Amateur Radio Newsline™ Report 1830 – September 7 2012

Amateur Radio Newsline™ Report 1830 – September 7 2012

Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1830 with a release date of September 7 2012 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a Q-S-T. Ham radio responds to a typhoon in Korea and an earthquake in the Philippines. Also, Yaesu donates a pair of FT-2000 transceivers to help rebuild a flood ravaged national society station in Thailand; the European Commission proposes an all out spectrum sharing plan; a shortwave transmitter in Bangladesh vacates the amateur exclusive section of 40 meters and an old modulation technique makes a money saving comeback for commercial broadcasters. Find out the details are on Amateur Radio Newsline™ report number 1830 coming your way right now.


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RESCUE RADIO: IARU REGION 3 HAMS RESPOND TO TWIN DISASTERS

A powerful storm called Typhoon Bolaven battered Korea on August 27^th and 28. Then on August 31^st a major earthquake occurred off the coast of the Philippines. Responding to both disasters were ham radio operators equipped to provide emergency communication. Amateur Radio Newsline’s Norm Seeley, KI7UP, reports:

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The South Korean state disaster management agency reported ten deaths as a result of Typhoon Bolivan. It was the strongest storm to hit the country for almost a decade and left hundreds of thousands without electricity and suffering property damage. It also churned up rough seas that smashed two fishing ships into rocks off southern Jeju island.

Yong-Surke Lee, HL1FB, is the spokesperson for the Korean Amateur Radio League. He said when Bolaven hit that emergency traffic between the affected areas kept flowing to the authorities via its D90IK, 2 meter repeater. In charge of the ham radio relief operations was 6K2BUF acting as the network control officer. At the height of the severe weather outbreak almost two million South Korean homes and businesses were without power or telephones.

Meantime the strongest earthquake in more than two decades, measuring 7.6 on the Ritcher scale, hit the Philippines on August 31^st local time. Almost immediately after the event members of the Ham Emergency Radio Operations group were exchanging messages with the affected coastal areas.

Eddie Valdez DU1EV, is the Chief Operating Officer of the Philippines Amateur Radio Association. He says that Roberto Vincencio, DU1VHY, handled traffic and got reports from the affected areas.

Valdez said the area of DU5 was nearest the epicenter. Lester Price, DV5PO said that there was a power outage in Borongan, on Samar Island. Reynaldo Tan, DV5RAY reported that people had been evacuating because of the tsunami alert. The alert was lifted after officials reported that only small waves had been generated. Tens of thousands of people who headed out of the danger zone have since returned.

According to DU1EV, many hams in the affected areas showed
up on the 2 meter and 40 meter emergency channels. He added that other districts were on standby if needed.

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

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The Philippine National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council initial assessment was that there was no major structural damage in the affected areas. It noted that most structures destroyed were built from light material. (VK3PC, Post World, BBC)

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RESCUE RADIO: YAESU DONATES NEW GEAR TO HELP REBUILD RAST STATION HS0AC

Yaesu has donated a pair of FT-2000D transceivers to the Radio Amateur Society of Thailand. This to help rebuild its headquarters station HS0AC that lost its radio gear during severe flooding last year.

The presentation of the two transceivers to the Radio Society of Thailand was made by Dennis Motschenbacher, K7BV, who is the company’s Executive Vice President Amateur Radio Sales and also holds the call sign HS0ZKS.

In his note, K7BV said that Thailand is what he called extremely "radio active" with over 300,000 hams most of whom are on VHF. However, that is in the process of changing.

Dennis says that after seven years of waiting, Thai hams are once again able to test for a license that gives them operating privileges on the High Frequency bands. According to K7BV some 40 applicants have already passed the new exam this year and at least one more test is schedule before years end.

Photos of the presentation of the new Yaesu transceivers can be seen at tinyurl.com/yaesu-thailand-radios (K7BV)

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RADIO LAW: EUROPEAN COMMISSION RECOMMENDS NEW SHARED SPECTRUM PLAN

The European Commission has unveiled plans to deal with the exponential growth in mobile and wireless data traffic. This, by enabling wireless technologies, including broadband, to share the use of the radio spectrum with other services.

