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The ARRL Letter Vol. 13, No. 14 July 27, 1994 Flooding mobilizes Georgia hams By Larry Keith, KQ4BY One week, Amateur Radio operators in Macon, Georgia were setting up equipment in a high school football field for ARRL Field Day. A week later, on Monday, the Fourth of July, they were tuning up their rigs at home, in their cars, and at the local Red Cross headquarters, preparing for a real emergency. Tropical Storm Alberto was heading their way. In fact, while most people in the area were scanning the skies and wondering whether they would see a fireworks display in Central City Park, alongside the normally tranquil Ocmulgee River members of the Macon Amateur Radio Club -- particularly those in the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) unit -- were monitoring the weather forecasts and debating their next moves. If conditions worsened, they meant to be prepared, says Debora Bridges, KC4HVO. "We were geared up for emergencies, and we were ready," she said. The next day, Tuesday, Central Georgians awoke to torrential rain. The pounding continued, as the center of the storm hovered over the area. By late that night, some 12 inches had fallen on ground already saturated by several previous days' precipitation. Tom Rogers, W4AOL, didn't go to work that day, instead heading straight to the radio command post. In place of the hard hat he usually wears as a field superintendent for a construction company, he donned a radio headset and set to work as a volunteer liaison between ARES and the Red Cross. He wouldn't go back to his regular job for another three days. As the magnitude of the storm and the damage it was dishing out became apparent, Rogers was soon joined by other MARC members in a well-rehearsed vigil. Some reported in by way of mobile gear in their cars; others relayed messages from home-based sets. Although the organization does not ask hams to stay at their posts past midnight, many of them did. "A lot of us leave our radios on at our bedsides," Debora Bridges said. "You learn to sleep with that static in your ear." Debora's husband, Greg, KA4FUB, also is on the scene during every field event or emergency. During the storm, public officials depended a good deal on information provided by the midstate hams. And from Cordele to Warner Robins to Griffin, from Forsyth to Roberta to Fort Valley, they checked in. A road out here. A bridge down there. Homes under water. Youth camps cut off. Wherever people were in trouble, the word got out. Other hams from Milledgeville and Dublin, even Savannah and Columbus, hours away by car, offered help. That afternoon, local officials advised residents to stay home unless travel was absolutely necessary. The hams stayed on the prowl, and on the air. In all, more than 30 members had signed on. At the base station, Rogers was spelled by George Joyner, KD4QMY, a student at Macon College, and Willie Garst, N4XMO, a long-time ham. Throughout the ordeal, the system operated under emergency rules. That is, general communication was restricted. Thanks to the cooperation of Georgia Power Company, which allows the local hams to use a repeater (with antenna) mounted on one of the stacks at Plant Scherer (1,000 ft high), the range was exceptionally great, from McDonough, some 50 miles to north, to Cordele. the same distance south. By Wednesday, with the Ocmulgee River nearing flood stage, the situation had become alarming. As soon as the Red Cross opened shelters, hams began relaying instructions and other messages. Dick Joyner, director of public support for the local Red Cross chapter, commends the dedication of the radio operators. "They kept us in touch with the status of the shelters." Such support is crucial, Joyner points out. "If we lose phone lines, or they are not available in the temporary shelters, we have to have some kind of communication. "They (the hams) also help us to make our plans. They can tell us how bad things really are, because they see it first hand." He adds, "It's vital we get as much warning as possible." Because they are on the scene, hams are often the first ones to see the need for evacuation or support. "The people down here need clothes, food, everything," one frustrated ham was heard to say. He was advised to send those flooded from their homes to a nearby shelter where they would receive what they needed to get them functioning again. Jimmy Wood, KA4GHX, is another liaison, coordinating ARES operations with the National Weather Service at Macon Municipal Airport. When he heard of the washouts on Highway 247 (which links Macon to the airport as well as to Warner Robins and Robins Air Force Base, where many central Georgians work), he tried to find a back road open. The going was tricky, and Wood got stuck for a time. He eventually accomplished his mission and managed to return safely. The hams also accompanied Red Cross damage assessment teams needing communication. These crews decide if it's safe to travel on or use a bridge or other public facility. In addition, the radio operators also were in contact with the Georgia Emergency Management Association, which was trying to stay in touch from Atlanta. Motorists who are hams were grateful for information, too. "How can we get across town?" was a frequent question. "How do we get from Florida to Atlanta?" was another. In some cases, ham tourists stranded along