Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1730 - October 8 2010

Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1730 with a release date of
Friday, October 8 2010 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a Q-S-T. The IARU Administrative Council meets in El
Salvador to prepare for W-R-C 12; a true world-wide ham license could
be on its way; license restructuring comes to South Africa and
Indonesia to launch a pair of ham-sats in 2011. Find out the details on
Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) report number 1730 coming your way right
now.


(Billboard Cart Here)

**

RADIO POLITICS: IARU ADMINISTRATIVE COUNCIL UPDATES WRC-12 PLANNING
The Administrative Council of the International Amateur Radio Union or
IARU held its annual meeting on October 1st and 2nd in El Salvador.
Amateur Radio Newsline's Norm Seeley, KI7UP, takes a look at what was
accomplished:
--
The Administrative Council is responsible for the policy and management
of the IARU. It is made up of the three IARU international officers
and two representatives from each of the three regional organizations.
And this group covered a lot of ground in the two days that they were
allotted to them. Perhaps most important issue faced was the IARU
positions on relevant agenda items for the 2012 World
Radiocommunication Conference also known as WRC-12. These items were
reviewed and updated in light of developments since the 2009
Administrative Council meeting. Desired agenda items for future World
Radiocommunication Conference were also considered while progress on
the action plan for developing support for amateur radio frequency
allocations were reviewed and the plan updated for the period through
the WRC-12 meeting. With electromagnetic compatibility issues becoming
more and more of a problem for radio amateurs world-wide, a need was
identified for an IARU coordinator to handle this issue. A
sub-committee of the Administrative Council will develop suitable terms
of reference for this. Future involvement by the IARU in the Global
Amateur Radio Emergency Communications or GAREC Conference was
discussed. The decision was to request additional information from the
conference organizers. The theme "Amateur Radio: The first
technology-based social network" was adopted for the next World Amateur
Radio Day. That's slated for April 18, 2011. Lastly, a report was
received from the IARU 2025 Committee, which is developing a concept
for a new organizational structure for the IARU. The committee was
asked to refine its report into a form that can be presented to
member-societies for their consideration. This is only a quick overview
of what was discussed at the conference. For a more detailed report,
please take your web browser to tinyurl.com/2ayetpw For the Amateur
Radio Newsline, I'm Norm Seely, KI7UP, watching the ham radio political
scene from Scottsdale, Arizona.
--
The next scheduled in-person meeting of the IARU Administrative Council
will be held in the vicinity of Sun City, South Africa, on August 19th
and 20th of 2011. This, in conjunction with the IARU Region 1
Conference that will take place August 13th to the 18th at or near the
same location. (Southgate)
**
RADIO POLITICS: WORLD HAM RADIO LICENSE MAY BE ON ITS WAY

In other news out of the conference, Radio Amateurs of Canada reports
that a true world wide ham radio license could be in the hobby's
future.

Daniel Lamoureux, VE2KA, is the Vice President International Affairs
for Radio Amateurs of Canada. He says that El Salvador's
Superintendent of Communications surprised everyone at the end of his
speech by announcing that his nation had decided to sign the
International Amateur Radio Permit or IARP Agreement.

For those of you not aware, the IARP Agreement is designed to allow ham
radio operation in certain countries of the Americas without seeking a
special license or permit to enter and operate from that country.
According to Lamoureux, this move by El Salvador is a very significant
and means that in a short time the IARPand the pan-European Conference
of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations or CEPT International
Amateur licenses might be harmonized and become one. (RAC, VE2KA)

**

RADIOS FUTU MAJOR SURVEY OF UK HAMS LAUNCHED BY RSGB

At the recent Radio Society of Great Britain National Hamfest the U-K
national society announced the launch a major survey of all United
Kingdom radio amateurs. The objective of the survey is to gather as
much information as possible on 21st century amateur radio operation in
that nation.

According to the announcement, the survey, which is internet based,
will run for three months. The data collected will be used to determine
the direction that amateur radio takes over the next 10 to 20 years.

Full details of the survey will shortly appear in the amateur radio
press while notices of invitation will be placed on all amateur radio
reflectors and will appear shortly on the RSGB website. (RSGB)

**

RESTRUCTURING: SOUTH AFRICA FACES MAJOR LICENSE STRUCTURE CHANGES

A new round of amateur radio license restructuring appears to be taking
pace in South Africa. This, with word that ICASA, the Independent
Communications Authority of South Africa has published the draft of
proposed changes to that nations radio regulations in the September
26th Government Gazette. We have more in this report from Bruce
Tennant, K6PZW:

--

According to the South African Radio League, there are some significant
changes to regulations pertaining to telecommunications in general and
amateur radio in particular contained in the Independent Communications
Authority of South Africa draft rules revision proposal. These include
the disappearance of the Zed R license prefix and, with that, the
requirements for one of the five upgrade criteria.