The European Commission notes that with new technologies it is possible to share radio spectrum among several users such as internet providers or use the spectrum available between TV frequencies for other purposes.

The Commission says that national spectrum regulation often does not reflect the new technical possibilities, leaving mobile and broadband users at risk of poor service as demand grows. It also prevents a single market for investment in such communications growth. Because of this the Commission believes that a coordinated European approach to sharing spectrum will lead to greater mobile network capacity, cheaper wireless broadband, and new markets such as tradable secondary rights for a given spectrum allocation.

The proposal is 12 pages long and does not seem to exclude any service from the possibility of sharing spectrum with another. What impact this proposal might eventually have on amateur radio operations across Europe is at this point unknown. You can download the proposal in PDF format at tinyurl.com/european-shared-spectrum. (Southgate)

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INTRUDER WATCH: RADIO BANGLADESH VACATES 7.105 MHZ

Some good news for users of the low end of 40 meters. The Radio Society of Great Britain reports that Radio Bangladesh has left 7 point 105 MHz after the broadcaster finished its experimental transmissions and is now using 7 dot 250 MHz in the shared portion of the band.

The move is likely due to the many amateur radio operators world wide who reported the infringement on the band. Particular thanks go to the German telecommunications authority which filed the official complaints to Radio Bangladesh. (GB2RS)

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RADIO PROPAGATION: SOLAR CME HITS EARTH ON SEPTEMBER 3RD

If you were wondering about the strange band conditions this past week you can blame it on old Sol. This after a Coronal Mass Ejection or C-M-E hit Earth's magnetic field on at approximately 1200 UTC on Monday, September 3rd.

According to Spaceweather.com the impact induced measurable ground currents in the soil of northern Scandinavia and sparked bright auroras around the Arctic Circle. In fact, at the time the alert was issued, a moderately strong geomagnetic storm that lasted several days was underway.

For current and future information on what the Sun is up to and how it might affect radio propagation here on Earth, simply take your web browser to spaceweather.com for the very latest updates. (Spaceweather)

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RADIO HISTORY: CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF STANDARDIZED RADIO PREFIXES

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the use of ITU callsign prefixes, special event station PB-100-PREFIX will be on the air between October 4th and the 31st.

The back story on the standardization of calls came following the loss of the ocean liner Titanic in April of 1912. The Titanic used the call letters MGY with the “M" representing the Marconi company.

As a result there was an acknowledgement that there should be international standards for radio communications. This lead to several international meetings in the aftermath of the Titanic’s sinking and the emergence of the callsign prefix system that has evolved into what we have today.

For more details, visit on this special commemorative operation please take your web browser to www.PB100PREFIX.nl. And if you make contact with PB100PREFIX QSL via PB0P. (OPDX)

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BREAKING DX NEWS: GROUGH ISLAND “SLIM”

Hams making contact with a station signing ZD5KN on Gough Island will not be getting any credit for the contact. This is because Zed-D-9-K-N is what DX’ers call a “slim” or a “pirate” operation.

According to the Ohio Penn DX Newsletter several sources report that ZS1A, has confirmed that the callsign ZD9KN has never been issued. As such the advice being given is to not waste time working this station if you happen to hear him.

But there is some good news regarding this rather rare entity. Word is that ZS6KX will be going to Gough Island sometime this month and will be there for a year. He is hoping to be issued the callsign ZD9KX and is waiting for the approval of his license. No QSL route has yet been announced so look for more details to be forthcoming. And we will have more DX related news later on in this weeks Amateur Radio Newsline report.

(OPDX)

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BREAK 1

From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including the Alaska Morning Net serving America’s final frontier.

