Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1741 - December 24 2010

Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1741 with a release date of
Friday, December 24th 2010 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a Q-S-T. Region 3 of the International
Telecommunications Union nappears poised to back a proposed new ham
band near 500 Kilohertz, the FCC's new rules on club station calls take
effect on February 14th, Butte Montana hams to be excluded from a new
mobile cellphone law and a radio station replaces a city's Christmas
tree that's burned down by copper thieves. Find out the details on
Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) report number 1741 coming your way right
now.


(Billboard Cart Here)

**

RESTRUCTURING: NEW LF HAM BAND ME BE REQUESTED AT WRC 2012

ITU Region 3 will likely back a proposal to create a new, low frequency
ham radio allocation near 500 Kilohertz. Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, is in
the newsroom with mo

--

The Asia Pacific Telecommunity or APT is currently hosting a gathering
of the regions telecommunications administrations. This is one of a
series of meetings intended to develop common positions for all of
Region 3 prior to the World Radiocommunication Conference to be held in
Geneva in early 2012.

Of particular interest to the amateur community is Agenda Item 1.23. It
seeks an allocation of about 15 kHz in parts of the band 415 from 525.6
kHz to the amateur service on a secondary basis. The International
Amateur Radio Union Region 3 has representatives as observers at these
preparatory meetings. While this particular meeting is not expected to
adopt final positions, it is an important step in the process leading
to any decisions that will be finalized at WRC 2012 in relation to any
new Low Frequency Amateur Service band.

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

--

For those unaware, the Asia Pacific Telecommunity is the regional
telecommunication organization that covers all types of electromagnetic
communications in ITU Region 3.

(WIA News)

**

RADIO RULES: NEW CLUB CALL RULES TAKE EFFECT FEBRUARY 14

The new FCC rules governing vanity and club station callsigns will go
into effect on February 14, 2011. On Wednesday, December 15, new
revised regulations affecting vanity and club station call signs within
the Amateur Radio Service were published in the Federal Register
meaning they are effective 60 days later.

Thirteen months ago, the FCC announced its intention of modifying Part
97 as it applies to the vanity call sign system and club station call
signs, aligning the rules to prior Commission decisions. Last month,
the Commission released a Report and Order outlining its decision.
Along with the changes to the call sign rules, the FCC also made what
it calls certain minor, non-substantive amendments to portions of the
Part 97 Amateur Service rules. You can read the entire Report and
Order on line at tinyurl.com/2d8kpu5 (FCC, ARRL)

**

RADIO LAW: BUTTE MONTANA TO EXEMPT HAMS FROM CELLPHONE BAN LAW

Butte, Montana, will have a driving while using a cellphone while
driving law with a specific exemption for ham radio operators.

According to an article in the December 17th edition of the Montana
Standard, County attorney Eileen Joyce has been asked to write
cellphone while driving ban. Joyce says she's modeling Butte's
ordinance after one already adopted by the city of Billings. That
ordinance prohibits a driver from having a cell phone or other similar
device in their hand while operating a bicycle, motorcycle, any
four-wheeled vehicle and motor vehicles.

Joyce says the soon to be Butte ordinance will not apply to people
reporting a health, safety or a police emergency. Nor does it govern
the activities of others including to emergency responders, drivers
using two-way radios for work and citizens who are federally licensed
amateur radio operators.

Joyce says she plans to have the ordinance written in time for the next
regular council meeting on January 5th. After it's introduced, the
ordinance would be read twice with the final reading as soon as
February 2nd. She adds that a public hearing is not planned, but
residents can contact their commissioner about it. Those not exempt
and found to be in violation would face a $100 fine. You can read more
on-line at tinyurl.com/26k9gc6 (Montana Standard, N1TCB)

**

RADIO LAW: CONGRESS PASSES LOCAL COMMUNITY RADIO ACT

The Local Community Radio Act passed the United States Senate on
Saturday, December 18th with a unanimous vote of approval

The bill had been held up by various senators, most of whom remained
anonymous. However, minor changes inserted in the House version
designed to protect incumbent full power FM stations earned the support
of the National Association of Broadcasters. This in turn made possible
House passage on a voice vote.

