Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1681 - October 30 2009

Note: This weeks newscast runs 35 minutes and 16 seconds and contains
three ID breaks. Newscast begins right now.

Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1681 with a release date of
Friday, October 30th, 2009 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a Q-S-T. Sweden says no to radio pollution from
B-P-L, a new South African ham satellite gets is Oscar designation,
three hams file a petition to make all emergency communications legal
and the biggest yearly ham radio public service event takes place in
New York City a few hours after this weeks newscast goes to air. Find
out the details on Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) report number 1681 coming
your way right now.


(Billboard Cart Here)

**

THE BPL WAR: A BIG WIN IN SWEDEN

We begin this week with news that one European nation is saying no to
interference caused by Broadband over Powerline Internet access. Bill
Pasternak, WA6ITF, is in the studio with mo

--

Telecommunications regulators in Sweden have withdrawn certain
Broadband over Powerline or Powerline Transmission Internet access
equipment from the public marketplace. A recent C-E-P-T Electronic
Communications Committee report notes that the Swedish regulator
ordered the sale of such gear to cease because some BPL gear pollutes
the radio spectrum.

Mention of the Swedish action in withdrawing the equipment appears in
the Report from the Working Group Spectrum Engineering Bordeaux, 07 11
September 2009. It gives the reasons behind the decision to impose
these latest anti RF interference standards on BPL service in that
nation.

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

--

You can read the report in its entirety at
http://www.ero.dk/37D6714E-27DF-42D7...183?frames=no&
(Southgate)

**

NEWSLINE FOLLOW-UP: MORE ON THE C6APR TRAGEDY

The contesting world is still in shock at the tragic news that four
members of the C6APR team perished when their light aircraft crashed
soon after take-off in South Carolina the pre dawn hours of Wednesday,
October 21st.

Killed when the twin engine Piper Aztec PA-23 plummeted to the ground
shortly after takeoff from Summerville Airport in South Carolina were
the pilot Peter Radding W2GJ, along with passengers Ed Steeble, K3IXD,
Randy Hargenrader K4QO and Dallas Carter W3PP.

According to news reports, Radding had been flying for over 40 years
and Hargenrader was also a licensed pilot. All four were on their way
Crooked Island in the Bahamas by way of Ft. Pearce, Florida, to operate
the CQ World Wide DX Contest when the accident occurred. Crooked Island
is a location used on seven previous occasions by the team since 2006.

The National Transportation Safety Board in Washington D.C., is the
lead investigating agency. NTSB investigator Shawn Etcher said the
plane banked to the left after takeoff. He said that judging by marks
found on trees near the wreckage, it appears the plane climbed to an
altitude of at least 90 feet before crashing. The crash scene was
engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived.

Sixty-six year old Stella Bazzle lives about a half-mile from the crash
site. She is quoted as saying that the plane's engines didn't sound
right as it passed near her house. She described it as a roaring and
grinding sound. Bazzle, then heard what sounded like two explosions,
with the first one bigger than the second.

The wreckage was to have been transported to Atlanta, Georgia, for
closer examination. Typically, it takes the N-T-S-B between 12 and 18
months to determine the cause of a crash, but a preliminary report is
expected out shortly. (Summerville Journal, Charleston Press, others)

**

HAM RADIO IN SPACE: SUMBANDILASAT DESIGNATED AS SO-67

The recently launched South African SumbandilaSat has now been
designated as SO-67. AMSAT's OSCAR Number Coordinator Bill Tynan, W3XO,
made the designation shortly after receiving an e-mail from the
secretary South Africa AMSAT requesting that an OSCAR number be
allocated to the new ham radio bird. .

As previously reported, the amateur radio payload on SumbandilaSat was
developed by South Africa AMSAT and incorporated by the University of
Stellenbosch into the main payload. The ham radio payload was
officially coordinated through the IARU Satellite Frequency
Coordination Panel with an uplink of 145.880 MHz and a downlink of
435.350 MHz.