(5 sec pause here)


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RESTRUCTURING: NEW RULES AND MORE SPECTRUM FOR PHILIPPINE HAMS

Restructuring has come to ham radio in the Philippines. This according to an announcement by the Philippines Amateur Radio Association which says that following meetings between the Amateur Radio Consultative Panel and the National Telecommunications Commission or NTC, numerous changes to that nations amateur service have been enacted. Amateur Radio Newsline’s Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF, is in Nelson, New Zealand with more:

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As reported by Philippines Amateur Radio Association that organization has now been officially recognized by the National Telecommunications Commission as the nations only national amateur radio organization with the NTC to maintaining a database of licensees that will be made available in the public domain.

Under the revised rules an applicant for a Philippine amateur license who passes an exam but does not own a radio will be given an operator certificate with his own call sign. Also a new entry level Foundation License or Class D certificate with VHF-only privileges has been created with a minimum age requirement of 9 years. And in the area of administering Philippine Amateur Service exams, new question pool and oversight committees have been officially organized.

One other very important change is that the NTC will now allow Philippine radio amateurs what it calls convergence with the Internet. In other words it has authorized interconnects for operations such as Echolink, IRLP and other VoIP operations.

Lastly, hams in the Philippines have been granted to some additional spectrum. Depending on license class, hams will be permitted to operate from 135.7 kHz to 137.8 kHz; 472 kHz to 479 kHz and 7.201 MHz to 7.300 MHz with Class B and Class C allowed to operate High Frequency mobile.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, Im Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF.

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These changes to the Philippine Amateur Radio Service regulations came into effect on August 30th. More details can be found at www.para.org.ph/news.htm (PARA)

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ENFORCEMENT: THE VANISHED VENTURA UNLICENSED STATION BUSTED BY THE FCC

A follow up to a story from a few weeks ago involving an unlicensed station in Ventura, California, on 89.7 MHz that called itself KSSR, The Peoples Radio. It has now been established that this station has been busted by the FCC with a Notice of Unlicensed Operation issued to the station itself as well as to the property owners that hosted it. Amateur Radio Newslines Jim Damron, N8TMW, reports:

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In a pair of letters dated August 14th the FCC notified the station as an entity well as property owners John and Lisa Darby that KSSR was found to be operating without a license and must leave the air immediately. Both letters also advised the recipients that they had ten days from the date of the notice to respond with any evidence that they have authority to operate granted by the FCC.

The notices said that the FCC staff will use all relevant material information before it to determine what, if any, enforcement action is required to ensure your compliance with FCC Rules. This will include any information that the station management or the property owners disclose in their reply.

This notification from the FCC ends speculation that perhaps the pirate saw private DF’ing activity taking place and voluntarily suspended operations. But the station my have had the final word. As of August 26th the unlicensed stations website carried the following message: "Due to unforeseen circumstances KSSR had the leave the FM airwaves for a while."

Whether that means the station operator plans to return to the airwaves at a later date or is just a smug way of bidding its audience a fond farewell, is unknown. But if the FCC has its way, the unlicensed KSSR will never be heard on the Ventura, California airwaves, ever again.

From Charleston West Virginia, Im Jim Damron, N8TMW reporting.

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As is normal in these cases both the station and the property owner were give the customary 30 days to file a response. (CGC, FCC)

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RESCUE RADIO: SUFFOLK COUNTY NY SEEKS DONATION OF TRAILER

New York’s Suffolk County Radio Club is seeking a donation of a mid-sized trailer to continue its Emergency Communications Field work. This after its present communications vehicle has become unusable due to its age.

For those not aware, the Suffolk County Radio Club was established in 1947 and is the oldest radio club on Long Island. Its members provide free manpower as a public service for special events in addition to their volunteer emergency communications during disasters such as hurricanes and wildfires.

