Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1745 - January 212011 Amateur Radio
Newsline report number 1745 with a release date of Friday, January 21,
2011 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a Q-S-T. A writer for Worldradio Online says Morse
code use is on the rise, NASA ask hams to help monitor for NanoSai-D,
one of the Italian 2 meter repeaters interfering with ham radio space
communications goes QRT, Logbook of the World now available to hams who
use the world above 50 MHz and a ham radio legend is about to turn 100.
Find out who on Amateur Radio Newsline T report number 1745 coming your
way right now. (Billboard Cart Here)

**

RADIO SURVEY: WORLDRADIO COLUMNIST SAYS MORSE USE

UP

The use of Morse code is up. So says a writer for Worldradio Online
Magazine. Amateur Radio Newsline's David Black, KB4KCH, is in our
South-East bureau with the details:


--


In the current no-code era of amateur radio, you
might think no one's using code. But that's not
what an analysis by WorldRadio Online columnist
Randall Noon, KC0CCR, suggests.

The FCC dropped the Morse code testing
requirement back in 2007. Since then, Noon's
research indicates that levels of on-air ham
activity and Morse code usage have increased.

Noon writes about his analysis in February's
issue of WorldRadio Online. He looked at a
combination of FCC licensing statistics and
published results of ARRL Field Day activity from
2005 to 2009. He used Field Day data on the
assumption that Field Day participants are at
least minimally active ham radio operators.

Noon compared statistics for Field Day activity
with the total number of licensees. Noon
determined that both the raw number and the
percentage of licensed hams operating in Field
Day had increased since 2007. In addition, he
finds that the number of Morse code contacts in
Field Day have increased as well, hitting an all-
time peak in 2009. That, he says, is
significant, quote "because it is assumed that
hams will use the same modes on Field Day that
they do when operating at other times."

Since the FCC stopped requiring code tests, Noon
concludes it appears that CW has gained in usage-
-that's because newer hams licensed since 2007
appear to be more actively engaged in the hobby,
as the higher levels of Field Day participation
suggest.

Noon is no stranger to Morse Code. He's also the
magazine's FISTS columnist. FISTS is an
organization that promotes the use of Morse code
among hams, worldwide.

From the South-East bureau in Birmingham,
Alabama, I'm David Black, KB4KCH, reporting for
the Amateur Radio Newsline.

--

Noon's complete analysis appears in the February
2011 issue of WorldRadio Online, which was to be
posted on or about January 20 at
www.worldradiomagazine.com. The magazine is
available to readers on line, at no charge.
(WorldRadio)

**

HAM RADIO IN SPACE: NASA ASKS HAMS TO VERIFY
SIGNAL FROM NANOSAIL-D

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration
is asking ham radio operators world-wide to help
confirm that the NanoSail-D nanosatellite is
working.

On Wednesday, January 19th at 11:30 a.m. EST,
engineers at Marshall Space Flight Center
confirmed that the NanoSail-D nanosatellite had
ejected from Fast Affordable Scientific and
Technology Satellite. The ejection event occurred
spontaneously and was identified when engineers
at the center analyzed onboard telemetry. The
ejection of NanoSailD has also been confirmed by
ground-based satellite tracking.

Amateur radio operators are asked to listen for
the signal to verify NanoSail-D is operating. Its
beacon signal can be found at 437.270 MHz. This
information should be sent to the NanoSail-D
dashboard at
http://nanosaild.engr.scu.edu/dashboard.htm.

You can read the full NASA press release at
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/news/news/re
leases/2011 /11-009.html

More on this in future Amateur Radio Newsline
reports. (NASA)

**

HAM RADIO IN SPACE: INTERFERING ITALIAN D-STAR
REPEATER ON 145.8 MHz SHUTS DOWN

According to a report attributed to the ISS Fan
Club website, one of three Italy-based amateur
repeaters reported on last week as allegedly
operating in the satellite subband
of 2 meters has gone off the air. This as the
managers of DStar repeater IR3UEF have apparently
shut it down of their own accord.

