Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1722 - August 13 2010

Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1722 with a release date of
Friday, August 13 2010 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. Authorities across the West search for the
killers of a ham radio operator and his wife in rural New Mexico. Also
the FCC refuses to make the unauthorized use of a ham radio call a
form of identity theft or to expand voice privileges on 15 meters.
Find out the details on Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) report number 1722
coming your way right now.


(Billboard Cart Here)

**

RADIO CRIME: POLICE IN SOUTHWEST SEARCH FOR MURDERERS OF HAM OPERATOR
ANDHIS WIFE

Authorities across the Western United States and Canada are searching
for an escaped convict and his accomplice who may have been involved
in the brutal murder of Gary Haas N5VGH and his wife Linda. This
after their bodies were found in their burned out travel trailer in
Santa Rosa, New Mexico. Amateur Radio Newsline's Bill Pasternak,
WA6ITF, has the latest on this developing story:

--

The badly burned skeletal remains of a couple believed to be Gary, N5VGH,
and Linda Haas were found by a rancher in a charred trailer near Santa
Rosa, New Mexico, on Wednesday, August 4th. State Police have confirmed
that an Oklahoma couple by that name owned the trailer as well as a pick-up
truck that was later found abandoned in Albuquerque.

New Mexico State Police Major Robert Shilling said on Saturday, August 7th
that 45 year old John McCluskey has been linked through forensic evidence
to the couple's remains. Shilling declined to provide specifics and would
not say whether police think the other two people McCluskey is believed to
have been traveling with, Tracy Province and Casslyn Mae Welch, are also
tied to the killings.

Province was captured on August 9th in Wyoming. Also arrested was Claudia
Washburn, who is the mother of John McCluskey. She was taken into custody
in Jake's Corner, Arizona on allegations that she provided financial and
other types aid in the flight of her son, as well as Province, and Welch.

With Province now behind bars, most involved in the search believe that
McClusky and Welch are hiding out in the Yellowstone Park area of Montana
or Wyoming or may have even crossed into Canada. But in a bizarre twist,
U.S. Marshals for Arizona say the escaped inmate and his fiancée may be as
far away as Arkansas. Authorities say that a couple who robbed a store in
Gentry, Arkansas on Wednesday morning, August 11th fit the description of
John McCluskey and his fiancée, Casslyn Welch. Gentry is in northwest
Arkansas, near Bentonville, where Welch's mother lives. Police are
reportedly trying to obtain surveillance video from the robbery. No
matter where they are, McCluskey and Welch are considered to be armed and
extremely dangerous.

The two victims, Gary and Linda Haas were from Tecumseh, Oklahoma. Gary
Haas and was believed to be a member of Tecumseh Amateur Radio Club.

According to a search warrant affidavit obtained by The Oklahoman
newspaper, a relative told authorities that the Haas were traveling to
Colorado for their annual camping trip. The relative told police they
typically camped in state parks and they would often stay near Santa Rosa.

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


--

More on this story as soon as news updates are made available.

(KRQE, The Oaklahoman, NewsOK.com, US Marshalls Office release)

**

RADIO LAW: FCC SAYS NO TO PART 97 ID THEFT RULES CHANGE REQUEST

The FCC has dismissed a request from a California ham who wanted to make
the unauthorized use of a ham radio call sign a form of identity theft
covered under Part 97 of the the Amateur Service rules.

Back in November of 2009, Eric Hilding, K6VVA, of Morgan Hill, had filed a
petition for rulemaking that requested Part 97 be amended to prohibit the
false or unauthorized use of an amateur radio call sign. According to the
dismissal order, the petition primarily expressed concern about the
misappropriation of call signs on internet bulletin boards.

In his petition Hilding stated that this should be considered a form of
identity theft. He proposed that Part 97 be amended to prohibit any
misrepresentation or unauthorized use of someone else's amateur call sign
over the public airwaves, on Internet packet cluster system postings,
cellular or non-cellular telephone connections, electronic based
communications or print media formats of any other nature.

But in dismissing Hilding's rules change request the FCC stated that Part
97 regulates only the Amateur Radio service. As such and that controlling
other forms of communications would be beyond the scope of Part 97. Also,
since Part 97 already prohibits amateur stations from transmitting false
identification, the FCC concludes that the rules already in place address
the misuse of amateur call signs to the appropriate extent, and that
Hilding's petition presents no grounds for amending it. (FCC)

**

RADIO LAW: FCC TURNS DOWN PETRION TO EXPAND VOICE PRIOVELEGES ON 15 METERS

The Federal Communications Commission has turned down a request from a New
York ham to expand the spectrum available on 15 meters for phone operation.

