensed users of radio spectrum to interfere with licensed uses of the spectrum.
The Association for Maximum Service Television and the National
Association of Broadcasters are entitled to intervene as a matter of right, so the Court is expected to grant the motion. As expected, some BPL proponents are seeking to intervene on the side of the FCC. (ARRL)
**
ENFORCEMENT: TWO DETAINED FOLLOWING FLORIDA CB SHOOTOUT
A CB shootout has lead to a pair of arrests. This as two 11 meter operators decided to end a long-running feud with bullets and Mace.
According to WKMG television's website, Forty-eight year-old Frank Lukasik and 47-year-old Paul Goldman met up for a fight at in an Apopka, Florida Wal-Mart parking lot on Saturday, November 11th . One wound up being grazed with a bullet while the other was sprayed with Mace.
Both men were arrested and taken to the Orange County Jail. Lukasik was charged with aggravated battery for shooting at Goldman. Goldman was accused of causing bodily harm after authorities said he sprayed the Mace at Lukasik.
Both men told police they knew each other only from arguing over the 11 meter C-B radio airwaves the past six years. More is on-line at http://www.local6.com/news/10299812/detail.html# (WKMG-TV News)
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RADIO LAW: NEW U.S./MEXICAN AGREEMENT FOR USE OF TV CHANNELS 52-69
The United States and Mexico have just signed a Protocol for Sharing agreement for the 698 to 806 MHz spectrum in the area around the U.S./Mexican border. The Protocol is reportedly friendly to new technologies and offers band sharing flexibility in what used to be the "old" UHF TV Channels 52 to 69. (CGC)
**
COMMUNICATIONS WARNING: PHONY NIGERIAN FBI E-MAIL
If you receive what appears to be a pair of e-mails from Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Robert Mueller saying you could be eligible for a big cash payment, it's just a scam. According to news reports, the FBI has issued an alert that warns consumers of an e-mail hoax using Mueller's name.
The first e-mail with Mueller's name includes official information taken from the law enforcement agency's web site about F-B-I Identification records and a Certificate of Ownership. It is followed by a second e-mail that claims to be from a lower-level official and demands a fee be sent to "F-B-I Nigeria" which will issue the certificate. It also threatens federal charges if the recipient doesn't respond to the first.
The FBI advises recipients to not respond to either note. It also says that this is the second scam in two months to pose as coming from the FBI chief. (Published news reports)
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ENFORCEMENT: MICROSOFT VS. CYBERSQUATTERS
Microsoft has filed two lawsuits against so-called "cybersquatters" or "typo squatters." Those are people who use the company's product names to profit illegally from online advertising.
The world's largest software maker says that the explosion in online advertising in recent years had given rise to the illegal registration of Web site domains containing trademark Microsoft phrases or common brand name misspellings. Microsoft contends that with billing for the ads determined by number of clicks, such sites can drive up traffic and, ultimately, ad revenue. (Microsoft, others)
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ON THE AIR: SKYWARN RECOGNITION DAY IS DECEMBER 2
The 8th annual SKYWARN Recognition Day special event will take place Saturday, December 2nd . Event operation will be from 0000 UTC to 2400 UTC on that date.
The ARRL Letter says that during that 24-hour period, Amateur radio operators will visit their local National Weather Service office, set up Amateur Radio stations, and work as a team to contact other hams around the world. The object is for all radio amateur stations to exchange QSO information with as many National Weather Service Stations as possible on 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6, and 2 meter bands plus the 70 centimeter band. Contacts via repeaters are permitted.
SKYWARN Recognition Day is co-sponsored by the National Weather Service and the American Radio Relay League. Its billed as the National Weather Service's way of saying "thank you" to Amateur Radio
operators for their commitment to helping keep their communities safe. (ARRL,)
**
RADIO IN SPACE: FORMER MICROSOFT EXEC TO BE NEXT SPACE TOURIST
Former Microsoft executive Charles Simonyi plans to be the fifth space tourist. Speaking recently at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington, Simonyi revealed his plan to become the 450th person to orbit the Earth when he visits the International Space Station next March.
The 58-year-old Simonyi is from the Seattle, Washington area. He is best known for leading development team that brought about such office management programs as Microsoft Word and Excel.
Simonyi has already started training with cosmonauts. He says he is excited about the trip and that he hopes he can contribute something to space science research.
Simonyi says he has wanted to be an astronaut since he was a child growing up in Hungary. He moved to the United States when he was 17.
The ten-day adventure will cost him a cool 20 million dollars. Arrangements for his flight were made through the Space Adventures of Vienna, Virginia. This is the same agency that has sent four other space tourists to the I-S-S.
