Amateur Radio Newsline™ Report 1378 – January 9, 2004

Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1378 with a release date of Friday,
January 9, 2004 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a Q-S-T. V-K hams celebrate a new ham radio, some new Amateur
Radio problems in Nepal, and Canadian hams learn that they may loose 220 to 22
MHz. All this and the latest in the war against B-P-L on Amateur Radio
Newsline report number 1378 coming your way right now.

(Billboard Cart Here)

**

RESTRUCTURING: NO-CODE COMES TO VK-LAND

Major changes to ham radio in Australia were celebrated on the air on New Years
Day. Q-News Graham Kemp, VK4BB, listened in and tells us what he heard:

--

When 1 January 2004 arrived, so to did a new era for Amateur Radio operators
around Australia. At one minute past midnight, amidst the fireworks across
Australia, Amateur Radio short wave frequencies lit up, too, as they celebrated
the removal of a requirement for Morse Code qualification by getting on air in
unprecedented numbers.

A quick scan through the 80 meter band during the first hour of the QSO party
showed that there was standing room only with stations of all license levels
participating eagerly in the party with some limited and novice limited
stations handling high amounts of static and nearby station noise with
considerable skill .

All states and territories activated special radio stations for the event.
There were plenty of Wireless Institute of Australia stations on the air to
help with the bonus contacts with VK5WI, VK6WIA, VK2WI, VK4WIG, VK4WIA and
VK4WIT heard during the quick scan around 80 meters.

In the act, the Wireless Institute of Australia's club station VK1WI was
activated from the home of their President, Alan Hawes. Way up north long time
WIA supporter John Stevens took to the airwaves from the Townsville region.

As the morning wore on the stations operating were fewer but still at a level
that veteran operators say rival the heydays of HF operating when Novice
licensees were first able to access the HF bands.

From Q-News Australia, I’m Graham Kemp, VK4BB, reporting for the Amateur
Radio Newsline.

--

Still more changes to ham radio down-under is expected in the coming months.
(Q-News)

**

RESTRUCTURING: NEW BANDS AND NO-CODE TO CROATIA

Croatia has become the first country in Region 1 to benefit from the expansion
of the 40 metre band agreed at the World Radio Conference in Switzerland last
summer. 9A amateurs have also been given privileges at 70 and 3,400 Mhz.

New amateur radio regulations came into effect in Croatia on the 26th of
December. Since then, amateurs there may operate between 7,100 and 7,200 kHz on
a Secondary basis, with a maximum power of 1,000 watts PEP, in addition to the
normal Region 1 allocation of 7,000 to 7,100 kHz. On 4 metres, Croatian
amateurs now have 70.000 to 70.450 MHz, with a power limit of 10 watts. They
also gain a new band between 3,400 and 3,410 MHz, with a maximum permitted
power of 150 watts.

The Morse code requirement for an HF bands licence was also dropped with the
new regulations and there are now only two licence classes the the full
licence and a beginners' licence.

I’m Jeramy Boot, G4NJH, in Nottingham England. (GB2RS)

**

RADIO POLITICS: HAM RADIO IN NEPAL

Some bad news about ham radio in Nepal. Charles Harpole, K4VUD, says that his
efforts, along with those of 9N1AA, to expand ham radio in that nation and to
establish a memorial club station for the late Father Marshall Moran, 9N1MM,
are on an indefinite hold. This, due to the disturbed social and political
conditions there.

Harpole says that all radios and other gear that was donated some years ago
have been distributed to the currently licensed native 9 N hams. Harpole says
that the gear will come back to a club station someday. Harpole asks that
everyone bear with this situation and extend understanding. (OPDX)

**

SPECTRUM REALLOCATION: 220 - 222MHZ ON THE BLOCK IN CANADA

Canadian Amateurs may lose part of the 220 to 222 MHz in the 1 point 3 meter
band. band. Thats the recommendation being made by the Radio Advisory Board
of Canada to Industry Canada following an 18 month survey. Rick Johnson,
KA9VZD, is in Antioch, Illinois, with mo

--
In a move reminiscent of the situation in the United Sates back in 1991, the
220 to 222 MHz band would be transferred away from Canada’s Amateur Radio
operators and given to that nations Mobile Radio service. That’s the bad
part. Here’s the good news. The Radio Advisory Board of Canada has
recommended that Amateur repeaters in this portion of the band be grandfathered
to continue operation for a number of years. That time period would be decided
by Industry Canada which is Canada’s radio and telecommunications regulator.