A report on the ISS Fan Club website says that
the IR3UEF repeater operated by the Italian
Amateur Radio Association and interfering with
the ISS downlink on 145.8 MHz is now gone.
Also, the Veneto Regional President of the
Italian Amateur Radio Association, IZ3CLG, wrote
the ISS support group to inform it that he
shutdown of the VHF port of the IR3UEF repeater.
He also noted that the repeater was only used for
local D-Star tests. Also, that was properly
authorized to do so by the government. IZ3CLG
said that the decision to shut it down was taken
solely in the name of cooperation and ham radio
spirit.

As most hams are aware, 145.8 MHz is used by the
Amateur Radio station on the International Space
Station as a
primary space to Earth communications
channel, especially for educational school
contacts. (ISS Fan Club)

**

INTRUDER WATCH: OVER THE HORIZON RADAR ON 7 AND
10 MHZ

The latest issue of the free IARU Monitoring
System newsletter reports on Russian radar in 7
MHz. The newsletter says that the Over the
Horizon Radar from Russia was active between
7000 and 7200 kHz with burst transmissions on 5
different frequencies on December 30th of 2010.
The pulse rate was, as always 66.66 pulses per
second. Meantime another Over the Horizon Radar
that is based in Cyprus has been destroying
communications on the 10 MHz band every
afternoon. (IARUMS Region 1)

**

QSLING: ARRL LoTW NOW AVAILABLE TO VHF AND UHF
OPERATORS

The ARRL has announced that its very popular
Logbook of the World has been upgraded to
support awards based on Maidenhead grid squares,
such as VUCC and the Fred Fish Memorial Award.

Logbook of the World ins an online system for
hams to use to confirm two-way contacts. It can
also be utilized that can be used for various
ARRL awards. Until now it has been limited to
confirming contacts on the high frequency bands.
Now members of the ham community who enjoy
operation on 50 MHz and above can utilize its
services as well.

To take advantage of the new features, you need
to log in to your Logbook of the World has
account or create one if you are not already as
user of the service. After that, just follow
the outlined procedures found on the Logbook of
the World pages. More information on how to do
this is at the ARRL website. Use
www.tinyurl.com/5vw4nkd to take you directly
there. (ARRL)

**

WASHINGTON HAPPENINGS: PRESIDENT CALLS FOR
AGENCY STREAMLINING

The CGC Communicator reports that President
Obama has signed an Executive Order instructing
government agencies to modify, streamline,
expand or repeal regulations that cause
unnecessary burdens. As a result, a number of
FCC Rules might be eliminated or improved. At
this time which ones cannot even be speculated
on. More on this latest development out of
Washington is on line at
tinyurl.com/WhiteHouseExecutiveOrder. (CGC)

**

RESCUE RADIO: FCC NOI SEEKS TO UPDATE 911
SERVICE

The FCC is looking at ways of improving 911
emergency response services. This, by allowing
input from text messaging, e-mail, video and
photos from both mobile and landline devices in
addition to traditional voice responses.

According to a Commission release, the agency
considers this an important step to
revolutionize America's 911 services for
consumers and first responders. To accomplish
this goal, it has issued a Notice of Inquiry
titled PS Docket No. 10-255. It seeks public
comment on how Next Generation 911 can enable
the public to obtain emergency assistance by
means of advanced communications technologies
beyond traditional voice devices in use today.
The entire be downloaded and read at
tinyurl.com/49hfrtr (FCC)

**

BREAK 1

From the United States of America, We are the
Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin
stations around the world including the Conejo
Valley Amateur Radio Club repeater serving
Thousand Oaks, California.

(5 sec pause here)

**

ENFORCEMENT: ICOM ASKS HELP IN STOPPING
COUNTERFEIT IC-V8 HT'S

Icom is out to stop whoever is supplying
counterfeit copies of its popular IC-V8 2 meter
hand-held radio. Amateur Radio Newsline's Norm
Seeley, KI7UP, has the details:

--

Fake transceivers, battery packs and chargers
began being reported in 2010. Icom says that
the difference between a real model IC-V8
handheld and the knock-off phony radios are so
small that a blind user might not know they are
using a fake radio.