The second seal of approval from the Senate had been considered all but
a done deal. The bill now awaits President Obama's signature, which he
has committed to do. (NAB Smart Brief)

**
RADIO LAW: RADIO CLUB LOOSES HOME TO NEW UK SCHOOL REGS

Red tape has forced a United Kingdom amateur radio club out of the
school it has called home for a decade.

Great Britain's Halifax and District Amateur Radio Society has trained
new hams and operated from a physics lab at Rishworth School for the
last 10 years. Now it is set to become homeless as the Ripponden
Boarding School is forced to tighten security in line with child
welfare regulations.

School Headmaster Richard Baker said the decision was made to comply
with the National Minimum Standards for Boarding Schools and the
Independent Schools Inspectorate regulations. He said that regulations
governing child welfare can make it difficult for a school to manage
certain situations in which outsiders use the premises. At the same
time he must ensure the school remains fully compliant with regulatory
requirements.

Society chairman Martin Cox described the move as over-zealous, but
added that he did not blame the school. Instead, the group is appealing
to local businesses or groups who may be able to offer it a new home.

There are around 60 licensed radio amateurs in the Halifax and
Calderdale area. Many are part of the U-K disaster response
organization known as RAYNET. RAYNET is similar to the United States
ARES and RACES organizations, combined. (RSGB, Southgate)

**

BREAK 1

Here for you 52 weeks a year. From the United States of America, We
are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the
world including the KC4HAZ repeater network serving all of central
Florida.


(5 sec pause here)


**

RESCUE RADIO: OLD ELT SAVES COUPLE ON YACHT AND GETS THEM FINED

A couple rescued by Australian emergency services has been fined almost
$1,000 by regional police for not having the correct emergency
equipment on their yacht.

The 62 year-old woman and a 71 year-old man made it back safely to Port
Pirie in Southern Australia after their boat was battered by storms.
The unregistered yacht's navigation devices were damaged while sailing
in the Spencer Gulf and the couple were not carrying any flares.
However they managed to contact police using an outdated distress radio
beacon.

Police say the fines serve as a warning to other boat owners to have
the proper safety equipment on board. The Southern Australia Transport
Department has been informed and may take further action against the
skipper. (WIA News)

**

HAM RADIO IN PRINT: OFF THE GRID NEWS RECOMMENDS HAM RADIO

Ham radio is being feature in the current issue of the e-zine Off Thre
Grid News. According to an op-ed article, by David M Hill, Sr., W4DMH,
people often ask him what the best option is for off-grid communication
is.

Hill responds by saying that to him, there is only one answer to this
question that makes sense to him. That being what he calls the
wonderful world of amateur radio or ham radio.

Hill goes on to note that ham radio is the only legal form of two-way
radio that you can get involved in that will provide you with all
levels of communication ability. He says that no other radio service
can provide all of this to you, and it's very simple to get involved in
ham radio today.

This very charming and informative article can be read by taking your
web browser to tinyurl.com/hamfun (Via e-mail)

**

HAM RADIO ON HE WWW: TWO NEW IPHONE APS FOR HAMS ON THE GO

Amateur radio enthusiasts who travel to the U-K and own an iPhone may
find two new applications or apps from Mark Turner, G7LEU very useful.
First is Ham Dashboard which is designed for hams on the move or away
from home.

Ham Dashboard shows a searchable list of repeaters in the UK and
Ireland, along with details of input and output frequencies, a map, and
a handy bearing arrow for each system. It also includes a basic APRS
tracker that allows your position to be sent to the APRS-IS network.
You find this one at the iTunes store at tinyurl.com/2af5rsg.