Late word is that the F-M transponder on SumbandilaSat will be
activated for the first time over North America on Saturday October 24
at 19:52 UTC. In this mode SumbandilaSat will uplink on 145.875 MHz
and downlink on 435.345 MHz. A CTCSS tone of 233.6 Hz is needed to
access this F-M repeater in the sky. (ANS)

**

HAM RADIO IN SPACE: AMSAT REVEALS ITS NEXT GEN CUBESAT

AMSAT will work with a university student engineering team to develop
the NextGen Cubesat. Program Manager, Alex Harvilchuck, N3NP,
introduced this new program at the recent AMSAT Symposium. That's
where he also revealed the program goals. These include an initial
analysis of ARISSat-1, analysis of the lessons learned from the renamed
SuitSat 2 project and other prior spacecraft. This, to create a
building block architecture for future satellites. N3NP says that
NextGen will feature an open, modular, evolutionary, and documented
design based on this analysis. More on this new bird is at the AMSAT
website at www.amsat.org. (ANS)

**

BREAK 1

From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline,
heard on bulletin stations around the world including the N5IUF
repeater serving Dallas, Texas.

(5 sec pause here)

**

RADIO LAW: GROUP PROPOSES REVISING 97:111 TO PERMIT UNRESTRICTED HAM
RADIO EMCOMM

Meantime, a small group of hams has petitioned the FCC to add a new
section to Part 97:111 of the Amateur Service rules. The Amateur Radio
Policy Committee has filed a request to the regulatory agency to add a
sub-part6 t that rule to permit any ham to participate in emergency
training drills, whether or not he or she is in the employ of an entity
taking pat in the exercise.

The wording that the group is proposing would permit transmissions
necessary for disaster relief or emergency response, including training
exercises, planning, drills or tests without regard to whether the
amateur operator has related employment. This, where the transmissions
are for the exclusive use of amateur radio operators for non-commercial
purposes.

The request is signed by three prominent radio amateurs. They are Tom
Blackwell, N5GAR, of Dallas, Texas; David Coursey, N5FDL, from Tracy,
California, and ham radio educator Gordon West, WB6NOA, of Costa Mesa,
California. They say that their petition is presented in what they
term as Section 97 point 1 of the FCC rules. 97 point 1 defines FCC
licensed amateur operators as part of a voluntary non-commercial
communications service, particularly with respect to providing
emergency communications.

The petition was accepted by the FCC on October 15th, but so far it has
not been assigned a rule making number nor has it been released for
public comment. (QRZ.com, others)

**

RESCUE RADIO: NEW ADVANCES IN EMCOMM FEATURED ON THE BBC

Recent developments in emergency broadband communications is the topic
of a BBC interview with Mike Outmesguine KG6NHH. Outmesguine is the
president and founder of TransStellar, Inc., a successful technology
services company with an emphasis on wireless mobility and energy
information systems.

The BBC news item says that KG6NHH has demonstrated an easy way to
produce what it calls a "Network Relief Kit." This is described as an
ultra portable method of connecting to the internet from almost any
location in the world.

The system works by contacting one of three satellites orbiting the
earth to get an internet connection. The receiver can then be plugged
in, using ethernet cables, to a standard router, VoIP phone or similar
devices.

The BBC says that In 2003-2004 the equipment cost some $40,000 . but
these days the whole kit, Now, thanks to advances in technology the
entire kit can be carried in a back-pack with its cost down to around
$3,000 including the solar panel. Connectivity is said to be fast
enough to watch videos on YouTube.

You can read the full BBC report at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8318156.stm The BBC Digital
Planet radio interview with Mike Outmesguine, KG6NHH, is at
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p004l2hz (BBC)

**

RESCUE RADIO: FEMA SELECTS NEXT GENERATION EAS TESTING LAB

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has selected a site for a lab
to test new Emergency Alert System equipment. This as the next step to
assure that the equipment fully complies with the new Common Alerting
Protocol or CAP system that is still being developed.