The Radio Advisory Board also recommended allocating 219 to 220 MHz to amateurs
in Canada on a secondary, non-interfering basis. This says the R-A-B-C would
put the band in agreement with a similar allocation now available to radio
amateurs in the United States.

But here is where the Radio Advisory Board of Canada begins to think outside
the proverbial box. While most administrations seems to frown on the idea of
hams and non-hams sharing spectrum and talking with one another in a common
allocation, Canada has other ideas.

The Radio Advisory Board wants a 150 kHz wide parcel in the reallocated band be
designated as “Public Service Spectrum.� A small band to be shared by
Canadian Amateur Radio operators and Canadian Mobile Services for special
public safety and disaster communications applications. In other words,
Canadian hams could talk with their non ham counterparts -- and vice versa --
in a disaster scenario.

Radio Amateurs of Canada, as a member of the Radio Advisory Board of Canada,
has opposed any changes to the 220 to 222 MHz spectrum. Unfortunately, so far
with very little success.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I’m Rick Johnson, KA9VZD, reporting.

--

Industry Canada must now take this advice and decide what it will do with 220
to 222 Mhz, and how soon. The full story is on the web at
http://www.rac.ca/news/canada.htm (RAC)

**

Break 1

From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on
bulletin stations around the world including the W9EAR Repeater Network
serving Indiana, Ohio, Illinois and Kentuckey

(5 sec pause here)


**

THE BPL FIGHT: BPL INTERFERENCE PROVEN TWO-WAY

Two organizations have filed comments with the FCC that augment previously
expressed worries about potential interference from and to Broadband over
Power Line systems. One of them shows that service providers could loose a lot
of income if anyone operates even a low power radio near a B-P-L transmission
line. Amateur Radio Newsline's Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, reports:

--
Picking up on the what it terms as grave concerns expressed by the Federal
Emergency Management Agency over implementation of B-P-L on December 4, the
nonprofit Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Response Association has called
on the FCC to require impartial B-P-L field testing as well as additional
public comment and full and open public hearings.

The ARRL Letter says that in comments to the FCC the Disaster Preparedness
organization concluded that serious interference to and disruption of critical
emergency communications systems in several licensed services throughout North
America would almost certainly result from BPL implementation as currently
proposed.

Endorsing earlier FEMA remarks, the group said that proposed B-P-L systems
don't just pose a risk of interference. Rather, they have already been shown
to actually cause harmful interference to licensed radio services.

Meanwhile, the Amateur Radio Research and Development Corporation has filed
additional test data with the FCC. This, to support preliminary findings
suggesting that BPL systems are susceptible to interference from even modest
Amateur Radio HF signals. AMRAD said its newest data demonstrated that amateur
operation in the test neighborhood would cause many homes to lose their
Internet connectivity.

For its RF susceptibility experiment, AMRAD used the Potomac Electric Power
Company system test site. It features a mid-1960s vintage home with unshielded
interior electrical wiring and overhead power lines.

AMRAD's tests found that at a distance of just over one-half mile, data
transfer ceased in the face of a signal from a mobile 100 watt transmitter on 3
point 980 MHz. When sited adjacent to the test property, AMRAD said data
transfer went away in all but one instance at a transmitter power of just 4
watts operating in the proposed Broadband Over Powerline spectrum.

