Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1731 - October 15 2010

Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1731 with a release date of
Friday, October 15 2010 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a Q-S-T. Ham radio plays a role in the Chilean mine
rescue, Radio Amateurs of Canada announces a survey for the hobby's
future, Scouting celebrates the 2010 Jamboree on the air and a historic
college amateur radio station is back on the air. Find out the details
on Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) report number 1731 coming your way right
now.


(Billboard Cart Here)

**

RESCUE RADIO: AMATEUR RADIO PLAYS ROLE IN SUPPORT OF CHILE MINE RESCUE

Amateur radio appears to have played a key supporting role in the
rescue of 33 miners trapped beneath Chilean soil for 69 days. Bill
Pasternak, WA6ITF, is in the newsroom with the latest:

--

Its being called the miracle of miracles. This as the world watched
live as 33 Chilean miners trapped some 2400 feet underground for 69
days were brought to the surface one at a time. This beginning on
October 13th and ending on October 14th using a tiny rescue capsule
dubbed the Phoenix and pulled by a hoist.

The saga began when the mine in San Jose, near the city of Copiapo
collapsed on August 5th and ended on October 14th when the last miner
rose to the surface at 0055 UTC. And while news reports heralded the
success of the rescuers, lost was the small but important contributions
made by that nations radio amateurs.

But Chilian hams were there throughout the entire ordeal doing what
they do best. That being another line of needed communications after
being called upon to provide it.

According to a report posted to the IARU Region 2 website by Ramon
Santoyo, XE1KK, it was the Radio Cub de Chile and the Radio Club
Copiapo that provided communication support between the authorities and
emergency equipment operators inside the San Jose Mine complex. Chilean
hams also provided liaison between the families of the trapped miners
and authorities as the rescue coordination center in Copiap¢.

Perhaps the most important job performed by the Chilean radio amateurs
was to establish an amateur radio communication system into the mine
complex itself. The ARRL reports some of the 80 members of Radio Club
Copiapo installed the equipment and then manned it with club volunteers
beginning back on August 5th when the mine collapse took place. This
radio system, together with mobile police stations, hospitals and fire
battalions, kept everyone abreast of all the needs and urgent
requirements of all involved in the rescue work.

No, the hams of Chile were not shown on the front pasge of the New York
Time or the Chicago Tribune. Nor were they featured on NBC Nightly
news. Their part of the story has been low key until now. None the
less it was a job well done by amateur radio volunteers giving of
themselves as hams do when their skill and services are needed. And
for radio amateurs, that's what public service is all about.

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

--

Until the news release by XE1KK it was not known that ham radio was
involved in this mining rescue. (IARU-R2, ARRL, ARNewsline(tm))

**

RESTRUCTURING: RADIO AMATEURS OF CANADA SURVEY FOR ITS FUTURE

Seemingly following in the footsteps of the Radio Society of Great
Britain, the Board and Executive of the Radio Amateurs of Canada is
asking current, past and future potential members as well as amateur
radio clubs to provide thoughts and recommendations on the future
of the hobby in that nation. This, by responding to a set of questions
posted to the organizations website by October 20th.

Responses will be considered at a meeting at the end of October to
develop a vision for the future of Radio Amateurs of Canada in the 21st
century. In addition they will be establishing a two year operational
plan for 2011 and 2012. Canadian hams wishing to take part in the
survey should take their web browser to tinyurl.com/2c8l8wm and follow
the instructions found there.