FEMA has awarded Eastern Kentucky University a contract to test the
next generation of EAS equipment to make sure it conforms with the CAP
protocol developed by the Integrated Public Alert and Warning or IPAWS
System. Making equipment available that can receive a Common Alerting
Protocol message is the first of several objectives that must be
accomplished before FEMA adopts the system. (FEMA)

**

PUBLIC SERVICE: DELTA ARC TO SUPPORT MEMPHIS ST. JUDE MARATHON

The Memphis based Delta Amateur Radio Club will be providing
communications support to the upcoming St. Jude Marathon. This
December 5th event is sponsored by St. Jude children's' hospital. More
information on the marathon is on-line at www.stjudemarathon.org.
Information on the club is at www.deltaclub.org. (NF5B)

**

ENFORCEMENT: BANK OF AMERICA VS. THE FCC

It's the FCC versus one of the nations largest banking institutions in
a dispute over a satellite earth station. Fred Vobbe, W8HDU, has the
details:

--

Even those at the very top can hear the word no from the FCC. Take the
giant Bank of America which has been told that it has to apply for a
new permit to operate an Earth station because it accidentally let its
old license expire.

The story goes like this. On September 10, 2009, Bank of America filed
a petition to request reinstatement of its earth station license for
call sign E990192, which had expired this past July 20th. Bank of
America states that the oversight was inadvertent and due to a new
monitoring and maintenance contract. Bank of America further
explained that the new contractor has put this earth station into its
database to ensure timely renewal filings in the future.

But in its October 9th denial, the FCC said that under its rules a
petition for reinstatement of an expired license will be considered
only if the petition is filed within 30 days of the license expiration
date. It said that Bank of America did not file its petition within
this time frame, nor did it ask for a waiver of this rule. So based on
this it has denied Bank of America's request for re-instatement of
authority for earth station call sign E990192. It also said that if
Bank of America seeks regular authority to operate this earth station,
it must file an application for a new license for this station.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Fred Vobbe, W8HDU.

--

In rendering its decision the FCC did say that the bank can file for a
Special Temporary Authority to operate the station that the agency
indicates that it will be granted. (FCC)

**

NEWSLINE FOLLOW-UP: AMAZON PAYS $150,000 TO SETTLE KINDLE SUIT

Amazon has agreed to pay $150,000 to settle a tort action filed by 17
year old Justin Gawronski. He's the Michigan teen who sued the online
retailer after George Orwell's novels "1984" and "Animal Farm" along
with his homework were deleted from his Kindle electronic book.

The Orwell novels had been added to the online retailer's site by a
company that did not have the rights to sell them. In mid-July, with
no notice to customers about the error, Amazon remotely deleted the
e-books. Gawronski was adversely affected when the deletion also
partially destroyed his homework.

The money, after going to the law firm representing the teen, will be
donated to charity. Gawronski had already been compensated for the loss
with a $30 gift certificate. (Published news reports)

**

RADIO RESEARCH: OLD LOGS NEEDED T STUDY THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin and Miami University of Ohio
are seeking copies of amateur station logs from 1913 through 1927.
This, in hopes they may offer insights into the relationship between
individuals' work and leisure activities, technology, and their social
networks of he era.

Phil Kim is an Assistant Professor at the Wisconsin School of Business.
He notes that diaries, letters, QSL cards and station logs can contain
valuable insights into the link between an individual's occupation,
hobbies and friends.

Kim notes that early in amateur radio history, thousands of ham radio
enthusiasts were licensed by the government to comply with the Radio
Act of 1912. At that time and due to newly enacted rules, that those
early hams began to more carefully document the new communications era.