In his December 2009 petition to the regulatory agency, Richard Ebeling,
K2UTC, of White Plains had
proposed that the segment of the 15 meter amateur service band authorized
to General Class and Amateur Extra Class licensees for voice emissions be
increased by seventy-five and fifty kilohertz, respectively. In his
petition Ebeling primarily argued that the frequency segment that General
Class licensees may use for phone emissions in the 15 m band should be
returned to what it was prior to the Commission's Incentive
Licensing decision in 1967, which he believed unfairly disadvantaged
General Class licensees.

But in its August 9th dismissal order the FCC noted that it had recently
extended the spectrum amateur stations could use for voice communications
in various amateur bands. In particular, the spectrum that General Class
licensees may use for phone emissions in the 15 meter band was increased by
twenty-five kilohertz. The FCC noted that Ebeling's Petition did not that
action, or otherwise present evidence that the current amount of spectrum
in the 15 meter band available for voice communications is inadequate.
(FCC)

**

RADIO LAW: ARRL FILES MOTION TO DENY LICENSES FOR RECON ROBOTICS ROBOTS IN
AMATEUR 70 CM BAND

The ARRL is again saying no to sharing the amateur radio spectrum with
public safety robots. On August 4th the League filed a Petition to Deny
Applications with the FCC to reject 68 pending Public Safety Pool license
applications associated with the ReconRobotics Video and Audio Surveillance
System.

Each license application is accompanied by a waiver request to permit
operation of the devices in the 433 to 445 MHz band. The applications were
coordinated by APCO International Inc Licensing Services and would allow
the use of the Recon Scout product currently being marketed by
ReconRobotics pursuant to an FCC waiver. APCO International Inc Licensing
Services is the frequency coordinator for the public safety land mobile
radio services --

Dan Henderson, N1ND, is the ARRL's Regulatory Information Manager. He says
that while several issues factor into the League's Petition to Deny these
applications, most notable is that the Commission has not acted on an
earlier ARRL Petition for Reconsideration in WP Docket 08-63, which has
been pending since March of this year. Henderson sat that petition raises
issues that should be addressed prior to any action on the individual
applications. He says that granting applications based on the Docket 08-63
waiver, which is not final, would be premature.

Henderson goes on to note that there is the potential for significant
interference from these devices to licensed operations in the amateur 70 cm
band. Therefore the ARRL urges the FCC to take thoughtful and expedient
action on our Petition for Reconsideration. (ARRL)

**

BREAK 1

From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline,
heard on bulletin stations around the world including the W3UU repeater of
the Harrisburg Amateur Radio Club of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

(5 sec pause here)


**

RADIO LAW: MIDWEST CITY RESCINDS VIOLATION NOTICE ISSUED TO LOCAL HAM

A follow-up to the story of the ham in Midwest City, Oklahoma who had been
sent a notice by the town last June asserting that he was in violation of a
local ordinance regarding radio frequency interference. That ham, now
identified as David Box, K5DBX, has been posting on the situation to
QRZ.com, and the latest is he reports is good but not great.

The good part is that on the evening of August 4th, Box says that he
received an email from Midwest City and the office of its City Manager,
that retracted the Notice and Order left at his address in June. The bad
news is that the city has decided to retain the ordinance as written.

Box says that he has provided to the city, what he considers to be a more
suitable solution through redrafting the ordinance to bring it into
compliance with the Communications Act, rather than direct conflict with
it. He says that he will have to see how the city will responds and
address this portion of the matter.

By way of background, you may remember that two weeks ago we reported that
ARRL General Counsel Christopher D. Imlay, W3KD, had written to Midwest
City's political leaders. Imlay letter stated categorically that the city
had absolutely no legal ground on which to enact or enforce its ordinance.
He went on to state that Midwest City's ordinance 27-3(9), which purports
to regulate RFI is preempted on its face by federal oversight and is
therefore the city's ordinance is null and void. He also expressed his
hope that it will not be necessary to submit the Midwest City ordinance to
the FCC by way of a Request for a Declaratory Ruling but warned that would
be the ARRL's planned course of action unless the ordinance is rescinded.