No word yet if he plans to get his Amateur Radio license or operate from space. So far now call sign has been issued in his name. (Press release)
**
CHANGING OF THE GUARD: LAST LIVING LINK TO ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL DIES
The last living link to telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell has passed away. This with word that Bell's granddaughter Mabel Grosvenor, died late last month in Nova Scotia at the age of 101.
Mabel Grosvenor, was the daughter of Elsie Bell Grosvenor, the inventor's eldest child, and Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor, the first president and longtime editor of National Geographic magazine.
Although some say Bell hated the telephone, Maxell Grosvenor once told reporters that wasn't true. Rather, he hated being interrupted by it.
She also remembered her famous grandfather insisted that a ringing telephone be answered with "Hoy, hoy." That a simple "Hello" was considered to be very undignified. (CGC)
**
CHANGING OF THE GUARD: STSORBIT PLUS AUTHOR DAVID RANSOM - SK
The author of the very popular STS ORBIT PLUS tracking program has died. David Ransom passed away on November 5th . While not a ham, Ransom was a long-time supporter of AMSAT and a major player in providing Space Shuttle orbital data to the AMSAT and NASA communities. (N2WWD)
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NAMES IN THE NEWS: DL5ANH REPLACES DL5GS ON GERMAN VHF CONTEST COMMITTEE
And across the Atlantic, Martin Henz, DL5NAH and other members of the Deutscher Amateur Radio Club VHF Contesting Committee will be replacing its long-term Chairman, Alfred Schlendermann, DL9GS. This, by the end of the year.
His work has already been handed over to them and as of January 2007, Martin and his group will be integrated into the DARC V-U-SHF-Committee.
The President and the Board of the DARC has thanked Schlendermann for the work he has done for so many years. They say that his ideas had an important impact on VHF contesting in Germany. (Southgate News)
**
NAMES IN THE NEWS: KEVIN MARTIN RECONFIRMED AS FCC CHAIRMAN
Radio World reports that Kevin Martin has been reconfirmed as FCC chairman for a second five-year term. President Bush had re-nominated Martin in April for the second, five-year term. His first expired June 30.
The Senate approved his nomination Thursday night, November 16th . (RW)
**
NAMES IN THE NEWS: VE3AJB RE-ELECTED IN CANADA
And word from Radio Amateurs of Canada that Ontario Section Manager Allan Boyd, VE3AJB, has been elected to a second term. It begins on March 1, 2007. Boyd ran unopposed, thereby eliminating the need for a balloted election. (RAC)
**
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)
**
WORLDBEAT: AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND: ALL LICENSES WELCOME
A new open door policy between Australia and New Zealand on ham radio. Jim Linton, VK3PC, reports:
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Audio report only. Download the MP3 news at www.arnewsline.org
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The bottom line: Bring along your H-T and enjoy. (WIA News)
**
WORLDBEAT: NZART VS. MED OVER ANNUAL REPEATER FEE
New Zealand's national ham radio society has called in the aid of a government minister in its battle with the nations Ministry of Economic Development -- known down-under as the M-E-D. This over licensing fees that it has imposed on repeater owner operators to keep their systems on the air.
The Ministry of Economic Development recently decided to impose an annual license fee of 50 New Zealand dollars on operators of repeaters. This, much to the outrage of many of the country's radio amateurs who installed and maintain the systems as a free service to that nations ham radio community. .
At an annual general meeting soon after M-E-D announced its decision, members of that nations national society -- the New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters -- unanimously passed a resolution refusing to pay the charge. They were resolute in that the association -- which holds the nations repeater licenses -- would not be forced to give up close to $16,000 New Zealand dollars each year in this type of fee.
Now representatives of NZART have enlisted the help of government Minister Peter Dunne in its fight against the fees. They recently held a meeting with the him and according to the association's president Bruce Douglas, ZL2WP, Dunne was sympathetic to the plight of New Zealand's ham radio population. What Minister Dunne can do to get the M-E-D to abandon its ham radio repeater fees is at this moment unknown. (NZART, Southgate)
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: ARISS CONTACT LEADS TO NEW YOUNG HAMS
A recent ham radio contact with the International Space Station has inspired several school students to earn ham radio licenses.
Back last April, the Escola Americana do Rio de Janeiro made contact with Marcos Pontes, PY0AEB, on board the I-S-S. As a direct result of that communication, several students became interested in learning more about amateur radio.
Now, less than 7 months later, its been announced that ten of these students have studied and are prepared to take their amateur radio license exams. A team from the Brazilian Amateur Radio and Space Experiment developed a special workshop for the students which covered radio communications, antenna systems, space communication by satellites and the amateur radio system on the International Space Station.
