Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1751 - March 4 2011

Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1751 with a release date of
Friday, March 4, 2011 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a Q-S-T. Ham radio continues its role in the wake of
the Christchurch New Zealand earthquake. We have a report from the
scene. Also, a United Kingdom ham is funded to conduct a study on
digital communications in emergency communications and the latest on
the proposal to create a new 500 kilohertz ham band. Find out the
details are on Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) report number 1751 coming
your way right now.


(Billboard Cart Here)


**

RESCUE RADIO: THE CHRISTCHURCH NEW ZEALAND EARTHQUAKE STORY CONTINUES

Ham radio continues to be an important factor in rescue and recovery
efforts in the wake of the earthquake that hit Christchurch, New
Zealand, on Tuesday, February 22nd. Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF, is several
hundred miles to the North in Auckland with the latest:

--

ZL4FZ: "At this stage were still extensively supporting the Land Star
operation that's the more major component. Today with 300 searchers in
the field we have deployed probably 50 radios to teams of operators and
each of those teams has each got its own radios. There are about an
actual 250 staff on foot in the field and all of that communications is
coming back through AREC"

--

That's Richard Smart, ZL4FZ, who is head of the Amateur Radio Emergency
Communications team explaining the role that his emergency
communications group is currently playing in the aftermath of the 6.3
earthquake. A quake that as of airtime is believed responsible for at
least 160 deaths and scores of injuries in and around the Christchurch
area. According to Smart ham radio was on scene from the time the quake
hit and right though the present:

--

ZL4FZ: "AREC involvement in the Christchurch earthquake has been to
support Civil Defense directly with the welfare centers, initially at
the temporary welfare center in Hagley Park. (This is) a small tent
city where AREC provided effectively a complete communications terminal
right through to the extensive support for the Land Star operation
which has been visiting every home in the Western suburb of
Christchurch. To date a total of some eighteen thousand homes have
been visited by the Land Star teams and the AREC teams have provided
communications for upward of 300 volunteers in the field at any one
time."

--

Smart tells Amateur Radio Newsline that it's the ability of hams to
quickly adapt and respond to any emergency that masks them valuable in
situations such as this. He also says that those in charge of relief
efforts are very satisfied with the AREC ham radio operations:

--

ZL4FZ: "I believe in this case that AREC has managed to provide a
solution to unforeseen communications difficulties, and in the case of
the Land Star deployment particularly because it has become a linchpin
to allow the operation to work.

"We have been told by the senior management for the Land Star operation
that basically it would not have been possible to achieve what they
have achieved which is spectacular in its own right, without the
assistance of AREC in that role."

--

So what role will AREC play as recovery efforts continue? ZL4FZ says
that at this moment its hard to say:

--

ZL4FZ: "Its very difficult to tell at this stage and the difficulty is
that there a number of significant issues that the city is facing and
there are a number of agencies involved, obviously with specializations
in different areas. One of the things the Civil Defense emergency
management teams are working on is setting the appropriate team for the
tasks that they have. And at this stage, while this tasking is drawing
nearer to a close, we are waiting word as to what the next tasking may
be."

--

The story of the Christchurch earthquake and the part being played by
ham radio in post quake recovery efforts is far from over and we will
have more for you in future Amateur Radio Newsline reports.

From Auckland, on the North Island of New Zealand, I'm Jim Meachen,
ZL2BHF, reporting for the Amateur Radio Newsline.

--

It has to be noted that so far, this has been a VHF only operation.
Word from the New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters is that
hams providing communications support in the aftermath of the quake are
using only 2 meter FM. No High Frequency communications into and out
of the Christchurch area has been found to be necessary.
(ARNewsline(tm), ZL2BHF, ZL4FZ)

**

RESCUE RADIO: UK HAM GETS FUNDING TO STUDY DIGITAL EMCOMM SYSTEMS FOR
RAYNET

A member of The United Kingdom's Radio Amateurs' Emergency Network or
RAYNET has received two months' funding to examine how that group could
best use data communications to support police and other services.