So far Midwest City has refused to comply with Imlay's demand to withdraw
the RFI ordinance. But in his letter retracting the citation issued to
Box, Midwest City Assistant City Attorney Randal Homburg says that in the
event there are future complaints from any citizen about a neighbor's use
of these licensed devices, the city will direct the complaining party to
file their complaints with the FCC. (K5DBX via QRZ.com, ARNewsline(tm),
ARRL)

**

RADIO POLITICS: ARRL BOD MEETING HIGHLIGHTS

Some highlights from the recent ARRL Board of Directors Meeting held in
Windsor, Connecticut. Of major concern to ham radio was a report from
General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, that the recently released National
Broadband Plan could affect the amateur spectrum near 2.3 GHz. In hisd
report W3KD noted that nothing is sacred and even spectrum occupied by the
Department of Defense is being challenged.

On a more positive note, ARRL Legislative Consultant John Chwat reported
that his office had received more than 2400 letters from amateurs
supporting HR 2160 and S 1755. He noted that there are only a few more
weeks left in the 111th Congress and that the ARRL must continue efforts
its efforts to have the House consider these bills. He also reported on
the progress of legislation concerning the tax deduction for personal
vehicle mileage on behalf of charitable organizations and the ARRL's
efforts to avoid impact on mobile operating in distracted-driving
legislation.

The complete Minutes of the 2010 Second Meeting of the ARRL Board of
Directors are available on the ARRL Web site. Its at www.arrl.org. (ARRL)

**

RADIO LAW: MONTGOMERY ALABAMA BANS NON EMERGENCY MOBILE COMMS

Hams operating mobile in Montgomery, Alabama, have won a rather narrow
partial exclusion to the city's tough new distracted driver law, but only
during emergencies. This after the Montgomery City Council passes an
ordinance making hand-held cell phone use, including texting while driving
a secondary offense.

Once the distracted driving ordinance takes effect in the coming weeks, a
driver would have to violate one of the primary rules of the road, such as
speeding or running a stop sign while using a cellphone before he or she
could be cited for distracted driving.

The ordinance does allow for some exceptions. These include someone using
their cell phone to report a traffic accident or a crime. Emergency
personnel, employees of utility companies and an operator of an amateur
radio are also excluded from the new ordinance, but only as long as their
communications devices are being used during an actual emergency.

Whats not clear is whether the new ordinance applies only to cellular and
texting devices or to other two way radio gear as well. In other words,
would charting on your local repeater with a mic in your hand while driving
be considered a distracted driving practice and subject to the new
law? And if it does, how would a police officer be able to determine if
the ham radio was or was not of an emergency nature let alone what
constitutes an emergency in any given instance. (montgomeryadvertiser.com)

**


RADIO ACCIDENTS: HIGH WINDS FELL WWVA TOWERS

One of the nations legendary AM broadcast stations was taken off the air on
Wednesday, August 4th by the fury of Mother Nature. At about around 4 in
the afternoon all three of Wheeling West Virginia's WWVA broadcast towers
were knocked down due to severe storms and winds in excess of 70
mph. Weather experts say wind speeds at the top of the 400 foot towers
could have been in excess of 100 mph at the time of the incident.

WWVA first began broadcasting in at 2:00 a.m. on December 13, 1926 using a
home-built 50-watt transmitter in the basement of the home of inventor John
Stroebel. One week earlier, the Federal Communications Commission had
granted a broadcast license on 860 kHz to the radio station WWVA. In May
1941, the FCC moved WWVA to 1170 kHz, and in August of that same year,
granted the ultimate power for AM stations of 50,000 watts and making it
the most powerful AM station in the entire state of West Virginia.

In reality, the stations three tower directional array is located in
near-by St. Clairsville, Ohio with its studio in Wheeling. According to a
statement on the stations website, engineering crews are working to get
some temporary antennas in place as soon as possible, so the station can
return the programming to the 1170 signal. In the meantime, WWVA's
programming can be heard on the 1400 kHz signal of its sister station WBBD
which normally plays Adult Standards.