In an effort to uncover new information about approaches to work and
leisure time and the development of social networks, Kim and other
researchers are comparing early ham licensing records from the
Department of Commerce with detailed information in amateur operators'
station logs. If you happen to have an old ham station log from that
period that you would like to see included in the study, please contact
Steve Johnston, WD8DAS, via e-mail to johnson at wpr dot net. (WD8DAS,
QCWA)

**

RADIO EDUCATION: THE COLLEGE AMATEUR RADIO CLUB ASSOCIATION

If you are in college or are preparing to attend, then the new College
Amateur Radio Club Association may interest you. The web based
organization is described as an attempt to create a community of
college students, faculty, and alumni in order to unite the college
clubs. According to Bryce Salmi, KB1LQC, the hope is promote amateur
radio to college students through which collaborative innovations in
technology can be made, and college clubs will retain a more stable
membership. The groups home is located in cyberspace at
http://www.collegearc.com (KB1LQC)

**

NAMES IN THE NEWS: KB2GSD PERSONAL PAPERS GO TO HIS COLLEGE

The estate of the late Water Cronkite, KB2GSD, has made public. The
retired CBS newsman has bequeathed his college alma mater what amounts
to a treasure trove of papers and memorabilia chronicling his career.

Cronkite dropped out of the University of Texas at Austin in 1935 as a
junior. Instead, he decided to pursue a career in the news business
but the broadcasting legend never abandoned his Texas-based educational
roots.

According to his last will and testament now on file at Manhattan
Surrogate's Court, KB2GSD bequeathed his personal papers to the
university. This is really a process that actually started before his
death on July 17 but will now end with the release of materials he had
held onto at his office and homes in Manhattan and on Martha's
Vineyard.

After becoming a television anchor, Cronkite returned often to campus
as a lecturer and lent his announcing skills to the university as the
narrator of ads that are still used at athletic events and to promote
Longhorn accomplishments. (Published reports)

**

NAMES IN THE NEWS: TAPR ELECTS NEW OFFICERS

Tucson Amateur Packet Radio has elected Steve Bible, N7HPR, as it new
President. Other leadership positions include Scott Cowling, WA2DFI,
as Vice President; Tom Holmes, N8ZM, as Treasurer; and Stan Horzepa,
WA1LOU, as Secretary. TAPR also recently elected three new members to
their Board of Directors. They are Scott Cowling, WA2DFI; John Koster,
W9DDD, and Mark Thompson, WB9QZB.

The election results were made public at the recent ARRL and TAPR
Digital Communications Conference in Chicago, Illinois. At the
gathering the TAPR Board of Directors of selected named Dr David Toth,
VE3GYQ, as President Emeritus of the group. Dr. Toth served as TAPR
President from 2005 to 2009 and as a member of the Board from 1987
through 1993 and 2004 to the present. (TAPR)

**

NAMES IN THE NEWS: DL3OAP NEW CHAIR OF DARC EXECUTIVE BOARD

Some names in the news. First over to Germany where Dr. Walter Schlink,
DL3OAP has been elected as Chairman of the Deutscher Amateur Radio
Club's Executive Board. He succeeds Jochen Hindrichs, DL9KCX.
Hindrichs had served as Chairman since May, 2001, but decided not to
run for anther term.

Also elected to the Executive Board are Steffen Schöppe, DL7ATE, Dr.
Jürgen Sturhahn, DL8LE, Martin Köhler, DL1DCT, and Mitch Wolfson,
DJ0QN. Wolfson who is originally from Los Angels California held the
call WA6GSN. He still holds a U.S. license and the call K7DX. He's
also believed to be the first non German ever elected to this post in
the DARC.

The meeting where the election took place was n the city of Bad
Lippspringe and took place on October on 24th. (Southgate)

**

NAMES IN THE NEWS: VE4HAY RE-ELECTED RAC MIDWEST DIRECTOR

And congratulations to Derek Hay, VE4HAY, of Winnipeg who has been
re-elected as the Midwest Region Director of Radio Amateurs of Canada.
Hey ran unopposed and was declared re-elected on September 16th. (RAC)

**

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: COMMUNICATIONS IN A SHRIMP'S EYE

From the technology page comes the story of the remarkable eyes of a
marine crustacean could inspire the next generation of DVD, CD players
and possibly telecommunications gear. This, according to a new study
from the University of Bristol published in Nature Photonics. Amateur
Radio Newsline's Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, has the rest of this fascinating
story of communications under the sea:

--

The mantis shrimps used in the study are found on the Great Barrier
Reef in Australia and have the most complex vision systems known to
science. They can see in twelve colors while humans see in only three.
Also, it can distinguish between different forms of polarized light.