Interstates 75 and 475, both closed to traffic because of submerged roadways and bridges, participated in the traffic analyses through 2-meter units in their cars. When the sun poked through briefly on Thursday, a new role opened up for the club's hams: coordination of water allocation. After the water treatment plant had been inundated by the raging river, which had broken over its banks and levees, surrounding communities less affected by the storm sent huge water "buffaloes" to help Maconites who were without water. Using hand-held radios, hams were able to steer the truck drivers to the most needy sites, freeing law enforcement officers for other duties. About 3 PM some good news was reported to the hams at Red Cross headquarters. "We are 10 minutes away from opening one lane of I-75 south," a state patrolman relayed. Everyone in the room began to relax a little. But an hour later, bad news came. "It's raining again in Cordele. Could someone check on a rumor that a funnel cloud has been sighted?" The hams hunched over their rigs once again. Fortunately, the weather abated. On Friday, July 8, the hams on the net began relaying health and welfare messages. The Macon-area ARES began helping the local Red Cross chapter in 1991 during and after Hurricane Andrew. Since then, the relationship has grown. "When we get into this (type of) situation, ARES can be counted on to keep communications open," says David Little, executive director of the agency. "It has helped us start moving into the 21st century." Larry Keith, KQ4BY, lives in Warner Robins, Georgia, with his wife Meg and their four cats. He has been a licensed amateur since 1966 and is a senior systems engineer for Computer Data Systems, Inc. CALIFORNIA-HAWAII PATH YIELDS 2304 MHz RECORD This year's summer VHF opening between Hawaii and California produced a new 2304 MHz world distance record. On July 11 at 2321 UTC Chip Angle, N6CA, and Paul Lieb, KH6HME, made a two-way CW contact on the band. The two had spent 13 years attempting contacts on most of the microwave bands before 2304 MHz was finally conquered. Angle says this leaves only 10 GHz left in their quest. Angle said that the opening continued into July 12 and that Lieb and Russ Sakai, KH6FOO, were busily working stations on the mainland on 144 MHz, many of them mobile stations with omnidirectional antennas. Lieb also is reported to have worked many stations on 220 through 1296 MHz. KH6HME is on the Mauna Loa volcano at 8200 feet elevation; N6CA is in Palos Verdes at 340 feet. Distance for the contact was 2468.8 miles. An SSB QSO was attempted for a few minutes on 2304 MHz, but was not completed because the two rushed to 10 GHz to attempt a contact there. This was an uncommon type of opening, with no elevation restriction on the California end, along with good 1296 MHz propagation, Angle said. The opening produced another record, too, according to a report from ARRL Technical Advisor Tom O'Hara, W6ORG. KH6HME put his 434 MHz amateur TV transmitter on the air, where it was copied by Gordon West, WB6NOA. West alerted other ATV operators in southern California; the second amateur to copy the fast-scan video from KH6HME was Mike Henkoski, KC6CCC, in San Clemente. KH6HME did not have ATV receiving equipment with him at the Mauna Loa site but hoped to try for a two-way on July 12. On 2304 MHz, both N6CA and KH6HME used homebrew transverters built by Angle, running 12 watts output to 4 ft dishes and 1.5 dB noise figure receivers. The 4 foot dishes have interchangeable feeds for 2.3 GHz to 10 GHz that require about four or five minutes to change, Angle said. September QST will have more coverage of this story, including screen shots of received signals from KH6HME. FORUMS SET FOR UPCOMING ARRL DIGITAL CONFERENCE Seven forums are scheduled for the 13th ARRL Conference on Digital Communications to be held August 19 to 21 in Minneapolis. They are: * Digital data methods (voice, image, etc.). * DSP developments. * HF data methods. * TCP/IP developments. * High speed data transfer. * ARRL Committee updates. In addition, this year a "beginner's forum" has been added to the conference agenda. Newcomers who may feel intimidated by digital communication can join veteran instructor John Kaplan, WR0W, who will present a "crash" (no charge) course from 7:00 to 9:30 PM on Friday. Eighteen technical papers on digital communications will be presented on Saturday; for a list and for more information about the Conference or special airline and motel discounts, call or write: ARRL Digital Communications Conference, in care of Paul Ramey, WG0G, 16266 Finland Avenue, Rosemount, MN 55068. Packet: WG0G@WA0CQG.