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

--

What AMRAD has now done is to prove that interference with B-P-L will be a two
way problem. More so for data providers who won't see much profit if something
as simple as a 5 watt C-B radio can shut down a neighborhoods B-P-L operations.
(ARRL)

**

THE BPL FIGHT: TAMPA TRIBUNE PRESENTS BOTH SIDES

An excellent article that details both sides of the B-P-L controversy appeared
in the January 5th edition of the Tampa Tribune. In it, reporter Will Rodgers
provides not only the industry side of the issue, but the ham radio side as
well. The article can be read on-line at the cyberspace address in this weeks
printed Amateur Radio Newsline report. You can read the article on-line at
www.tampatrib.com/Business/mgalzo1pd.html (Via e-mail)

**

WITH THE FCC: CHAIRMAN POWELL PROMOTES A FREE MARKET TELECOM REVOLUTION

The chairman of the FCC is sending out a message that the migration to digital
telecommunications will not falter. Michael Powell says that entrenched
service providers such as telephone companies and cable television providers
can either join the party or suffer the consequences.

In a December 29th interview with reporters and editors from the San Jose
Mercury News, Michael Powell shared a number of personal views. At one point
he stated the current migration to digital is really a simple thesis. One that
says for the past 100 years we've had one kind of communications system. That
being a system that’s both analog and narrow band. And while it's the
greatest machine ever built by mankind, it's also extremely mature, and it's
really, in Powell’s view, at the end of its innovation life.

Perhaps Powell’s most controversial statement came in regard to companies
that are not eager to invest in the digital revolution. He said -- quote: "I
have no problem if a big and venerable company no longer exists tomorrow, as
long as that value is transferred somewhere else in the economy."

You can read more of what FCC Chairman Powell had to say at
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/sil...ey/7591252.htm (CGC)

**

RADIO LAW: FCC STILL NOT “NAMING NAMES� IN ENFORCEMENT ISSUES

The FCC’s decision to no longer identify those hams allegedly violating the
Part 97 Amateur Rules continues into the new year. The agency’s Daryl
Duckworth, N-N-Zero-W, has the latest word:

--

Duckworth: “The FCC, at least temporarilly, has revised the format in which
it is supplying information on Amateur Radio enforcement actions. The new
format provides only the state and city with a synopsys of the action taken,
without naming any indiciduals.

Pursuant to privacy concerns, the FCC currently is reviewin its proceedures in
its radio services regasrding the release of information about individuals.
Following this review, the FCC will determine its privacy policy for the
future. “

--

As we go to air there is still no word as to when the revirew of privacy
proceedures at the FCC will be completed. Its been about two months since the
ban on relesing names was put in place. (FCC)

**

COMMUNICATIONS LAW: NORWEGIAN COURT SAYS COPYING DVD’S NOT PIRACY

An appeals court in Oslo Norway has dealt a major blow to those trying to
protect the intellectual copyright of material that they own from unauthorized
duplication. This, after it upholds the acquittal of a 20-year-old Norwegian
man who posted a program on the Internet for cracking DVD security codes.

Prosecutors had appealed a lower court decision after Jon Lech Johansen was
acquitted last January of violating Norway's data break-in laws with his DeCSS
program for DVDs. The prosecution had sought a 90-day suspended jail sentence,
confiscation of computer equipment and a $2,940 fine. But the judge ruled
that Johansen could freely copy DVDs he bought, adding he didn't violate the
Nordic country's laws protecting intellectual property.

The case was widely seen as a test of Norway's computer protection laws.
Prosecutors said they were considering appealing to the country's supreme
court. In the meantime, the decision is being viewed as a major setback for
anti-piracy proponents in the entertainment industry, worldwide. (Published
news reports)

**

RADIO HONORS: GARC HONORS MEMORY OF KU3Z

The Goddard Spaceflight Center Amateur Radio Club in Greenbelt Maryland has
honored one of its own. By a unanimous vote at the clubs Christmas party, the
"WA3NAN Space Shuttle Retransmission Facility" has ben renamed the "Joe Grzesik
KU3Z Memorial Space Shuttle and I-S-S Retransmission Facility." This, in honor
of Grzesik’s outstanding support of relaying of space shuttle and
International Space Station ham radio communications on the terrestrial Amateur
bands for over two decades. Joe Grzesik KU3Z became a Silent Key in 2003.
(N8PK vis the WA3NAN News Exchange)