The Brazilian Amateur Radio and Space Experiment is a non-governmental organization dedicated to developing technical programs for use in schools. (Southgate)
**
DX
In D-X, EA3BT and his wife EA3WL and three other operators will be active from Bangladesh as S21EA. This from te 10th to the 16th of January 2007. The will be operating on SSB, CW and RTTY on 160 through 6 meters using three stations. QSL route is via EA3BT, direct or through the bureau.
And word that well known German operators DJ6SI and DJ9ZG will be on a DXpedition to Congo in late November and early December. DJ6SI will use the call sign TN6X on CW and DJ9ZG will be TN0Z on SSB and RTTY. Both stations will operate on 160 through 10 meters using two stations.
If the call sign DJ6SI sounds familiar, think back to 1983 when he and DF6FK, DJ4EI, and DJ3NG were all part of a DXpedition to the Spratley Islands. The group of German operators had chattered a private boat and were fired on by Vietnamese soldiers as they neared the Islands. DJ4EI was killed during the shelling. DJ3NG died after 9 days in a dingy. DF6FK and DJ6SI were rescued on the 10th day by a nearby Japanese cargo ship. The incident created outraged the free world with Vietnam condemned for the atrocity.
DJ6SI fully recovered and has gone on to numerous other DX operations with the Congo up next. If you word either station QSL to their home call signs via bureau.
(Above from various DX news sources)
**
THAT FINAL ITEM: WORK MARS AND GET A TROPHY
And finally, are you a true, blue D-X operator? If so, have you thought of trying to win the ARRL's Elser-Mathes Cup. Never heard of it, you say. Well, here's John Williams, VK5BUI, to tell us all about it:
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The Cup is carved of a dark tropical hardwood. It shows four stylized human figures, two standing, two seated. The standing figures are using one hand each to support a wooden bowl (the cup part) and the other hand rests on the head of the rather-dejected looking seated figures. It was carved in the Philippines and taken back to the USA by Elser and Mathes, who gave it to the folks at ARRL Headquarters. It's been waiting to be won for more than 80 years.
To understand the Cup, you must understand its times. From the earliest days of radio, DX had always been hard-won. The professionals had spanned the globe, BUT compared to the small power of we Amateurs they could use tens of kilowatts to gigantic skyhooks using waves thousands of meters long.
Even the most well equipped amateurs could not match the big commercial stations. And even after the 1912 restrictions, that gave amateurs one kilowatt input and wavelengths no longer than 200 meters, the DX situation looked hopeless.
By 1920, a well equipped 200 meter amateur station might reach 1000 miles. 1500 miles was exceptional. Bridging the Atlantic seemed a dream.
Then, in late 1923, three amateurs tried a shorter wavelength -- 110 meters -- and the Transatlantic barrier was broken. Others soon followed, and overnight the old records were dust.
No sooner would a record be set than it would be smashed by a new one. It was in those days that Elser and Mathes decided to create the Cup, hoping that its requirements would take more than a few weeks or months to achieve. They succeeded - the Cup arrived at ARRL in the mid-1920s, and still waits to be awarded.
But heres the kicker to this story. The Elser Mathes Cup will be awarded to the first two-way radio contact between amateurs on Earth and the planet Mars.
Elser and Mathes thought the Moon to be too easy a target, and this in the roaring twenties!
So.. will the advent of the AMSAT-DL P3 mission to mars make winning the Cup a reality? Only time will tell. And if per chance H. G. Wells type robots are discovered on Mars, the full set of rules for taking out the Elser Mathes Cup states: "QSO'S with robots don't count!"
I'm John VK5BUI and yes.. this IS the Weird and Wonderful file.
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Oh yes. If you do work a station claiming to be on Mars and the date is not April 1st , please be careful of what you say. You would not want to be the one to start a -- war of the worlds? (WIA News)
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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, Southgate News and Australia's W-I-A News, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline™. Our e-mail address is newsline@arnewsline.org. More information is available at Amateur Radio Newsline's™ only official website located at www.arnewsline.org. You can also write to us or support us at Amateur Radio Newsline™, P.O. Box 660937, Arcadia, California 91066.
Before we go, a reminder that the digitalization of ham radio is the topic for the next Ham Radio Town meeting. Its slated for Saturday, May 19th from 1 to 3 p.m. local time at the at Dayton, Ohio's Hara Arena. This, in conjunction with the Hamvention 2007.
And starting right now we are looking for presenters who want to share their opinion, their technological know how or both with those attending the session. If you plan on attending Hamvention 2007 and would like to be part of the Ham Radio Town Meeting, e-mail us to newsline@arnewsline.org and include a bio on whom you are and a short outline of your presentation. We will look it over and get back to you.