As reported here last week, the Radio Society of Great Britain has
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. (RAC)

**
INTRUDER WATCH: NEW WAY TO REPORT HAM-BAND INTRUDERS The latest issue
of the International Amateur Radio Union's Region 1 Monitoring System
newsletter is asking hams to use its new online 'Intruder Logger' and
'Intruder Alert System' to file reports of unwanted users of the ham
radio bands. Those providing input should include source, time in UTC
and mode being used. Short time intruders should be sent to the
Intruder Logger. More on this including on-line reporting forms can be
found at the following URL's: IARU R1 Intruder Logger:
http://peditio.net/intruder/bluechat.cgi IARU R1 Intruder Alert System
Email Reflector:
http://iaru-r1.org/mailman/listinfo/...rt_iaru-r1.org (IARU
Region 1)
**
RADIO SCOUTING: GROUP CELEBRATES 20 YEARS OF JOTA

And around the world the 2010 Scouting Jamboree on the Air is underway
as we go to air. For one group its the 20th year it has been taking
part. Amateur Radio Newsline's Mark Abramowicz, NT3V- has the rest of
the story:

--

They call themselves the SPARK Lodge and they're based at the Musser
Scout Reservation outside of Green Lane in Montgomery County in
suburban Philadelphia.

Rick Blank, WB3BSA, is president of the organization, which actually is
a Scouting Venture Crew with its own call sign -K3BSA.

He says it's a special weekend not just because of the 20th anniversary
of J-O-T-A operations for the group, but still being around to offer
young people a program that uses amateur radio to teach international
brotherhood is special.

"A lot of our contacts have been over in Europe or South America and
when we get a station that we can talk to and put the kids on in a
far-away place that's really a special thing because the kids get a
really good charge out of that," Blank says.

He credits the longevity of the group to Philadelphia Scout officials
who have been supportive of its efforts over the years and a dedicated
group of ham operators.

"Well it really is a combination of all the time and effort that the
volunteers have put into the building, the enthusiasm that the Scouts
get about radio, and communications," Blank says.

"You know being out there in the camp in the nice facility that we
turned that building is really just kind of special. We refer to the
building now - it used to be called Cook's Cabin - we now call it SPARK
Lodge and SPARK, for us, stands for Scouts Practicing Amateur Radio
Knowledge."

Blank says SPARK Lodge has a very functionable set-up.

"We have two high-frequency operating positions, and those two
operating positions we can use single-sideband and digital modes, Morse
Code, and PSK-31 or Phase-Shift-Keying," Blank explains. "And, some of
the other operating positions we have VHF, UHF, where we can use a
computer to send and receive email through packet radio."

Wires serve as antennas, he says, and wind and ice storms do
occasionally play havoc with those.

In addition to JOTA, Blank says SPARK Lodge also offers a year-round
program of radio demonstrations at the camp and on special weekends
provides a program for Radio merit badge as well as Computers, and
Electricity. And, he even says, it's branching out into Railroading.

But Blank says JOTA will always be the premiere event for SPARK Lodge.

"Those that can participate are Scouts of all ages - Girl Scouts,
Brownies, Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Venturers, Explorers - they can all
come up and take part in the activity," Blank says. "It's an
international Scouting event. It's the largest event in Scouting each
year with nearly 500,000 Scouts participating worldwide."

You can learn more about SPARK Lodge by going to their website:
www.k3bsa.org.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mark Abrams, NT3V, in Philadelphia.

--

And less we forget, if you happen to hear this weeks newscast before
the 2010 Jamboree on the Air comes to an end, please get on the air and
say hello to the scouts taking part, worldwide. (NT3V, ARNewsline(tm))

**

BREAK 1

From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline,
heard on bulletin stations around the world including the W9HSY
repeater serving Madison Wisconsin.

(5 sec pause here)


**

ENFORCEMENT: KJ6CEY SENTENCED FOR JAMMING POLICE

An amateur radio operator from San Jacinto, California, who had
admitted making a series of transmissions threatening the lives of
local police officers and fire department personnel has learned her
fate. Amateur Radio Newsline's Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, has the details:

--

On Friday, October 8th twenty-nine year old Irene Levy, KJ6CEY, pleaded
guilty to seven charges involving interference to the Hemet California
police and the Riverside County Fire Department. A judge in the city of
Murrieta sentenced her to three years probation and gave her credit for
the time she spent in jail since her arrest last spring. She was also
ordered to undergo psychiatric care.