If you have a covered trailer in the 12 by 8 foot category that you would consider donating, please contact club Vice President, Jim Fehling, N2JFD by telephone at area code 631-926-4370. Or you can e-mail him to n2jfdny (at) gmail (dot) com. (Suffolk Radio Club)

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RADIO TRAGEDY: COLORADO HAM RADIO OPERATOR AND WIFE DIE FROM INJURIES SUFFERED IN CAR COLLISION

A Colorado Springs, Colorado, ham radio operator and his wife who were involved in an automobile accident on their way home from church have died from their injuries. This, after their car was broadsided by a driver alleged to have been going the wrong way down a one-way street. Amateur Radio Newsline producer Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, has the details on this tragic event:

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According to police reports, Teddy Allison, N0NKG and his wife Mary Ann were in their Saturn headed home from church services at about 10:45 a.m. on Sunday, August 12th. That’s when a Chevrolet Malibu, driven by 18 year old Khalil Sanders allegedly drove the wrong way on a one-way street, entered an intersection without stopping and slammed into the Allison’s car.

The couple was taken to the hospital, both in critical condition. Teddy Allison, who was age 67, died on August 15th. Mary Ann Allison succumb to her injuries on August 18th.

Khalil Sanders was also taken to the hospital and was treated and later released. Police continue to investigate the crash and are still determining what charges, if any, he potentially faces.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I’m Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, I the newsroom in Los Angeles.

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Teddy Allison, N0NKG, was an electronics technician at Hewlett Packard and Mary Ann Allison was a homemaker and accountant at Young life. The Allison’s had just celebrated their 49th wedding anniversary on July 7th. (N0RDC)

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NAMES IN THE NEWS: ARRL SUMMER SECTION MANAGER ELECTION RESULTS ANNOUNCED

Some new faces and some old ones are returning to the ARRL Field Operations arena. This following the counting of ballots in this years Section Manager elections.

In the North-East, ARRL Connecticut Section Manager Betsey Doane, K1EIC, was re-elected to another term. Meantime John Mueller, K2BT, won out as the new Western New York Section Manager.

Also, Puerto Rico will be getting a new Section Manager in Rene Fonseca, NP3O, of the city of Fajardo. Fonseca will be taking over from Roberto Jiminez, KP4AC, who has served as Section Manager since 2007 but decided not to run for another term of office.

All elected start their new terms on October 1st. (ARRL)

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NAMES IN THE NEWS: K3EST RETIRES FROM DIRECTOR OF CQWW DX CONTEST

Some names in the news. CQ Magazine has announced that Bob Cox, K3EST, has retired as Director of the CQ World Wide DX Contest and as CQ's Director of Contesting. Cox has been at the helm of the CQ World Wide DX contest for 35 years. During his tenure he guided the competition through numerous changes in technology and growth to become the world's most popular amateur radio contest. Cox's retirement is effective immediately. A successor has not yet been named. (CQ)

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NAMES IN THE NEWS: MIKE BAXTER KA0XTT OF LAST MAN STANDING GETS NEW ANTENNA FARM

According to a posting on Facebook by the lead character of the situation comedy Last Man Standing, as soon as it get closer to the shows season two premiere of Friday, November 2nd, they will be holding a combined HF, VHF, UHF and D-Star ham radio operating event. This will put all of the amateur radio gear used on the show and the licensed staff members on the air for you to contact.

The shows producer is John Amodeo, NN6JA. He has just uploaded to Facebook close to a dozen photos of the new outdoor antenna installation on the roof of the Studio City, California sound stage where the Last Man Standing is recorded. If you are on Facebook you can see them by putting the words "Last Man Standing Season 2 Antenna Farm” into the search line at the top of any Facebook page.

For those of you who have not yet seen the show, Last Man Standing follows the adventures of Mike Baxter played by actor and comedian Tim Allen. Baxter’s character is the director of marketing at an outdoor sporting goods store in Denver, Colorado, whose world is dominated by women. This is especially true at home with his wife and three daughters. His hobby turns out to be amateur radio with Baxter using the call letters KA0XTT. Last Man Standing airs on the ABC television network. (ARNewsline™)

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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)

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HAM RADIO IN SPACE: NASA ANNOUNCES OPPORTUNITIES FOR CUBESAT LAUNCHES

Want to put a small satellite into orbit? Well now is your chance providing the bird you want to launch meets some specific criteria. Amateur Radio Newslines Don Wilbanks, AE5DW, has the details:

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NASA is seeking proposals for small satellite payloads to fly on rockets planned to launch between 2013 and 2016. These miniature spacecraft, known as CubeSats, could be auxiliary payloads on previously planned missions or on yet to be announced orbital opportunities.

