Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1562 - July 20, 2007

Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1562 with a
release date of Friday, July 20, 2007 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a Q-S-T. Foundation Class mania
is starting to sweep the globe, a new emergency
communications system is unveiled in New York,
and he's retired again. Find out who's left what
radio on Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) report number 1562 coming your way right
now.


(Billboard Cart Here)


**

RESTRUCTURING: FOUNDATION CLASS MANIA IS SWEEPING THE GLOBE

Call it Foundation Class mania. The successful
introduction of Foundation Licenses, particularly
in Britain and Australia, continues to be food
for thought in a number of other countries around
the world. Jim Linton, VK3PC, of the W-I-A News is here with the story:

--

The latest to declare such an interest is the New
Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters (NZART)
which is looking at the possible introduction of a Foundation type license.

New Zealand currently has a single license
restructure having abandoned its Novice license
which was not a success and in its final year had only about a dozen on
issue.

NZART says a Foundation License will be
considered over coming months with both the
British and Australian models being examined for their suitability.

Canada is still in favor of a new entry license.
However the thought there are the moment is that
it should be of a limited tenure in order to
encourage licensees to upgrade. The regulator
Industry Canada is talking about the new license
being introduced in years, rather than months.

Papua New Guinea is also looking at the possible
introduction of a Foundation License. And
decisions have yet to be made on a commonly
agreed Foundation license that can be adopted by
member nations of the European Community.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Linton, VK3PC

--

The bottom line. Its starting to look as if the
Foundation Class license could become the ham
radio entry point for people, world wide. (WIA)

**

RESCUE RADIO: ITS "NEWS" TO THE BIG APPLE

The Big Apple and its Eastern suburbs will soon
have a new emergency
communications program. One which encourages
the participation of all amateur radio operators
to pass messages of any nature during a
large-scale emergency. Amateur Radio Newsline's
Evi Simons is in the Big Apple with mo

--

Called the Neighborhood Emergency Watch or NEWS
System, the program will allow any radio amateur
in New York City and on Long Island to help
friends and neighbors in time of
disaster. This, by providing emergency
communications when all other forms of messaging are unavailable.

According to the program administrators, during
disasters, phone lines become overloaded, cell
phones are rendered useless and most other public
communication becomes nearly impossible to
use. But with NEWS, Amateur Radio operators
will be able to offer assistance by simply
passing along messages to other hams who are able
to get through to emergency services. This,
using the hobby's long established network of
Amateur Radio Emergency Service volunteers.

NEWS will also sponsor nets that will liaison
with other emergency communications systems that
might be concurrently with the NEWS
operations. This means that NEWS will have the
capability to participate in networks that
A-R-E-S and other groups have established with first-responder groups.

Each borough, county and town will have a Local
Operations Center, to be developed as the NEWS
network evolves. Combined with the ham resident
in the Metro New York and Long Island areas,
these Local Operations Center will eventually tie
into citywide and other logistical emergency nets
to provide a venue and lines of communications to serve local needs.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Evi Simons, in New York.

--

If you live in that area and if all this sounds
exciting to you there is a lot more information
about the NEWS program on-line
at www.neighborhoodemergencywatchsystem.org (N2YBB)

**

RESCUE RADIO: HAMS WORK THE NEW MEXICO - TEXAS BORDER STORM

Amateur Radio emergency communications took
center stage in parts of New Mexico and Texas the
evening of June 26th. This when the leading edge
of a severe weather front traveled along the
border of the two states. Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, reports:

--

With poor weather spotting coverage in that part
of the county, Rob Tice, W5TIC left the town of
Lovington heading north. He operated on the
Caprock repeater with Alf Lindsey, W5ALL, in
Roswell providing reports using Gibson Ridge radar software.

W5TIC met up with the storm in Tatum, New
Mexico. He used a handheld anemometer to get a
78 MPH reading as the storm gust front
hit. While Lindsay kept him updated with radar
reports, Jim Morrison, KM5BS relayed Tice's storm
reports back to the weather watch center. As the
storm front moved south, Tice tracked along with
it and continued to provide reports.

At this point Gaines County activated its EOC
providing radio contact with Jack Moore, KC5LNY,
in Seminole, Texas. Shortly after the front hit
Seminole, Moore requested wthat Hobbs Fire be
contacted for mutual aid. He said most of their
communications had been knocked out or were on battery backup.

Gaines EOC was in danger of being overwhelmed
with reports of damage, injuries and
fires. W5TIC went to the EOC and volunteered to take over.

