Amateur Radio NewslineT Report 1882 - September 6 2013 Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1882 with a release date of September 6 2013 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a Q-S-T. A trans-Pacific emergency communications test is deemed a success; a ham radio satellite band at 5 Gigahertz could be in jeopardy in Europe; registration is now open for the Western Hemisphere's biggest transmitter hunting event; a ham flies a Presidential Medal to the International Space Station and some very unexpected words at the wrong time from on high. Find out the details on Amateur Radio NewslineT report number 1882 coming your way right now. (Billboard Cart Here) ** WORLDBEAT: PAN PACIFIC RESCUE RADIO EXERCISE DEEMED AN UNQUALIFIED SUCCESS A follow-up to our recent story on a planned joint MARS and civilian trans-pacific emergency communications drill. It was called operation Pacific Endeavor-13 and it teamed the United States Military Auxiliary Radio System with hams across the Pacific in an ocean spanning emergency exercise. Amateur Radio Newsline's Don Wilbanks, AE5DW, has the details: -- Everything about the August 25th and 26th Pacific Endeavor- 13 simulated emergency response was staged except for one unexpected occurrence. Electric power actually did fail in the pretend nation of Pacifica which was the supposed disaster beaten Asian nation that a small band of ham radio operators were trying to assist. The power failure happened right at the start of the globe- spanning exercise organized by the U.S. Defense Department. At 9N1AA in Nepal, the real "Pacifica," operators kept going on battery power with only 25 watts output. But a stroke of the other kind of luck provided a low-power digital link to an amateur in Afghanistan. That was Tim McFadden, T6TM. He is a retired Army communicator now helping train Afghan troops who had only joined Army MARS less than a month before the exercise Although the operation only lasted just under three hours, months had gone into its planning. The Pentagon and U.S. Pacific Command set it up as a test of amateur emergency support in Asia after Japan's tsunami catastrophe, using procedures of the International Amateur Radio Union, the Military Auxiliary Radio System, military stations and radio amateurs. When power was restored in Nepal there were some limited voice contacts with Afghanistan and Germany. Hawaii could hear but not talk to Nepal because propagation lasted only a few minutes. But the real star of the exercise was the digital mode PSK31 that appeared to propagate well on low power. This even in the otherwise poor High Frequency band conditions experienced during the exercise. Only one negative note. During rehearsals, messaging was disrupted by hams seeking to contact Nepal, which is rarely heard on the air. That was alleviated by the use of abbreviated call signs plus the dependence on digital communications during the actual exercise itself. One unique feature of the event was use of the Defense Department's open bulletin board for civil emergencies called the All Partners Access Network or APAN. Army MARS Operations Chief David McGinnis coordinated information flow via APAN to the Department of Defense and U.S. Pacific Command. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Don Wilbanks, AE5DW, in New Orleans. -- A preliminary account had a total of 60 stations logged at MARS headquarters at Fort Huachuca and to the station in Germany of MARS region director Daniel Wolff. (N1IN / AAR1FP via QRZ.com) ** WORLDBEAT: AMATEUR RADIO LICENSING EXAM TO BE HELD IN BANGLADESH After a five year wait the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Authority has announced that an amateur radio licensing exam session will be held on November 9th. The test will be made up of 50 multiple choice questions covering the fundamentals of radio engineering, basic electronics, that nations amateur radio rules, and several other topics. An applicant must score at least 50% to pass. More information is on the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Authority website at www.btrc.gov.bd. (S21SM, Southgate) ** RESCUE RADIO: HAM RADIO SUPPORT IN FIGHTING RIM FIRE WINDS DOWN The California Rim Wildfire continues and so does the volunteer communications support provided by radio amateurs. Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, has been following this story and has the latest: -- As we go to air, there's good news. Shifting weather patterns have brought some level of moisture to the fire ravaged area. This together with massive firefighting efforts means that at airtime that the Rim fire is about 80% contained. That does not mean the fire is under control, but rather its not expected that the blaze will be able to move past those areas of the containment line. With the 80 percent containment the sheriff's offices in Tuolumne and Mariposa counties have been able to lift evacuation advisories for several communities. This includes those with several thousand structures that were in the fire's path. It also means that after some sixteen days of continuous duty that volunteer ham radio operators with Tuolumne County ARES and RACES were able to stand down and return to their normal lives. As previously reported, ham radio was first asked to assist back on August 19th. That was when communications assistance was required to the towns of Tuolumne and Mi-Wuk Village which were under voluntary evacuation alert. We've since learned that hams also served duty assisting the Red Cross in setting up an evacuation center in the town of Groveland and later at the Tuolumne County Fairgrounds in the city of Sonora. Operators associated with the Amateur Radio Emergency Service provided information into and out of these centers during the time that evacuees were being housed and fed at those locations. At the height of the evacuation news reports say that the Tuolumne Fairgrounds was the temporary home to upward of 100 evacuees. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, in the newsroom in Los Angeles. -- Full containment of the Rim Fire is not expected until September 20th at the earliest. ** RADIO LAW: CEPT CONSIDERS USE OF 5830-5850 MHZ HAM RADIO SATELLITE BAND Ham radio satellites could wind up being forced to share spectrum at 5 point 8 Gigahertz with terrestrial devices. At least in those nations that are CEPT signatories. Amateur Radio Newsline's Bruce Tennant, K6PZW has the particulars: -- A CEPT Short Range Devices or SE24 meeting took place in Vienna, Austria on August 26th and 27th. This to discuss the future use of 5350 to 5470 MHz and 5725 to 5925 MHz for wireless access systems including wireless or radio-based local area networks. The Amateur Satellite Service has a downlink band lies from 5830 to 5850 MHz. Those involved in space communications believe that introducing such ground based services in this spectrum would inevitably raise the noise floor. This in turn could make the weak signals from satellites difficult if not totally impossible to receive. Right now, no final decision on the future of this spectrum has been made by the CEPT, but as the squeeze for more commercial bandspace grows, the entire 5 Gigahertz band appears a prime target for more sharing on an international basis among CEPT signatories and that includes most of Europe and possessions of European nations. More on this recent meeting is on the World Wide Web at www.cept.org/ecc For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, in Los Angeles. -- CEPT stands for the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations. It was established in 1959 by 19 countries, which expanded to 26 nations during its first ten years of existence. Today 48 countries are members of CEPT's with the organizations activities including co-operation on commercial, operational, regulatory and technical standardization issues. (Southgate, CEPT, others) ** HAM RADIO IN SPACE: FIRST DANISH ASTRONAUT TO FLY TO THE ISS IN Andreas Mogensen will be the first Danish astronaut to make a trip to the International Space Station. Mogensen will ride to the ISS on board a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to be launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in September 2015. During his stay onboard the ISS, Mogensen will conduct a series of experiments in preparation of future missions and in the orbital testing new technologies. This 10 day mission will be Mogensen's first foray into space. The flight is directly connected to the new era in ISS operations where 2 experienced spacefarers from the USA and Russia will work on the ISS for one year starting in May of 2015. More about his upcoming space adventure is on the web at tinyurl.com/Andreas-Mogensen-ISS. And we will have more ham radio space related news later on in this weeks newscast. (ESA) ** BREAK 1 We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including the WA2JWR repeater serving Toms River New Jersey. (5 sec pause here) ** RADIO LAW: CHANGES COME TO THE TRAVELERS INFORMATION STATION SERVICE The FCC has updated its rules governing Travelers' Information or T-I-S radio Stations. It's also seeking public input on further