Ham Radio/Ham Radio CD-ROM (Emerald Software) (1995).ISO/news/al881228/al881228.txt

Text File | 1988-01-25 | 14KB | 327 lines

The ARRL Letter, Volume 7, No. 27, January 4, 1989

  Published by:
       The American Radio Relay League, Inc.
       225 Main St.
       Newington, CT 06111

  Editor:
       Jay Mabey, NU0X

     Material from The ARRL Letter may be reproduced in whole or
in part, in any form, including photoreproduction and electronic
databanks, provided that credit is given to The ARRL Letter and
to the American Radio Relay League, Inc.


ARRL COORDINATES SHIPMENT OF PACKET STATIONS TO USSR

     Six donated complete packet VHF stations have been sent to
the USSR at the request of Leonid Labutin, UA3CR, who has been
put in charge of radio communications in support of the Armenian
earthquake relief effort by the Radio Sports Federation of the
USSR.  Leo had requested assistance in the form of portable
packet-radio stations to help the Soviets develop their fledgling
packet-radio network in response to the emergency.
     Leo is well known to North American amateurs by his long
involvement in the amateur satellite program and in the joint
Canadian-Soviet skitrek earlier this year.
     Thanks to QST columnist Vern Riportella, WA2LQQ, donations
of equipment were lined up from the Tandy Corporation (six Model
102 laptop computers), Yaesu USA (six FT-23R transceivers), and
AEA (six PK-88 PNC's, a PK-232 data controller, and six Hotrod
antennas).
     The donations were shipped to ARRL HQ, and employees of the
ARRL lab spent two days making up cables to integrate the donated
equipment as six complete, separate packet stations.  The ARRL
added a supply of batteries and some other accessories to the
shipment.
     The completed stations were packed and given to Vern
Riportella, who delivered them to Kennedy Airport, where they
were flown to Moscow December 21.
     As of this writing, several of the portable packet stations
are on the air, supplementing communications between the stricken
area, Moscow, and the rest of the world.

FCC PROPOSES TO EXPAND 6-METER REPEATER SUBBAND
     The FCC has proposed, in Docket 88-527, to expand the 6-
meter repeater subband by 1 MHz, to include 51-52 MHz.  The
proposal is in response to two petitions filed by two repeater
groups on the West Coast, The Southern California Six Meter Club
(SCSMC) and The Southern California Repeater and Remote Base
Association (SCRRBA).  Both groups requested expansion of the 6-
meter repeater subband in order to accommodate a growing number
of repeaters in the band.
     The FCC stated: "It appears that an expansion of the 6-meter
repeater subband would provide for additional flexibility in the
use of the 6-meter band.  The amateur community could determine
for itself the exact usage to which the 1 MHz of additional
spectrum would be put.  In urban areas, the 1 MHz could be
utilized to make possible additional repeater operation.  In less
populated areas, where there may be no present need for
additional repeater operations, the spectrum could continue to be
available for other types of operation."
     The FCC noted it was concerned with the effect the expansion
may have on the present users of the 51-52 MHz segment and
invited comments on the need for repeater expansion and its
impact on existing users.  Comments on the proposal are due
January 27, 1989, with reply comments due February 28, 1989.


EPA WILL NOT ISSUE RF EXPOSURE GUIDELINES
     The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) no longer plans to
issue federal guidelines for public exposure to radio- frequency
and microwave radiation during the 1989 and 1990 federal fiscal
years.  In 1986 the EPA had outlined four options for nonionizing
radiation risks, and held a public hearing on the subject.  These
options, which did not appear to affect radio amateurs, are
outlined in August 1986 QST, page 51.
     The EPA said it was halting the work to concentrate on what
it considers more pressing issues such as radon contamination and
underground nuclear waste repositories.
     The broadcast industry was surprised at the EPA decision and
fears that without federal guidance from the EPA, there will be a
proliferation of state and local rules much stricter than those
presently adopted by the American National Standards Institute
(ANSI).
     The EPA is still scheduled to release as assessment of the
cancer threat posed by low- and high-frequency electromagnetic
radiation by the end of the year.  This assessment could
influence the perception of the health threat of electromagnetic
radiation and again increase pressure on the EPA to issue federal
guidelines.