Howard Winter, G1BYY, a member of Mid-Herts RAYNET, made an application
to the Vodafone World of Difference Scheme in November. According to
the RSGB News, Winter will spend two months undertaking his own
research and experimentation, collating the work that has already been
done by RAYNET Groups and comparing the experiences of members
experimenting with data. He will then be producing documents that will
be available nationally, to groups of all affiliations.

An increasing demand from emergency response services using RAYNET to
have it provide data links has led many groups to experimenting on a
variety of digital systems. RAYNET members are now using APRS to track
vehicles responding to incidents in remote locations, transmitting
photographs from the scenes of emergencies and sending data files back
to their control and command centers (GB2RS)

**

RESTRUCTURING: THE LATEST ON THE 500 KHZ PROPOSAL

A possible hitch in the creation of a permanent low frequency
allocation at or near 500 KHz. Jeremy Boot, G4NJH is in Nottingham in
the UK with mo

--

The ITU Conference Preparatory Meeting, or CPM, for the World
Radiocommunication Conference 2012, or WRC-12, has completed its work
on the agenda item that considers an allocation of up to 15kHz in the
band 415 to 526.5kHz.

Three options, one of which is no allocation to the amateurs, are
proposed. Whilst initially it was hoped that spectrum around and near
to 500kHz could be allocated for amateur use, the maritime service has
identified a new requirement for this part of the spectrum. Because of
this there is no support from national administrations like Ofcom to
support amateur allocation in this part of the spectrum.

One of the remaining options agreed by the ITU CPM is the so-called
Method A, originally put forward by the RSGB. This is for an
allocation of up to 15kHz between 472kHz and 487kHz. The Americans,
Canadians and others within their regional group, CITEL, favor a
different option, Method B, which is for a split allocation between 461
- 469kHz and 471 - 478kHz, totaling 15kHz. Method A is the main option
being considered within CEPT, which has yet to reach what it terms a
European Common Proposal on the option.

I'm Jeremy Boot, G4NJH.

--

None of this preparatory work affects any temporary experimental access
to this spectrum other than tests that have been carried out by the
maritime service in respect of its proposed new system. Further
information is at tinyurl.com/lowfreq (RSGB News)

**

BREAKING DX NEWS: SABLE ISLAND MAY BE ON BY MARCH 7

And some breaking news in the world of DX. This with news that the
long anticipated Sable Island DXpedition may be on the air before our
next newscast.

Randy Rowe, N0TG, reports via the Southgate news that providing flight
conditions are suitable, all is set for operations to begin around 2100
UTC on March 7th. Rowe also says that the team will standby and be
ready to go on a day to day basis should there be delay.

Three stations will be operational simultaneously as much as possible
using the calls N0TG/CY0, K8LEE/CY0 and N1SNB/CY0. Additional details
are available on line at www.cy0dxpedition.com. And we will have more
DX news later on in this weeks Amateur Radio Newsline report.
(Southgate)

**

BREAK 1

From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline,
heard on bulletin stations around the world including the KA9EKG
repeater serving Delavan, Wisconsin.

(5 sec pause here)


**

RADIO LAW: FCC GRANTS CONTROVERSIAL CONDITIONAL WAIVER TO BROADBAND
PROVIDER TO OPERATE ADJACENT TO THE GPS BAND

A big bru-ha-ha is building over a new service grant adjacent to the
G-P-S band. Amateur Radio Newsline's Norm Seeley, KI7UP, is here with
the rest of the story:

--

The Air Transport Association and other aerospace companies say that a
project to help make broadband wireless service available to all
residents across the United States has the potential to interfere with
the current users of the Global Positioning System. Also, it that it
could jeopardize the cornerstone of the Federal Aviation
Administration's $40 billion next generation air navigation and
transportation system.

At the heart of the controversy is what broadband suppliers are calling
an innovative project by service provider LightSquared, Inc. to
rebroadcast L-band satellite data and voice communications over a large
terrestrial network. This using a new technology that would bring
terrestrial broadband to 260 million people by 2015.

On January 26th LightSquared received a conditional waiver from the
Federal Communications Commission to rebroadcast its satellite signals
using high power transmitters on as many as 40,000 tower sites around
the country. LightSquared launched its SkyTerra-1 communications
satellite in November 2010, and plans to launch a second satellite in
2012.