Meantime Ham Tracker allows radio amateurs on the move to send location
updates to the Internet side of APRS from their mobile device. Once
sent, your position can be tracked using services such as aprs dot fi.
Using Ham Tracker makes it easy to send an email containing an aprs dot
fi tracking link for your callsign or a map link showing your current
location. This one is also at the iTunes store at tinyurl.com/2c8f4uw.
More details and screen shots of botg aps are on line at www dot
kramstuff dot com. (G7LEU)

**

BROKEN TECHNOLOGY: CRACKED DROID FACEPLATE INJURES CELLPHONE USER

And now the strange story of another self destructing cellular smart
phone. Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF, has the details:

--

A north Texas man talking on his cell phone was rushed to a hospital
after thedisplay on his phone apparently exploded on Thursday morning,
December 2nd. According to news reports, man said he had just finished
a call when he said he heard a loud popping noise followed by blood
trickling down his face.

His ear was bleeding profusely and he was transported to the emergency
room at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas. There he received four
stitches but suffered no hearing loss.

Later on inspection it was found that the glass faceplate on the LCD
display of the two day old Motorola Droid smart phone apparently
shattered. The phone still appeared to be functioning and its battery
was intact.

On Thursday evening, Motorola issued at statement non what had
transpired. It said - and we quote: "Motorola's priority is, and
always has been the safety of our customers, and all Motorola products
are designed, manufactured and tested to meet or exceed international
and local standards for consumer safety. We will reach out to the
consumer and investigate this thoroughly."

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF, reporting.

--

While an self destructing L-C-D displays on a cellular phone is a rare
occurrence, it is not unique. Thankfully, most such accidents happen
when the phone is in charging mode rather than in use. (KHOU, WFAA,
other reports)

**

NAMES IN THE NEWS: W7EQI TO CHAIR HOUSE ENERGY AND COMMUNICTIONS

United States Representative Greg Walden, W7EQI, of Oregon used Morse
code when he tweeted the news to his followers on Twitter that he had
been named Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's
Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.

The full text of Walden's Twitter message read - and we quote: "Will
chair comm and tech sub 73s w7eqi"

In a follow-up message Walden explained that hisst tweet was Morse code
and that it was just the ham radio operator in him having fun.

Walden is one of two ham radio operators in Congress. The other is Rep.
Mike Ross, WD5DVR from Arkansas.

Among other things, the subcommittee Walden will chair has
responsibilities that include oversight of the FCC. (Worldradio OnLine
Bulletin)

**

NAMES IN THE NEWS: DUB CHARMAN G6CJ AERIAL CIRCUS NOW ON VIDEO

If you are in need of an interesting program for your next radio club
meeting, listen up. The British Amateur Television Club has made
available on-line a historic video of Dud Charman, G6CJ, and his world
famous Aerial Circus.

Dud Charman G6CJ was the United Kingdom's antenna guru for amateur
radio aerials. There was nothing Dud did not know about the subject
anf it was this knowledge that was used to bring the subject to life in
a lecture known as The Aerial Circus.

The very last time G6CJ performed this lecture was in 1981. The Bristol
ATV group recorded it using an early Ampex video recorder. Later, with
a little help from broadcaster HTV, it was copied and edited to 1" Type
C and then vaulted to preserve its historic value

This very interesting piece of ham radio history has been in the
British Amateur Television Club archive since the 1980's. Now it has
been made available for public showing. To watch it online go to
www.batc.tv and click on the "Archive" icon. Then select Dud Charman
which is near the bottom of the drop down list.

A copy of the video in Adobe Flash format can also be downloaded at
tinyurl.com/22q5pvc (Southgate)

**

NAMES IN THE NEWS: THE TED RANDALL WB8PUM CHRISTMAS HAM RADIO SHOW

And if you are hearing this before Christmas, then you might want to
know that Ted Randall, WB8PUM, will be hosting an international radio
show on the evening of Christmas Day and you can be part of it.

Ted has set up a special phone line for ARRL Public Information
Officers, clubs and individuals to call in and leave their season's
greetings. You can call in through Christmas Day. These will be played
during the broadcast.