As previously reported here on Amateur Radio Newsline, last May 3rd
police closed in on KJ6CEY just seconds after she made a transmission
on a Hemet police frequency using a commercial H-T. Investigators from
the Hemet Police Department as well as Cal Fire said that the
unauthorized, random transmissions were made from Levy's mobile home in
San Jacinto. Her radio transmissions, which included bomb threats, were
monitored on frequencies used by the Hemet police and the Riverside
County Fire Department and that they went beyond nuisance calls.

At that time, Hemet Police Sargent Mark Richards was quoted by The
Press-Enterprise newspaper in Riverside as saying Levy disguised her
voice as a man and made references to the deaths of police and
firefighters and made bomb threats. He said some of the transmissions
came during a Cal Fire search and rescue call, a major traffic
accident, and a brush fire.

Richards report stated the transmissions began May 1stand ended in the
early morning hours of May 3rd. He said in the report that
direction-finding equipment helped locate Levy, who in one of her
transmissions on May 2 suggested "police would never find her."
Richards report said that during the raid on her trailer, police seized
11 radios, seven scanners, radio frequency lists, computer equipment
and other miscellaneous radio gear. He says in the report they also
seized Levy's Technician class amateur radio license, showing it had
been issued in September 2009.

On her now removed QRZ.com bio page, Irene Levy had claimed to have a
General Mobile Radio Service license, but the call sign attached to it
is actually registered to her husband, Michael Levy KE6ALV. She had
also claimed to have monitored the Keller Peak repeater as well as the
Hemet repeaters. Levy also said in that now gone QRZ bio she was active
on Citizens Band radio prior to getting married and described herself
as a CB'er at heart.

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

--

But Irene Levy's problems may be far from over. At this point the FCC
has not yet entered into the matter. If it does and decides to cite
KJ6CEY, she could face a fine, a license suspension or even a hearing
to determine if she should be permitted to continue as an FCC amateur
radio licensee. (Inland Empire News, Press-Enterprise,
ARNewsline(tm))

**

ENFORCEMENT: FLORIDA SHERIFF TAKES UNLICENSED BROADCASTER OFF THE AIR

Listeners of two South Florida radio stations got a surprise when their
Christian and classical music stations were was interrupted with what
authorities called rap music and profane language. On Thursday,
October 7th, authorities found out why.

According to investigators, an unlicensed broadcaster had set up shop
on a frequency between to twl licensed stations. The Broward County
Sheriff's Office says the illegal signal came from a Lauderdale Lakes
home where an aspiring rapper had attached a laptop, audio mixer and
computer. This gear in turn ded a transmitter and antenna.

The station called itself Trap Radio was allegedly operated by Mikhaul
Rhodd. Rhodd has been charged under Florida state law with
unauthorized transmission or interference with public or commercial
radio. At airtime, it's not known if the FCC has become involved in
this case.

More is on-line at
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articl.../08/20101008pi
rate-radio-station.html#ixzz11q1BTPWK) (AZcentral.com)