The FCC approved the request from LightSquared in less than three
months, angering the nations aerospace industry that had requested that
the normal Notice of Proposed Rule Making process be followed. This,
allow for more time to analyze the potential impacts to air navigation.
Also in opposition is the GPS equipment supply industry with well known
manufacturer Garmin leading those who do not want to see the
LightSquared rushed into place at the expense of G-P-S users
world-wide.

The issues involve the potential for out-of-band interference between
LightSquared's operating spectrum of 1525 of 1559 MHz and the GPS band
of 1559 to 1610 MHz. A study released by Garmin, whose GPS units are
installed in more than 43,000 aircraft showed that aviation units would
detect interference, or jamming, more than 12 Nautical Miles from a
simulated LightSquared antenna site and suffer loss of its positional
fix at 5 Nautical Miles. Garmin says its results were conservative,
and actual implementation of the LightSquared system could increase the
distances.

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

--

Meantime, caught in the middle of this fight are the tens of millions
of U-S citizens who use G-P-S to navigate from one place to another.
All they want is to get from point A to point B without being
interfered with by anyone. (Various sources)

**

ENFORCEMENT: LASER POINTER HITS COCKPIT OF PHOENIX NEWS HELICOPTER

A Phoenix news helicopter was the victim of an attack from the ground
in late February. This as someone shot a bright laser beam into its
cockpit that was also caught by the choppers on-board camera.

According to The Arizona Republic, authorities are currently
investigating the incident and have yet to identify the perpetrator.
The newspaper goes on to note that local police actually searched
door-to-door in the area where the beam originated but so far have come
up empty handed.

A spokesman with the Federal Aviation Administration commenting on the
incident said that the message here is very simple. If you want to
engage in this kind of dangerous and irresponsible behavior, you can be
caught and arrested. If caught, and if prosecuted by the perpetrator
of this stunt could face up to 20 years in prison. (Published news
reports)

**

HAM RADIO POLITICS: NEW SM ELECTED IN ARKANSAS

Turning to the ham radio political scene, in the only balloted Section
Manager election this winter, ARRL members in Arkansas have elected
Dale Temple, W5RXU, North Little Rock, as Section Manager. Temple
received 362 votes, and his opponent, incumbent Section Manager J. M.
Rowe, N5XFW, of Hot Springs, received 290 votes.

Temple begins his two year term of office on April 1st. Outgoing
Section Manager Rowe has served in that position since December 2008.

Ballots were counted and verified at ARRL Headquarters on Tuesday,
February 22. (ARRL)

**

HAM HAPPENINGS: RADIO CLUB OF AMERICA BREAKFAST AT IWCE

On the social scene, the Radio Club of America Breakfast at IWCE Mobile
Communications Show is slated for Thursday, March 10th. The venue is
the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel from 7:30 AM to 9:00 AM. The keynote
speaker is Mark Crosby who will discuss Existing Licensees and the Push
to Broadband. More information is on line at tinyurl.com/4buj9lm. (RCA)

**

HAM HAPPENINGS: HAMVENTION EXHIBITS FLOOR MAP AVAILABLE

If you plan on attending Hamvention 2011, listen up. Hamvention
planners have announced that a file containing a map of all the inside
exhibits has been uploaded to the files area of the Hamvention
Yahoogroup on-line discussion. If you are a Yahoogroups member you an
access this map at tnyurl.com/324qy9.

Hamvention 2011 is slated for May 20th to the 22nd at the Hara Arena is
suburban Dayton, Ohio. We hope to see you there. (AC8DE)

**

NAMES IN THE NEWS: RICHARD FISHER, KI6SN, NAMED NEW EDITOR OF POPULAR
COMMUNICATIONS MAGAZINE

And another change at CQ Communications. This with word that veteran
journalist and writer Richard Fisher, KI6SN, has been named the new
Editor of Popular Communications magazine.

Fisher will succeed Edith Lennon, N2ZRW, who is stepping down after
four years at the Popular Communications editors desk. This, to pursue
freelance editing and writing projects and to work with a non-profit
organization.