For example, the number 2 key on the real IC-V8
is for the "P Beep" function. On the fake radio
number 2 is "VOX". Also, on the back of the real
Icom product the serial number tag is black
while it is white on the fake radio.

Even accessories are being cloned. The F21
Battery Pack looks like an Icom but there are
two differences. The fake does not have the ICOM
logo, and carries the Part Number BP208 instead
of BP209N as found on the real Icom battery.
Lastly, the optional factory remote microphone
is designated by Icom as the HM-133 while the
counterfeit is HM-133V.
Icom says that a real HM-133V is for other
radios in their product line.

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

--

Icom asks that if you find a product that you
may suspect is counterfeit, please report it to
the company's support center. You can contact
Icom at 2380 116th Avenue NE, Bellevue,
Washington, 98004 in the United States. Or by
phone to area code 425-454-8155.

More about the products mentioned in this story
is on-line at the following URL's: IC-V8
Handheld Radio
http://www.icom.co.jp/world/notice/pdf/V8.pdf
F21 Battery Pack
http://www.icom.co.jp/world/notice/pdf/F21.pdf
HM133 Microphone
http://www.icom.co.jp/world/notice/pdf/2720H.pdf
(Icom, Southgate)

**


RADIO LAW: FCC SEEKING MEMBERS FOR CONSUMER
ADVISORY COMMITTEE

The Federal Communications Commission is seeking
applications for membership on its Consumer
Advisory Committee which is now beginning its
sixth 2-year term. Since its establishment in
November 2000, the Committee has made many
valuable recommendations to the regulatory
agency regarding consumer issues within the
jurisdiction of the FCC. In addition, the
Committee has helped to facilitate the
participation of all consumers in proceedings
before the Commission. This includes groups
like people with disabilities and underserved
populations such as Native Americans and persons
living in rural areas

Applicants should be recognized authorities in
their fields, including, but not limited to,
organizations focusing upon consumer advocacy,
disabilities, underserved populations,
telecommunications infra-structure and
equipment, telecommunications services including
wireless and broadcast/cable services.
Individuals who do not represent an
organization, institution, or entity, but who
possess expertise valuable to the Committee's
work, are also welcome to apply. Such
applicants should be aware, however, that
government ethics rules may require financial
and other disclosures.

Committee members, all of whom are volunteers,
must be willing to commit to a two-year term of
service, should be willing and able to attend 3
one-day meetings a year in Washington, D.C., and
are also expected to participate in
deliberations of at least one working group or
subcommittee. Working groups meet via email or
teleconference, and all meetings are accessible
to people with disabilities.

The application deadline is February 11th. Full
details on the Committee and how to apply for
membership can be found on-line in Adobe file
PDF format at tinyurl.com/4vx38d5. (FCC)

**

RADIO LAW: CALIFORNIA ANNOUNCES NEW WIRELESS
DRIVING FINES

The cost of getting caught using a non hands
free cellphone or texting while driving in
California has gone up. As of the first of the
year a first offense of driving while using a
wireless phone not hands free will cost you $148
while each subsequent violation will tap your
wallet at $256. Driving while wearing headphones
or earplugs that cover both ears is now a $178
offense as is placing anything that is
considered as unlawful material on vehicle
windows. Last, but most important, a first
offense while driving while using a wireless
device to send, read or write text will cost you
$148 as a first offense, and while not stated in
the article detailing the new level of fines, it
appears as if it will be up to the court to
determine the penalty for subsequent infractions
of the states driving while texting rules. And
less we forget, these amounts are base fees that
do not include court costs and other fees that
can add hundreds of dollars to the final amount
you pay the court. (Published news reports)

**

NEW WAVE COMMMS: LISTENER DRIVEN RADIO ADDS NEW
FEATURES

Listener Driven Radio, an interactive audio
software platform for broadcasters, is adding of
several new features. The company's SMS text
messaging capabilities now make it possible for
listeners to sign up for a text message to their
mobile device when their favorite songs play.
Listeners can also receive alerts via e-mail,
AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, MSN
Messenger, Jabber and Google Talk.