**

ENFORCEMENT: NEW ZEALAND LOW POWER FM BROADCASTER FINED FOR
INTERFERING WITH AIR TRAFFIC COMMUNICATIONS A Christchurch, New Zealand
man who ran a hobby radio station has been fined $4000 and had his
equipment confiscated after boosting his transmitter power to a level
that interfered with an air traffic control frequency. According to
news reports from down-under, Jeffrey Knowles owned low power
non-commercial radio station Sounds FM which has now been shut down.
When it was on the air, it legally broadcast music during the day and
streamed BBC programs at night to the Shirley, Papanui and Parklands
suburbs of Cristchurch. And in the past it had earned Knowles a
community service award. Now, the 48 year old Knowles has admitted in
Christchurch District Court he interfered with the air traffic control
radio frequency. This, by broadcasting with excessive power using
equipment that had a fault with its overall frequency stability.
Knowles also admitted to a charge under the New ealand Radio
Communications Act of transmitting outside the terms of his license. As
a result, his broadcasts caused the closure of an air traffic frequency
for 24 hours l,ast February by interfering with transmissions between
aircraft and the control tower. Under New Zealand law, Knowles station
is permitted to run as a low power FM hobby station. But in making its
case, government prosecutors argued he increased the power to reach up
to 45,000 listeners. The New Zealand Radio Broadcasters' Association
reported to the court that they were losing advertising revenue because
of Knowles station taking potential listeners away from commercial
stations. Defense counsel Clayton Williams said Knowles accepted the
equipment was faulty and did not oppose it being forfeited. He did
however dispute the concerns about the amount of power used. In
rendering his decision, Judge Gary MacAskill said Knowles had been
warned that his broadcasting gear was faulty but had done nothing about
it. He then imposed a fine of $4000 as well as court costs of $130
and a solicitor's fee of $250. Its unknown if Knowles will appeal.
Also while a version of this story circulating on the Internet blogs
identified Knowles as being a ham radio operator, a check of licenses
shows that this is not the case. (Ontago Daily Times via ZL2BHF)
**

NTIA AWARDS $20 MILLION TO UPGRADE EMERGENCY RADIO AND TELEVISION

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has
issued approximately $20.45 million worth of Public Telecommunications
Facilities Program grants so far this year. A total of 126 projects
have been funded. Of those, 72 grants worth $9.9 million are to
replace equipment at public radio and television stations while 30
grants for some $4.6 million will extend new public radio serviced.

Sixteen digital conversion grants were awarded for television,
representing just over $4 million. Three digital conversion grants
totaling a little over $202,000 were awarded for radio.

With the radio grants, stations in Arcata and San Diego will be able to
purchase digital production equipment. Also, a station in Baton Rouge,
Louisiana will be able establish an HD Radio multicast service. All
together, the new radio service grants will extend service to a
potential 500,000 people and provide additional service to almost 1.2
million other listeners.

Thirty-eight projects totaling more than $2.8 million will replace
urgently needed equipment at public radio stations. One of these is a
$20,407 grant to Cumberland Communities Communications Corporation. It
was awarded on an emergency basis to replace an antenna that suffered
catastrophic failure as a result of a lighting strike. (NTIA Release
via RW)

**

WORLDBEAT: CANADIAN SET OCTOBER 16 AND 17

While its short warning, word that the Canadian Section Emergency Test
or SET is coming the weekend, October 16 and 17. Radio Amateurs of
Canada says that this is a great opportunity for ARES groups to
practice the delivery of assistance to Canadian municipalities and
served agencies. More in formation is on-line at www.rac.ca. (RAC)

**

RADIO TECHNOLOGY: NEW BLUETOOTH BASED TELE-MEDICAL SYSTEM ANNOUNCED

A telemedicine communications system based on a modified version of the
Bluetooth wireless protocol can transfer patient data almost four times
as fast as conventional Bluetooth. This, without intermittent
connectivity problems according to a paper in the forthcoming issue of
the International Journal of Medical Engineering and Informatics.

A team lead by two researchers at the PSG College of Technology in
India, have devised a dedicated embedded system that uses the
short-range Bluetooth wireless networking protocol to connect patient
data to the network and then on to the healthcare provider. This
avoids the problem of trying to ensure that a viable connection between
monitoring devices and the internet or cellular phone network is
maintained constantly.