Again, that e-mail address is newsline@arnewsline.org We look forward to hearing from you.
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™ is Copyright 2006. All rights reserved.
Jennifer Deleon of Long Beach, California, has been found guilty of murder in the killings of Thomas and Jackie Hawks, KD7VWJ and KD7VWK . Murders that took place off the Newport Beach, California, coastline in November of 2004. Amateur Radio Newsline's Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, has been following this story and has the latest:
--
It took the jury only about 5 hours of deliberations spread over two days to find Jennifer Deleon guilty of two counts of murder with special circumstances. The verdict, announced on November 17th included an allegation for committing multiple murders for financial gain.
Back in November 2004, Thomas and Jackie Hawks placed an advertisement for their 55-foot boat named the "Well Deserved" asking $440,000. They wanted to spend more time with their new grandchild in Arizona.
Answering the advertisement was Jennifer Deleon's husband Skylar. He is a former child actor who had appeared in the TV series Power Rangers some years ago.
At trial, the prosecution presented evidence that Jennifer Deleon along with her husband and three others identified as John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Alonso Machain, and Myron Gardner Sr. participated in the murder of the Hawks. This, to take the couples their boat and life savings.
Testimony presented showed Skylar Deleon and Machain staked out the boat and the victims on November 6th of 2004. Jennifer Deleon, who was pregnant at the time, gained the trust of the Hawks by bringing her then 9 month old baby to meet the Hawks on November 9th. The state showed that before their murder at sea, the Hawks' had been pressured under extreme duress by Skylar Deleon and his accomplices into signing ownership papers and a power of attorney to him.
After the murders, evidence was presented showing that Jennifer and Skylar Deleon cleaned the boat with bleach and destroyed evidence and personal items belonging to the Hawks. Skylar Deleon then bribed a Notary Public to notarize the papers with backdates. The Deleons then took money out of the Hawks bank account in Arizona and transferred it to an account in Mexico.
It was at about this time that hams across the states of Arizona and California were alerted to keep an eye open for the Hawkes' Honda CRV which had gone missing when they disappeared. At that time it was not yet known that the Hawkes' were dead. Some hams formed voluntary patrols to look for the missing vehicle. Others set up watch near U-S and Mexico border crossings. The car was eventually found sequestered at a home in Mexico.
During trial, the people presented proof that Jennifer Deleon had multiple phone conversations with Thomas Hawk's brother after the couple disappeared. During those calls she told him that her and her husband had purchased the yacht and the Hawkes' were last seen driving away. Jennifer Deleon also lied to police on multiple occasions during taped interviews.
On January 16, 2005, Skylar Deleon was arrested while he was trying to leave for Mexico. Machain was arrested on March 2, 2005, Gardner was jailed the next day, Kennedy a week later, and Jennifer Deleon was taken into custody on April 8th.
During closing arguments Deleon's lawyer tried to prove that his client was no more than an unwitting pawn manipulated by her husband. He said she didn't know of the killings until after they occurred and reminded the jury that the case was built on circumstantial evidence alone.
But for this jury the evidence was overwhelming to convict. Jennifer Deleon now faces life without the possibility of parole when she is sentenced next February 23rd .
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, reporting.
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Skylar Deleon and John Fitzgerald Kennedy are scheduled to go to trial in January 2007. The Orange County District Attorney is seeking the death penalty in that case. (ARNewsline™ adapted from Orange County CA. District Attorney's Office release)
**
HAM RADIO POLITICS: CHALLANGER OUTS VICE DIRECTOR IN ARRL ROANOKE RACE
An upset in the ARRL Roanoke Division Vice Directors election. This, as challenger Patricia Hensley, N4ROS, defeats Reverend incumbent Les Shattuck, K4NK, in a lopsided 2280 to 996 vote.
Patricia Hensley is a retired school principal from Richburg, South Carolin. She has served in ARRL volunteer positions for the past 15 years including that of South Carolina Section Manager from February 2000 to December 2002. Hensley is also a recipient of the ARRL Instructor of the Year award and is currently the South Carolina state director for Air Force MARS.
Patricia Hensley ran on a platform wanting to make the term 'Amateur Radio operator' a highly respected title. She said she feels that an Amateur Radio license no longer fosters respect from community and national Leaders. She notes that even FEMA finds it more comfortable to hire part-time individuals to provide emergency communications because amateurs are volunteers.
Hensley also acknowledge something that few corporate leaders ever do. In this case that the corporation known as the ARRL is seeing a decline in membership along with leadership positions being filled by default because few want to serve.