#MSP.MN.USA.NA; Telephone: (612) 432-1640; Internet: <PRAMEY@RAM.NET> The host organization for the 1994 ARRL Digital Communications Conference is the TwinsLAN Amateur Radio Club. SAREX, APOLLO 11 COMMEMORATION UNITE To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon, the SAREX station on board the Space Shuttle Columbia was operated as a special event station from July 19 to 21, joining the dozen other NASA amateur stations in commemorating the landing of the Apollo Moon Lander, the Eagle, on the moon's surface in 1969 (last issue). Contacts made during the event will be eligible for a special commemorative certificate. Send your report and QSL with a 9x12 in SASE to the ARRL Educational Activities Department, STS-65 Apollo Special Event, 225 Main Street, Newington, CT 06111. SAREX operators were Shuttle Commander Robert Cabana, KC5HBV and Mission Specialist Donald Thomas, KC5FVF, using the packet call sign W5RRR-1. Meanwhile, an estimated 100,000 people attending the Aerospace American annual airshow in Oklahoma City heard a two-way contact on July 17. Retired three-star Air Force General Tom Stafford was patched by telephone to Commander Bob Cabana, KC5HBV, on board the Space Shuttle Columbia via amateur stations WH6CJU in Hawaii, N6IZW in San Diego, California, and W5GEL in Corpus Christi, Texas, all members of a SAREX worldwide telebridge ground station network. General Stafford is a former astronaut who flew aboard the Gemini 9 and Apollo 10 missions, and commanded the US/Russian Apollo-Soyuz test project. The SAREX exchange of greetings between Stafford and Cabana reflected upon the 25th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon. The contact was managed by Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and by Lou McFadin, W5DID, and Gil Carman, WA5NOM, from the SAREX Control Room at Mission Control at the Johnson Space Flight Center in Houston. ARRL Board holds 2nd meeting of 1994 The ARRL Board of Directors met in Rocky Hill, Connecticut, July 15, 1994. Here is a summary of the meeting's highlights: * The ARRL Spectrum Committee has been asked to study the bands between 420 MHz and 300 GHz to enable a better understanding of present and future activities in this region of the spectrum, giving priority to those bands subject to spectrum reallocations by the government. * The Board commissioned an RF Safety Committee to advise the Board and staff on safe operating practices for the development of policy and educational methods and materials. Members to be selected by the President. * The ARRL Professional Media Award was created to recognize media professionals who make distinguished contributions to the public image of Amateur Radio. * In recognition of more than 10 years of successful SAREX missions aboard space shuttle flights, the Board expressed its gratitude to the SAREX Working Group. The Board commended the group for its efforts to make Amateur Radio communication a part of future space missions, including the Space Station. * Jonathan M. LeBretton, N1MJM, of Plymouth, Massachusetts, was selected as the 1993 Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Award winner. * James Dalley, W0NAP, of Centerville, Utah, was selected as the Herb S. Brier Volunteer Instructor of the Year. * The Board picked Sheila Perry, N0UOP, of Bloomfield, Missouri, as the 1993 Professional Educator of the Year. * Rick Campbell, KK7B, of Chassell, Michigan, was selected at the winner of the Technical Excellence Award for his article, "High-Performance, Single-Signal, Direct-Conversion Receivers," appearing in the January 1993 issue of QST. * The Board named Len Winkler, KB7LPW, of Phoenix, Arizona, as the recipient of the Philip J. McGan Silver Antenna Award, which recognizes outstanding achievement in the public relations arena. The Board thanked all Amateurs for their public relations efforts. * The staff was commended for developing and implementing strategies for responding to the 13-cm band challenges posed by the government reallocation plans. * The Board selected Peoria, Illinois, as the site of the 1996 National Convention. The convention will be held September 13-15 under the sponsorship of the Peoria Area Amateur Radio Club. The full story of the Board meeting will appear in September QST. JOINT RESOLUTION MAKES CRUCIAL PROGRESS IN D.C. ARRL's House of Representatives Joint Resolution 199 passed a major hurdle when key provisions were included in H.R. 4522, the FCC Authorization Act of 1994, during markup by the Telecommunications Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee on July 14. Sponsored by Rep. Mike Kreidler (D-WA), H.J. Res. 199 earlier gained 245 other Congressional co-sponsors as a result of hard work by the Amateur community. The next step is action by the full Energy and Commerce Committee, and then consideration on the floor of the House. Companion legislation awaits action by the Senate Commerce Committee. If the Senate bill differs from the House bill, an additional conference committee decision will be necessary before passage. The bill urges the FCC to "continue and enhance the development of amateur radio as a public benefit by adopting rules and regulations encouraging the use of new technologies," and urges the Commission to make "reasonable accommodations for the effective operation of amateur radio from residences, private vehicles and public areas," and urges "all levels of government" to facilitate Amateur Radio as a public benefit. The bill provides for a one time "vanity" call sign fee of $150. The previous "annual fee" provision was deleted in favor of a one time application charge, staving off the threat of an annual fee for all amateurs. In addition, ARRL lobbied to ensure that the fees go to FCC rather than the Treasury. The one time fee was a calculated decision. As a result of concern on Capitol Hill about deficit reduction, new bills must be "scored" by the Congressional Budget Office to determine budgetary impact. A bill stands a better chance of passing if the Congressional Budget Office rules that it won't be an additional burden on taxpayers. ARRL supported the $150 amount since it would generate