planned changes. Amateur Radio Newsline's Stephan Kinford, N8WB, has more: -- The commission created the Travelers Information Service in 1977. At that time it authorized stations to operate low power transmissions on 530 kHz on a primary basis and in the 535 to 1705 kHz band on a secondary non-interfering basis with broadcasters who are the primary spectrum users. At inception, the agency envisioned local governments would use Travelers' Information Stations to reduce traffic congestion. Commercial broadcasters opposed the creation of the service on grounds that the information conveyed would duplicate what they provided and as such would siphon off their add revenues or cause interference to their operations. The government prevailed and over the years, Travelers' Information Station operators have wanted to broaden the scope of their content and eliminate the restriction that confines their transmitting sites to areas near roads, bridges, highways and public transportation terminals like bus stops, train stations and airports. For example the American Association of Information Radio Operators wanted to broadcast excerpts of NOAA Weather Radio transmissions and AMBER Alerts. As a result AMBER Alerts are now allowed on Travelers' Information stations. In its latest decision FCC has clarified that Travelers' Information stations operators can already transmit weather alerts regarding difficult or hazardous conditions. This is in addition to information regarding motor vehicle crashes, emergency points of assembly, road closures and construction, parking, current driving travel times, air flight status, truck weigh stations, driver rest areas, locations of truck services, and road closures. The FCC says that all transmitted content must remain noncommercial and must relate to travel, an emergency or an imminent threat of danger. As such, the commission has nixed the idea of routinely retransmitting entire NOAA Weather Radio Alerts. However, the commission will now allow Travelers' Information Stations to integrate those alerts into broadcasts but only during especially hazardous conditions. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Stephen Kinford, N8WB, in Wadsworth, Ohio. -- In a Further Notice, the agency is proposing deleting requiring the filtering of Travelers' Information Station audio frequencies above 3 kHz. So far those commenting for the most part have told the agency that filtering makes it harder to hear the broadcasts while adding little to interference protection of commercial AM stations. (FCC, RW) ** PUBLIC SERVICE: IDAHO HAMS NEEDED FOR KOOTENAI RIVER RIDE SEPT 14 An Idaho Amateur Radio Emergency Services group will be providing radio communications for that states Kootenai River Ride to be held September 14, and the group is in need of additional licensed radio amateurs to assist. A planning session is slated for Tuesday evening September 10th at the Bonners Ferry Main Fire Station in Boundary County and any radio amateur from that area who wants to be a part of this outing is invited to attend. If being a part of this very worthwhile public service is of interest you them please contact Gary Leonard by e-mail to gary (at) pvfd (dot) us. (newsbf.com, eHam.net) ** NAMES IN THE NEWS: FCC'S GREG COONS IS HEADING BACK TO VIRGINIA Some names in the news. First up is Greg Coons, who currently works as an agent in the FCC's Denver field office, but has been promoted to resident agent to be based in Norfolk, Virginia. Coons grew up in Virginia Beach and started his commission career in Norfolk in 1991. He was transferred to Denver in 1996 after a reorganization of FCC field offices, and has been based there for 17 years. He received his BSEE from Old Dominion University in 1986. (SMPTE Rocky Mountain Section and SBE Chapter 48) ** NAMES IN THE NEWS: ASTRONAUT HAM FLIES PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL TO ISS An astronaut aboard the International Space Station has paid tribute to the late United States president John F. Kennedy by flying a medallion to the orbiting outpost that bears the likeness of the 35th President of the United States. NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy, KF6KDR, who is serving as a flight engineer on board the space station, radioed photos down to Mission Control on Wednesday, August 21st showing the medal floating in front of a window with a view of the Earth below. The 3-inch bronze medallion that Cassidy took to the space station was created as part of the U.S. Mint's presidential medallion series. The front of features a bust of the late United