Monster Media 1996 #15/Monster Media Number 15 (Monster Media)(July 1996).ISO/ham/news.zip/NEWS0427.TXT

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SB NEWSLIN @ ALLBBS $NLIN.976
Amateur Radio Newsline #976 27 Apr 1996

The Newsline Information and Copyright Notice is now published seperately
every month.  Please read this notice before using any part of Newsline in
any manner.  For a copy of the notice e-mail [e-mail] or netmail
Steve Coletti @ 1:278/230 on Fidonet.

NEWSLINE RADIO - CBBS EDITION #976 - 04/27/96

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            (*                N E W S L I N E                *)
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   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.  Amateur Radio
Newsline is a audio news service distributed via telephone.

   This hardcopy version is produced by Dale Cary - WD0AKO from scripts
provided to him weekly by Newsline.  It is then distributed to on-line
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Coletti.

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                           Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF
                         Newsline Producer & Editor

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                     Hardcopy Distribution for Newsline

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                In bulletin number 6 of the ham radio conference
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Some of the hams of AMATEUR RADIO NEWSLINE:

WA6ITF WB6MQV WB6FDF K6DUE W6RCL N6AHU N6AWE N6TCQ K6PGX N6PNY KU8R N8DTN
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[976]

   Newsline report number 976 for release on Friday, April 26, 1996 to
follow.

                           The following is a QST

   From coast to coast, ham radio heros highlight this weeks Newsline
report number 976 coming your way right now!

(*****
                          NORTH CAROLINA TORNADOES

   Tornadoes and powerful thunderstorms pound the southeastern U.S., with
amateur radio operators using their skills and resources to help warn of
approaching danger.  This time, it's the Raleigh, North Carolina suburb of
Zebulon, hit head on by a series of twisters around dinner time April 15th.
   While there was heavy damage, amazingly only a few minor injuries were
reported.  And hams are getting part of the credit for that amazing
outcome.
   Gary Pearce, KN4AQ, is a member of the Wake Co. Amateur Radio Emergency
Service.  He says the Raleigh Skywarn Network first went in service around
noon on the 15th with hams staying on the air for 13 hours straight.
   During that time, members of Raleigh's Skywarn storm spotter network had
their hands full.  Just before 6pm, a ham reported seeing rotation starting
in a lowered cloud base.  Moments later another report that a tornado is on
the ground, just south of Zebulon.  Nearby hams confirm the sighting.
   Seconds later, the National Weather Service issues a warning.  But it's
not over yet.  During the next half hour, Pearce says hams reported several
additional funnel clouds and tornadoes, following nearly the same path as
the first.
   The Raleigh Skywarn network's reputation is well known among local news
organizations.  Eyewitness reports of the tornadoes as they were being
relayed via amateur radio were monitored and broadcast by Raleigh
television stations that gave many people the time they needed to take
cover.
   In the aftermath of the tornadoes, hams again found their services
needed.  Pierce says telephone circuits in Zebulon were knocked out and
cellular channels were overloaded.  Emergency management officials asked
for hams to help provide communications between the county's Emergency
Operations Center and several sites in Zebulon.
   The tornadoes that hit Zebulon seldom make the news, because no one was
killed.  But Gary Pearce says to look a little deeper and see WHY only a
few minor injuries occurred when Zebulon got hit April 15th.  The fact that
the human toll wasn't higher that night is thanks in part to people like
the hams serving their community in Raleigh, North Carolina.

(*****
                              13 YEAR OLD HERO

   13 year old Vince Bernotas III, N2WXE, is a real life ham radio hero.
Vince is an active member of the Burlington County New Jersey ARES / RACES.
And on March 17th, he turned out to be in the right place at the right
time.  Just ask one of the participants in a 100 mile dirt bike race.
   Vince and his parents were among those helping provide communications
for the 1996 Sandy Lane Motorcycle Enduro.  This endurance race takes place
in the most barren part of southern New Jersey.
   When a rider hit a tree a mile from Vince's checkpoint, Vince assisted
in locating the paralyzed accident victim.  Upon learning that the rider
might be suffering from a fractured back, Vince coordinated response of an
ambulance and emergency vehicles, including a rescue helicopter.
   Now if all this sounds routine, hold on a minute.  It might have been
routine, had there not been a catastrophic radio failure in both the
ambulance and the state police car.  Vince Bernotas saved the day by
forwarding information about the patient's location and condition to net
control Doug McCray, K2QWQ.  McRay then relayed the information to rescue
service dispatchers.  As a result of Vince Bernotas' quick thinking, the
injured rider is recovering.