CubeSats are a class of research spacecraft called nano-satellites. These cube-shaped satellites are approximately four inches long, have a volume of about one quart and weigh less than three pounds.

Proposed CubeSat investigations must be consistent with NASA's Strategic Plan and the NASA education vision and goals. The research must address aspects of science, exploration, technology development, education or operations.

Applicants must submit proposals electronically by 4:30 p.m. EST, November 12th. NASA will select the payloads by next January 31st. Selection does not guarantee a launch opportunity but the selected spacecraft will be eligible for flight after final negotiations when a launch opportunity arises. It should be noted that NASA provides only a possible launch opportunity but it will not provide funding for the development of the small satellites.

Meantime from the first three launch initiatives, 64 payloads made the short list for launch opportunities between now and 2014. These satellites come from 25 states and are eligible for la ride to orbit pending an appropriate opportunity and final negotiations.

I’m Don Wilbanks, AE5DW.

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For additional information about NASA's CubeSat Launch Initiative program, visit go.nasa.gov/puk9K2 (NASA)

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WORLDBEAT: ZAMBIA MAKES READY FOR DIGITAL BROADCASTING

The Zambian government has issued 10 licenses and 16 construction permits to radio and TV stations in the country.

Those chosen are expected to switch to digital broadcasting before the 2013 deadline set by the Southern Africa Development Community.

According to the nations Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services, the move is intended to enhance participation in the affairs of the country, as well as offer people an opportunity to air their views on issues of national interest. (RW)

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ON THE AIR: COMMEMORATING THE LIBERATION OF KNOKKE BELGIUM

On the air, special event station ON44CLM will be operational from October 16th through November 15th in commemoration of the liberation of the town of Knokke in Belgium by the Canadian Army in 1944. The C-L-M suffix stands for Canadian Liberation March. More information is on-line at www.on44clm.be. (Southgate)

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ON THE AIR: CELEBRATING THE DUBLIN BUS

Hams in Erin’s Isle have taken to the air to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Dublin Bus with special event special event station E-I-25-D-B operational from now through June 30th of 2013. The station will be operated by current and former employees of Dublin Bus Company led by EI9HQ and EI4GZB. QSL this operation to EI9HQ or electronically using either Logbook of the World or HamLog.eu. The Dublin Bus Company is a major public transportation supplier through out the city of Dublin, Ireland. (Southgate)

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ON THE AIR: VOODOO CONTEST CLUB TO BE ACTIVE FROM LIBERIA

For the 24^th straight year look for the VooDoo Contest Group to again be active from Liberia between November 21^st and the 27^th. Operations will be from a location just South of Monrovia, the capital of Liberia. Their main goal is to be an entry in the CQ World Wide DX CW Contest on November 24^th and 25^th as a Multi-Multi category using the callsign E-L-2-A. Outside of the contest the operators will use their own personal callsigns. QSL as directed by each operator. (OPDX)

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DX

In DX, SM1TDE will be active portable 5Z4 from Diani Beach, Mombasa, Kenya between November 5th and the 22nd. This will be a family vacation and activity will be limited to how much his XYL and kids allow. His operation will be on 40 through 10 meters on CW only. QSL via his home callsign, either direct, via the bureau or electronically using Logbook of the World.

JA7SGV is now operational as 9J2JA from Zambia. His length of stay is unknown. Activity has been on the 30, 20, 17 and 15 meters using CW only. QSL via his home callsign.

W4XP who was expected to be active now as VQ9XP from the club station VQ9X on Diego Garcia Atoll has been forced to cancel the operation. He says that this is because the station has been placed off-limits by the installation Commander.