States president. Its reverse side in inscribed with a quote from Kennedy's 1961 inaugural address which says: "We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty." When he returns to Earth this fall, Cassidy will deliver the medal back to the JFK Library, where it will become a part of its permanent collection. The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is located in Boston, Massachusetts and has a permanent exhibit devoted to the race for space that began in the 1960's. (space.com, VenturesInSpace, other news reports) ** NAMES IN THE NEWS: CUBAN AMATEUR LOOKING FOR UK CONTACTS CO6CBF is looking for stations in the United Kingdom to try contacts with him over the FO-29 amateur radio satellite. Currently, when the satellite is in apogee, it has a good footprint that covers both the UK and Cuba for a few minutes. Anyone wanting to try a FO-29 contact with Cuba should e-mail Hector via co6cbf (at) frcuba (dot) co (cu) cu. (GB2RS) ** HAM HAPPENINGS: QRP OPS NEEDED FOR 2014 THIRTEEN COLONIES SPECIAL EVENT Ken Villone, KU2US, writing via eHam.net, says that the 13 Colonies Special Event is looking to enlist one dedicated SSB and CW QRP operator for each the original colony states state for 2014 and beyond. Applicants must hold a General class or higher United States Amateur Radio license but there are no special station requirements. KU2US notes that this will be a QRP to QRP operation only as planners want to give the low power stations a chance to get a 13 Colony States "Clean Sweep" endorsement on his or her certificate. Those interested should contact KU2US via e- mail using the information found on QRZ.com. More information on the recent 2013 event as well as the early planning for next year is on the web at www.13colonies.info. KU2US adds that the New York QRP position is already filled for 2014. (KU2US via eHAM.net) ** HAM HAPPENINGS: ARRL - TAPR DCC IN SEATTLE SEPTEMBER 20-22 A reminder that the 32nd Annual ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications Conference is less than three weeks away. The gathering will take place September 20th to the 22nd, in Seattle, Washington. The DCC is an international forum for radio amateurs involved in digital communications technology to meet, publish their work, and present new ideas and techniques. Presenters and attendees will have the opportunity to exchange ideas and learn about recent hardware and software advances, theories, experimental results, and practical applications. More about this event is on the web at www.tapr.org/dcc (DCC) ** RADIOSPORTS: CALIFORNIA QSO PARTY OCTOBER 5 AND 6 The 47th running of the California QSO Party or CQP is slated this year to begin at 1600 UTC on October 5th and end at 2200 UTC on October 6th. The Northern California Contest Club sponsors this annual event and offers a variety of awards open to stations inside and outside of California. These include plaques for the top operators in various categories including a youth award for those under the age of 18. A list of the awards is included in the rules and can be found on-line www.cqp.org. (N6WM, W6TCP) ** BREAK 2 This is ham radio news for today's radio amateur. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline with links to the world from our only official website at www.arnewsline.org and being relayed by the volunteer services of the following radio amateur: (5 sec pause here) ** RADIOSPORTS: ORGANIZING THE 2013 USA ARDF CHAMPIONSHIPS Registration is now open for the Western Hemisphere's biggest transmitter hunting event of 2013, and you might become a medal winner there. Newsline's Joe Moell, K0OV, has the details. -- The mountains of North Carolina will be the setting for the 13th USA championships of on-foot hidden transmitter hunting. Fans of this international sport, which is also called foxtailing, radio-orienteering and ARDF, are making travels plans now, and they want you to join in. Tuesday, October 8 will be arrival day for the optional practice sessions on both two meters and 80 meters, which begin early on Wednesday. Thursday and Friday will have two specialty events, sprints and foxoring. Those who cannot be present for all five days will arrive Friday, October 11 for the classic championships. Saturday morning will be the two-meter main event, followed in the evening by the banquet and awards presentation. The 80- meter main event will be on Sunday morning with awards presented afterwards, in time for those who must hurry home. Organizing the 2013 USA Championships are Joseph Huberman, K5JGH and Ruth Bromer, WB4QZG. Both have competed at previous