Hensley says that more is required than smiling faces behind a hamfest table to solve these problems. She also says that she sees restrictive covenants and interference to frequencies as major issues affecting the Amateur Radio community.
Turning out an incumbent ARRL official is a very rare occurrence. But Hensley ran what may best be called a campaign for proactive change. Her three year term begins at noon Eastern Standard Time on January 1, 2007. (Adapted from ARRL bulletin)
**
RESCUE RADIO: MALAYSIAN STATE TURNS TO HAM RADIO EM COMMS
Malaysian authorities in Kota Baru state will for the first time enlist the services of about 200 licensed amateur radio ham operators. This, in the event of a major flood in the region. Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF is here with more:
--
The Malaysia Star reports that officials believe the coming monsoon season may cause severe flooding. It says that authorities are seeking the help of that areas radio amateurs to help to handle any communications emergencies that might arise.
Turning to ham radio is no accident. Back in 2004, almost all wired communications was shut down due to rising flood waters. This caused a communication breakdown between ground rescue workers and the flood relief centers.
To prevent a communications blackout from ever occurring again, State National Security division director Rosle Mamat says that authorities would recruit hams and especially those staying in the low-lying areas. He noted that the flow of information is crucial when handling evacuation and flood mitigation work and effective communication was important.
Mamat was speaking at a media briefing the on preparations for possible floods. At that time he noted that Amateur Radio operators worldwide frequently provide assistance during emergencies. He said that ham radio would come in handy, especially in rural areas where basic communication tools such as fixed and cellular lines were limited.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, in Los Angeles.
--
Kota Baru state has already set up 677 flood relief centers. Most are located in schools, with the total capacity to house up to 142,347 potential flood victims . (Malaysia Star)
**
RESCUE RADIO: ASIA PACIFIC BROADCAST UNION CALLS FOR TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM
The Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union wants to implement an Emergency Warning Broadcast System in all of its member countries. Plams call for development of an Emergency Weather Broadcast Service to minimize the impact of disasters and for members to urge national regulators to enact the necessary provisions.
The Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union is also calling for members to push manufacturers to produce receivers with the feature. The organizations secretary-general is quoted as saying even 2 years after the great tsunami of 2004 most countries in the region do not have a system whereby they can receive early warnings of potential tsunamis and other natural occurrences which may cause disasters. (RW)
**
Break 1
From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including the N6USO repeater serving Los Angeles, Riverside and San Berndino counties in Southern California.
(5 sec pause here)
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RESTRUCTURING: ARRL TO W1AW TO SHIFT 80 METER DIGITAL TO NEW FREQ
The ARRL is QSY'ing W1AW to a new digital transmission frequency on 80 meters. This, as a result of the recent FCC restructuring that expanded the 75 meter phone band down to 3.6 MHz.
Effective Friday, December 15th , W1AW will shift its 80-meter digital bulletin frequency down to 3.597.5 MHz. The new frequency will be in use beginning with the regularly scheduled 23:00 UTC digital bulletin .
A possible change in the 80 meter CW frequency is being considered by the League. (ARRL)
**
WORLDBEAT: NEW DL 6 METER PROP BEACONS ON THE AIR
Two new 6 meter propagation beacons have come on the air in Germany and a third is on as time permits.
DGØHGW is in the Northeast in grid locator JO64QC. DFØANN in on from the South in grid locator JN59PL. Both came on the air quite quickly after being announced.
A third, located in West Germany is only intermittently on the air. DF7KF, received permission to install and run DBØDUB in grid JO31HF near Dusseldorf. Since he is still building a dedicated transmitter, he is currently using his home station to get DB0DUB on the air. As a result this beacon is only QRV on weekends.
First reports show that DBØDUB has been heard in Denmark via meteor scatter and in Southern Portugal via E skip. All three beacons share 50.083 MHz as an operating frequency. (DARC)
**
THE BPL WAR: BROADCASTERS INTERVENE TO SUPPORT ARRL IN BPL COURT APPEAL
The Association for Maximum Service Television and the NationalAssociation of Broadcasters have filed a joint motion for leave toIntervene. This, in support of the ARRL in its court appeal of the Federal
Communications Commission's Broadband over Power Line rules.
The ARRL Letter reports that the motion to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit s dated November 9th . In part it states that the two groups believe that the regulations under review are arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to law, and will adversely impact their members by, among other things, permitting unlicensed users of radio spectrum to interfere with licensed uses of the spectrum.