The team has already demonstrated a specific application of this
technology. This one involved the transfer of patient medical images
C-T scans to the healthcare provider's personal digital assistant
device as an example of how Bluetooth might work for telemedicine. The
team says that tests with these images of approximately 1.5 megabytes
can be transferred using their modified Bluetooth system in just 120
seconds, as opposed to the 400 seconds for standard Bluetooth
connections. (Science Daily, Science OnLine, others)

**

HAM RADIO TECHNOLOGY: NEW WB4MAK SDR RECEIVER IN ATLANTA GEORGIA

Mack Mc Cormick, WB4MAK, of Atlanta, Georgia, has made available a
web-based 80, 40 and 20 meter SDR based receiver. We gave it a try
from the Newsline office. Its tuning is very responsive and the first
station we came across on 20 meters turned out to be a guest operator
at the ARRL Headquarters station W1AW in Newington Connecticut. Take a
listen:

-SDR audio. Please download the MP3 version of this newscast at
www.arnewsline.org to hear it. -

We also heard W1AW contacting W6RO on board the Queen Mary ocean liner
that's docked in Long Beach, California, but due to band conditions, we
only heard the W1AW side of the contact.

-SDR Audio. Please download the MP3 version of this newscast at
www.arnewsline.org to hear it. -

The WB4MAK SDR receiver can be a handy tool to check out radio
propagation to mthe South-Eastern United States by anyone with a hifg
speed Internet connection. You will find it on line at
http://wb4mak.com. (Southgate)

**

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)

**

PRESERVING THE PAST: ELECTRONIC ARCHIVING: YOUR ARCHIVE MIGHT BE
FADING - PART II

Last week, Fred Vobbe, W8HDU, reported on a report detailing problems
being faced by audio preservationists in keeping alive mans history in
sound. This, as digital files corrupt or simply fade away mainly
due to the instability of optical storage media. In other words CD's
and DVD's that many thought would last hundreds of years are starting
to loose data in a decade or less. Now Fred is back to detail the
steps that the Library of Congress and other archivists are taking to
insure that audios past will not be lost:

-

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

-

If you find this topic of interest, much more on it can be found
on-line at www.loc.gov. (W8HDU)

**

CHALLENGER LEARNING CENTER INAUGURATES HAM STATION In ham radio space
related news word that an amateur radio satellite ground station has
been opened at the Challenger Learning Center in Oregon, Ohio.
According to AMSAT North America the station will stimulate students'
interest in math and science and will allow the youth oriented to
contacts with the the Astronauts and Cosmonauts on-board the
International Space Station. The Challenger Learning Center will
provide lesson plans and activities on amateur radio to go along with
the new ground station. It will also use the system during camps and
workshops to demonstrate ham radio contacts to space. The Challenger
Center in Oregon, Ohio is part of a series of space and science
education centers around the world. The Challenger Center organization
is an international, not-for-profit education group that was founded by
the families of the astronauts lost during the last flight of the
Challenger Space Shuttle in 1986. The station came at the Ohio location
came on line on Monday October 4th. More is on line at
tinyurl.com/29ljn7o (AMSAT-NA)
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: ARISSAT-1 ENROUTE TO RUSSIA An update on the
ARISSat-1 project. Word from Project Manager, Gould Smith, WA4SXM,
that the former Suit-Sat 2 flight package was shipped from Orlando,
Florida to the Johnson Space Center in Houston and has arrived. From
there it goes to Russia where will have the Kursk experiment added to
the space frame. It will then be made ready for transport to the
International Space Station next January. Deployment into space should
take place during a space walk slated for February of 2011. (ARISS)
**
DX

In DX, keep an ear open for Look for W5JON, operating as V47JA, from
the Calypso Bay, on St. Kitts, from October 20th to November 10th. His
hillside location will overlook the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean.
He plans to be active on 160 through 10 including 60 meters. QSL to
W5JON at his Callbook address.

The planned DXpedition to Jarvis Island has postponed. The Team has
announced that due to the time required to establish the rules for
amateur radio operation in the refuge, the last selection date, and the
lead time required to schedule and prepare the MV Braveheart, the
expedition has been postponed one year until 2011 November. Leaders
say that November remains the best month to visit Jarvis Island from a
propagation standpoint, with the largest combination of openings
predicted to Europe on both 160 and 80 as well as on the 12 and 10
meter bands.