USA Championships and earned medals. Setting the courses will be Nadia Scharlau, with radio support from Charles Scharlau, NZ0I. Nadia learned ARDF as a youth in the Soviet Union and won her first gold medal by competing for USSR at the European Championships in 1984. In 2006 in Bulgaria, she became the first Team USA member to win a World Championships medal. As always, our national Championships are open to anyone of any age who can safely navigate the woods. Most will be licensed hams, but that's not required, so encourage your unlicensed-but-athletic friends and family members to join in. You can watch and learn from the best in the country, as well as visitors from around the world. Registration is now open on the Web and there is an e-mail reflector for Q&A with the organizers. Learn all about the championships and the sport of radio-orienteering at www.homingin.com. That's homingin, as one word, homingin.com. I hope to see you there. From sunny southern California, this is Joe Moell, K0OV, for Amateur Radio Newsline. -- Again if you missed it that URL is simply www.homingin.com (K0OV) ** RADIO TO SPACE: US SHUTS DOWN US AIR FORCE SPACE SURVEILLANCE RADAR The US Air Force Space Surveillance Radar or AFSSS has stopped transmitting. This, as a result of sequester budget cuts mandated by Congress. The Space Surveillance Radar which has been operational since 1961 and is only one part of the nations global Space Surveillance Network. The system is designed to transmit what the military calls a "fence" of radar energy into space to detect all objects intersecting it. The operational advantage of is its ability to detect objects in a random or non cued fashion, rather than tracking objects based on previous information. The disadvantage is the inherent inaccuracy of the data, based on its dated design. Military officials have devised what they call modified operating modes for the Perimeter Acquisition Radar Characterization System located at Cavalier Air Force Station, North Dakota and for the Space Surveillance Radar at Eglin Air Force Base, in Florida. This allows the discontinuation of the older Air Force Space Surveillance Radar operations while still maintaining solid space situational awareness. The AFSSS radar's final echoes came from a Russian satellite and a sporadic meteor. You can see those traces at tinyurl.com/last-radar-traces. Deactivating the old system will save the Air Force Space Command $14 million annually starting in fiscal year 2014. (Space News, VHF Reflector, WB4JGG) ** HAM RADIO IN SPACE: NEXT PHONE SATS TO LAUNCH IN NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER EDN magazine reports that the next generation of Phone-Sats which are microsatellites built around smartphones will launch on November 6th and December 6th. In an interview with the magazine developer Jasper Wolfe said that these next Phone-Sats will transmit using Packet Radio on 437.425 MHz using AFSK at 1200 bits per second. Coding will be AX dot 25 and the transmit polarization will be vertical. These and the previous Phone-Sats were developed by young engineers at the NASA-Ames Research Center. One of the new birds will remain on-orbit for up to two years while the other will have a far shorter lifespan of only three months. The entire article including photos is on the web at tinyurl.com/generation-2-phonesats. (EDN, Southgate) ** HAM RADIO IN SPACE: UK FUNCUBE 1 TO LAUNCH I LATE NOVEMBER AMSAT-UK and AMSAT-NL have been advised that the launch date for FUNcube-1 is now expected to be November 21st. This date is still subject to final approval by the authorities. FUNcube-1 is a 1 unit CubeSat that will provide a signal directly from a satellite to classrooms with a signal level that can easily be received by schools and colleges. (AMSAT, Southgate) ** DX In DX, OH2YY hopes to be on the air from Nepal between October 2nd and the 5th. He has applied for the callsign 9N2YY, but the final confirmation will not take place until he arrives in that nation. After Nepal he will be visiting the Kingdom of Bhutan between October 6th and the 10th where he has already been assigned the callsign A52YY. Listen out for him during his evenings and nights on 20 through 10 meter SSB. QSL via OH2YY, the bureau or direct. Electronic QSL's go via Logbook of the World. JK1AJT will again be in Myanmar from September 18th to the 23rd signing X-Zed-one-Zed . He tells DX Daily that he has spotted a better location atop a 1557 feet hill and will bring a tri-band Yagi with him in addition to the Ground Plains that he used last month. This next operation