The storm front was approaching the Midland Texas
area by then and the net control at SkyWarn
requested New Mexico to take traffic as they
worked the rest of the event. Clint Lannom,
N5MXE, in Midland, came up to serve as net control.

About 0100 CDT, the severe wether event was
pretty much over for SkyWarn volunters. The hams
serving at the various locations were able to stand down and return home.

A job well done.

For the amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bill
Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the studio in Los Angeles.

--

Severe weather in this part of the country is not
uncommon and the hams who live there and are
involved in Skywarn are always on the alert. (K5CEC)

**

RADIO LAW: FCC REFUSES TO REVIEW GMRS LICENSE GRANTS

The FCC has told the Personal Radio Association,
Inc. that it does not have the legal ground to
challenge license grants made in the General
Mobile Radio Service. In a letter to the groups
president Douglas M. Smith, the FCC says that the
fact that an individual's G-M-R-S license lists a
business address as the contact information, does
not present sufficient evidence, standing alone,
to suggest that the license was improperly
granted or that the station is operating in
violation of the Commission's Rules.

The denial comes in response to a complaint to
the FCC by the Personal Radio Association filing
back on February 12th. It had requested the
regulatory agency review the grants of 277
G-M-R-S licenses because the records contains the
name of an organization or company in the
"attention" field. The Personal Radio
Association said this indicated the licenses may
have been issued to entities not eligible for licensing in the GMRS.

But the FCC says that's not the case. It says
that the information in the "attention" field is
just what is says. It is a note for Commission
use and as such it has no impact on the validity
of the license. For that reason it is denying
the Personal Radio Groups license review request.

**

HAM RADIO IN SPACE: SUPER EFFICIENT AMPLIFIER DESIGNED BY AMSAT HAMS

The Amsat News service reports that Allen Katz,
K2UYH and Marc Franco, N2UO have developed a VHF,
high-efficiency, class-E, R-F power
amplifier. One with a DC to RF efficiency of 86.8%.

A-N-S says that their design is based on silicon
carbide metal-semiconductor field effect
transistors. The amplifier efficiency was
measured at around 86 to 88% with this number
holding quite well at almost any drain voltage or output power.

The AMSAT News Service ays that this type of
amplifier is under consideration for the envelope
elimination and restoration linear amplifier
planned for the upcoming AMSAT Eagle ham radio satellite.

The design was presented in a paper at the IEEE
International Microwave Symposium in Hawaii. It
is now available on-line at
http://www.cree.com/products/wireless_docs.htm titled
"Class-E Silicon Carbide VHF Power Amplifier" (ANS)

**

Break 1

From the United States of America, We are the
Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin
stations around the world including the K0ASH
repeater of the Ashland Amateur Radio Club serving Ashland Nebraka.

(5 sec pause here)


**

NEW PRODUCTS: NEW KENWOOD DUAL BANDER A HIT WITH THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED

A newly released 2 meter and 70 centimeter dual
band radio from Kenwood is getting rave reviews
from the visually handicapped ham radio
community. The transceiver in question is the
Kenwood model TM-V71A. Blind and visually
impaired amateurs love it because when equipped
with the optional VGS-1 voice chip unit, the
radio announces even menu-level settings for true
accessibility by audio alone. One of those most
enthusiastic about this feature is Linda Reeder,
N7HVF, of Salt Lake City, Utah:

--

N7HVF: "The 71A is the most blind user friendly
radio I have ever see in the 22 years I have been in Amateue Radio."

--

N7HVF is so enthussed about the new TM-V71A, that
she not only bought one. She has also produced
and recorded a 12 minute audio netcast that
loojks at the new radio and explains what its
capable of doing. Heres a samole:

--

N7HVF: (Descriptive audio of how rgw TM-V71A
operates demonstrating voice readout.)

--

The TM-V71A is not just for the blind or visually
impaired. The radios voice readout also
functions as a safety enhancement that lets an
operator tune the radio will operating mobile
without ever having to take his or her eyes off the road.

But it is the visually handicapped that are the
most vocal in singing its praises. You can hear
Linda Reeders entire report on the blind friendly
new Kenwood radio at the HandiHam website. A
link directly to it is in this weeks printed,
Amateur Radio Newsline report. Its in cyberspace
at http://www.handiham.org/manuals/Kenw...71A/tmv71a.mp3

More about the TMV-71A is at the Kenewood website
in PDF form at
http://www.kenwoodusa.com/Dealers/Us...rs/TM-V71A.pdf (N7HVF)

**

ENFORCEMENT: FCC TELLS NJ HAM TO CLEAR UP RPT TO RPT INTERFERENCE

Anthony W. Cranston, WA2HYO, of East Brunswick,
New Jersey has been told by the by FCC that his
uncoordinated repeater is allegedly interfering
with a coordinated system. The regulatory agency
says it wants to know what Cranston plans to do to remedy the situation.

