NEWSLINE RADIO - CBBS EDITION #75 - POSTED 06/07/93 **************************************************************** * * * * * ***** * * **** * ***** * * ***** * * ** * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * *** * ** * *** * * * * * *** * * * ** * * ** * * * * * ** * * * * * ***** * * **** ***** ***** * * ***** * * * * **** * **** ***** *** * * * * * * * * * * * * * **** ***** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * **** ***** *** * * * **************************************************************** The following is late news about Amateur Radio for Radio Amateurs as prepared from NEWSLINE RADIO scripts by the staff of the AMATEUR RADIO NEWSLINE, INC. -- formerly the WESTLINK RADIO NETWORK. The electronic version of newsline is posted on this CBBS twice monthly. For current information updates, please call (213) 462-0008, (805) 296-2407, (407) 259-4479, (708) 289-0423, (513) 275-9991, (718) 353-2801, (407) 965-1234 or (206) 368-3969. To provide stories and information please call (805) 296-7180. This line answers automatically and will accept up to 30 minutes of material. Check with your local amateur radio club to see if NEWSLINE can be heard weekly on the air in your area. Articles may be reproduced if printed in their entirety and credit is given to AMATEUR RADIO NEWSLINE as being the source. For further information about the AMATEUR RADIO NEWSLINE, please write to us with an SASE at P.O. Box 463, Pasadena, CA 91102. Thank You NEWSLINE **************************************************************** Some of the hams of NEWSLINE RADIO... WA6ITF WB6MQV WB6FDF K6DUE W6RCL N6AHU N6AWE N6TCQ K6PGX N6PNY KU8R N8DTN W9JUV KC9RP K9XI KB5KCH KC5UD KC0HF G8AUU DJ0QN and many others in the United States and around the globe!!! **************************************************************** [825] FLORIDA COURT SIDES WITH PRB-1 A pair of Florida hams have won a partial victory in their fight to keep their antennas up and to stay on the air. David and Sherri Bower ( WA4NST and N4LXF of Vero Beach ) say that an appeals court has found that local ordinances limiting tower heights to seventy feet are illegal. According to Judge John Kenney, the local ordinance is preempted by PRB-1 and also by Section 125.0185 of Florida state law. The latter incorporates PRB-1 into state law, making it illegal for municipalities to ban ham radio antenna installations on those grounds. But the Bower's still face an even more important court battle to overturn a lower court ruling that holds amateur radio to be "a noxious and offensive nuisance to the neighborhood." This finding is based purely on deed restrictions which may be much harder to appeal, but the Bower's say that they will continue their fight to regain the right to operate their station from their home. ***** CONGRESS SUPPORTS HAMS Another joint resolution of Congress to recognize the achievements of radio amateurs, and to establish support for radio amateurs as national policy, has been introduced as House Joint Resolution 199. It is identical to Senate Joint Resolution 90, introduced in the Senate in early May. House sponsors of the measure are Representatives Mike Kreidler of Washington and Jim Cooper of Tennessee. They have been joined by 15 additional co-sponsors. ***** SAREX - STS-57 DELAYED The launch of Space shuttle flight STS-57 has been re-scheduled for the week of June 14 because of a problem with the pump on the shuttle's main engine. The pilot is Brian Duffy, N5WQW. Flying with him is Mission Specialist Janice Voss. Voss is still awaiting her call sign but the delay means that it might be delivered before liftoff. If it is, then both ham astronauts will be on the air working the SAREX Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment during the flight. Also, the SAREX Working Group says that it has received a number of inquiries about the small number of general QSO's made during recent SAREX missions. What most hams are not aware of is that SAREX flies as a secondary payload. That, as well as the need to conserve power for extended mission days places unavoidable limits on ham radio activities. It is also the reason that automatic packet operation is used when the crew is busy with primary payloads. Simply said, the hams cannot operate other SAREX modes during primary mission activities. The SAREX Working Group says that it may try to add a very limited schedule for general QSO's. This, in addition to any random times the crew can operate. But the earliest this could happen is on STS-58, this fall. ***** FCC GIVES GREEN LIGHT TO SPECIAL CALLSIGNS By now, many of you have heard the news that the FCC has amended the amateur rules governing special callsigns. This, to provide for volunteer organizations to administer a system designed to provide special call signs to club and military recreation stations. For those interested in taking on the job, here is how its to be done. The FCC says that to become an administrator, an organization must exist for the purpose of furthering the amateur service. It must be able to document that its' membership includes at least one percent of the amateur operators licensed by the FCC, and it must be capable of serving as an administrator in all places where the amateur service is regulated by the FCC. Organizations selected for the new system will be known as Club and Military Recreation Station Call Sign Administrators. Once designated, an administrator must enter into a written agreement with the FCC to accept and process all properly completed license application forms from the trustees of club stations and from the custodians of military recreation stations. This, without regard to race, sex, religion, national origin or membership in any amateur service organization. The organization cannot charge a fee for providing the service. Nor can it accept any form of reimbursement for services provided as an administrator. Dates for accepting applications from potential administrators have not yet been announced. Public notices will be issued listing the administrators once they are chosen. The action was authorized by the Telecommunications Authorization Act of 1992. At this time, it appears as if the American Radio Relay League and the National Amateur