For those not aware, Listener Driven Radio is a
new model for radio, shifting stations from
broadcasts to what it calls crowdcasts. That's
where listeners vote, and a stations programming
is affected in real-time. More is online at
www.ldrradio.com (Radio OnLine)

**

PUBLIC SERVICE: HAMS NEEDED FOR BOSTON MARATHON
COMMUNICATIONS

Ham radio volunteer registration for the 2011
Boston Marathon is now open. The Marathon will
be held on Monday April 18th with radio
operators are needed to provide safety
communications
and to assist the Red Cross. Assignments are
available in Hopkinton, along the route, and in
downtown Boston. To volunteer, go to
marc.mmra.org and follow the instructions found
at the website. (K1IW)

**

THE SOCIAL SCENE: A LOUISIANA FAIS DO DO TO HAM
RADIO

Turning to the ham radio social scene we begin
with this event in Cajun country. Heres Don
Wilbanks, AE5DW, with the details:

--

The Acadiana Amateur Radio Association will hold
its 51st Annual Hamfest in Rayne, Louisiana.
Among the features of this very Southern event
will be the annual Crawfish Boil with the
popular Fais-Do-Do and other dancing. For those
of you who have never heard the term a Fais-Do-
Do is a name for a Cajun dance party that
originated just prior to World War 2.
Basically, heres your little Cajun French lesson
for the day.

Do-Do is basically sleep. You tell your kids to
go nightnight or Do-Do and Fais is a negative in
Cajun French, so Fais-Do-Do literally means that
you don't sleep and dance all night.

The Hamfest will be open to the general public
and ham community at 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m on
Friday, March 11th and again from 8:00 a.m.
until 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 12th. All
times given are Central Standard in the United
States. For more information on this year's
event please take your web browser to www dot
w5ddl dot org stroke hamfest and keep an eye
open for the latest updates.

Oh, you have a good time!!

Reporting from Cajun country, I'm Don Wilbanks,

AE5DW, for the Amateur Radio Newsline,

--

And now you see why we gave this one to Don.

(NA5Q)

**

HAM HAPPENINGS: 2011 DAYTON DX DINNER - MAY 20

Meantime, a couple hundred miles to the North,
the SouthWest Ohio DX Association will again
sponsor the DX Dinner to be held in conjunction
with the 2011 Dayton Hamvention. The dinner
will be held on Friday, May 20th, at the Dayton
Marriott, which is located at 1414 S. Patterson
Blvd. in downtown Dayton. As in the past, there
will be some major door prizes along with the
naming of the DXpedition of the Year.
Reservation information, program details and a
list of the prizes will be available soon at
www.swodxa.org. (SWODXA)


**


NAMES IN THE NEWS: G4FSU NAMED IARU TECHNICAL
CONSULTANT


Some names in the news. International Amateur
Radio Union President Tim Ellam, VE6SH has
appointed Ian Greenshields, G4FSU, as an IARU
Technical Consultant. In this role,
Greenshields can be called upon to represent the
IARU at various regulatory meetings such as ITU
meetings and to promote IARU objectives at those
meetings. Greenshields joins Peter Chadwick,
G3RZP, in this role, allowing an IARU presence
where there are parallel meetings. (IARU)


**


NAMES IN THE NEWS: VA3DM NAMED RAC SPECIAL
ADVISOR


Doug Mein, VA3DM, has been appointed as a
Special Advisor to the Radio Amateurs of Canada
Field Organization. Mein has an extensive
background and is retired from Transport Canada
after 33 years of service. During the September
11th 2001 terrorist attacks on the United
States, Mein was Director of Transport Canada's
Air Navigation Services and Airspace Branch in
Ottawa. In this position, he played a key role
in coordinating department operations and taking
decisive action on behalf of the Canadian
Government. In addition, he was the chief
architect behind the creation of NAV Canada.
(RAC)


**


NAMES IN THE NEWS: DJ9KR PUBLISHES 40 METER
BROADCAST INTRUDER LIST


And Ulrich Bihlmayer, DJ9KR, of Tuebingen,
Germany, has published a list of broadcast
stations still operating in the 7.0 to 7.2MHz
amateur service radio band. The list can be
downloaded from in Adobe PDF format at
tinyurl.com/4c8ootr. The latest version was
published on January 11th. Using it as a handy
reference you should be able to determine what
station might be interfering with a QSO and
where that station is located. (IARU)


**


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)


**


HAM TECHNOLOGY: GLOBAL TUNES REACHES 55
RECEIVERS WORLD WIDE


You can now access 55 receivers world wide on
the Global Tuners dot com website. Receivers on-
line operate a variety of modes including the AM
and FM broadcast bands, the shortwave spectrum,
HF and UHF bands in various modes.