In its June 29th letter to WA2HYO, the FCC says
that representatives of the WA3BXW repeater had
contacted Cranston a number of times since 2003,
but to this date it remains unresolved. So, as
per the Part 97 Amateur Service Rules it is
placing the burden to solve the problem on
Cranston's uncoordinated repeater since the WA3BXW system is coordinated.

For those not aware Section 97.205 of the
Commission's rule states that where there is
interference between a coordinated and an
uncoordinated repeater, the licensee of the
uncoordinated repeater has primary responsibility
to resolve the interference. And the FCC appears
to be placing that responsibility squarely on Cranston.

WA2HYO was given 20 days from the date of the
FCC's letter to respond to the inquiry. It
instructed him to furnish the Commission with all
of the information that it has requested.

Cranston was also warned that failure to resolve
this interference problem will result in
enforcement action against his
license. Enforcement that may include removal
of automatic control privileges from his repeater. (FCC)

**

ENFORCEMENT: TEXAS CB'ER FINED $7000

The FCC has affirmed a $7,000 against 11 meter
C-B operator Donald Winton of Corpus Cristi,
Texas. This for allegedly rebroadcasting a local
AM station on CB Channel 19. And for refusing to
allow the FCC to inspect his station. Amateur
Radio Newlines Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, reports:

--

The FCC says that last February 21st it received
a complaint that a CB radio station in Corpus
Christi was jamming communications on CB channel
19 by continually re-broadcasting the programming
of a local AM broadcast station. An agent from
the Commission's Houston Office used radio
direction finding and determined that the signal
originated from an antenna mounted on a house in that city

While the agent was making measurements on the
radio signal, Donald Winton exited the house and
walked down the driveway. The agent introduced
himself and requested to inspect the CB radio
station inside the house. Mr. Winton confirmed
this location was his residence and that the CB
station belonged to him, but refused to make it available for inspection.

The agent advised Winton that the Commission's
Rules require the operator of a CB radio station
to make the station available for inspection.
Winton still refused. The agent then requested
that Winton go inside and take the station off
the air because it was blocking communications on
CB radio channel 19. The FCC says that Winton
walked into the house and the station's
transmissions ceased. Winton returned and
continued to refuse to make the station available
for inspection, so the agent left.

On April 23, 2007, the Houston Office issued a
Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture to
Winton in the amount of $7,000. Winton responded
by requesting either a reduction or cancellation
of the fine. He also claimed that his CB
transmitter was not on when the agent arrived,
and that, if it was on, it must have been
operated by homeless people whom he allows access
to his home. He also claimed that he did not
allow the agent access to his home, because the
agent did not have a warrant and because he was
concerned that his dogs might injure the
agent. Finally, he states that he was not aware
of any of the Commission's Rules governing CB radios.

But the FCC says that Winton has no explanation
for how the agents used direction finding to
locate the source of the signal to his
residence. Nor could he explain how the agent
was able to observe the signal right before he
came out of his house. And the FCC noted that
Winton admits that he refused to provide the
agent access to his CB station located in his
residence. This, even though FCC rules authorize
inspection of all CB stations by the
Commission. Accordingly, agents are not required
to obtain a warrant to inspect a CB station.
The bottom line. The FCC says that it finds no
basis for cancellation or reduction of the $7,000
forfeiture and has ordered Donald Winton to pay it within the next 30 days.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, in Los Angeles.

--
At this point Winton has only two choices. He
can pay the $7000 fine or he can appeal the
matter higher up the FCC's administrative chain. (FCC)

**
ON THE WEB: IQSLUSA ANNOUNCED

Yet another new electronic QSL service has
emerged. Calling itself I QSL USA, the founders
says that it is aimed at both electronic as well
paper QSL users and contains several innovative
features designed to make QSLing a
lot easier. More information is on-line at
www.iqslusa.com. (VA3FH via qrz.com)

**

ON THE WEB: 14000.NET CELEBRATES ITS FIRST ANNIVERSARY

The 14300.net website will celebrate it's one year anniversary next month.