The number is area code 615-547-9520. Just call in and leave your
greeting for broadcast during the show that will air live on WBCQ on
7.415 MHz and WTWW on 9.480 from 8 p.m to 2 a.m. Eastern Standard
time. It will also be live streamed on iTunes as well. Look for more
information on line at www.tedrandall.com. (Various)

**

BREAK 2

News never stops and neither do we. 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: HAM DESIGNS STEALTH RADIO ANTENNA FOR NEW CAMARO

The 2011 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible boasts new AM/FM antenna
technology developed by a Michigan ham radio operator and his non-ham
design partner.

Supporters of the vehicle spoke out negatively after leaked photos of
the new Camaro revealed an AM/FM whip antenna on the rear deck lid. So
General Motors turned to ham radio operator and antenna expert Don
Hibbard, W8BDH, to help redesign the car's antenna system.

Hibbard and colleague Gregg Kittinger were challenged to conceal the
AM/FM antenna without sacrificing radio reception. After much research
they came up with a new tri-band antenna design mounted inside the cars
trunk airflow spoiler. More on how this was accomplished is on-line at
tinyurl.com/29pqgn2. (C-Net, Auto Design News, Others)

**

EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: FIRST MEASUREMENTS MADE OF MAGNETIC FIELD IN
EARTHS CORE

A University of California at Berkeley geophysicist has made the
first-ever measurement of the strength of the magnetic field inside
Earth's core at 1,800 miles underground.

Bruce A. Buffett, professor of earth and planetary science at UC
Berkeley is the study's author. He found that the magnetic field
strength is 25 Gauss, or 50 times stronger than the magnetic field at
the surface that makes compass needles align north-south. Though this
number is in the middle of the range geophysicists predict, it puts
constraints on the identity of the heat sources in the core that keep
the planets internal dynamo running to maintain this magnetic field.

Professor Buffett indicates that the result is not controversial, but
do rule out a very weak magnetic field and argues against a very strong
one. Buffett says that a weak field of 5 Gauss or so would imply that
little heat is being supplied by radioactive decay. On the other hand
a strong field on the order of 100 Gauss, would imply a large
contribution from radioactive decay.

The results are published in the December 16th issue of the journal
Naturewith excerpts in Science Daily. More on this fascinating research
can be found at tinyurl.com/2eh9n42. (Science Daily)

**

EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: IBM DEVELOPS NEW CMOS TECHNOLOGY

Researchers at IBM have unveiled a chip technology called CMOS
Integrated Silicon Nanophotonics, integrating electrical and optical
devices on the same piece of silicon.

According to IBM, this means computer chips will be able to communicate
using pulses of light instead of electrical signals, boosting power
efficiency and speed, while miniaturizing the chips themselves. IBM
claims this new CMOS technology provides at least a ten fold
improvement in integration density than is feasible with current
manufacturing techniques.

For more information please take your web browser to
inyurl.com/29tr3na. (ZL1GWE)

**

HAM RADIO IN SPACE: STRAIGHT KEY NIGHT ON OSCAR 2011

Amsat says that you are cordially invited to participate in Straight
Key Night on OSCAR 2011. There are no rules, no scoring and no logs
required. Just operate Morse on any OSCAR satellite using a straight
hand key, from 0000 UTC to 2400 UTC on January 1st. This, while
working as many Straight Key Night stations as you can find.

In keeping with the friendly nature of this event, each participant is
asked to nominate one of the operators worked for "Best Fist." Please
send your nomination to via email to w2rs (at) amsat (dot) org. Those
nominated will be recognized in an Amsat News Service bulletin to be
published in early February, and also in an upcoming issue of the AMSAT
Journal.

This year's event is dedicated to the memory of Dick Peacock, W2GFF,
who became a Silent Key in 2010 at age 91. (ANS)

**

DXCC UPDATE: TWO NEW OPERATIONS APPROVED

Bill Moore, NC1L, the ARRL Awards Branch Manager, reports that two more
operations hve been approved for DXCC credit. These are the 7Z1HB from
Saudi Arabia that began in 2007 and continues to the present. The
other is the H40HP Temotu Provinceo peration that took place in 2009.

