Monster Media 1994 #1/monster.zip/monster/HAM/NEWSLINE.ZIP/NEWS0122.TXT

Text File | 1994-02-02 | 21KB | 409 lines

The electronic publication of the Amateur Radio Newsline is distributed
with the permission of Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, President and Editor of
Newsline.  The text is transcribed from the audio service by Dale Cary and
is first published on Genie.

Editorial comment or news items should be E-mailed to [e-mail]
or [e-mail]. Voice or FAX to [phone].

All other information and disclaimers are in the text header below.

 - - - - -

 NEWSLINE RADIO - CBBS EDITION #108 - POSTED 01/22/94

(header deleted)
    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

      Los Angeles............................ [phone]
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    For the latest breaking info call the Instant Update Line listed
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    Check with your local amateur radio club to see if NEWSLINE
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                                              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 WD0AKO DJ0QN
 and many others in the United States and around the globe!!!

 *****************************************************************

 [858]

 * * * *   C L O S E D   C I R C U I T   A D V I S O R Y   * * * *
 *                                                               *
 *     The following is a closed circuit advisory and is not for *
 *  air over ham radio.  Repeat, not for broadcast. This is just *
 *  a reminder that the address for the Newsline Support Fund is *
 *  Newsline, in care of Dr. Norm Chalfin, K6PGX, Post Office    *
 *  Box 463, Pasadena, CA 91102.  Again, and as always, we thank *
 *  you.  That ends the closed circuit with Newsline report      *
 *  number 858 for release on Friday January 21, 1994.           *
 *                                                               *
 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


                     The following is a QST

    Californians are awakened to one of the biggest quakes in
 history.  As usual, Amateur Radio plays a key role in health and
 welfare.


                      CALIFORNIA QUAKE '94

    At 4:31 am a tremor of tremendous magnitude rocked the Los
 Angeles basin.  Almost immediately, communications in and out of
 the nations second largest city became nearly impossible.  Phone
 networks and other traditional means of communications became
 overloaded and useless.  But, as usual, years of training
 resulted in amateur radio coming to the rescue in one of the most
 heroic stories in the history of our hobby.
    "The wake up call came at 4:31 am last Monday morning and
 within seconds Los Angeles area hams had already swung into
 action.  The quake was centered in the San Fernando Valley just
 northwest of Los Angeles.  First came the work of the Public
 Seismic Network.  A collection of hams and amateur seismologists
 who meet weekly on the air to compare data collected against
 actual seismic events.  When an area event occurs, they collect
 felt reports on the air.  And can often locate the general area
 of the quake within minutes by this method.
    Handling this flood of calls, some under very difficult
 conditions, was Dorothy Darby, N6ZNC.  Within the first half hour
 following the quake the Los Angeles RACES Organization known as
 the Disaster Communications Service was on the air from many of
 the Sheriffs stations in the area.  Providing interagency
 communications between county sheriff, fire and the city
 organizations, as well as area hospitals and shelters.  This
 reporter being the District Communications Officer for the
 Cresenta Valley Sheriffs Station was kept busy providing
 operators for that location which works with the cities of
 Pasadena, Glendale, and Burbank.  The Glendale operators had
 their own set of problems, as the parking structure at the police
 station, where the emergency operations center is located, had
 collapsed destroying a number of city vehicles in the process.
    The hams responding to the city of San Fernando facility found
 it without power mains and generator power.  And ended up rigging
 a handheld to the stations rooftop antenna.  As we go to air hams
 are still on duty throughout the Los Angeles Basin keeping the
 lines of communications open.  And this particular ham got
 reminded on more than one occasion of his phonetics, Tiny
 California Quake."  Andy Jarema, K6TCQ.