The brain child of Steve Wojton, NN2NN, the
website was started in August of 2006 to help
promote the net activities on the 20 meter
frequency of 14.300 MHz. Since then the site has
steadily grown in popularity with those assisting
with traffic and with the ham radio sailing community.

With some exclusive content and easy to navigate
links concerning net operation, 14300.net has
become a useful tool for the many net control
stations who volunteer countless hours to
handling traffic on 14.300 MHz. The site is in
cyberspace at http://14300.net (Southgate)

**

NAMES IN THE NEWS: N6USO RELEASE FROM HOSPITAL - RECOVERING AT HOME

Some good news to report. Word that Los Angeles
Sheriff's Deputy Burton Brink, N6USO is out of
the hospital and recovering at home from injuries
suffered in an on-duty accident.

As previously reported, the incident took place
on June 13th. This, when a driver tried to exit
the carpool lane on the Interstate 10 freeway.
The motorist, who was in violation of state law
requiring there be more than one person in the
car did not check for a clear lane. He collided
with Brink who was on motorcycle patrol.

N6USO suffered 9 broken ribs, a broken shoulder
blade, a punctured lung and a punctured
spleen. He required almost a month of hospital
care and it will likely be another half year before he can return to duty.

Brink asks that nobody call him right now as he
is still in a lot of pain. Get well wishes are
best sent by e-mail to . (WA6ILQ)

**

NAMES IN THE NEWS: WR1B NAMED NEW EDITOR OF QEX

And a word of congratulations to Larry Wolfgang,
WR1B, on being named as the new editor of the
ARRL publication QEX. He assumes the position
from Doug Smith, KF6DX, who has edited QEX since
September of `1998. Wolfgang had been serving as
QEX Managing Editor for the past year and a half
and as a member of Newsline's Young Ham of the
Year judging committee for the past two seasons. (ARRL)

**

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)

**

ON THE NET: WEATHERBRAINS - A FREE NETCAST ABOUT THE WEATHER

If you are a radio amateur involved in severe
weather spotting or just ham an interest in the
environment, a couple of hams in Alabama have a
website you will want to visit and an Internet
radio show you will want to hear. The website
and the show are both called WeatherBrains. In
one recent program they interviewed Gary Woodall
of the National Weather Service office in Ft.
Worth, Texas to find out about the art of post storm surveys:

--

Audio only. Hear it by downloading the MP3
version of this newscast at www.arnewsline.org

--

Weatherbrains is the brain child of Birmingam
weathercaster James Spann, WO4W, television
producer David Black, KB4KCH and a couple of
their weather centric friends. All experts in
the area of weather forecasting. Each week the
WeatherBrains crew takes an in depth look at all
sides of the weather scene and brings it to their
listeners in a way that's entertaining and easy to understand.

The WeatherBrains program originates from the
studios of The Weather Company in Birmingham,
Alabama. New shows are posted each Tuesday. To
subscribe or learn more about WeatherBrains take
your web browser to www.weatherbrains.com And
less we forget -- listening to WeatherBrains is free. (ARNewsline(tm))

**

THE SOCIAL SCENE: LIVE COVERAGE FROM THE 2007 HUNTSVILLE HAMFEST

On the ham radio social scene, Tom Medlin,
WA5KUB, reports that he will once again be
streaming live audio and video of this years Huntsville Hamfest.

Coverage begins with his drive from Cordova,
Tennessee to Huntsville That starts at O8:OO
hours Central U-S time on Friday morning August
17th. Once he arrives in Huntsville, he will
begin his live broadcast of the Hamfest. Tom will
also live stream this years Young Ham of the Year
presentation that will take place at 2 P.M.
Central of Saturday, August the 18th.

All the action will be in cyberspace at Tom
website. Its on his video page at http://wa5kub.com (WA5KUB)

**

HAM RADIO IN SPACE: AO-51 PLAYING SOME FM GAMES

During the period of July 10 to July 12 the AMSAT
OSAR 51 satellite was in its FM repeater mode
with the uplink on 1268.700 MHz and the downlink
on 2401.200 MHz. On July 10th, OE1VKW reported
hearing the bird flying over Vienna with very strong signals.

As of July 13th, AO-51 was in the FM repeater
mode, with an uplink on 145.920 MHz and downlink
on 435.300 MHz. Telemetry is on the 435.150 MHz
downlink. Starting on Tuesday, July 24th look
for AO-51 to operate with an SSB uplink
on 145.880 MHz and FM downlink via 435.300
MHz. An interesting combination of modes to say the least. (ANS)

**

WORLDBEAT - INSONESIA: ORARI PROVIES A NEEDED EMCOMM SERVICE

Indonesian Amateur Radio Organization Vice
President M Jusuf Kalla says that his
organization is still needed. Especially during
emergencies and also to reach areas not accessible by telephones.