**

HAM RADIO HONORS: SELECTING THE TOP 5 QSL MANAGER SURVEY

John Shelton, K1XN, Editor of the Go List says that it’s time again for his
newsletters’ annual “Top 5 QSL Manager� survey. This is is a process by
which DX’ers get to choose those that they consider to be the best QSL
Managers with whom they have had dealings with in the past 12 months. Its also
a way to provide at least a small “thank-you� to the work performed by
these and other QSL Managers around the world.

The results of this survey will be given to Carl Smith, N4AA, for inclusion in
the QRZ-DX bulletin and also announced on the GO LIST Reflector by mid
February. To vote, send your list of those who you are the five best 5 of 2003
by e-mail to before February 1st. Again, that address is
. (OPDX)

**

HAMFESTS: WINTERFEST IN VA. IN FEB.

Turning to the ham radio social calendar, the 28th annual Winterfest sponsored
by the Vienna Wireless Society is slated for Sunday, February 29th. The
gathering will take place at Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale,
Virginia. And if you're ready to take the test, an Examination Team will be on
hand Saturday, February 28th. More information is on the web at
www.viennawireless.org (KG4OJT)

**

MEETINGS AND CONFERENCES: AMSAT-NA IN FL IN FEBRUARY

And the next meeting of the Board of Directors of AMSAT-NA will take place at
the Orlando Airport Clarion Hotel on Saturday, February 21 and Sunday, February
22nd. Starting at 8.30 am on Saturday, the meeting will be open to all AMSAT
North America members wanting to take part.

Among the items to be discussed will be to develop the AMSAT North America
Strategic Plan while considering current governing factors. AMSAT members
wishing to attend and make a presentation to the Board should advise President
Robin Haighton, VE3FRH by February 15th. Let him know the topic and the length
of time needed to present. His e-mail is (AMSAT-NA)

**

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)

**

SPACE AND SCIENCE: NEW TRAVELING SPACE EXHIBIT

The largest traveling space exhibit ever has made its first stop The 12,000
square foot display will allow visitors to touch rocks from Mars and the moon,
take a virtual visit to the red planet and explore the international space
station.

The exhibit employs the most advanced technology available here on earth to get
its message out. The exhibit will be at Seattle's Pacific Science Center
through May 9th. Then, it begins its own journey on a 15 city tour over the
next five years. (NASA News)

**

EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: SIREN SENSOR TEST IN L.A.

On the technology front, the Los Angeles Fire Department has been asked to
study the possibility of equipping engines with a device to turn traffic lights
green. This, so vehicles responding to emergencies don't have to stop at
intersections. Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, is in our Los Angeles studio with
mo

--

Los Angeles City Councilman Tom LaBonge has asked the Fire Department to work
with the City's Department of Transportation to start a pilot program using
technology such as SirenSensor. This is an acoustically activated device that
can differentiate emergency sirens from ambient noise and then warn the
civilian driver of the approach of an emergency vehicle. It does this by
shutting of a near-by car's audio system or radio and activating both audible
and visual signals. The councilman believes that this technology can help
police and firefighters respond to emergencies with greater speed.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, in the City of Angels.