The Association for Maximum Service Television and the National
Association of Broadcasters are entitled to intervene as a matter of right, so the Court is expected to grant the motion. As expected, some BPL proponents are seeking to intervene on the side of the FCC. (ARRL)
**
ENFORCEMENT: TWO DETAINED FOLLOWING FLORIDA CB SHOOTOUT
A CB shootout has lead to a pair of arrests. This as two 11 meter operators decided to end a long-running feud with bullets and Mace.
According to WKMG television's website, Forty-eight year-old Frank Lukasik and 47-year-old Paul Goldman met up for a fight at in an Apopka, Florida Wal-Mart parking lot on Saturday, November 11th . One wound up being grazed with a bullet while the other was sprayed with Mace.
Both men were arrested and taken to the Orange County Jail. Lukasik was charged with aggravated battery for shooting at Goldman. Goldman was accused of causing bodily harm after authorities said he sprayed the Mace at Lukasik.
Both men told police they knew each other only from arguing over the 11 meter C-B radio airwaves the past six years. More is on-line at http://www.local6.com/news/10299812/detail.html# (WKMG-TV News)
**
RADIO LAW: NEW U.S./MEXICAN AGREEMENT FOR USE OF TV CHANNELS 52-69
The United States and Mexico have just signed a Protocol for Sharing agreement for the 698 to 806 MHz spectrum in the area around the U.S./Mexican border. The Protocol is reportedly friendly to new technologies and offers band sharing flexibility in what used to be the "old" UHF TV Channels 52 to 69. (CGC)
**
COMMUNICATIONS WARNING: PHONY NIGERIAN FBI E-MAIL
If you receive what appears to be a pair of e-mails from Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Robert Mueller saying you could be eligible for a big cash payment, it's just a scam. According to news reports, the FBI has issued an alert that warns consumers of an e-mail hoax using Mueller's name.
The first e-mail with Mueller's name includes official information taken from the law enforcement agency's web site about F-B-I Identification records and a Certificate of Ownership. It is followed by a second e-mail that claims to be from a lower-level official and demands a fee be sent to "F-B-I Nigeria" which will issue the certificate. It also threatens federal charges if the recipient doesn't respond to the first.
The FBI advises recipients to not respond to either note. It also says that this is the second scam in two months to pose as coming from the FBI chief. (Published news reports)
**
ENFORCEMENT: MICROSOFT VS. CYBERSQUATTERS
Microsoft has filed two lawsuits against so-called "cybersquatters" or "typo squatters." Those are people who use the company's product names to profit illegally from online advertising.
The world's largest software maker says that the explosion in online advertising in recent years had given rise to the illegal registration of Web site domains containing trademark Microsoft phrases or common brand name misspellings. Microsoft contends that with billing for the ads determined by number of clicks, such sites can drive up traffic and, ultimately, ad revenue. (Microsoft, others)
**
ON THE AIR: SKYWARN RECOGNITION DAY IS DECEMBER 2
The 8th annual SKYWARN Recognition Day special event will take place Saturday, December 2nd . Event operation will be from 0000 UTC to 2400 UTC on that date.
The ARRL Letter says that during that 24-hour period, Amateur radio operators will visit their local National Weather Service office, set up Amateur Radio stations, and work as a team to contact other hams around the world. The object is for all radio amateur stations to exchange QSO information with as many National Weather Service Stations as possible on 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6, and 2 meter bands plus the 70 centimeter band. Contacts via repeaters are permitted.
SKYWARN Recognition Day is co-sponsored by the National Weather Service and the American Radio Relay League. Its billed as the National Weather Service's way of saying "thank you" to Amateur Radio
operators for their commitment to helping keep their communities safe. (ARRL,)
**
RADIO IN SPACE: FORMER MICROSOFT EXEC TO BE NEXT SPACE TOURIST
Former Microsoft executive Charles Simonyi plans to be the fifth space tourist. Speaking recently at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington, Simonyi revealed his plan to become the 450th person to orbit the Earth when he visits the International Space Station next March.
The 58-year-old Simonyi is from the Seattle, Washington area. He is best known for leading development team that brought about such office management programs as Microsoft Word and Excel.
Simonyi has already started training with cosmonauts. He says he is excited about the trip and that he hopes he can contribute something to space science research.
Simonyi says he has wanted to be an astronaut since he was a child growing up in Hungary. He moved to the United States when he was 17.
The ten-day adventure will cost him a cool 20 million dollars. Arrangements for his flight were made through the Space Adventures of Vienna, Virginia. This is the same agency that has sent four other space tourists to the I-S-S.
No word yet if he plans to get his Amateur Radio license or operate from space. So far now call sign has been issued in his name. (Press release)
**
CHANGING OF THE GUARD: LAST LIVING LINK TO ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL DIES
The last living link to telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell has passed away. This with word that Bell's granddaughter Mabel Grosvenor, died late last month in Nova Scotia at the age of 101.