In a recent interview with the Antara News
Service, Kalla is quoted as saying that
experience has shown that telephone transmission
towers and cellular phone networks are usually
among the first structures to collapse in
disasters like earthquakes. Kalls says that in
those such situations, Indonesian Amateur Radio
Organization members often provide out to be a
welcome alternative means of communication.

According to the Kalla, every telecommunication
technology device has its advantages and
disadvantages. He noted that not all areas of
Indonesia`s vast territory are accessible by
telephones. As such, two-way radio is still
needed as a means of communication with people in these remote areas.

Now in its 39th year, the Indonesian Amateur
Radio Organization has been in providing
communication support during disaster-caused
emergencies in the country (ANTARA News)

**

WORLDBEAT - ROUMANIA: THE NEW PRO - CW - CLUB

From Romania comes word of the newly formed Pro
C-W Club. The creation of YO6EX, the
organization is dedicated to the preservation and
encouragement the art of CW communications
world-wide. There are two catagories of
membership. These are full and associate. .
Dues is 10 Euros. Applications go to YO6EX,
P.O.Box 168, SIBIU-1, RO-550450, Romania. (YO6EX)

**

WORLDBEAT - NOVA SCOTIA: 4th ANNUAL MARIIME DX FORUM AUGUST 4

The 4th Annual Maritime DX Forum is slated for
Saturday, August 4th, in Upper Tantallon, just
outside Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Halifax
Amateur Radio Club is sponsoring this years event
which includes presentations by Tom Harrell,
N4XP, talking about the highly challenging 2007 Scarborough Reef Dxpedition.

Also on hand will be Scott Wood, VE1QD. He will
take attendees vicariously on a trip to the
British Antarctic Territories, which is some of
the rarest DX real estate on the planet.

All DX'ers and contesters are welcome. Complete
details and a registration form can be downloaded
from www.halifax-arc.org (Halifax ARC)

**

ON THE AIR: WAR ACTIVATED IN CROSSBAND COMMUNICATIONS TEST

A three letter special event callsign with no
numeric indicator. That's the story of the
callsign W-A-R as it was used in last May 12th in
the 58th running of the Crossband Communications
Test sponsored by the Army Military Affiliate Radio System.

The historic W-A-R callsign was originally the
property of the old United States War Department
as it was known in those days. This year the
W-A-R call was rolled out to be used in the cross
band ham radio test station operating at the
Pentagon. This was very significant to the
members of the Pentagon Amateur Radio Club as the
W-A-R call has been in exile at Fort Detrick, Maryland.for many years.

The complete story about the W-A-R commemorative
call and this years Crossband Communications Test
is in the article titled Amateur Radio at the
Pentagon by Bill Sexton, N1IN. It begins on Page
29 of the August Worldradio Magazine. (Worldradio)

**

DX

In D-X, plan ahead to work San Andres as K3WT, N0STL,W0OR and
N0AT will be active from there between November
19th and the 27th. Operations will include the
CQ World Wide DX CW Contest on November 24th and
the 25th. This will be a Multi- Single
entry. The contest callsign has not yet been announced.

Also coming on this November is Greneda. This
with seven operators active as J3A also during
the CQ World Wide DX CW Contest. Outside the
contest they will be using their own personal callsigns. QSL J3A via WA1S.

(Above from various DX news sources)

**

THAT FINAL ITEM: ART BELL, W6OBB, RETIRES - AGAIN

And finally this week, he' done it
again. Retired that is. The "he" in this case
is internationally known talk show host Art Bell,
W6OBB. Amateur Radio Newsline's Fred Vobbe, W8HDU, has the details:

--

IF THREE TIMES IS A CHARM, THEN WHAT IS FOUR?
VETERAN TALK SHOW HOST ART BELL, W6OBB STUNNED
HIS AUDIENCE ON JULY 1ST WITH THIS ANNOUNCEMENT:

W6OBB: "I WOULD LIKE TO ANNOUNCE TONIGHT, THAT
FOR THE .... ACTUALLY .... I'M NOT SURE HOW MANY
TIMES IT IS NOW ....SOMEBODY'S COUNTING ....
(LAUGH) FOLLOWING TONIGHTS BROADCAST ... I AM
RETIRING FROM REGULAR WEEKEND PROGRAMMING":

--

THE MOVE STUNNED MANY LISTENERS OF THE "COAST TO
COAST AM" SHOW THAT ART HOSTED ON THE WEEKEND.
SOME LISTENERS SPECULATED THAT THIS WAS A
PUBLICITY STUNT, OTHERS WERE JUST DISAPPOINTED AS
BELL HAS BEEN DESCRIBED AS BEING THE FOUNDER OF
WHAT HAS BECOME A RATINGS WINNER IN OVERNIGHT
PROGRAMMING, AND THE ONLY SOURCE FOR PARANORMAL TALK.