Special light-sensitive cells in mantis shrimp eyes act as quarter wave
plates which can rotate the plane of the polarization of a light wave
as it travels through it. This capability makes it possible for mantis
shrimps to convert linearly polarized light to circularly polarized
light and vice versa.

Manmade quarter-wave plates perform this essential function in CD and
DVD players and in circular polarizing filters for cameras. However,
these artificial devices only tend to work well for one color of light
while the natural mechanism in the mantis shrimp's eyes works almost
perfectly across the whole visible spectrum from near-ultra violet to
infra-red.

Dr. Nicholas Roberts is the lead author of the Nature Photonics paper.
He says that the work of his team reveals for the first time the unique
design and mechanism of the quarter-wave plate in the mantis shrimp's
eye. He describes it as exceptional and out performing anything we
humans have so far been able to create.

Exactly why the mantis shrimp needs such exquisite sensitivity to
circularly polarized light isn't clear. However, polarization vision is
used by animals for secret communication that avoids the attention of
other animals, especially predators. It could also assist in the
finding and catching of prey by improving the clarity of images
underwater. If this mechanism in the mantis shrimp provides an
evolutionary advantage, it could help scientists create better optical
devices in the future using liquid crystals that have been chemically
engineered to mimic the properties of the cells in the mantis shrimp's
eye.

This would not be the first time humans have looked to the natural
world for new ideas. In another bit of research the lobster's compound
eye recently inspired the design of an X-ray detector for an
astronomical telescope.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, looking at
communications technology in the briny deep.

--

This new research into the amazing vision capabilities of the mantis
shrimp and how it might one day improve communications in the human
world was conducted at the University of Bristol's School of Biological
Sciences in collaboration with colleagues the University of Queensland
in Australia. (Adapted from Science OnLine)

**

EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: MOBILE AND HANDHELD DTV STANDARD IS APPROVED

A fast-track effort by broadcasters, transmission vendors and consumer
electronics manufacturers to create a technical standard for
transmitting digital TV signals to cellular telephones and other mobile
devices has come to fruition. This, with the Advanced Television
Systems Committee announcing that it has approved a ATSC Mobile Digital
television Standard.

The Advanced Television Systems Committee says that the mobile standard
formally known as A/153 and also received overwhelming support in
balloting by its full membership tallied at midnight on October 15th.
The formal approval of the standard, which has been circulating in
preliminary form since last November, should pave the way for mobile
DTV receivers to hit retail shelves next year.

Development of the standard officially began in May 2007, when the
Advanced Television Systems Committee released a request for proposals
for a standard for the mobile and hand held telecasting system. It has
progressed at record setting pace since then. (RW)

**

EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: ON-STAR USES RADIO TO END PURSUIT

For the first time since it was created, the On-Star highway safety
system pioneered by General Motors has been used to bring an end to a
high speed pursuit. Amateur Radio Newsline's Norm Seeley, KI7UP, has
the details:

--

It all took place about two weeks ago when the victim identified as
Jose Ruiz, of Lindsay, California, was sitting in his Tahoe in a
lighted parking lot about 3 a.m.. This, while his cousin was talking
on a cell phone in the passenger seat. Out of the corner of his eye,
Ruiz says that he saw a man walking toward him. The man then allegedly
pointed a sawed-off shotgun at Ruiz and ordered both men to get out of
the Tahoe and empty their pockets. Ruiz's cousin at first refused, but
Ruiz told him to obey, knowing that OnStar could find the stolen truck
with the built-in global positioning system.