   "Santa Clarita, CA, a city that few of you had heard of until
 now, when this quake put it on the map.  This is a community that
 has been cut off from the rest of Los Angeles after the collapse
 of the Highway 14 overpass onto Interstate 5.  There was no power
 for twenty one hours.  Telephone service, especially out of state
 calling is still sporadic.  Except for ham radio, Santa Clarita
 was a community isolated from the city to the south.
    I got a chance to see the devastation of the Northridge quake
 first hand as I drove into work on Tuesday afternoon.  A trip
 that normally takes only 40 minutes dragged on for the better
 part of four and a half hours.  As I sat bumper to bumper on a
 single lane road that parallels Interstate 5, the destructive
 force of this quake was evident to everywhere you looked.
 Highways torn apart. Twisted rebar.  Mashed concrete.
    But we Angrlenos seem to accept this type of natural fury as
 being a part of the price we have to pay to live here.  So, as I
 inched my way into the city I also scanned the three most
 heavily used VHF and UHF bands in the area.
    Many repeaters normally alive with chatter were silent. They
 were victims of being on remote mountaintops that had lost
 power.  But other channels were alive.  Repeaters whose owners
 had been smart enough to install battery or solar power to take
 over when city power failed.  Each was loaded with some sort of
 quake related traffic. 147.705 was dedicated to working with the
 Red Cross and still is.  146.79 was holding forth with Santa
 Clarita Valley Emergency Communications.  224.52 and 224.58 were
 providing road closure information.  224.52 was also making its
 autopatch available for health and welfare calls.  The number of
 repeaters taking part is list far to long to report here.  These
 are just a few that I heard personally.
    Later in the afternoon I used the ham station at work to scan
 the high frequency bands.  Emergency communications nets were
 everywhere on 75, 40 and 20 meters.  Most were associated with
 the ARRL'S Amateur Radio Emergency Service.  Each was handling a
 myriad of health and welfare messages into and out of the Los
 Angeles Metro Area.
    As we go to air, many of these nets are still on the air.
 Telephone service is returning to normal and many amateur radio
 assistance operations will soon be winding down.  But the ongoing
 aftershocks of the Northridge quake are a constant reminder of
 what it costs to live here in the southland, and it's why being a
 ham can be vital to your very survival." Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF.
    As we go to air, the California earthquake story is still
 emerging.  We'll keep you updated in future Newsline reports.


       AMSAT-NA OPPOSES FCC "INSTANT LICENSING" PROPOSAL

    AMSAT-North America says it does not want to see an instant
 ham license in the United States.  The ham radio space research
 organization has filed comments with the FCC in opposition to the
 instant licensing proposal contained in a Notice of Proposed Rule
 Making, PR Docket 93.267.
    Under the FCC's proposal, unlicensed persons who pass an
 amateur license examination for the first time would immediately
 be permitted to operate for up to 120 days.  This, using
 self-assigned call signs, while waiting for their licenses to
 arrive.
    But in its opposition filing, AMSAT cited the potential for
 abuse by persons who have no intention of taking a ham radio test
 and want to be able to bootleg without being noticed.  It also
 says that it will be impossible to verify the self-assigned calls
 since they would not be registered in any data base.
    AMSAT very strongly believes that the guaranteed anonymity of
 a self-assigned call sign system would multiply the potential for
 interference by unlicensed persons with amateur radio operation.
 This the organization says is particularly relevant to the
 Amateur satellite service because the 2-meter, 10-meter and 70-cm
 bands, which presently contain the most popular satellite uplinks
 and downlinks, are also among the most likely to be affected by
 such interference.  They say that the international nature of ham
 radio satellite operation means that problems could be caused for
 amateurs, and governmental authorities, in other countries as
 well as in the United States.
    As an alternative to instant licensing, AMSAT urges the FCC to
 pursue the use of electronic filing and processing of amateur
 license applications.  This is the same position that has been
 taken by the American Radio Relay League.

 *****
                         ARRL BOARD MEETS

    The American Radio Relay League's Board of Directors is
 holding its first annual meeting of 1994 in a very chilly
 Hartford, Connecticut as this newscast is going to air.  The
 board is expected to take action on a number of important matters
 including the FCC proposal for a vanity call sign assignment
 system.  Tune into Newsline for a full report on ARRL board
 actions next week.