Those having passed the Class A examination will be allocated a Zed-S
callsign. The South African Radio League says that it plans to discuss
with ICASA the procedure by which Zed-R license holders will be able to
upgrade to Zed-S at the next liaison meeting.

But this is not where the restructuring will end. If placed into
communications law, there will be a new age restriction placed on the
South African class B license. The Class B license will be available
only to those under the age of 20. Holders of this license will be
expected to take and pass the nations class A examination before they
reach age 25. After that, the Class B license along with its Zed U
prefix will be cancelled.

As to reaction from the South African ham radio community? The South
African Radio League says that these are significant changes to
regulations affecting to amateur radio in that nation. It says that
the organization will study the draft regulations and will hold a
discussion during the President's Net. That's slated to be held on
Sunday, October 17th.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, in Los
Angeles

--

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa says that it
will be holding a public hearing on the new rules on December 1st and
2nd. Soon after that date the final regulations are expected to be
enacted into law. (SARL)

**

BREAK 1

From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline,
heard on bulletin stations around the world including the N3EVW
repeater serving Scranton, Pennsylvania.

(5 sec pause here)

**
RESCUE RADIO: NEW NEVADA RADIO STATION TO INCLUDE HAM STATION A tower
is in place for a new broadcast radio station that will have a ham
radio connection. Amateur Radio Newsline's Don Carlson, KQ6FM, has the
details:
--
The station is KQLN on 91.3 MHz FM and will serve Alamo, Nevada, in the
Pahranagat Valley. This, from a site that sits on Nevada Highway 93
with coverage expected to be 50 miles in all directions. The owner of
KQLN is Harvey Caplan, KD7FJJ. Jerry Fuge, KC6ILH the Emergency
Coordinator in Nevada's Northern Nye County says that Caplan is a
member of the regions ARES/RACES organization that already has a
repeater located at another of Caplan's radio stations. That one is
located in the town of Pahrump. Thats a city made famous by overnight
talk show host Art Bell, W6OBB. In a recent interview, Caplan told the
Lincoln County Record that the stations transmitter site will house
both KQLN along with an amateur radio station that will have coverage
over most of the populated area of the valley. The ham station will be
battery-powered and charged by a solar power panel. Caplan told the
newspaper that almost everyone associated with the station called Alamo
Radio is not only a licensed amateur radio operator, but also a member
of Amateur Radio Emergency Service. He describes ARES as a national
organization trained to respond to community emergencies by setting up
two-way radio stations in hospitals, public safety areas, or even on
mountain tops. Kaplan notes that amateur radio can get messages through
when conventional public safety radio systems fail, or to help when
such systems may become overloaded. He says that some messages can be
urgent, to fire or police, or simply relay health and welfare
information to relatives of those in a disaster zone. Either way says
Caplan, they could be life saving. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm
Don Carlson, KQ6FM, in Reno.
--
In the newspaper article Caplan added that he hopes that others will
want to serve the community and the valley by becoming licensed radio
amateurs. He also looks forward to having KQLN-FM operating by the
time of the November elections if at all possible. (Lincoln County
Record, Nevada ARES)

**

ENFORCEMENT: TWO BOSTON UNLICENSED BROADCASTERS FINED $15000 EACH

The FCC fined two Boston area men for operating an unlicensed station
on 99.7 MHz.

The story goes back to the fall of 2009. That's when the local FCC
office received a complaint from one of the city's licensed stations
about the unlicensed stations operation. Field agents traced the signal
to an apartment building in the Mattapan neighborhood of the city. The
agents saw a roof mounted antenna with its coaxial feed line leading to
a basement window. The agents took field strength measurements and
determined that the signals exceeded the limits for unlicensed Part 15
operation.

Some time later, two men identified as Lloyd Morris and Robert Brown,
met with the FCC agents. According to the agency, it was at that
meeting that the pair admitted they owned and operated the station. The
agents explained the potential penalties for such a violation and
Morris and Brown agreed to shut off the transmitter and did.

On October 15th of 2009, the Boston Office issued Notices of Unlicensed
Operation to Morris and Brown by mail. According to the FCC it never
received a response from either man. And that's where the matter stood
until this past February when the FCC again receiving complaints that
the same unlicensed station was back on the air. Agents located the
source as the same building and again documented the antenna on the
roof, he coaxial downlead and the stations signal strength as again
exceeding what is permitted by Part 15 of its rules.