Richard Fisher, KI6SN lives in Riverside, California, and is no
newcomer to the CQ family. In addition to his new position, Fisher
will also continue in his current position as Editor of WorldRadio
Online magazine and will also continue to write his current columns in
Popular Communications, WorldRadio Online and CQ magazines. KI6SN also
manages three related Internet sites, including blog sites for
WorldRadio Online, his "Trail-Friendly Radio" column in that magazine,
and his "Public Service" column in CQ magazine. He is also an
administrator of the Facebook pages for all four CQ Communications
publications.

Richard Fisher, KI6SN, assumes the Popular Communications Editors
mantle effective with the June 2011 issue. (CQ)

**

NAMES IN THE NEWS: UTAH'S WOMEN IN RADIO CELEBRATE NUMBER 10

And the group Women in Amateur Radio, the largest class for female ham
radio operators in Utah, for and taught by women, is celebrating its
10th anniversary on March 7th. According to Linda Reader, N7HVF, most
of those who graduated from that class are still active in the hobby,
with some involved in emergency and public service communications. The
group hopes to make these classes a regular event for those women in
Utah seeking to become radio amateurs. (N7HVF)

**

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)

**

EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: NEW STUDY FINDS CELLPHONES AFFECT BRAIN WAVES

A newly completed study indicates that electromagnetic radiation from
the antenna of cellular telephones may be altering the way we think and
behave. This according to an article published Tuesday, February 22nd
in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

According to news reports, researchers peered inside the brains of 47
healthy subjects using Positron Emission Tomography to measure the
location and timing of brain activity by detecting signs that cells
were consuming energy. They found that despite official skepticism
including statements issued by the Food and Drug Administration that
cellphones' electromagnetic energy exerts any influence on nearby
cells.

The preliminary study, led by a respected neuroscientist at the
National Institutes of Health provides what other researchers are
calling solid evidence that cellular telephone use has measurable
effects on brain activity. It also suggests that the peoples
attachment to its millions of wireless phones may be altering the way
we think and behave in subtle ways. (Various published reports)

**

ON THE AIR: CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA

On the air, keep an ear open for members of the Republic of China
Centenary Foundation who will be activating special event station BV100
during the CQ WW WPX SSB Contest on March 26th and 27th. The operators
from Taiwan will then be on the air from Shaio-Liu-Chiu Island until
the end of the year as a special event is to celebrate the 100th
anniversary of their homeland. Operations will be on all bands and
modes. Complete details, a operating schedule and information as to how
to earn a BV100 award is available at www.bv100.tw/EN. QSL's go via
BV2KI. (OPDX)

**

ON THE AIR: CELEBRATING THE UNIFICATION OF ITALY

And keep on the lookout for special event station IO4UI to be active
between March 1st and September 30th. This operation is to celebrate
the 150th anniversary of the Unification of Italy. All of QSOs will be
confirmed automatically via the bureau. More details are available on
QRZ.com. QSL this one via I4JEE. (OPDX)

**

ON THE AIR: 90 YEARS FOR THE LINCOLN SHORTWAVE CLUB

The United Kingdom based Lincoln Short Wave Club is celebrating its
90th anniversary this year. According to GB2RS, anyone working the
club callsign G5FZ will receive a limited edition QSL card that will
only be available through December 31st. (GB2RS)

**

ON THE AIR: K5B - THE BATAAN MEMORIAL DEATH MARCH MARATHON

Closer to home, the Mesilla Valley Radio Club of Las Cruces, New Mexico
will be operating special events station K5B on March 27th. This in
conjunction with the 22nd annual Bataan Memorial Death March Marathon
held at the White Sands Missile Range from 10:00 to 23:00 UTC.