 *****
                        VANITY CALL DOCKET

    The text of the NPRM in Personal Radio Docket 93-305, dealing
 with the Commission's proposed Vanity Call Sign program, is
 available electronically on America Online, Compuserve, Genie,
 BIX and the National Video Network.  On most of these services
 the file is named vanity with a possible file extension
 designator attached.
    The same information is also available over Internet from the
 ARRL information file server.  To obtain it, simply send a
 message over Internet to infoarrl.org that says only send FCC-93-
 305.  That's infoarrl.org and the message must only read SEND
 FCC-93-305.
    The file is also available for downloading from the ARRL
 bulletin board at 203-666-0578 with the file name vanity.  It
 will be printed in February issue of QST magazine.

 *****
                             STROKE CW

    When a ham in Fargo, North Dakota suffered a stroke, he lost
 almost all ability to communicate.  His voice was gone, and he
 was immobilized.  But he could tap out morse code with his finger
 and that gave him hope.  It became the job of Paul Linnell, WQ0M
 to make known the thoughts and needs of Kurt Hall, W0AZV.
   "The first time I was up to see him we tried communicating by
 having Kurt tap out CW on my hand and on my arm and also by
 trying to squeeze my hand.  Because he was so weak, it was very
 difficult to make a whole lot of sense out of the CW that he
 sending, but he did let us know that he could communicate.
   So my second trip up I brought along a straight key and a
 little oscillator.  I knew we were in for a problem when Kurt,
 when he got a hold of the key wanted to move it sideways.  I then
 thought he was used to a bug.  He immediately sent out the word
 bug on the straight key so I knew we were going to have some
 problems.  Kurt is right handed and here he was laying in the
 hospital bed tying to send with his left hand.  Also being very
 weak from the stroke and he was still able to send my call and
 his call.  And even when I left that day sent 73 so when knew he
 was able to communicate."  Paul Linnel, WQ0M.
    Newsline joins with the amateur radio community of Fargo,
 North Dakota a full and speedy recovery.


                    ISRAEL ACCEPTS CEPT LICENSE

    From overseas,  word that Israel has joined the move toward a
 world-wide universal ham radio license.  IK1PHC reports that the
 Israeli Ministry of Post and Telecommunications has accepted
 CEPT recommendation TR 61-01.  This means that any ham who holds
 a license in any nation that is a signatory to the CEPT agreement
 can freely operate an amateur station in Israel without asking
 for a reciprocal permit.  No effective date of the change has
 been announced.

 *****
                          UK SCANNER STING

    For the second time in less than a year, authorities in the
 United Kingdom have again tuned the tables on scanner enthusiasts
 who eavesdrop on emergency service radio channels.  This, by
 issuing a false distress call and then arresting those who showed
 up on the scene.
    As 1993 drew to a close South Yorkshire police launched the
 undercover sting after finding evidence that criminals were
 cashing in on information that they intercepted over the
 airwaves.  As they did last spring, police dispatchers broadcast
 a phony report that aliens were invading earth and had been
 spotted in a nearby town.  Yes, aliens, as in little green men
 from Mars, and the like.
     Anyhow, reports are that several people who showed up at the
 address given in the bulletin.  They were arrested at the scene
 and charged with acting illegally on information broadcast in an
 official police radio channel.
    Under British law it is not illegal for scanner buffs to
 eavesdrop on emergency communications.  It is against the law to
 take any action based on any information that might be heard.
    A similar sting last year in central London netted more than a
 dozen scanner addicts who showed up at the site of another
 supposedly downed alien spaceship.  All were forced to pay heavy
 fines and a few of them actually did jail time.

 *****
                      AMSAT AUSTRIA TO MEET

    The first ever meeting of AMSAT-Austria will take place
 Saturday, April 16th at the Technical High School of Electronic
 and Telecommunication in Innsbruck.  The main goals of the
 gathering are to present papers about basic amateur satellite
 technology along with seminar sessions dealing with modes-s
 operation, analysis of telemetry and other assorted topics.  The
 preliminary list of lecturers includes I2KBD, ON6UG, DG2CV,
 OE1VKW and OE1WDC.  All satellite users are welcome to attend
 this one-day meeting.  For further information you can contact
 OE7FTJ at his callbook address.