sufficient revenue to offset new costs to FCC and would meet the "revenue neutral" criterion, without imposing any new fees on amateurs who keep their present call signs or who receive new ones issued routinely. Leaders of 3 societies share concerns In late June the leaders of three major Amateur Radio national associations met to discuss a number of topics, especially how they can best support and complement the work of the International Amateur Radio Union in developing countries, and to compare notes on common problems faced by their respective societies. The societies taking part in the meetings, held in Markdorf, Germany, were the Deutscher Amateur Radio Club (DARC), the Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL), and the American Radio Relay League (ARRL). Attending were JARL President Shozo Hara, JA1AN, DARC President Horst Ellgering, DL9MH; ARRL President George S. Wilson III, W4OYI; IARU Region 3 Secretary Masayoshi Fujioka, JM1UXU; ARRL Vice President for International Affairs/IARU Secretary Larry E. Price, W4RA; JARL IARU Liaison Officer Yoshiji Sekido, JJ1OEY; DARC Foreign Advisor Hans Berg, DJ6TJ; and ARRL Technical Relations Manager Paul L. Rinaldo, W4RI. Dr Price discussed IARU activities, including the recent 1994 World Telecommunication Development Conference in Buenos Aires and the Union's goal of portraying the amateur service as a cost-effective way of transferring technology, a difficult goal to achieve, he said. The DARC's Dr Ellgering said that the eastern countries present opportunities for assisting the continued development of the amateur services. Mr Fujioka stated that development in Region 3 has been concentrated in three countries and that, in general, assistance should be provided through the IARU, as it is highly respected. Mr Wilson noted that in the US, with the Congress and with the FCC, the ARRL has used the argument that the amateur spectrum is analogous to a public park and worth preserving for similar reasons. The leaders talked about the apparent "downgrading" of the importance of radio, including Amateur Radio, in the minds of some telecommunications professionals, noting the inconsistency of this view at a time when "wireless" is used as carrier for many emerging technologies. Dr Price said that the ARRL planned a briefing on Amateur Radio for ITU staff on June 28. On the subject of continuing international regulations requiring a knowledge of Morse code for licensing below 30 MHz, and discussions in New Zealand and some European countries of eliminating such a requirement. Mr Wilson said it is the position of the ARRL Board that there be no deviation from the present requirement, both domestically and internationally. Most of the remainder of the meeting concentrated on how the world's major Amateur Radio societies, through the IARU, can promote the development of Amateur Radio in the so-called less developed countries (LDCs). IARU-sponsored "leadership courses" will be offered, as well as developing a database of people available to help in LDCs, including both locals and amateurs from the more developed countries visiting there. The representatives of the three countries shared their organizations' efforts toward promoting Amateur Radio among the general population; the JARL showed a highly regarded information pamphlet, while the DARC announced a PC-based multimedia course on Amateur Radio. The DARC said it already devotes $40,000 per year to a wide range of foreign activities. The DARC has a committee of eight multilingual people with. Mr Hara said JARL has about 20 people who are partially compensated for their expenses who can be called on for development work. Other topics included membership numbers for the societies, licensing makeup in the three countries, and equipment standards. BRIEFS * The FCC has issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for $20,000 to Ace Communications of Fishers, Indiana, for marketing illegal scanner radios. Ace, the FCC said, advertised two different unauthorized scanners in magazines including 73 Amateur Radio Today, CQ, and Popular Electronics. Both the models cover cellular telephone frequencies. The FCC based the fine on Ace's apparent ignoring of warning letters from the Commission and called the violation "intentional." * Ham Radio Horizons, a video introduction to Amateur Radio produced by CQ Communications, has won a bronze medal in the Association for Visual Communicators' 1994 Cindy awards competition. The video won in the "public service and information" category. The Cindy awards honor outstanding productions in all fields of nontheatrical video programming, including radio, television, cable, and nonbroadcast categories, according to a press release from CQ. "Ham Radio Horizons" was written, produced, and directed by Rich Moseson, NW2L, who is the ARRL Section Manager for Northern New Jersey, as well as a member of the ARRL's volunteer Public Relations Committee. The awards were presented in June at the INFOCOMM trade show in Los Angeles. * The ARRL Ombudsman program was announced in July QST. The ARRL Ombudsman can help any time you have a question about ARRL services. You can contact the ARRL Ombudsman in the following ways: By telephone: 203-666-1541 (ext. 285); By fax: 203-665-7531 (attn. Ombudsman); By Internet: ombudsman@arrl.org; Mail Address: ARRL Ombudsman; 225 Main Street, Newington, CT 06111, USA. *eof