Moore says that if you had these operations rejected in a recent
application, please send an E-mail to the ARRL DXCC Desk. You likely
will not get a direct response but updated results will appear in
Logbook of The World accounts, as well as online on the daily listings.
(ARRL)

**

DX

In DX, DG1FK and DK9FN will be active from the rare DXCC entity of
Temotu from December 21st through January 3rd. They will use the calls
H40FK and H40FN from the island of Nendo. QSL this one as directed on
the air

DL5RMH will be active portable TG9 from Guatemala City through January
13th. Activity will be CW only on 40 through 10 meters with preference
given to 30 meters. QSL cards should be sent via bureau or direct to
his home callsign.

G7BXU is on the air as 9L1BXU from Freetown in Sierra Leone from until
January 7th. He is using a FT-897 and a G5RV antenna. QSL via G7BXU.

AB7FS is on the air as E51AND from Rarotonga. He will be on the island
through January 1st. QSL via home callsign.

ZS1HF stroke ZS8M on Marion Island is partially QRT for a while until
he finds a way around some e electronic interference from the new base.
He thinks it may be from the fire alarm system and the air handling
units. Once switched on, they cause severe broad band interference,
preventing successful HF operations, even on the commercial
frequencies.

Lastly, K8LJG will be active stroke 4 from Amelia Island until January
4th. He will operate SSB and CW on or around the Islands on the Air
frequencies. Again, QSL this one via his home call.

(Above from various DX news sources)

**

THAT FINAL ITEM: RADIO STATION REPLACES BURNED DOWN CITY CHRISTMAS
TREE

And finally this week, when thieves attempting to steal wire
accidentally burned down Birmingham, Alabama's official Christmas
Tree, it was radio to the rescue. Amateur Radio Newsline's David
Black, KB4KCH, is at the South-East bureau with the details on this
holiday helping hand and he has them in holiday rhyme:

--

It was ten nights before Christmas, and all through the city, lights,
trees and decorations were looking very pretty.

The city's 35-foot tree stood proudly in the park.... But evil grinches
struck while it was still dark.

The bandits noticed copper attached to insulation made of plastic; If
they could get the copper separated from that stuff, they thought it
would be fantastic.

They used gasoline to try get to their coveted wire, Instead, by
mistake, they wound up starting a fire.

In their haste to make off with copper that's worth quite a bit per
pound, the 75-hundred dollar tree wound up burning to the ground.

The situation was anything but funny, especially since the city had no
tree replacement money.

But this is not a story that is all sad. A Birmingham Radio Station
vowed, the city would not be had.

Radio station KISS-98.7 said we'll bring the city residents some glee.
We'll do it, they said, by getting a new tree.

--

Kori White: "Christmas is something that's held so sacred to so many
people and that's one symbol we are not going to let anybody take
away."

--

Kori White is the radio station's operations manager. He helped
arrange finding a replacement tree and having it delivered less than 12
hours after the first tree had burned.

--

Kori White: " When the tree rolled up, there were some individuals in
the park and this lady ran up to me and she said: `Are you guys going
to put the Christmas Tree back up?'

And I said: "Of coarse, there it is right there."

And she just started crying."

--

People could ask why even bother getting a new tree? Why deal with it?

But White says this is Christmas, and he wouldn't hear it.

--

Kori White: "Everybody is excited that we were able to do it and do it
so quickly because a lot of times you have companies and governments
that get caught so much in the bureaucracy that nothing is going to
happen. We said: `Forget about it. We are just going make it happen.'

"No matter the cost. No matter what we need to do, we were going to put
this joy back into the city of Birmingham. And that's exactly what we
did."

--

For a time, this copper caper might have left residents feeling in a
pinch. But in Birmingham at Christmas, being a grinch is no cinch.

From Birmingham, I'm David Black, KB4KCH, for the Amateur Radio
Newsline.

--

Yet another case where radio creates joy from sadness and gives that
happiness freely to an entire community. (RW, 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
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, wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from
the Amateur Radio Newsline. 73 and we thank you for listening.

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