(*****
                               RESCUE AT SEA

   Another dramatic rescue involving ham radio took place the following
day.  That's when radio enthusiast Bob Karon, AA6RK, of Encino, California,
was checking out repairs and modifications to his vintage Collins radio
equipment.  Around midnight, while working a Florida station, Karon heard a
Canadian yacht sending a distress call. The Cambria had run aground and
reported it was sinking in the Caribbean, 150 miles southwest of Jamaica.
   The signal was weak and fading.  Still, the Cambria's skipper, Kenneth
Cunningham, was able to tell Karon that the yacht was almost on its side
with its mast and antenna nearly in the water.
   Upon getting the vessel's location, Bob Karon called the U.S. Coast
Guard.  But the Cambria's weak signal was too weak for the Coast Guard to
hear.  Rescuers were able to contact a merchant vessel 25 miles away from
the Cambria.
   Bob Karon, who's a freelance musician, stayed on the air nearly 3 hours,
serving as the only connection between the merchant ship and the Cambria.
The merchant vessel finally arrived and sent a lifeboat to the Cambria,
successfully rescuing all four crew members.
   Karon has received special thanks for his efforts.  Captain Robert C.
Gravino is Chief of the U.S. Coast Guard's Search and Rescue Branch.  He
has cited Karon for his professional and humanitarian actions assisting
mariners in distress.  Ham radio helped made it possible.

(*****
                             RFI DISAPPOINTMENT

   A major disappointment to anyone hoping the FCC could help resolve
interference problems involving televisions, radios and stereo systems.
The Commission says it cannot help because the cause of the interference is
the design or construction of the products.  And that, the FCC says, is not
a violation of any commission rules.
   The Commission does say that its Compliance and Information Bureau will
continue to take appropriate enforcement action where it has been
determined that the interference is caused by violations of the
Communications Act or FCC's rules or policies.
   In the meantime, the Commission says that basic consumer information
about interference solutions is now available on the Internet.  Just check
in to the FCC Compliance and Information Bureau's home page.  The
information is also available through the FCC's FAX on demand service.  The
number to call is 202, 418- 2830. You'll need to request document number
69-04.

(*****
                             DAYTON '96 CHANGES

   Major changes are coming to the Dayton Hamvention in May. One of the
biggest is that a number of forums and seminar sessions are moving off-site
from the Hara Arena.  Ken Allen, KB8KE, General Chairman of Hamvention '96
says there are good reasons for this:

   "We have had a few difficulties with one of the forum rooms that we have
been using in the past.  A rather crowded room.  It has been warm and
uncomfortable and that has been with the weather   that has been somewhat
less warm than we would like. With the move to May and also trying to
accommodate getting better facilities for some of the forums, we are in the
process of moving a few of these forums to the nearby Meadowdale High
School where they, over the last number of years have held the FCC testing
and the alternate activities."  KB8KE

   One of the forums changing location is the Media Forum produced and
hosted by Newsline.  It is set for the Meadowdale High School Auditorium on
Saturday, May 18th at 9:30 a.m.  We'll have more information about the
Hamvention next week.

(*****
                                 NEW VA SM

   Chris Wright, KD4TZN, of Rocky Mount, Virginia, has been appointed
Virginia Section Manager by ARRL Field Services Manager Rick Palm, K1CE,
has appointed Assistant Section Wright replaces Edward Dingler, N4KSO, of
Chilhowie, Virginia, who resigned March 22 due to increased business
commitments.