Mabel Grosvenor, was the daughter of Elsie Bell Grosvenor, the inventor's eldest child, and Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor, the first president and longtime editor of National Geographic magazine.
Although some say Bell hated the telephone, Maxell Grosvenor once told reporters that wasn't true. Rather, he hated being interrupted by it.
She also remembered her famous grandfather insisted that a ringing telephone be answered with "Hoy, hoy." That a simple "Hello" was considered to be very undignified. (CGC)
**
CHANGING OF THE GUARD: STSORBIT PLUS AUTHOR DAVID RANSOM - SK
The author of the very popular STS ORBIT PLUS tracking program has died. David Ransom passed away on November 5th . While not a ham, Ransom was a long-time supporter of AMSAT and a major player in providing Space Shuttle orbital data to the AMSAT and NASA communities. (N2WWD)
**
NAMES IN THE NEWS: DL5ANH REPLACES DL5GS ON GERMAN VHF CONTEST COMMITTEE
And across the Atlantic, Martin Henz, DL5NAH and other members of the Deutscher Amateur Radio Club VHF Contesting Committee will be replacing its long-term Chairman, Alfred Schlendermann, DL9GS. This, by the end of the year.
His work has already been handed over to them and as of January 2007, Martin and his group will be integrated into the DARC V-U-SHF-Committee.
The President and the Board of the DARC has thanked Schlendermann for the work he has done for so many years. They say that his ideas had an important impact on VHF contesting in Germany. (Southgate News)
**
NAMES IN THE NEWS: KEVIN MARTIN RECONFIRMED AS FCC CHAIRMAN
Radio World reports that Kevin Martin has been reconfirmed as FCC chairman for a second five-year term. President Bush had re-nominated Martin in April for the second, five-year term. His first expired June 30.
The Senate approved his nomination Thursday night, November 16th . (RW)
**
NAMES IN THE NEWS: VE3AJB RE-ELECTED IN CANADA
And word from Radio Amateurs of Canada that Ontario Section Manager Allan Boyd, VE3AJB, has been elected to a second term. It begins on March 1, 2007. Boyd ran unopposed, thereby eliminating the need for a balloted election. (RAC)
**
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)
**
WORLDBEAT: AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND: ALL LICENSES WELCOME
A new open door policy between Australia and New Zealand on ham radio. Jim Linton, VK3PC, reports:
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Audio report only. Download the MP3 news at www.arnewsline.org
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The bottom line: Bring along your H-T and enjoy. (WIA News)
**
WORLDBEAT: NZART VS. MED OVER ANNUAL REPEATER FEE
New Zealand's national ham radio society has called in the aid of a government minister in its battle with the nations Ministry of Economic Development -- known down-under as the M-E-D. This over licensing fees that it has imposed on repeater owner operators to keep their systems on the air.
The Ministry of Economic Development recently decided to impose an annual license fee of 50 New Zealand dollars on operators of repeaters. This, much to the outrage of many of the country's radio amateurs who installed and maintain the systems as a free service to that nations ham radio community. .
At an annual general meeting soon after M-E-D announced its decision, members of that nations national society -- the New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters -- unanimously passed a resolution refusing to pay the charge. They were resolute in that the association -- which holds the nations repeater licenses -- would not be forced to give up close to $16,000 New Zealand dollars each year in this type of fee.
Now representatives of NZART have enlisted the help of government Minister Peter Dunne in its fight against the fees. They recently held a meeting with the him and according to the association's president Bruce Douglas, ZL2WP, Dunne was sympathetic to the plight of New Zealand's ham radio population. What Minister Dunne can do to get the M-E-D to abandon its ham radio repeater fees is at this moment unknown. (NZART, Southgate)
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: ARISS CONTACT LEADS TO NEW YOUNG HAMS
A recent ham radio contact with the International Space Station has inspired several school students to earn ham radio licenses.
Back last April, the Escola Americana do Rio de Janeiro made contact with Marcos Pontes, PY0AEB, on board the I-S-S. As a direct result of that communication, several students became interested in learning more about amateur radio.
Now, less than 7 months later, its been announced that ten of these students have studied and are prepared to take their amateur radio license exams. A team from the Brazilian Amateur Radio and Space Experiment developed a special workshop for the students which covered radio communications, antenna systems, space communication by satellites and the amateur radio system on the International Space Station.