ON5JV and ON6AK will be active portable EA8 from Tijoco Bajo, on
Tenerife Island between November 26th of this year and February 23rd of
2011. Operations will be on 40 through 10 meters during their evenings
using CW and SSB. QSL via their home callsigns, either direct or via
the bureau.

PA0RRS is active as 9M2MRS from Penang Island and will be there through
April of 2011. Operations so far has been mainly on 20 and 17 meters
CW. QSL to Richard Smeets, PA0RRS at his Netherlands Callbook address.

VE7RSV, will be operational from Broughton Island during the W/VE
Islands Contest on October 23rd and 24th. His activity will be on all
bands using SSB only. QSL direct to VE7RSV at his address on QRZ.com.

Time is running out to work VU3BPZ as AT10BP. He is the communications
manager of the 29th Indian Expedition at the Antarctic Maitri Base
station. He and his team have less than 2 months remaining on the
island. Operations by AT10BP are SSB only and he is usually on the air
around 1700 U-T-C somewhere between 14.276 to 14.280 MHz. QSL direct
only via I1HYW.

(Above from various DX news sources.)

**

THAT FINAL ITEM: W7ASU BACK ON THE AIR FROM ASU

And finally this week, Arizona State University radio club station
W7ASU is back on the air after a long hiatus. Amateur Radio Newsline's
Norm Seeley, KI7UP, has the details.

--

W7ASU dates back to the 1930s, and actually is one of Arizona State
University's oldest student clubs. According to Nicholas Radtke,
KC7MOD, the current president of W7ASU, there was a station on campus,
with some breaks, until about 15 years ago. The clubOs station was in
the old Technology Building with two towers and multiple antennas on
top of the building. That building is now Psychology North.

Unfortunately, a series of events contributed to the clubOs going into
limbo. First, through misunderstandings, the towers and antenna were
removed and destroyed during two separate re-roofing projects. Second,
most of the club members graduated and the advisers retired, leaving no
one to lead the group through change. And finally, because of tight
space on campus, the clubOs room was given to an academic department.

Radtke, who is a doctoral candidate in computer science explained that
around 1997, a new group of students revived the club, and sponsored
one major event per semester. They would put an antenna on the
third-floor balcony of the Student Services Building, with the station
out in front. They also tried doing a few events at club members'
houses, using their personal ham radio stations. Attendance at these
events was abysmal, with a common complaint being that members couldn't
get to events off campus.

In February 2007, the Student Media offered the club space in Matthews
Center, and the hams obtained permission to put up a temporary antenna
for several events. But the club still needed a permanent antenna to
operate, and that was not to be at Matthews Center.

In June of 2008, University space planners suggested that the club
think about using several rooms in the Community Services Building,
where they would be able to put up an antenna. Soon after, the family
of Richard S. Juvet Jr., WB7CDK, who had been the clubOs faculty
adviser in the 1970s and ¥80s, donated a tower and antenna and other
equipment from his estate.

Now, with its shack set up and a tower in place right beside the
Community Services Building, W7ASU is as they say (tm) ready to roll.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Norm Seeley, KI7UP, not to far away
in Scottsdale, Arizona.

--

The club still hopes to keep its room in Matthews Center to set up
equipment to remotely control the station in the Community Services
Building. The full story of the rebirth of the Arizona State
University radio club station W7ASU is on-line at tinyurl.com/w7asu
(ASU Newsletter)

**

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'sT only official website located at www (dot) arnewsline
(dot) org. You can also write to us or support us at Amateur Radio
Newsline(tm), 28197 Robin Avenue, Santa Clarita California, 91350

Please do not forget that in association with the Newark Amateur Radio
Society that we are currently conducting a survey to determine where
these weekly Amateur Radio Newsline reports are replayed on the air. If
you are a bulletin station that transmits these weekly newscasts or a
listener who has the following information, we need you to supply to us
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thats arnschedule (at) gmail (dot) com. As always we thank you for
your assistance in this survey.

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

Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.