(*****
                                VANITY DELAY

   You've been waiting for vanity call signs, and you still don't have one.
So what's the holdup?  Several petitions are still preventing the FCC from
opening the first gate of the ham radio vanity call sign program.
   One petition asks the Commission to again amend the vanity call sign
rules.  This time, the request is to permit survivors of Extra class
licensees to get a late parent's call sign without having to upgrade, but
only if the applicant has held an Advanced class license for at least 25
years and if the parent has been dead for more than two years.
   The FCC has granted a reconsideration request from David Popkin, W2CC.
Popkin is asking to limit relatives to obtaining the call sign of deceased
relatives that were of the same or lower operator class held by the
applicant.
   Popkin now wants the FCC to fine tune the rule's wording. He wants the
Commission to make it clear that if no call sign on an applicant's list of
choices is available the FCC refund the fee.  He also asks that the
Commission not classify the original call sign vacated by the applicant as
a vanity call sign requiring a fee for future renewals.  Finally, Popkin
asks that renewal applications be accepted on the license expiration date,
not just prior to the date.
   And the Hill Country Amateur Radio Club in Kerrville, Texas, has its own
ideas on the vanity call sign program.  The Club wants the Commission to
allow club stations issued licenses after March 24th, 1995, to apply for
the call signs of deceased members under Gate 1A.  Their club's call sign,
KC5OJZ, was issued May 5th, 1995.
   Finally, there's the request by the Southern California Repeater and
Remote Base Association.  That group says that in the process of revising
the vanity call sign rules, the FCC unintentionally introduced inequities.
The Association cites the Commission's denial of an ARRL reconsideration
request to limit an application for a vanity call sign to those available
in the applicant's call sign district.
   The Association wants the Commission to change the procedures for Gate 1
filings.  Specifically, to allow for placing a deceased family members'
higher grade call sign in reserve for two years to give an applicant time
to upgrade.  Concerns have been expressed that the Commission failed to
provide a 2 year upgrade period as the vanity call sign program commences.

(*****
                                  WARC 99

   In international news, ARRL president Rod Stafford, KB6ZV, has appointed
the members of a committee to advise the League's Board of Directors on
policies for the 1999 World Radiocommunication Conference.  The Board
established the Committee during its 1996 annual meeting.  The group's
first task is to define the process by which membership input should be
solicited and the opinions of the membership objectively determined.  The
Committee is expected to complete its work by mid December.

(*****
                            NEW GB2RS BROADCAST

   The Radio Society of Great Britain reports that it initiated another new
GB2RS news broadcast on Sunday, the 7th of April, covering the Telford area
of the United Kingdom.  The news reader is G3JKX, and the broadcast is at
12:00 hours UTC via the GB3TF 70 centimetre FM repeater on European ham
radio repeater channel RB8.

(*****
                                  KIDLINK

   Also from the United Kingdoms, word that "Kidlink '96" takes place on
Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the 2nd, 3rd and 4th of May.  During Kidlink
'96, schools across Great Britain are encouraged to put ham stations on the
air so that youngsters, especially those between the ages of 10 and 15, can
use amateur radio to communicate with their peers in this country and
overseas.

(*****
                                   SAREX

   NASA Astronaut Shannon Lucid is making youngsters around the world very
happy by talking to them from the Russian Mir space station by ham radio.
Three young Indiana amateurs are among the first to talk to Lucid who is
operating as R0MIR.  The youngsters are identified as 11 year old Jessica
Buszkiewicz, KB9KVQ, 13 year old Jimmy Buszkiewicz, KG9DL, and 15 year old
Keith Price Jr, KB9MQA. Also on hand were their parents Jim Buszkiewicz,
KF9EB, and Keith Price Sr, N9TJH.  All are members of the Studebaker Hill
Amateur Radio Club In New Carlisle, Indiana.  The QSO took place on
Saturday, March 30th during Mir's 7:36 AM eastern pass.

(*****
                 HAM ASTRONAUT TO VISIT CONNECTICUT SCHOOL

   NASA Astronaut Ron Parise, WA4SIR, will put in a rare personal
appearance May 16 at the Plymouth Center School in Plymouth, Connecticut.
Parise flew aboard STS-67 last year and had a successful SAREX contact with
students at the 600 student elementary school.
   The visit by WA4SIR is a result of the efforts of Len Brown, KD1OY, who
volunteers at the school.  While recovering from a back injury that put him
out of his regular line of work as a mechanic, he approached school
administrators about Amateur Radio and the SAREX program.  He brought an HF
receiver along to monitor the WA3NAN SAREX broadcasts and was invited back
several times.