WWVA is currently owned by Clear Channel Communications. Images of the
fallen array are on line at tinyurl.com/ towersdown (WWVA.com, Wikipedia)

**

THE SOCIAL SCENE: SWODXA DINNER MOVES TO NEW LOCATION FOR 2011

Turning to the ham radio social scene, 'Southwest Ohio DX Association
president Don DuBon, N6JRL, has announced that 26th annual DX Dinner will
be held on Friday, May 20, 2011in conjunction with Dayton Hamvention. The
new venue for this longtime gathering will be the Dayton Marriott located at
1414 S. Patterson Boulevard. DuBon says that the Marriott has been
recently remodeled and has a much larger capacity than the previous
location. More information is on-line at www.SWODXA.org. (OPDX)

**

THE SOCIAL SCENE: THIRD ANNUAL ASIA PACIFIC DX CONVENTION NOV. 5 - 7

The 3rd Asia Pacific DX Convention or APDXC will be held at the Osaka
International House in Osaka, Japan, between November 5th and the
7th. Presentations will be conducted in English and will include
discussions on some recent DXpeditions along with technical
discussions. There will also be an opportunity to join a tour to visit the
Icom factory and participate in a technical session led by the Icom High
Frequency radio design team. Program details and updates will be posted on
line at www.apdxc.org as they become available. (OPDX)

**

RADIO BUSINESS: CQ VHF MAGAZINE INTRODUCES NEW WEB DESIGN

And continuing its company-wide update of its magazine websites, CQ
Communications, Inc. has announced the launch of a new and
easier-to-navigate website for CQ VHF magazine. Like the recently updated
sites for WorldRadio Online and Popular Communications, the new CQ VHF site
features a cleaner look and a streamlined user interface to make it quicker
and easier for visitors to find what they are looking for.

The CQ VHF Website update coincides with posting of the highlights for the
Summer 2010 issue. Current highlights include sample pages in full-color
layout. This to give prospective readers the ability to see what the
magazine itself looks like in print. Also on the updated site are segments
of previous issues reaching back to 2006.

CQ VHF is a quarterly magazine edited by Joe Lynch, N6CL devoted to "Ham
Radio Above 50 MHz." First published in 1996, it combines articles
designed for newcomers with historical and technical features best
appreciated by more experienced VHF operators. You can browse the new web
layout at www.cq-vhf.com. (CQ Publishing)

**

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)

**;

CHANGING TECHNOLOGY: NZ ATV TO BE FORCED TO GO DIGITAL

Digital Amateur Television is coming to New Zealand, but not necessarily
because the Kiwi ham community wants to make the change. Jim Meachen,
ZL2BHF, is here with the details:

--

Hams down here in New Zealand will soon be forced to go digital if they
wish to continue Amateur Fast Scan Television operations. This after our
nations government regulators announce that all analogue modulated TV
transmissions in the VHF and UHF broadcast bands, which include Channel 39
used by ham
radio, will close down in March 2015, or at some earlier date. At that time
the upper end of the New Zealand UHF television allocation will be cleared
of television, so that the vacated spectrum can be used for next-generation
mobile communications.

One consequence of these decisions is that the existing television
transmissions will need to convert to digital so as to fit into about half
of the present spectrum, requiring that their transmission parameters need
to be more closely defined than at present. For the Amateur Television
service this means that each Radio License for analogue-modulated TV needs
to be replaced by a Spectrum License for analogue-modulated TV. As part of
the process, our government telecommunications regulator has cancelled all
of the existing Radio Licenses for Channel 39 TV Repeaters. Operators of
Channel 39 TV Repeaters need to close them down to avoid receiving an
Infringement Notices from the regulatory agency.

Those wishing to operate their analogue-modulated Channel 39 ATV repeaters
between now and the 2015 Digital TV Switch-Over, will be required to apply
for a Spectrum License. However this Spectrum License for analog ATV
transmitters will only exist until the Analogue shut down date. Ham Radio
access to New Zealand Channel 39 which runs from 614 to 622 MHz was made by
footnote to the nations telecommunications regulations many years ago when
a chunk of the 432 MHz band was taken from the amateur radio service.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, Im Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF, in Auckland

--

At airtime, its not known how many of the nations Amateur Television
Repeaters will apply for a new Spectrum License to at least temporarily
keep their analog systems operational and on the air. (NZART, ZL2BHF)


**


HAM RADIO IN SPACE: AO-51 BACK IN SERVICE AFTER OUTAGE

Turning to ham radio space related matters, AMSAT Vice-President of
Operations, Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, reports that after a brief outage
aboard AO-51 reported on Saturday, July 31 that the ham radio satellite had
been restored to service. The 145.92 slash 435.300 repeater was set to run
with the 67 Hz tone required to activate the satellite. Power output was
reported as 740 milliwatts. (ANS)