PA0FAW will be operating PC12WSF through September 30th for the World Statues Festival in Arnhem in the Nethlands. Modes mentioned are CW, SSB and PSK. QSL to PA0FAW either direct, via the bureau or electronically via eQSL. This operation will not accept Logbook of the World confirmation requests.

Lastly, CT1FJZ will be working in Angola for the next year or so and will be operational on 80 through 10 meter SSB using the callsign D2FJZ. His activity will be mainly at the weekends but he will try to get on the air whenever possible during weekdays. QSL as directed on the air.

(Above from various DX news sources)

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THAT FINAL ITEM: CONTROLLED CARRIER AM -SOMETHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN

And finally this week, an old modulation technology is making a comeback for A-M broadcast stations in a new and money saving way. Amateur Radio Newsline’s George Bowen, W2XBS, has the details where something old is new again:

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Back in the days of full carrier A-M transmission one very popular and low cost way to put ones voice onto a carrier wave was to modulate the final power amplifier’s screen grid. A variation on this that required no heavy modulation transformer was to vary the output power of the transmitter at an audio rate by varying the final amplifier’s screen voltage at an audio rate. This system was called controlled carrier A-M and it was made very popular on the ham bands in the 1940’s, 1950’s and 1960’s in such budget priced transmitters as the Heathkit DX-35, DX-40 and DX-60 to name only a few.

With the advent of single sideband transmission, full carrier A-M fell out of favor in the ham radio world but it has remained a staple in the broadcast industry and other services that want to get their message to the public. And now, carrier control modulation is making a comeback among broadcasters but not in the way it was done by radio amateurs of the past.

For broadcasters who spend 10’s of thousands of dollars a year paying for electric service, the ability to raise and lower power levels can be a major cost cutting factor. And because of this a number of stations have received waivers from the FCC to experiment with several new forms of carrier control technology.

In one instance, transmitter manufacturer Harris Broadcast and New York City powerhouse WOR-AM say they have had success with a power-saving Modulation Dependent Carrier Level algorithm. This with no effect on Arbitron Portable People Meter data encoding/decoding, the stations H-D Radio signal coverage or digital audio quality.

Harris engineers worked with Tom Ray, W2TRR , who is the Corporate Director of Engineering WOR AM in New York, to test the compatibility of two Harris Modulation-Dependent Carrier Level algorithms. Amplitude Modulation Companding provided the largest reduction in transmitter power consumption, by saving 37 percent in average AC power input to the transmitter. WOR estimated this translates up to a $3,000 per month savings on the electric bill at his New Jersey transmitter site.

So will this new form of Amplitude Modulation Companding bring back full carrier AM to the ham bands? While a tiny segment may decide to experiment with it more than likely SSB will remain the preferred voice system among ham radio operators world wide. At least until it’s replaced by a digital voice system at sometime in the future.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I’m George Bowen, W2XBS, at the North East Bureau in Albany New York.

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Nautel, another transmitter manufacturer has estimated that a 50 kilowatt AM transmitter using this technology and operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week could easily save $20,000 a year or more in electricity costs. This based on modest electricity rates of 10 cents per kilowatt hour.

The complete story can be found on-line at tinyurl.com/harris-modulation (RW)

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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, the Southgate News, TWiT-TV and Australia's W-I-A News, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline™. Our e-mail address is newsline(at) arnewsline (dot) org. More information is available at Amateur Radio Newsline's™ only official website located at www.arnewsline.org.

Before we go a reminder that we are continuing our survey to learn who still receive these newscasts over our 661-296-2407 dial in line rater than downloading the MP3 file from our website. If you are one of those who call in each week on the phone, please send us a note telling us who you are and the reason you are using telephone access rather than simply downloading the newscast from the Internet. Our address is the Amateur Radio Newsline, 28197 Robin Avenue, Saugus California, 91350. Or you can e-mail us at newsline (at) arnewsline (dot) 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 2012. All rights reserved.

 

Mars?? Been there, done that. What else you got?

K5CO