--

No word when the tests of this remote control system might begin. More about
SirenSensor is on the web at
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m.../article.jhtml
(LA News)

**

NEW PRODUCTS: NEW QUICK-CHARGE NiMH BATTERIES

Turning to the latest in electronic products of interest to hams, we have this
from battery maker Rayovac. That company has announced a new charger that it
says is capable of fully restoring a specially designed Nickel Metal Hydride
cell in only 15 minutes. Dubbed the I-C3, the new rechargeable cells and
charging system uses Rayovac's In-Cell Charge Control technology that puts the
control of recharging into the battery instead of the charger. The company says
that doing this offers significant performance and convenience advantages over
existing rechargeable and disposable battery systems. More information is
on-line at www.rayovac.com (Rayovac)

**

NEW PRODUCTS: INTEL IN YOUR TV

And the world's largest microchip maker will soon unveil plans to make
integrated circuits for use in digital television receivers. Santa Clara,
California based Intel is exploring a technology called liquid crystal on
silicon which is a hybrid between the more expensive silicon microchips and
liquid crystal displays. This could significantly lower the cost of flat panel
high definition displays. Industry analysts say that if this technology is
successful it would pose a serious threat to established consumer electronics
chip makers in Europe and Japan, such as Philips and Sony Corp., as well as
emerging players like Texas Instruments. (Intel)

**

DX

In D-X, keep an ear open for members of a French radio club who will be on the
air from Togo. This as the F6KOP Le Radio Club de Provins 77 announce that they
plan to be active from Grid Square JJ06 as 5V7C from March 6th to the 12th.
More information is on-line at http://5v7c.free.fr/defaulteng.htm (OPDX)

And OPDX reports that S57CQ, is now active from Bhutan as A52CQ and is expected
to stay there through January 14th. Activity is expected to be on all bands as
much as possible. QSL via S57DX. (OPDX)

**

THAT FINAL ITEM: THAT FINAL ITEM: ARDF

Lastly, some hams have learned the secret of enjoying the hobby while staying
physically fit. They're the fans of on-foot transmitter hunting, also called
radio-orienteering and ARDF. Reporter Joe Moell, K0OV, has the story of a
California ham who is rapidly becoming one of the best.

--

I've told you about the many direction-finding medals that have been won by Jay
Thompson W6JAY, Newsline's Young Ham of the Year. But you don't have to be
Jay's age to be a big winner at international on-foot transmitter hunts.
61-year-old Bob Cooley KF6VSE of Pleasanton, California has just brought home a
couple of gold medals from the IARU Region 3 Championships in Australia.

The competitions began November 28 near Ballarat, a historic gold mining town
in northwestern Victoria province. They were hosted by the Wireless Institute
of Australia and organized by the Victorian ARDF Group.

Cooley competed in M60, the Superveteran Category for men age 60 and above. On
the 4.7-kilometer two-meter course, he found his required three fox
transmitters in 1:30:25, seven minutes ahead of the second-place finisher.
Then on the 5.6-kilometer 80-meter course, he did even better, finding all
three foxes and getting to the finish line in 1:15:22.

All three IARU Regions hold championships in odd-numbered years. These events
for Region 3, encompassing Asia and Oceania, drew 50 male and 9 female
competitors from Australia, China, Japan, Korea, and New Zealand. KF6VSE was
the only guest from North America.

A long-time competitor at non-radio type orienteering events, Bob has improved
greatly since he discovered ARDF in 1999. He finished among the top ten in his
age and gender category at the 2000 ARDF World Championships near Nanjing,
China. This past summer, he won gold medals on both bands at the 2003 USA ARDF
Championships near Cincinnati.

You can get a link to the complete results from Australia and learn more about
world-class transmitter hunting on the Web at www.homingin.com. There you will
also find the details on the upcoming USA ARDF Championships, which will take
place in California next June. That's homingin -- one word -- homingin.com

From southern California, where we do transmitter hunting every month of the
year, this is Joe Moell K-zero-Oscar-Victor, reporting for Newsline.

--

Again Joe’s website is www.homingin.com (K0OV, ARNewsline(tm))


**

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 and
Australia's Q-News, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline(tm). Our e-mail
address is newsline @arnewsline.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), P.O. Box
660937, Arcadia, California 91066.

For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors desk, I’m Fred Vobbe,
W8HDU, saying 73 and we thank you for listening." Amateur Radio Newsline(tm)
is Copyright 2004. All rights reserved.

(ARNewsline report 1378 was recorded in the studios of the National Radio Club
DX Audio Service in Lima Ohio.)