The cousin relented and the man sped off in the truck. Ruiz then ran
toward a nearby pay telephone to call police. As luck would have it he
spotted a sheriff's deputy on her break who in turn notified the
Visalia police. Officers quickly contacted OnStar and got Ruiz's
permission to find the vehicle.

Police spotted it a few miles away. As officers made a U-turn to
pursue it, the Tahoe sped off at a high speed. At about the same time,
police dispatchers told the pursuing officers that OnStar was about to
disable the stolen vehicle by radio command. It did, the Tahoe rolled
to a halt, and the robber was quickly captured without any injuries
except maybe to the alleged robbers pride.

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

--

The bottom line. Technology may soon make it very unattractive to try
to steal a car if the thief knows that there is a 1 in 2 chance that he
will be caught by radio remote control. (Future Technology)


**

EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: BOSE INTRODUCES WIRELESS STREAMING AUDIO SPEAKER

Audio equipment maker Bose has introduced its new SoundLink wireless
music system. This is a one-piece portable speaker system that allows
users to play streaming audio from their computer wirelessly in and
around the home.

The new SoundLink system was designed as a simple solution for people
who listen to sound stored on their computer, but do not necessarily
want to be at their computer to hear it. No software or Wi-Fi
connection is required. Just plug the included USB key into the
computer, select the sound from any Internet source and the audio will
stream to the SoundLink system via a long-range wireless link that
works through most walls and floors.

The included infrared remote control operates the power and volume. It
c an also send transport control commands to most applications,
allowing users to skip tracks or play/pause from a distance. More
information about this novel product is on-line at www.Bose.com (New
Product News)

**

EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: FLO TV TO BE AVAILABLE BY CHRISTMAS

A new form of television will soon be at arms reach. Jim Davis, W2JKD,
has the details:

--

Coming in time for Christmas is a wireless handheld TV that will have
its own dedicated network. The new FLO TV Personal Television, or PTV,
is a live mobile TV service from Qualcomm that is used for AT&T Mobile
Television and Verizon's V-Cast.

The PTV will sell for $250, and subscriptions begin at $9 a month. FLO
TV isn't saying yet what content it has lined up, but the AT&T and
V-Cast products have 15 channels apiece, including CBS Mobile, CNBC,
Comedy Central, ESPN Mobile, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, MTV and
Nickelodeon.

Plans call for DVR functionality down the road. The big question is
just how many people will be willing to pay for a service that
supplies programs to a miniscule 2 or 3 inch screen.

I'm Jim Davis, W2JKD

--

The answer as to weather we will some day see a world of humans walking
aimlessly down a street with their eyes glued to a tiny screen will be
interesting to watch out for. And if it does catch on, then we do mean
to watch out! (TV Tech)

**

WORLDBEAT: RADIO SWEDEN TO STOP QSL'ING LISTENER REPORTS

Radio Sweden says that it is discontinuing mailing QSL cards to
listeners in response to reception reports. Also, the station will be
discontinuing mass mailouts of its program schedules.

According to Media Network, with the start of the new transmission
period on October 25th, Radio Sweden will only be publishing its
broadcast schedule on the World-Wide-Web. Radio Sweden says that this
is a logical consequence of the increasing importance of the Internet
as a broadcast platform and because it has stopped broadcasting its own
programs in the Swedish language.

The only exception is when the station receives a specific request for
a printed version of its schedules Listeners can contact Swedish
Radio's Listener Service department with these requests. (Media
Network)

**

HAM HAPPENINGS: ARECIBO OBSERVATORY ON NOVEMBER 1st

And while this is kind of short notice, word that the second activation
of station KP4AQ located at the Arecibo Observatory Radio Club will
take place on Sunday November 1st. This, to commemorate 46 years of
operations of still the single largest radio telescope antenna in the
world. The operation will also commemorate the 35th anniversary of
the Arecibo Message, which was sent on November 16, 1974,in binary code
and transmitted to the globular star cluster M13. Its purpose was for
if it to be received by intelligent life and to let them know about our
existence. The special event will run from 1300 to 2000 UTC on 20
meters SSB. More information about the Arecibo Message is in
cyberspace at at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arecibo_message (
E-mail)

