--------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 135 AMATEUR RADIO Ref: F4200007 Date: 03/31/98 From: STEVE COLETTI Time: 06:47pm \/To: ALL (Read 1 times) Subj: Newsline 1073 [2/6] >>> Part 2 of 6... Hams pitched in to help in the aftermath of an intense El Nino related weather system in Central Florida. The storms and tornadoes killed more than three dozen and injured hundreds of others. When most Floridians awoke to the worst tornado disaster in its history, radio amateurs were already on the job in three hard hit east-central counties. While not as widespread, the storm was deadlier than Hurricane Andrew and came while most victims were sleeping and unable to hear the tornado warning. There were tragic stories like the death of an 18 month old baby, ripped by a twister from its fathers arms. There were also miracles like another child found alive on a mattress up in an oak tree. The grim search for bodies went on for days as rescuers carefully picked their way through wrecked RV parks and sub-divisions. Amateur Radio operators manned shelters, assisted with damage assessment and offered back-up communications to overloaded commercial repeaters. One especially hard hit county had so few hams that volunteer operators trouped in from neighboring counties. Net operations accounted for hundreds of operator hours and continued for a week after the disaster struck. Damage was reported to be in the millions of dollars. (Via Newsline, W1GUD) <*> El Nino and ham radio Meantime, Indiana hams have been enjoying an unseasonably mild winter. But they are getting ready for their severe weather season. Now, one meteorologist from the National Weather Service says that El Nino may actually be calming the winds that cause extreme weather conditions across the Ohio Valley. As the effects of El Nino continue to pamper the midwest with mild temperatures local hams are starting to gear up for the start severe weather season. Meteorologist Mike Rosemont, KA9VMR has the enormous amount of energy contained in the warm waters of the coasts of North and South America could calm the normally turbulent skies over the Tri State area. "There will be some episodes of severe weather in this part of the world. But right now the forecasts will be for those to be less than the normal amount of thunder storms and tornados that we would normally experience." Rosemark Of course residents along the Ohio River from Cincinnati to Evansville fear a repeat of last years devastating floods. Rosemark says lasting effects of El Nino could make life more pleasant down by the river side. "There is of course an opportunity for one or two storm systems to come in during that period and dump a lot of rain. A potential for a flash flood is always there. But over the long term, the 3 to 4 month period we are expecting below normal precipitation." Rosemark While the weather reports for the area are still predicting an unseasonably mild winter and spring, hams involved in public service communications are not taking any chances. Regular drills in anticipation of the normal storm season are still being observed. (Via Amateur News Weekly, Newsline) <*> Hams assist at New York fire - again There has been a second major apartment house fire in White Plains, NY and again ham radio has furnished communications assistance. The second blaze in three weeks took place on February 10th, According to Alan Crosswell, N2YGK, the Westchester County Chapter of the American Red Cross called on Westchester County ARES help. Hams shadowed Red Cross officials and provided communications at the Chapter headquarters. Amateurs also provided communications to a shelter set up at White Plains High School. (Via N2DB) <*> Iowa mobile operations law introduced First is was Wisconsin and now its Iowa. Gerald Johnson, K0CQ, reports via the VHF Reflector that on February 23rd a bill was introduced in the Iowa house to ban the use of cell phones or any mobile radio connected to the phone system. This, after the first minute of operation while driving. The proposal requires each mobile phone user to disconnect or pull over to continue the call. It doesn't prohibit dialing while driving, just >>> Continued to next message... ___ Blue Wave/DOS v2.30 --- PCBoard (R) v15.3/M 10 * Origin: MoonDog BBS Brooklyn,NY 718 692-2498 (1:278/15) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 135 AMATEUR RADIO Ref: F4200008 Date: 03/31/98 From: STEVE COLETTI Time: 06:47pm \/To: ALL (Read 1 times) Subj: Newsline 1073 [3/6] >>> Part 3 of 6... continued talking. K0CQ says that the bill has been sent to the judiciary committee for review. As its worded, it probably could be applied to amateur and commercial phone patches as well as cellular or PCS systems. The bill does not prohibit continued emergency communications such as calls to 911 or limit normal emergency communications. According to Johnson, rumor has it that the congressman who introduced the bill was hit by a driver using a cell phone. Iowa hams are reportedly keeping a close eye on this pending legislation. (Via VHF Reflector, K0CQ, Newsline) <*> Tauzen vs waste Reports out of Washington say that Congressman Billy Tauzin has instructed his staff to accept information concerning fraud, waste, or abuse in government agencies including the FCC. According to a recent article in U.S. Daily, Tauzen is looking for reports of conflict of interest, misappropriation of government time and rude treatment by government agencies and their employees. Tauzen made news in hobby radio circles last year when he sponsored legislation that would have effectively banned the use of scanner radios. (Via U.S. Daily, Newsline, others) <*> FCC certification/authorization number data on the web The Federal Communications Commission has tied a search engine to its Equipment Authorization Database to produce a very useful tool. According to Don Hobson writing in the CGC Communicator newsletter, you can