Countries currently on-line include the USA,
Australia , Finland, France, Germany , Greece ,
Italy , Hong Kong , the Netherlands, the Slovak
Republic, Sweden and the United Kingdom to
mention only a few. So far there are 33,777
registered members and you will have to sign up
for an account if you wish to control a
receiver.


For more information take your web browser to
www.globaltuners.com and global tuners is
spelled as one word. (Global Tuners)


**


HAM RADIO IN SPACE: ARISSat-1 UPDATE


The ARISSat-1 amateur radio experimental
satellite is now in Kazikstan. The NASA Phase 3
Safety Review for ARISSat was scheduled for last
Thursday January 20th with the Russian Progress
41P launch carrying ARISSat-1 scheduled for
liftoff late this month. Release of the ARISSat-
1 satellite is scheduled for the end of February
from the International Space Station.


Meantime, the Russian Soyuz manufacturer RSC
Energia is also calling the ARISSat-1 satellite
KEDR. This is in honor of Cosmonaut Yuri
Gagarin's callsign and also in celebration
during the 50th anniversary of the first manned
space flight that took place on April 12th,
1961.


R-S-C Energia has information and photographs
about the satellite at its news site. Sergey
Samburov, RV3DR is shown in the photos with the
satellite. The URL to see them is
tinyurl.com/46altbf (WA4SXM)


**


HAM RADIO IN SPACE: RUSSIA TO RESUME SPACE
TOURIST FLIGHTS IN 2013


Listen out for space tourists to once again
operating onorbit from the International Space
Station sometime in or after 2013. This after
Russia announces that it will start selling
multimillion-dollar tourist tickets to the
International Space Station after a four-year
hiatus.

Virginia-based Space Adventures has had no seats
to sell for the zero-gravity voyage since
billionaire Cirque du Soleil founder Guy
Laliberte flew to the orbiting outpost back in
October 2009. But according to recent news
reports, beginning in 2013 it will again offer
three 10 day trips per year to the space station
aboard Russian Soyuz spacecraft. This, thanks to
a deal between itself, the Russian space agency
Roskosmos and Soyuz manufacturer R-S-C Energia.

Russia has again found room for paying private
customers aboard the cramped three-seat Soyuz
due to plans to increase annual production of
the single-use craft from four to five in 2013.
The Soyuz is carried to orbit by Russian rockets
that are launched from the Bikenour Cosmodrome
in Kazikstan. (Space Now)

**

WORLDBEAT: NEW LOOK FOR THE UK REPEATER WEBSITE

If you are planning a trip to Great Britain and
will be taking a VHF or UHF radio with you,
listen up. The United Kingdom repeater website
been given a new look for the New Year, making
it easier to find information. There are
improved search facilities with separate
database and document searching. The document
search gives a more effective search of previous
committee minutes and other reference material,
while the database search allows for searching
various repeater data fields for example keeper
callsign, frequency, channel and mode. The site
lists all United Kingdom FM, D-Star and ATV
repeaters. Also, a new RSS news feed and Twitter
posting are now available. See
www.ukrepeater.net for more. (Southgate)

**

CONTEST CORNER: CONTEST UNIVERSITY 2011
REGISTRATION NOWQ OPEN

Turning to radiosport news, Tim Duffy, K3LR, has
announced that registration for the Contest
University 2011 is now open. This will the 5th
year of holding the event just prior to the
Dayton Hamvention. The date is Thursday, May
19th, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in downtown
Dayton, Ohio. For registration and other
information, go to www.contestuniversity.com on
the World Wide Web. (Contest University)

**

DX

In DX, word that OM5AM is active as D2AM from
Luanda, Angola through March 17th. Operation is
mainly 20 meters SSB with some RTTY. QSL via his
home callsign, direct or by the Bureau.