 *****
                    SUPERBALL RISES, THEN FALLS

    Superball 94, the Utah balloon carrying amateur radio
 telemetry and an amateur television camera had a life of about
 three hours.  The launch of Superball took place Friday, January
 7th, at 16:26 UTC.  The balloon initially headed northeast as
 expected.  Telemetry was copied on both 2 and 15 meters, and ATV
 sent back video of the balloon.
    But then Superball began to change course as it came out of
 the Troposphere.  At about 18:04 UTC the balloon unexpectedly
 burst.  A quick drop in the differential pressure from 1.11 to
 1.03 was one of the first clues that something had changed
 radically.  Hams in eastern Utah actually watched the rupture on
 ATV and later saw the parachute deploy.  Telemetry on 15 meters
 was copied in Ohio with an signal report of 579 after the
 package came to rest.
    The landing site is in Utah's Uinta Mountains in the
 neighborhood of Wolf Creek Summit, a 9500-foot pass.  Plans are
 to locate and retrieve the payload with the help of snowmobiles
 and the Wasatch County Search and Rescue Team as weather permits.

 *****
                           LA BEACON OUT

    In DX, several sources report that the LA7DFA beacon has not
 been active from Jan Mayen since last April.  LA7DFA himself
 says that he is looking for a rig to install permanently as
 beacon transceiver at the club station.  He says that they also
 need a linear and a rugged yagi for the bad weather.  LA7DFA
 plans to return to there in April 94 and hopes to have this
 equipment to take with him.


                               GHANA

    Also, XT2BW is now active from Burkina Faso but will be
 leaving at the end of January to spend a few months on vacation
 with his family in Ghana.  He says that he will apply for a
 licence and will be active when time permits.  QSL him via
 WB2YQH.

 *****
                               GORDO

    Famed ham radio instructor Gordon West, WB6NOA, says that he
 is now available to speak at your club meeting, hamfest, banquet
 or what have you.  Gordo says that he has been able to rearrange
 his hectic personal appearance schedule so as to permit him to
 accept even more invitations from yacht clubs, ham radio clubs,
 SWL groups and other personal radio organizations.
    West says that he requires a minimum of 90 days lead time for
 such appearances, and has talks available on a wide variety of
 subjects including Tropo Ducting, an Introduction to Radio Waves
 using laser light technology to demonstrate reflection and
 refraction, a presentation on the Global Positioning System, plus
 other interesting seminar sessions far to numerous to mention
 here.  For more information on these interesting Gordon West,
 WB6NOA seminars and talks, contact Gordo at 2414 College Drive,
 Costa Mesa, CA 92626.

 *****
                           ORIENTEERING

    Amateur radio will play a major role in a national contest
 taking place in central Alabama.
    Hams are heading to the hills, literally.  It's their way of
 helping during a championship orienteering meet taking place in
 Alambama's largest State Park.
    "Basically orienteering is a sport involving following a
 course marked on a map through the forest.  And whoever completes
 the course the fastest wins."  Tom Lamb, N4OAJ.
    Tom is counting on at least a dozen hams during the weekend of
 January 22nd.  Contest checkin points are spreadout over a large
 area inside the park.  With so many stations, so far apart, Lamb
 knows how valuable amateur radio will be to the events success.
    "With courses spreading out through the forest, the longest
 course is about ten kilometers long, that is about six miles.  We
 have a got a lot of people scattered in far places.  So one of
 the ways that amateur radio ties in is helping us to organize
 much the way that a road race is organized.  But a road race is
 normally is tied around a road so that things are planned closer
 together.  We are a lot more spreadout.  So amateur radio is
 going to help us organize the different areas like the
 start/finish, results and those sorts of things."  Tom Lamb,
 N4OAJ.
    As many as 200 participants from across the nation are
 expected for the orienteering championships.  Lamb expects the
 event to run smoothly, thanks in part to the contributions of
 amateur radio operators.
    The hams will be helping not just with routine communications,
 but with any emergencies that come up, as well.

 *****

    For this week, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline.
 You can write to us at Post Office Box 463 in Pasadena, CA 91102.

 ****** * * Newsline Copyright 1993 all rights are reserved. * * *