**

HAM HAPPENINGS: NORTH AMERICAN SUMMITS ON THE AIR

This North American Summits on the Air or SOTA activation day is
Saturday, November 14th. To celebrate, the four North American Summits
on the Air associations are planning a multi-hilltop activation
spanning the North American continent. Portable, mountain top stations
will be operating from the VE2, W1, W2, and W6 call areas. The
operators will be using the extensive spotting and alerting system
devised by the SOTA organization. To join in the fun, please visit the
www.sota.org.uk to get the latest details. (KI6J)

**

BREAK 3

Running a bit long this week because there's so much news to report, 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)

**

DX

In DX, KL7JR reports that plans are underway for the activation of
Jacquot Island before and during ARRL's December 11th to the 13th Ten
Meter Contest. Listen out for VY1RST to concentrate on 10 meters for
the contest and 14.260 for non-contest activities. QSL via KL7JR at
his callbook address.

And ZS6TAF, who works in Maputo Mozambique from time to time will be
operate mobile using the callsign C91BA. He has a Yaesu 857D and
Watson mobile antenna for 80 through 6 meters. QSL via his home
callsign.

A team of operators will be on the air from Arturo Prat-Greenwich
Island in the South Shetland archipelago between January 10th to the
24th of 2010. Their callsign will be XR9JA. Activity will be on 160-6
meters using CW, SSB,PSK31 and the AO-51 ham radio satellite. QSL via
CE5JA.

CT1DRB, is active as T6AG from Afghanistan for the next 6 months. His
operation will be CW only.. QSL via EA3GHZ direct.

Lastly, N1EMC and N1IW and will be active as T30KI and T30IW,
respectively, from Western Kiribati. This, between November 10th and
the 16th. Activity will be on H-F plus 6 meters as conditions permit
using SSB and CW. QSL via N1EMC.

(Above from various DX news sources)

**

THAT FINAL ITEM: PUBLIC SERVICE - HAM RADIO - AND THE ING NYC MARATHON

And finally, its once again time for the biggest annual ham radio
public service event found anywhere in the world. The New York City
Marathon began in 1970 with 127 runners, a budget of $1,000 and a small
group of ARES operators who tried to provide communications. Today,
the I-N-G sponsored race has grown to the status of World Class
Marathon with over 38,000 runners, two million spectators and a corps
of over 400 ham radio volunteers holding it all together.

This years New York City Marathon takes place on Sunday, November 1st.
In planning for marathon day there is a coordinated effort between the
New York Road Runners and several New York City agencies. While each
agency has its own dedicated communications system, no two have the
ability to talk to one another. Enter ham radio.

Since 1976, Steve Mendelsohn, W2ML, has been the volunteer Director of
Communications for the New York City Marathon. He says that the hams
are the only ones who can communicate with everyone involved:

--

Steve Mendelsohn, W2ML: And the reason we can communicate with everyone
involved is not because of the iron, its not because of the radios --
its because of our skills. As technology has advanced and we have
brought in the use of cellphones and the use of the Nextel system and
trunked radio, time and again, marathon organizers from the original
Fred Lebow through his successor Alan Steinfeld, W2TN, to todays New
York City Marathon Director Mary Wittenberg all say the same thing:
'-you can by any amount of radios with any amount of money, but all the
money in the world won't buy the skills the ham radio community has.' "

--

Mendelsohn's words have long been echoed by Paul Ortolano, who is the
events director for the New York Road Runners. In a 2007 interview,
Ortolano told the Hofstra Chronicle newspaper that amateur radio
operators are the key source of communications for the marathon. He
said that the marathon cannot happen each year without the dedication
of the ham radio community. Ortolano called them the eyes and ears of
the event and Mendelsohn is quick to agree:

--

Steve Mendelsohn, W2ML: "The New York Road Runners cannot put staff
out there nor can the New York Police put the quantity of staff that we
use with over 400 ham radio operators providing eyes -- walking quarter
mile segments of the course, patrolling for fallen runners. We have
the the hardware. We have the expertise and the New York City
Marathon has long said very, very good things about our operation."