FCC RECONSIDERS CABLE TV TERMINAL EMISSION STANDARDS
     Back in the summer of 1987, the ARRL found itself on the
same wavelength as the National Cable Television Association
(NCTA) in advocating tougher cable TV terminal emission
standards.  In Docket 85-301, the Commission subjected cable
system terminal devices (CSTDs) to field strength emission limits
of Part 15 of the Commission's rules, rather than the more
stringent Part 76, thus permitting RF leakage at higher levels
than was previously allowed.
     The NCTA filed a petition for reconsideration suggesting an
alternative approach.  The NCTA proposed that the FCC distinguish
between emissions from the "internally generated" sources  (such
as local oscillators) and emissions of signals that are
introduced into the terminal device (such as external RF
signals).
     Internally generated cable leakage would be subject to the
more strict Part 76 limits, whereas the externally generated
signals that enter the cable system through cable terminal
devices would be subject to Part 15 standards.
     Since this view was, in part, the same as the ARRL's, we
filed a brief statement in support of the NCTA petition for
reconsideration.  In our statement we said:  "This
counterproposal (by the NCTA) is sound from an engineering point
of view and promises to minimize instances of interaction between
cable systems and amateur stations.  It is a far better
alternative than that adopted by the Commission thus far."
     The Commission has now ruled on the NCTA petition.  The FCC
said:  "We agree...that the application of Part 76 emission
limits...would be the surest way to prevent harmful interference.
However, we are not convinced that such a conservative measure is
necessary or in the public interest.  The Part 76 emission limits
were designed to apply to open air cable installations where
radiated emissions would not be attenuated significantly by
surrounding structures.  CSTDs (cable system terminal devices)...
are located within subscriber premises and share a common
environment with other devices (cable ready television receivers
or VCRs) which are connected to cable systems.  Although those
devices are presently allowed higher emission levels than the
cable system, they have historically demonstrated that they are
not a threat to the operation of the cable system or to other
radio services. Therefore, we feel that it would be unnecessarily
burdensome and costly to require manufacturers of CSTDs to comply
with tighter emission standards when their devices pose no
greater threat than cable-ready television receivers or VCRs."
The Commission therefore will maintain its previous decision to
apply the Part 15 emission limits to CSTDs.


MIDWEST BALLOON LAUNCH IS SUCCESSFUL
     Bill Brown, WB8ELK, and Phil Frazier, KA8TEF, conducted the
most successful balloon launch to date from the Midwest October
23.  The balloon was launched at Findlay, Ohio, and its on-board
"packet package" consisted of an ICOM 2AT, and Pac-Comm TNC.  The
flight provided two hours of spirited packet-radio activity
before the balloon burst and a parachute lowered the package back
to earth.  The range of the operation extended out 400 miles!
(TNX  Gateway)

TV CABLE COMPANY ORDERED TO FORFEIT $2000
     The FCC Philadelphia Field Office has ordered the Raystay
Company, trading as TV Cable of Carlisle (Pa), to forfeit $2000
for repeated violations of the FCC signal leakage standard.
During two separate inspections of its cable system, FCC
personnel found a total of 25 instances of excessive signal
leakage.
     The FCC's rules prohibit cable television systems using
frequencies between 54 and 216 MHz from exceeding a maximum
signal leakage standard of 20 microvolts per meter measured at a
distance of ten feet from its cable.  Compliance with this rule
is required to ensure that cable television systems do not
interfere with over-the-air users in the same area.
     The FCC has denied a request from the Raystay Company to
review the $2000 forfeiture.

220 MHZ DISTANCE RECORD FALLS
     The old distance record of 1181 miles set in 1982 by Al
Ward, WB5LUA, and Peter Shilton, VE3EMS, fell to the advances of
two challengers recently.
     The new record of 1289 miles was set September 9 by Richard
Roderick, K5UR, Little Rock, Arkansas, and David Olean, K1WHS,
West Lebanon, Maine, besting the old record by more than 100
miles!
     Roderick utilized a Kenwood TS-520 with a transverter and
amplifier at 135 watts.  The antenna was a single 17-element
Boomer and GaAsFet preamp at 90 feet.  Olean used a Kenwood TS-
820S with transverter and an 8877 amplifier at the legal limit.
His antenna system consisted of four Boomers, stacked, with a 1
dB NF preamp.