**

HAM RADIO IN SPACE: AMSAT UK SPACE COLLOQUIOM VIDEOS ON-LINE

Videos of the presentations given at the recent 25th AMSAT-UK International
Space Colloquium are now available on the web courtesy of the British
Amateur Television Club. This includes a short video produced by the BATV
group showing how club members go about covering events such as the
colloquium using a lot of pro-sumer grade audio and video gear to bring you
close to broadcast quality pictures and sound. These productions can be
viewed and download them at www.batc.tv. Simply click on the 'Film
Archive' icon and then select an 2010 AMSAT video. (GB2RS, Southgate)

**

WORLDBEAT: EUROPE HAMS TOLD TO LISTEN FOR CHURCHERS ON 10 METER FM

Amateurs and SWL's across Europe are being asked to keep an ear on or about
28.265 FM. This for transmissions believed to be coming from churches with
transmitters capable of delivering a signal strength well over
S-9. Reception reports and all other information should be sent to the
IRTS Intruder Watch Coordinator Ger McNamara, EI4GXB. His e-mail address
is ei4gxb (at) gmail (dot) com. (IRTS)

**

THE CONTREST CORNER: ICOM UK TO HOST CONTEST UNIVERSITY UK IN OCTOBER

From the radiosports desk cones word that Icom UK will again be sponsoring
Contest University UK on Saturday October 9th, This, in conjunction with
the 2010 RSGB Convention, which will be held at the new venue of Horwood
House near Milton Keynes.

Now in its 3rd year, Contest University UK is based on the highly
successful international format that has seen many radio amateurs
throughout the world learn about this exciting facet of amateur radio from
experienced practitioners. As such it's a place where European hams can
learn all the skills and secrets to start their journey in becoming a
contester, and learn some of the secrets to stay ahead of competitors.

If you have any questions regarding Contest University UK, please contact
course director Mark
Haynes, M0DXR atby e-mail to mark.haynes (at) yahoo (dot) co (dot) uk.
(GB2RS)

**

DX

In DX, word that YJ0VK will be the call of the upcoming DXpedition to
Vanuatu. The team is made up of four Australian hams who will be operating
from August 27th through to September 2nd. on the High Frequency bands
from Vanuatu's main Island of Efate. Special attention will be paid to the
WARC bands. More information along with QSL routing is available on line
at yj0vk.vkham.com

FK8IK, will be on the Chesterfields Islands as part of a scientific
expedition through August 19th. Look
for him to be active during his spare time on 80 through 10 meters using CW
with 100 watts into various dipoles. QSL only via his home address of P.O.
Box 14639, 98803 Noumea, New Caledpnia.

EA4DB is reportedly operating from the Seychelles as S79DB. Modes used
are CW, SSB, RTTY and PSK on 40 through 10 meters. QSL to his home call
either direct or electronically via Logbook to the World or eQSL.

IW0QO, is working from portable 9A from Losinj Island. He should be there
through August 18th. QSL via his home callsign either direct or via the
bureau.

DK2MT plans to be active stroke F from Oleron Island until the 20th
August. If you make contact. QSL via his home DK2MT direct or via the
bureau.

Lastly, W2GD, will be active from Aruba as P40W between November 22nd and
December 1st. His operation will include the CQWW DX CW Contest on November
27th and 28th as a Single-Op All-Band entry. Operations outside of the
contest will be on 160, 30, 17 and 12 meters as time permits. QSL via
Logbook of the World or direct to N2MM. Logs will be loaded on Logbook of
the World on his return to
the USA.

(Above from various DX news sources)

**

THAT FINAL ITEM: FIRST TUBSAT TO BE MUSIC SAT

National Public Radio says that one of the first of the do it yourself low
orbit satellite kits from Interorbital Systems has been purchased by
professional astronomer. Alex Antunes says that he will use it to create
natures own music from space.

As reported a few weeks ago here on Amateur Radio Newsline,
California-based Interorbital Systems, is offering a personal satellite kit
for $8000 called TubeSat that includes a ride into space. Now in an N-P-R
interview Antunes says that the sun interacts with the Earth's magnetic
field in the ionosphere and causes all sorts of activity. He says that his
goal is to use his satellite to put something in orbit to convert that
interaction directly to sound data so we can hear it.

The first TubeSats along with an amateur radio CubeSat are currently slated
to launch on an Interorbital Neptune 30 rocket from Tonga at the end of
this year. You can listen to the NPR interview with astronomer Alex Antunes
at tinyurl.com/musicsat (NPR)

**

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), 28197 Robin
Avenue, Santa Clarita California, 91350

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 2010. All rights reserved.