K5B will be operating on or near 3.893, 7.225, 14.330 and 21.337 MHz.
QSL cards go to Special Events Station K5B in care of the Mesilla
Valley Radio Club, P. O. Box 1443, Las Cruces, New Mexico 88004. Please
put `K5B' on the lower, left hand corner of your outer envelope.
Complete information on this event is on-line at www.n5bl.org/bataan.
(WB4AEJ)

**

DX

In DX, DO1BEN and DO1IQ will be on the air portable OZ from Lolland
Island between April 22nd and the 29th. Operation will be on 80
through 10 meters using SSB and some digital modes. QSL each operator
via their home callsigns, either via the bureau or direct. For
updates, visit www.do1ben.de

EI7CC, will be active as 7P8PB from his brother-in-law's 7P8CC station
in Maseru, Lesotho between March 9th and the 23rd. His operating time
will be limited because he will be on a family holiday. QSL via EI7CC
via the bureau or direct. Logs will be uploaded to Logbook if the World
immediately upon his return to Ireland.

A team of six operators from Italy will be active as from Albania as
I2GPT portable ZA between March 9th and the 13th. Their operations will
be on 40, 30, 20 and 17 meters using CW and SSB. QSL to I2GPT, either
direct or via the bureau.

MJ0ASP is returning to Marrakech, Morocco, between March 14th through
the 21st, and will be active as CN2MR. Operation will be on 40 through
10 meters using CW. He says that he will focus on the 30, 17 and 12
meter bands. QSL via MJ0ASP.

Listen out for Antigua on the air as W4OWY and W9OP will once again be
active as V25WY and V25OP, respectively. They will be on the island
between March 8th and the 18th. Operation will be on 160 through 6
meters using CW, SSB and RTTY. QSL via their home callsign. Either
direct or via the bureau.

Lastly, DL3KWR and DL3KWF will be active portable CT9 from Madeira
between March 10th and April 6th. Their operation will be on 30, 17
and12 meters using mostly CW. DL3KWF is expected to try some RTTY and
PSK31. QSL via their home callsign. And if you are a Limeliters fan
you might say to this one, have some Madeira, my dear.

(Above from various DX news sources)

**

THAT FINAL ITEM: WISE RADIOS ITS LAST SPACE PHOTO BACK HOME

And finally this week, its 73 to a NASA sky-mapping telescope that
spent 13 months scanning cosmic objects as it roamed through space. The
agency's Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer, nicknamed WISE, captured
one last snapshot of a portion of our Milky Way galaxy as the
spacecraft shut down for good.

During its thirteen months of operation, WISE scanned the sky taking
about 1.8 million images of asteroids, stars and galaxies that it
dutifully radioed back to Earth. The spacecrafts mission netted some
nineteen previously unseen comets and more than 33,500 asteroids. The
latter included 20 near Earth objects which are items in space with
orbits that pass relatively close to our Earth's own orbit.

The final image it took and sent home shows thousands of stars in the
constellation Perseus covering an area three times the size of the full
moon. Its one of those spectacular photos that once seen is hard to
forget. You can view it and read more abut the WISE mission on-line at
tinyurl.com/4ce63wd. (Space)

**

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 W-I-A News, that's all
from the Amateur Radio Newsline(tm). Our e-mail address is Newsline
(at) arnewsline (dot) org. More information is available at Amateur
Radio Newsline's(tm) only official website located at
www.arnewsline.org. You can also write to us or support us at Amateur
Radio Newsline(tm), 28197 Robin Avenue, Santa Clarita California, 91350

Before we go, a reminder that Amateur Radio Newsline is looking for a
radio amateur planning to attend Hamvention 2011 and who is a
professional television newsman or an actor with on-camera experience.
This to take part in this years Ham Radio Town Meeting.

This years session is titled "How To Make A Ham Radio Video In The 21st
Century." Among the many topics we want to cover is how to properly
appear when the camera lens is on you and tape is rolling. Obviously
nobody has better expertise in this area than a TV newsman or an actor
who regularly appears on TV or in the movies.

If you want to take on this volunteer role, please contact us or send
your resume with your contact information to Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF,
who is producing and moderating the session. Our e-mail address is
still newsline (at) ix (dot) netcom (dot) com and we look forward to
hearing from you.

For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editor's desk, I'm Jim
Damron, N8TMW, and I'm Jeff Clark, K8JAC, saying 73 and we thank you
for listening.

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