--

In addition to his volunteer work with the NYC Marathon, Steve
Mendelsohn, W2ML, is a senior engineer at the ABC Television Network
in New York. He is the recipient of a Technical Emmy for his part in
ABC's special turn of the century telecast titled "2000: Millennium
Around the World." And to top it off in 1990 he was named Hamvention
Radio Amateur of the Year for his development of the ham radio
communications network that keeps the New York City Marathon on
track. He became involved with the marathon when its founder, the
late Fred Lebow came to a Tri-State Repeater Council meeting looking
for an amateur radio expert. Steve said that he didn't exactly
volunteer. Rather he was volunteered by the other hams at the repeater
coordinators gathering:

--

Steve Mendelsohn, W2ML: "In point of fact, I listened to the late Fred
Lebow talk about shutting down the city, running a huge number of
people -- I think the original number was about 1300 -- through the
streets of the city -- and I turned to the then president of TSARC and
I said that this man is out of his mind. I then excused myself to go
to the mens room. When I came back the first thing that struck me was
listening to Fred talk about how excited he was to work with us and the
fact that amateur radio was going to provide a very, very important
safety point for the New York City Marathon. I casually sat down,
turned to the president and said '-who would volunteer for something
like this?' He smiled and said '-the one that was out of the room.'
And to this day I have never volunteered."

--

Since then, W2ML has been the New York Marathon Director of
Communications. Under his aegis, the ham radio communications network
for the event has grown in size to become the largest all volunteer ham
radio communications group found anywhe --

Steve Mendelsohn, W2ML: "We are very fortunate to have a lot of people
who really enjoy doing public service. This year we will have over
400 hams -- I think we are up to 406 or 407 at this with the two
volunteers we got tonight. They come in from Massachusetts,
Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio and we
even have a gentleman who comes in from Denver. K2AD comes in from the
Denver Marathon to provide a hand.

"Most of us, while we all celebrate ham radio and what it can do for
the running public. In fact we have become a very close knit family to
the point where there is a group from Columbus, Ohio, that actually
rents an RV as part of a three-day weekend, and they drive to New
York. They then go into Manhattan and enjoy the city on Friday and
Saturday and Sunday morning they do the marathon. Then they drive back
to Ohio and that's their idea of a vacation."

--

W2ML is responsible for more than just recruiting ham radio operators.
He has to know how to strategically place them in vital positions along
the course. Some of these include the start and finish lines, the
water trucks, the medical stations, and of coarse the checkpoints
throughout the race path.

This year Mendelsohn expects to have volunteer operators from nine
different states. Many of these are the same volunteer ham radio
operators that placed their own lives on the line to assist following
the attack of the World Trade Center in 2001. That act of terrorism
also destroyed the ability for police, fire and rescue workers to
communicate in lower Manhattan. Jumping in immediately as
communications first responders were the regions ham radio operators.
They volunteered their time and radio gear as substitute communications
for police, fire and other emergency agencies responding to the
disaster area. The hams also served at numerous shelters and at
temporary rescue stations as the only available communications. In the
process earned the respect ad admiration of city, state and federal
level government officials.

Since then many have been back to offering communications for the
annual race through the streets of the Big Apple, but because of the
lessons that they have learned over the years in service to the New
York City Marathon, these hams are prepared to face just about any
emergency that might come their way. (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, the Southgate News and Australia's WIA 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
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Radio Newsline(tm), P.O. Box 660937, Arcadia, California 91066.

For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors desk, I'm Don
Wilbanks, AE5DW, saying 73 and we thank you for listening.

Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.