Radio Association are the only two existing organizations that qualify under the new rule as written. It's expected that both will be applying for the administrators post. ***** PAUL GRAUER, W0FIR S.K. Word has reached us of the passing of ARRL Midwest Division Director Paul Grauer W0FIR. Paul was 81 and had been in failing health for some time. W0FIR had served as Midwest director for nearly 20 years. His first term in office began on January 1st, 1974. Immediately prior to that he had served a term as the division's vice director. Paul made his last public appearance was on Saturday May the 22nd at the PHD Amateur Radio Club convention in Kansas City. Though obviously in some discomfort, Paul spent the morning at the ARRL booth assisting in any way he could -- the same way he had done at so many conventions and hamfests over the years. On June 3rd, Paul tendered his resignation from the ARRL board and as president and director of the ARRL Foundation for health reasons. He died at his home in Wilson, Kansas just a few minutes past noon on Saturday, June the 5th -- exactly two weeks to the day after his appearance in Kansas City. Funeral services are scheduled for Tuesday, June 8th at the Wilson Methodist Church. Paul Grauer W0FIR is survived by his wife Helen N0BCI, and three sons. Vice Director Bill McGrannahan, K0ORB, has assumed the office of ARRL Midwest director and will serve out the remainder of Paul Grauer's term. ***** TULSA TORNADO KILLS VE A tornado that swept through Tulsa, Oklahoma on April 24th claimed the lives of seven people including a well known ham radio instructor and volunteer examiner. Bill Moore, KF5DL was assisting two other hams in a radio repair shop when the storm hit. He was rushed by ambulance to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead. The two others in the store, Joe Brassfield KB5CWP and his wife Clara N5UBA were also rushed to the hospital and are reported to be recovering from their injuries. Moore, who retired from Sears Roebuck in 1985 was a VE best known for his work as founder of the Tulsa Amateur Radio School where he trained many hams in the proper procedures for emergency and public service communications. He was a member of the Tulsa Amateur Radio Club, the American Airlines Amateur Radio Club and the Tulsa Repeater Association. KF5DL is survived by his wife Dorothy, a son and a daughter. ***** CABLE FINDINGS The FCC has announced the results of a recent project to enforce its cable television leakage standards and what it found in a March sweep was a mixed bag of news for the cable industry. According to the Commission, the investigation included the monitoring of 321 cable TV systems, their visiting eight systems to discuss operator measurements, and the closing down of one system for violating the FCC's Cumulative Leakage Index limit. The system which was taken out of service was found to have a small number of significant leaks, according to the FCC. The FCC says that it has sent letters to 1,550 cable TV operators, issued 112 complimentary letters to clean systems, but also dinged 73 cable system operators violation letters. The commission adds that it plans another monitoring project later this year to gauge the effect of its enforcement and education efforts. During the sweep, the Commission's Enforcement Division focused on cable systems which it felt could pose a danger to public service radio communications, such as aeronautical, police, fire and other such services. ***** SA BALLOON LAUNCH Some good news on the ham radio scientific front from South America. Word that on Saturday May 22nd, a balloon carrying amateur radio equipment was successfully launched from La Plata University, near Buenos Aires. The payload was a cross band repeater with a 10 meter input and a 2 meter output. Forty stations in Argentina and Uruguay were able to hold QSO's through it. Strong signals were heard for nearly 500 Kilometers from the balloon, and stations as far from one another as 600 Kilometers made contact. ***** LUSAT BACK ON Also from Argentina come word that the CW beacon on the Lusat ham satellite is on again. In fact, you can hear it in 437.125 MHZ quite easily with almost any 70 cm meter rig. The other Phase Shift Keyed transmitter in on 437.150 MHZ is in bulletin board operation. If you want to receive the QSL for L O 19, just send your telemetry report to AMSAT Argentina, P.O.Box 9, SUC 1, 1401 Capital Federal, Argentina. ***** RUSSIAN SPEAKING HAM CLUB FORMED A group of New York City hams who are refugees from the former USSR republics recently started a Russian speaking amateur radio organization called Radio Club International. The club is made up of hams who now permanently reside in the West, but who share a common language and cultural background. They created the new club as a way of keeping in touch with each other, and others, who share interest in the Russian culture, speak the language and follow Amateur Radio happenings in their countries. They say that with the general decline of Amateur Radio activity in their former home due to the hardships and political instability, this is a way of staying together, and staying in touch with friends from their past. The group says that it has no political, religious or sectarian goals. Rather, it is looking to establish ties with people like themselves, in the United States and other countries to whom the Russian language is their mother tongue or a second language. If you reside outside of the former USSR, speak or learning to speak Russian, have a callsign in your current country of residence, and share similar interests, you are welcome to join. Simply send an SASE to the RSRCI in care of Ed Kritsky, NT2X, P.O.Box 715, Brooklyn, New York, 11230. ***** LIECHTENSTEIN In DX, the 17th Annual DX-Pedition to Liechtenstein by the Wiesbaden Amateur Radio Club as HB0/DA1WA is now taking place. HF modes include CW, SSB, RTTY, Amtor and Pactor. HF bands include 160 meters through 10 meters, VHF on 6 and 2 meters plus some of the ham satellites. QSL direct with SASE or IRCs to KN6G at Box 4205, APO AE, 09192. ***** * * * Newsline Copyright 1993 all rights are reserved. * * * -- Allan Courtney KD4DBN Internet: acourt@ncc.uky.edu Lexington, Kentucky AMPRNet: 44.106.2.120