Now, acting on the evidence before it the FCC has issued Morris and
Brown each a Notice of Apparent Liability to Monetary Forfeiture in the
amount of $15,000 each. The two were given the customary 30 days to
pay or to file an appeal. (FCC)

**

ENFORCEMENT: HELP NEEDED IN FINDING CHURCHES ON 10 METER FM Illegal
broadcast transmitters in churches are again being heard across the
great Atlantic pond, and your help is needed to find them. Ger
McNamara, EI4GXB, is the Irish Radio Transmitters Society's IARU
Intruder Watch coordinator. He is asking hams and SWL's to again keep
an ear on 28.265 FM. This, based on incursions by churches on this
frequency heard throughout Europe with signals equaling 59 +20db. In
addition, McNamara days that there have also been reports of a Church
in the Dublin area transmitting on 28.030 Mhz. This is in the CW
portion of the 10 meter band. No matter where in the world you are, if
you hear either of these illegal operations, please send a detailed
report to EI4GXB. His e-mail is ei4gxb (at) gmail (dot) com. If you
live in Ireland please also copy your report to telecommunications
regulator ComReg as well. (IRTS)
**
RADIO LAW: SENATE BACKS HOUSE ON TV VOLUME LAW The United States
Senate unanimously passed a bill late Wednesday, September 27th to
require television stations and cable companies to keep commercials at
the same volume as the programs they interrupt. The legislation,
sponsored by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island requires the
FCC to adopt its recommendations as regulations within a year and begin
enforcing them a year later. The House of Representatives had already
passed similar legislation. Before it can become law, minor
differences between the two versions have to be worked out when
Congress returns to Washington after the November 2nd election. Oh yes,
the title of this law is the Commercial Advertisement Loudness
Mitigation Act, better known by the acronym CALM. (Published reports)
**
EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: CCTC IMAGE PROCESSING TO COUNTER TERRORISM

The VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland is developing image
processing technology that will improve surveillance of abandoned
luggage in public places.

Its well known that across Europe there are numerous Closed Circuit TV
systems in use in public places. These installations have the ability
to gather large amounts of image material. But at this time there are
no effective ways to analyze the mass of video data automatically and
recognize potential risk situations.

Now comes VTT which is involved in a European Union research project
called SUBITO. SUBITO is aimed at developing Information Technology
or I-T solutions. An example might be luggage left in a public place
which may contain explosives or other dangerous substances. Terror
attacks based on this tactic have already claimed taken place. Now,
with the help of an application developed as part of the project,
cameras recognize abandoned luggage automatically and rapidly identify,
locate and track the person who left it there.

VTT says that SUBITO enhances security in a cost-efficient manner,
since the new technology can be built on the foundations of existing
Closed Circuit TV systems. Individual privacy issues are thus easier to
take into account, because the end users must already take note of them
in operating the system. (Science OnLine)

**

RETRO RADIO: 6 METER AM IN THE SACRAMENTO VALLEY

If you operate 6 meter AM on the Pacific Coast, then you might want to
point your beam toward the central part of the state of California.
Larry Hogue, W6OMF, reports over the VHF Reflector that Mondays at 7 PM
Pacific time there is a gathering of the AM enthusiasts on 50.4 Mhz.
Most stations are in the Sacramento valley area with net control in the
town of Camino. And if 6 meters magically opens up as it does from
time to time, this is a chance to snag what's quickly becoming a
historic mode of VHF's past. (VHF Reflector)

**

NAMES IN THE NEWS: TALK RADIO HOST ART BELL W6OBB REPORTED ACTIVE FROM
MANILA

Some names in the news. First up this week is famed overnight talk
radio host Art Bell, W6OBB. The Ohio Penn DX Newsletter reports that
Bell has recently been heard as 4F1AB from Manila, in the Philippines
where he now lives. His activity seems to be on 20 and 15 meters SSB
after 1200 UTC. Information on QRZ.com states that he is active on 40
through 10 meters, and he often listens on 14.315 MHz. QSL's go to
W6OBB via his Nevada address. (OPDX)

**

NAMES IN NTHE NEWS: VA6KM APPOINTED AS RAC ALBERTA SECTION TRAINING
COORDINATOR

And Ken McPherson VA6KM has been appointed as Radio Amateurs of
Canada's Training Coordinator for the organizations Alberta Section.
McPherson has been a radio amateur since 1993. He served as a Naval
Combat Information Operator as well as in the Armored Reserves in
Ottawa. His background in training includes time as a Cadet Instructor,
First Aid Instructor and Scuba Instructor. (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)

**

THE CHANGING OF THE GUARD: FORMER TRI-EX TOWER OWNER FRANK CLEMENT,
W6KPC, S.K.