(*****
                                TMRCC ALIVE

   Southern California's recently formed Two Meter Repeater Coordinating
Council says that its alive and well and has put out a four page newsletter
that says so.  According to the April issue of the TMRCC News the
organization has heard from 110 out of 243 two meter repeaters known to be
operating in the region.  Of these, 92 responded in favor of recognizing
TMRCC as the bona fide repeater coordinator while 14 indicated a preference
for the long established Two Meter Area Spectrum Management Association.
The other three who responded indicated that they were technically Northern
California repeaters with primary coordination from NARCC.
   Steve Jensen, W6RHM, the interim president of The Two Meter Repeater
Coordinating Council of Southern California admits that the results do not
represent the majority of the 243 repeaters listed for the region in the
latest ARRL Directory.  He does say that the response does show a clear
preference toward TMRCC among those who chose to vote.
   The next TMRCC meeting is slated for Saturday, May the 11th in Los
Angeles.  This will be an election meeting with a talk in station guiding
everyone in on 146.535 MHZ simplex.  It will be interesting to see how many
of the 92 repeaters backing TMRCC send delegates to the conclave.

(*****
                                ANTIQUE WWW

   The Antique Wireless Association is now on the Internet. According to
James Frederick, K2GBR, the AWA home page features a picture of the
building housing both the Antique Wireless Association's, Radio
Communication Museum and the Bloomfield, New York, Historical Society.
   Bruce Kelley, W2ICE, is the museum's curator.  The museum is devoted to
research, preservation and documentation of the history of wireless
communication.  A wide range of historical communication equipment is on
display, much of it still in working order.  Contact them directly for the
Universal Resource Locator address.

(*****
                                     DX

   In DX, that was the real Martti Laine, OB2BH that you heard operating
last week as VK9XM operations from the newly established Christmas Island
Casino Resort.  Martti led his family team of OH2BE and OH2KNB, to a well
earned DX vacation over the Easter Holidays but ham radio was not forgotten
during their stay.  QSL is via JA1BK.
   Also, a reminder that the dates for ARRL Field Day this year are June
22nd and the 23rd.  Father's Day is a week earlier on Sunday, June 16th.

(*****
                                HAM IN NEED

   A California ham is in need and a lot of his friends are pitching in to
help.

   Mark Hill, KC6UGU was recently diagnosed with having a tumor 1 inch by 2
inches on the left side of his brain and growing rapidly.  Mark and his
wife Peggy, KD6DLM have been very active in varying facets of amateur
radio, but primarily in the mountain search and rescue arena, which of
coarse falls under the purview of the San Diego County Sheriffs Department
which the Radio Amateurs Civil Emergency Service RACES helps to support.
In mid January, Peggy noticed Mark began slurring words and was having
trouble standing upright on skis.  A sport that he loved.  They immediately
headed to the ER where a CAT scan reveled the disturbing news.
   To help Mark, the San Diego Mountain Search and Rescue Team will be
putting on a benefit on May 11th, 1996 at Romona Oaks Park in Romona,
California from 10am to 3pm.  There will be demonstrations put on by the
search and rescue team and representatives will be on hand from the
sheriffs department, the Radio Amateurs Civil Emergency Service and also
the sheriffs helicopter will be available for demonstrations.
   If you would like to help Mark, please call the San Diego Mountain
Search and Rescue Team at [phone] for further information.

   Newsline joins with the rest of the nations ham radio community in
wishing Mark Hill, KC6UGU, a full and speedy recovery.

(*****
   And for this week, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline.  You can
write to us at:

                                NEWSLINE
                                P.O.Box 660937
                                Arcadia, California
                                91066

   For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF at our editors desk, we at Newsline
say 73 and we thank you for listening.

(* * Newsline is copyright 1996 & All rights reserved. * *



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