The Brazilian Amateur Radio and Space Experiment is a non-governmental organization dedicated to developing technical programs for use in schools. (Southgate)
**
DX
In D-X, EA3BT and his wife EA3WL and three other operators will be active from Bangladesh as S21EA. This from te 10th to the 16th of January 2007. The will be operating on SSB, CW and RTTY on 160 through 6 meters using three stations. QSL route is via EA3BT, direct or through the bureau.
And word that well known German operators DJ6SI and DJ9ZG will be on a DXpedition to Congo in late November and early December. DJ6SI will use the call sign TN6X on CW and DJ9ZG will be TN0Z on SSB and RTTY. Both stations will operate on 160 through 10 meters using two stations.
If the call sign DJ6SI sounds familiar, think back to 1983 when he and DF6FK, DJ4EI, and DJ3NG were all part of a DXpedition to the Spratley Islands. The group of German operators had chattered a private boat and were fired on by Vietnamese soldiers as they neared the Islands. DJ4EI was killed during the shelling. DJ3NG died after 9 days in a dingy. DF6FK and DJ6SI were rescued on the 10th day by a nearby Japanese cargo ship. The incident created outraged the free world with Vietnam condemned for the atrocity.
DJ6SI fully recovered and has gone on to numerous other DX operations with the Congo up next. If you word either station QSL to their home call signs via bureau.
(Above from various DX news sources)
**
THAT FINAL ITEM: WORK MARS AND GET A TROPHY
And finally, are you a true, blue D-X operator? If so, have you thought of trying to win the ARRL's Elser-Mathes Cup. Never heard of it, you say. Well, here's John Williams, VK5BUI, to tell us all about it:
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The Cup is carved of a dark tropical hardwood. It shows four stylized human figures, two standing, two seated. The standing figures are using one hand each to support a wooden bowl (the cup part) and the other hand rests on the head of the rather-dejected looking seated figures. It was carved in the Philippines and taken back to the USA by Elser and Mathes, who gave it to the folks at ARRL Headquarters. It's been waiting to be won for more than 80 years.
To understand the Cup, you must understand its times. From the earliest days of radio, DX had always been hard-won. The professionals had spanned the globe, BUT compared to the small power of we Amateurs they could use tens of kilowatts to gigantic skyhooks using waves thousands of meters long.
Even the most well equipped amateurs could not match the big commercial stations. And even after the 1912 restrictions, that gave amateurs one kilowatt input and wavelengths no longer than 200 meters, the DX situation looked hopeless.
By 1920, a well equipped 200 meter amateur station might reach 1000 miles. 1500 miles was exceptional. Bridging the Atlantic seemed a dream.
Then, in late 1923, three amateurs tried a shorter wavelength -- 110 meters -- and the Transatlantic barrier was broken. Others soon followed, and overnight the old records were dust.
No sooner would a record be set than it would be smashed by a new one. It was in those days that Elser and Mathes decided to create the Cup, hoping that its requirements would take more than a few weeks or months to achieve. They succeeded - the Cup arrived at ARRL in the mid-1920s, and still waits to be awarded.
But heres the kicker to this story. The Elser Mathes Cup will be awarded to the first two-way radio contact between amateurs on Earth and the planet Mars.
Elser and Mathes thought the Moon to be too easy a target, and this in the roaring twenties!
So.. will the advent of the AMSAT-DL P3 mission to mars make winning the Cup a reality? Only time will tell. And if per chance H. G. Wells type robots are discovered on Mars, the full set of rules for taking out the Elser Mathes Cup states: "QSO'S with robots don't count!"
I'm John VK5BUI and yes.. this IS the Weird and Wonderful file.
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Oh yes. If you do work a station claiming to be on Mars and the date is not April 1st , please be careful of what you say. You would not want to be the one to start a -- war of the worlds? (WIA News)
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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, Southgate News and Australia's W-I-A News, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline™. Our e-mail address is newsline@arnewsline.org. More information is available at Amateur Radio Newsline's™ only official website located at www.arnewsline.org. You can also write to us or support us at Amateur Radio Newsline™, P.O. Box 660937, Arcadia, California 91066.
Before we go, a reminder that the digitalization of ham radio is the topic for the next Ham Radio Town meeting. Its slated for Saturday, May 19th from 1 to 3 p.m. local time at the at Dayton, Ohio's Hara Arena. This, in conjunction with the Hamvention 2007.
And starting right now we are looking for presenters who want to share their opinion, their technological know how or both with those attending the session. If you plan on attending Hamvention 2007 and would like to be part of the Ham Radio Town Meeting, e-mail us to newsline@arnewsline.org and include a bio on whom you are and a short outline of your presentation. We will look it over and get back to you.
Again, that e-mail address is newsline@arnewsline.org We look forward to hearing from you.
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™ is Copyright 2006. All rights reserved.