The changing of the guard continues with the sad news that High
Frequency antenna pioneer Frank Clement, W6KPC, of Bakersfield,
California, has become a Silent Key. Clement, age 93, died on
September 23rd as a result of a highway accident.

Frank Clement, W6KPC, was best known in ham radio circles as the former
owner of Tri-Ex Towers. He also designed and built a number of high
performance High Frequency antenna arrays over the course of several
decades.

In 2006, The Radio Club of America honored W6KPC with its Barry M.
Goldwater Amateur Radio Award. The award recognized his
accomplishments in designing and manufacturing towers and designing and
constructing his famed Yagi Sextet. The Sextet was once described as
North America's largest amateur radio phased HF Yagi system.

Frank Clement is survived by his wife, Chong Ye. A graveside service
was held on October 4 in, Delano, California. Memorial contributions
can be made to The A. J. F. Clement Memorial Fund, Kern Schools
Federal Credit Union, PO Box 9506, Bakersfield, CA 93389. (QCWA,
RCA, ARRL, others)

**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: INDONESIA TO LAUNCH TWO HAMSATS A news report out
of Jakarta says that the Indonesian National Institute of Aeronautic
and Space will launch two satellites carrying amateur radio
transponders in the second quarter of 2011. Known as LAPAN-A2 and
LAPAN-ORARI,, the report appears to indicate that the satellites will
be carried to orbit on board a domestic Indonesian manufactured rocket.
An earlier report in February indicated that LAPAN-ORARI would be
launched from India. But the article comments on the effect of import
restrictions which has led the National Institute to develop local
production to enable the country to have an independent rocket launch
facility. The entire report is on-line at tinyurl.com/lapan (Southgate,
others)
**

HAM RADIO IN SPACE: AO-51 BACK ON LINE

The AMSAT OSCAR 51 ham satellite is back on the air following a
software crash on September 26th. According to control station Mark
Hammond, N8MH, reloading software was completed and as of September
29th, and the bird is in good operating condition.

According to AMSAT, the AO-51 Command Team has configured the satellite
for simultaneous operation of both the S-band and U-band transmitters.
The tradeoff is that U-band will be low in power at around 250
milliwatts.

Also, please notice that 145.880 MHz is being used as the uplink.
However, the satellites operational configuration could be updated or
changed without much advance notice. (AMSAT)

**

DX

In D-X, word that members of the Algarve STAR DX Team will be active as
CR6A from South Lourenzo Fortress located inside Ria Formosa Natural
Park between Armona Island and Culatra Island. Activity will be on
all bands as possible on CW and SSB. This Fortress is totally submerged
except in the lower tide. QSL via CT1GFK.

NE8Z will be operational as C6AEZ from New Providence Island between
October 11th and the 16th. Activity will be on 80 through 10 meters
using CW and SSB. QSL via NE8Z.

Members of the Isle of Man Amateur Radio Society will be active as
GT1IOM from the town of Douglas between October 16-17th. This
operation is taking place during the 53rd Scouting Jamboree on the Air.
QSL via GD1MIP.

Lastly, the South Korea's Cheonan Asan Ham Club and possibly other
guest operators will be active as D7G20 between October 29th and
November 28th. This, to celebrate the upcoming G20 Summit Meering
in Seoul. Operations by D7G20 are expected to be on 80 through 6
meters using CW, SSB and RTTY. QSL to the G20 Seoul Summit 2010
Special Callsign, P.O. Box 90, Cheonan, 330-600, South Korea.

(Above from various DX news sources)

**

THAT FINAL ITEM: ELECTRONIC ARCHIVING: YOUR ARCHIVE MIGHT BE FADING

If you store important documents, sounds and photos on optical disc's,
your history may be fading away with no way to restore it. In fact,
some of the worlds most precious artifacts have already been lost as we
hear from Amateur Radio Newsline's Fred Vobbe, W8HDU:

--

W8HDU report he Audio only. Please download the MP3 version of
this newscast at www.arnewsline.org to hear it

--

Fred will be back next week to detail what needs to be done to keep all
of these audio files alive for future generations to enjoy. Meantime,
for more information on this story, please visit www.loc.ggov. (W8HDU)

**

NEWSCAST CLOSE

With thanks to Alan Labs, AMSAT, the ARRL, the CGC Communicator, CQ
Magazine, the FCC, the Library of Congress, 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'sT 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

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For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors desk, I'm David
Black, KB4KCH, at the South-East bureau in Birmingham, Alabama, saying
73 and we thank you for listening.

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