ALTHOUGH PREVIOUS DEPARTURES FROM THE AIR WERE
DUE TO PROBLEMS AND TRAGEDY IN HIS LIFE, SUCH AS
THE DEATH OF HIS THIRD WIFE, RAMONNA, IN JANUARY
OF 2006, BELL SAID THAT THIS IS A HAPPY RETIREMENT.:

--

W6OBB: "THE REASONS, ACTUALLY, ARE STATED BY
NEARLY EVERYBODY WHO EVER MAKES SUCH AN
ANNOUNCEMENT. ONLY NOW I VERY CLEARLY UNDERSTAND
THEM IN A VERY PERSONAL WAY. GOD HAS BLESSED ME
WITH LOVE, MY LIFE, AT A TIME FRANKLY WHEN I
THOUGHT I HAVE LOST ANY REASON TO LIVE, FOLLOWING
MONA'S DEATH. MY WONDERFUL WIFE AIRYN, AND NOW OUR DAUGHTER ASIA."

--

BELL WENT ON TO SAY THAT HIS TIME WOULD BE SPENT
WITH HIS NEW FAMILY. ART ALSO SAID THAT SINCE HE
IS OF "RETIREMENT AGE" HE WOULD LIKE TO MORE OR
LESS STOP AND SMELL THE ROSES, AND TAKE SOME TIME
OFF. MANY HAMS HAVE NOTICED THAT HE HAS BEEN
RATHER SILENT FROM THE 160 AND 80 METER BANDS, SO
ONE HAS TO HOPE THAT ART HAS ALSO NOT RETIRED FROM HAM RADIO. :

FOR THE AMATEUR RADIO NEWSLINE, IN LIMA OHIO, I'M FRED VOBBE, W8HDU

--

According to Fred, Ian Punnet will fill in for
Art Bell on weekends until a permanent
replacement is found. (W8HDU, ARNewsline(tm) - audio use courtesy of
W6OBB)

**

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
. 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 Jim Davis, W2JKD, saying 73 and we thank you for
listening.

Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.

"William M. Pasternak" wrote in
:



RESTRUCTURING: FOUNDATION CLASS MANIA IS SWEEPING THE GLOBE

Call it Foundation Class mania. The successful
introduction of Foundation Licenses, particularly
in Britain and Australia, continues to be food
for thought in a number of other countries around
the world.


What exactly is a "Foundation class" license?


- 73 de Mike KB3EIA -

"Mike Coslo" wrote in message
36...



What exactly is a "Foundation class" license?



It's a very bare-bones entry class license, with an easy entrance examination
and a low level of privileges, sort of "here's a taste of amateur radio ---
there's more where this came from".

The Man in the Maze
QRV from Baboquivari Peak, AZ

--
Iitoi

"Mike Coslo" wrote in message
36...


What exactly is a "Foundation class" license?


Here's information further to my last post.

http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2002/01/10/1/

The Man in the Maze
QRP from Baboquivari Peak, AZ

--
Iitoi

"Iitoi" wrote in message

"Mike Coslo" wrote in message
36...

What exactly is a "Foundation class" license?

It's a very bare-bones entry class license, with an easy
entrance examination and a low level of privileges, sort
of "here's a taste of amateur radio --- there's more
where this came from".

You're also restricted to type-approved equipment.

73 Ivor G6URP

"Iitoi" wrote in message ...

"Mike Coslo" wrote in message
36...


What exactly is a "Foundation class" license?


Here's information further to my last post.

http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2002/01/10/1/

The Man in the Maze
QRP from Baboquivari Peak, AZ

--
Iitoi


It appears to me like the "Foundation License" is actually more difficult to
get than our current Technician license. The mandatory 10 hour class, while
philosophically a good idea, could be a real hardship for people in our
rural areas and people whose work schedules do not accommodate available
class schedules.

On the other hand, in the US, one can get the short question/answer/brief
explanation books and fit their study into available moments as they come
along in the course of the day.

Dee, N8UZE