BX5AA will be active from Taiwan during the CQ
World Wide WPX SSB Contest on March 26th and
27th. If you work him QSL via BX5AA.

VK4FEAT is now active from the Solomon Islands
as H44DX.
His length of stay on the island was not
provided but his operation so far has been on
40, 20 and 10 meter SSB. QSL via VK4FEAT and not
via OH2BN as listed on QRZ dot com. And
yes, that callsign to QSL to is VK4FEAT.

RD3AF to be active as EF8M from the Canary
Islands during the CQ 160-Meter CW Contest rom
January 28th to the 30th. This as a Single-
Operator, all band high power entry. QSL via
UA3DX.

And look for C31CT will be active from Andorra
during the CQWW 160m SSB Contest from February
25th to the 27th as a single operator entry. QSL
this one via EA3QS.

Lastly, UR9IDX is once again active as 8Q7VR
from Naifaru Island in the Maldives. The length
of his stay not known at this time but so far
he's been heard on 80 and 12 meters CW. QSL via
UR9IDX only direct.

(Above from various DX news sources)

**

THAT FINAL ITEM: QCWA ASKS HAM COMMUNITY TO
HELP CELEBRATE THE 100TH BIRTHDAY OF WORLDRADIO
FOUNDER W0GFQ

And finally this week, the founder of World
Radio Labs, Leo I. Meyerson, W0GFQ, is about to
celebrate his 100th birthday. And in his honor
QCWA Chapter 154 in Palm Springs, California is
holding a special celebration of this event.
Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, is in the Newsroom with
mo

--

For those that are new to the hobby or simply do
not remember Leo Meyerson, W0GFQ, owned and
operated World Radio Laboratories in Council
Bluffs, Iowa from the 1940's through the 1970's.
During that period of time he also founded Globe
Electronics and later on Galexy Electronics.
Both companies manufactured gear used by ham
radio operators around the world.

The Globe logo first appeared on the 1948 model
Globe Champion transmitter. These early units
produced 150 watts input on phone or CW with
coverage from 160 to 10 meters.

Perhaps his most successful product was the
Globe Scout 680 transmitter series that operated
on 80 through 6 meters. These gave many a new
General or Technician his or her first taste of
A-M phone operation at an affordable entry level
price. For his many contributions to ham radio
Leo Meyerson, W0GFQ, was named 1997 Radio
Amateur of the Year by the Dayton Amateur Radio
Association.

Now, to commemorate Leo Meyerson's personal
centenary, the Quarter Century Wireless
Association is requesting that hams world wide
take a QSL card, write 'Happy 100th Birthday
Leo' on it and send it to him. His direct mail
address is Leo Meyerson, W0GFQ, 19 Park Lane,
Rancho Mirage, California, 92270. We plan to
send ours, right away.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bill
Pasternak, WA6ITF, in the Newsroom in Los
Angeles.

--

Bob Roske, N0UF, is the National President of
the Quarter Century Wireless Association. He
says that he hopes that
Leo gets hundreds or maybe even thousands of
birthday cards. This, to help make this a very
special day for a ham that has devoted so much
of his life to our hobby. (QCWA)

**

NEWSCAST CLOSE

With thanks to Alan Labs, AMSAT, the ARRL, the
CGC Communicator, CQ Magazine, the FCC, the Ohio
Penn DX Bulletin, Radio Netherlands, Rain, the
RSGB, the Southgate News and Australia's WIA
News, that's all from the Amateur Radio
Newsline(tm). Our e-mail address is Newsline (at)
arnewsline (dot) org. More information is
available at Amateur Radio Newsline's(tm) only
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You can also write to us or support us at
Amateur Radio Newsline(tm), 28197 Robin Avenue,
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For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the
editors desk, I'm Jim Damron, N8TMW, saying 73
and we thank you for listening.

Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2010. All
rights reserved.