will be mainly CW. QSL via ClubLog Oh-QRS or direct to JH1AJT. Meantime the recent X-Zed-one-Zed Myanmar 2013 operation has been approved for DXCC credit. If you've had it rejected in a prior application, send a note to bmoore@arrl.org to be placed on the list for an update to your record. The Martello Tower Group are activating Herm Island again from October 4th to the 9th on 80 through 10 meters including the WARC bands. The group will be using SSB and some data modes. All QSOs will be uploaded to Logbook of the World and Club Log. QSL direct or via the bureau to G6NHU WB6OJB and K5LBU will be active as A25JK and A25CF, respectively, from the extreme eastern part of Botswana through September 12th. They should have two stations running but the A25JK will be the main call to listen out for. Look for A25JK to operate SSB on 20 through 10 meters with a possibility of some time spent on 40 and 75. A25CF will be operating some PSK on whatever bands might be open and A25JK is not on. QSL via their home callsigns. DL2MDU and his DO3HDA will on the air 8Q7CF from the Maldives between September 15th through the 27th. Their activity will be holiday style on 80 through 10 meters with the possibly 160 meters Modes will be CW and SSB with some digital. QSL via DL2MDU. JA0RQV hopes to be operational from Tonga as A35JP/N between September 19th and the 24th. This operation will depend on weather and flight availability to the island and his time on the air will be limited because of limited supply of electric power. Operations will be on 80 through 6 meters using CW and SSB. QSL via his home callsign, by the Bureau, direct or electronically using Logbook of the World. DL7AFS and DJ7ZG will be operational as D44TXT from Santiago Island, Cape Verde between October 19th and November 7th. The duo will be on 80 through 6 meters using SSB, RTTY and PSK31. QSL via DL7AFS. (Above from various DX news sources) ** THAT FINAL ITEM: UK FUNERAL INTERRUPTED BY RF And finally this week, we have all heard of RF getting into public address systems, but this one truly has to take the prize for the unusual. Amateur Radio Newsline's Cheryl Lasek, K9BIK, has the rather strange details: -- Can you imagine being at a funeral service when the sound coming out of the loud speaker system is suddenly interrupted by airline stewardess' message to her passengers? Well it actually happened recently in the United Kingdom when what's been described as a mysterious voice was heard through a church's public address system during a funeral service telling passengers on a plane to prepare for landing. The story goes this way. Friends and family of Brendan Duffy had gathered at St Edward's Church in Windsor, Berkshire, to pay their final respects after the Dublin-born grandfather-of-four died on August 8th, at age 78. But as his nephew Joe Duffy was reading the eulogy, everyone was suddenly told to fasten their seat belts and for the other flight attendants to prepare the aircraft's doors for landing. While some might have thought it could have been a sign from the heavens above a more rational explanation is that the church's wireless microphone system and the two-way radio system on the aircraft were on the same frequency. But that would not explain how the announcement made using a closed loop in-cabin public address system could get transmitted outside the airplane unless perhaps someone pushed the wrong button on the flight deck. That said, as we go to air, the mystery of the RF signal from on-high remains unexplained. For the Amateur Radio Newsline. I'm Cheryl Lasek, K9BIK, in Zion, Illinois. -- Joe Duffy is a local personality radio. He told a news reporter that everyone at the service was looking around and up to heaven, trying to figure out where the voice was coming from. (UK Daily Mail) ** NEWSCAST CLOSE With thanks to Alan Labs, AMSAT, the ARRL, the CGC Communicator, CQ Magazine, the FCC, the Ohio Penn DX Bulletin, Radio Netherlands, Rain, the RSGB, the Southgate News, TWiT-TV and Australia's WIA News, that's all from the Amateur Radio NewslineT. Our e-mail address is newsline (at) arnewsline (dot) org. More information is available at Amateur Radio Newsline'sT only official website located at www.arnewsline.org. You can also write to us or support us at Amateur Radio NewslineT, 28197 Robin Avenue, Santa Clarita California, 91350 For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors' desk, I'm Jim Damron, N8TMW, saying 73 from Charleston, West Virginia and we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio NewslineT is Copyright 2013. All rights reserved.