FCC-ISSUED CALL SIGN UPDATE
     The following is a list of THE FCC's most recently issued
call signs. (December 1)

DIST     GRP"A"   GRP"B"    GRP"C"   GRP"D"
         Extra   Advanced  Tech/Gen  Novice

0        WO0Z     KE0ZM    N0JYT   KB0DNE
1        NU1P     KC1MV    N1GDL   KA1SUP
2        WM2L     KE2KJ    N2IUO   KB2GPA
3        NT3A     KD3KP    N3GRH   KA3TVE
4        AB4LX    KM4LB    N4ULP   KC4HSF
5        AA5IZ    KG5PQ    N5NNP   KB5HWC
6        AA6LQ    KJ6OV    N6TUM   KC6AXI
7        WV7L     KF7PO    N7LYP   KB7GER
8        WM8X     KE8VK    N8KDJ   KB8FTC
9        WE9P     KE9NV    N9HZB   KB9BSQ

Guam     KH2K     AH2CD    KH2DN   WH2ALU
Hawaii   **       AH6JJ    NH6SD   WH6CBB
Alaska   **       AL7KO    NL7PC   WL7BSS
USVI     NP2E     KP2BN    NP2CT   WP2AGE
P.R.     **       KP4PW    WP4SK   WP4IGE

** indicates that all 2 x 1 call signs have been assigned in
those areas.

OSCAR 13 HANDBOOK AVAILABLE
     AMSAT-UK in collaboration with AMSAT-DL, have completed the
first OSCAR 13 Operator's Handbook.  The sixty-page book provides
all the critical data needed to utilize OSCAR 13 and understand
how it works.  Some of the topics discussed are: history of OSCAR
13, bandplan, station requirements, and communicating with the
bird; transponders: modes and scheduling; antenna systems, and
telemetry formats and decoding information.
     The Handbook is available in North America from Project
Oscar.  For further details, send a SASE to:

                         AO-13 Handbook
                          Project OSCAR
                           PO Box 1136
                    Los Altos, CA 94023-1136

QSL ADDRESS FOR U1MIR
     We have recently been made aware of the following address
for those who have worked Musa and Vlad on board the orbiting
Soviet space station, Mir.  Send QSL cards to:

                          B. Stephanov
                             Box 679
                          Moscow 107207
                              USSR



FCC SHUTS DOWN UNLICENSED RADIO STATION
     FCC Engineers shut down an illegal repeater station in
Manhattan, New York recently.
     The station, located at the residence of William Matos on
South Street in downtown Manhattan, was operating on 148-149.9
MHz, frequencies reserved for use by the US government for fixed,
mobile and satellite communications.  The unauthorized repeater
was being used for personal communications by an estimated dozen
individuals in the New York area.
     In a later news release, the FCC said that six Manhattan
residents were fined $750 each for using the repeater.  The
individual who installed the repeater station, identified by the
FCC as Michael Munoz, of Astoria NY, was fined $2000.
     Speaking of unlicensed radio stations, remember the pirate
shipboard station called Radio New York International?   Anchored
off Long Island, the ship was broadcasting "rock and roll" on the
high end of the AM broadcast band.  It was boarded and taken off
the air by FCC and other federal agents in the summer of 1987,
creating a national news event.
     It seems that Radio New York International's founders had
again publicly announced plans to resume the broadcasts from
another ship, so the government filed suit to enjoin them from
doing so.  The case was heard in US District Court in Boston.
The judge, in granting summary judgement for the government, said
that the First Amendment does not grant anyone the right to
broadcast by radio and that government regulation of broadcasting
is constitutional.  The judge stated that the FCC must allocate
the limited available broadcast frequencies by way of the
licensing process, and that this type of regulation best serves
the public interest.  He further concluded that such regulation
of the radio bands does not infringe upon the constitutional
rights of the defendants.

TEMPORARY CHRISTMAS THIRD PARTY AGREEMENT WITH KOREA
     As usual every Christmas holiday season, the US and the
Republic of Korea shared a temporary third party agreement
between December 18, 1988 and January 2, 1989.  The agreement
enabled US servicemen to send and receive holiday greetings via
amateur radio.