specify various search parameters and uncover a wealth of information. The URL is a simple one. Its at: www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/ead (Via CGC Communicator) <*> Joe's stolen 8 land computer If you wrote a note to ARRL Great Lakes Director Joe Falcone, N8TI, over the past month and have not received a reply, please send your message again. According to Director Falcone, his laptop computer was stolen two weeks ago and it contained all of his unanswered e-mail. He asks that you resend your older e-mail or any new e-mail to him. His e-mail address is: w8joe@aol.com (Via N6TI) <*> Ham Radio open town meeting - 2 Newsline will host the 2nd annual "Ham Radio Open Town Meeting" -- live to the Internet -- on Sunday, May 17th. This netcast will air from 10 AM to Noon Eastern as a special two hour interactive forum originating from the 1998 Dayton Hamvention. Currently there are five topics under consideration for debate. These include -- in no particular order --- "Restructuring Amateur Radio For The Next Century," "Should Voluntary Bandplans Be Made Mandatory," "Are Insurance Company Regulations Taking The Fun Out of Ham Radio," "The Problem of Ham vs. Ham Law Suits" and "Dealing With Hate Groups and Hate Nets That Have Invaded Amateur Radio." We are looking for one speaker who is pro and one speaker who is against for each topic. Once we hear from you we will decide which topics will be included at the forum. If you are an articulate debater who is planning to attend Hamvention '98 and want to be a part of any of these discussions, please send us a brief biography & indicate which topic on which you want to speak. Send the information to us by e-mail to: newsline@ix.netcom.com Or, you can write us at: Newsline 28197 Robin Avenue Santa Clarita, California 91350 Either way, be certain to include telephone numbers were you can be reached both daytime and evenings. (Via Newsline) >>> Continued to next message... ___ Blue Wave/DOS v2.30 --- PCBoard (R) v15.3/M 10 * Origin: MoonDog BBS Brooklyn,NY 718 692-2498 (1:278/15) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 135 AMATEUR RADIO Ref: F4200009 Date: 03/31/98 From: STEVE COLETTI Time: 06:47pm \/To: ALL (Read 1 times) Subj: Newsline 1073 [4/6] >>> Part 4 of 6... <*> Perry still needs kid hams Also looking for speakers for Hamvention '98 is New York educator Carole Perry, WB2MGP. Carole says she is looking for a very special kind of young speaker: "I am once again looking for articulate, enthusiastic young speakers 18 years of age or younger who are licensed Amateur Radio operators & who are involved in something super interesting or who have done something a little bit out of the ordinary or very exciting to speak about. So looking forward to getting some bright young enthusiastic group of young people responding to this request for the Dayton Hamvention in May this year." Perry If you are a young ham planning to attend Hamvention '98 and interested in being a part of Caroles forum, you can e-mail her at: wb2mgp@ix.netcom.com Or you can call her most days at area code (718) 983-1416 (Via WB2MGP, Newsline) ****** IBM develops 1000 MHZ microprocessor Imagine running your station using a computer that is three to four times faster than anything available to hams right now. It could happen sooner than any of us think. This, after engineers at IBM demonstrate an experimental microprocessor that can run at 1000 megahertz. IBM's announcement follows a similar one by Digital Equipment Corporation a few weeks ago. That company has already has unveiled a new generation of its Alpha line of processors. Digital says that by the year 2000 their new Alpha 21264 line will be available in speeds in excess of 1000 MHZ. Back at IBM the engineers are saying that the design and circuits used in the project will eventually be applied to other integrated circuits using its recently introduced "copper chip" technology. (Via published news reports and press releases) <*> SAREX on STS-95 Flight AMSAT North America has confirmed that the STS-95 shuttle mission that will carry U.S. Senator John Glenn back into space and will also have a Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment station on board. The senator is not a ham radio operator. If his training schedule does not leave him time to obtain an Amateur Radio license, two fellow crew members who are licensed hams will put him on the air. He has said that he hopes to make a few contacts and talk to several schools using the SAREX station. Senator Glenn is currently training to be Payload Specialist on Space Shuttle Mission 95. Back in 1963 he made history when he became the first American astronaut to orbit the earth. When he again rockets into space next fall he will be 77 years old. He says that returning to space after all these years is a dream come true. (Via AMSAT, Newsline) <*> Special frequencies for hams in space The South African Radio League has come out strongly in favor of a proposal by the IARU Satellite Coordinator ZS5AKV. Hans suggests that 144.450 and 144.470 be allocated to manned space operation. His proposal has been submitted to the IARU Region 1 VHF committee which met in Vienna Austria the weekend of February 21st and 22nd. This, following extensive discussions by various SAREX and International Space Station groups at the AMSAT North America Conference held in Canada last October. (Via SARL, AMSAT-BB) <*> U.K. Government jamming And from the strange but true department, it appears that the GB2RS News Broadcast of the Radio Society of Great Britain was inadvertently jammed by the British government. It happened back on Sunday, January 25th when the frequency of 3.640 MHZ experienced massive interference all across that >>> Continued to next message... ___ Blue Wave/DOS v2.30 --- PCBoard (R) v15.3/M 10 * Origin: MoonDog BBS Brooklyn,NY 718 692-2498 (1:278/15) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 135 AMATEUR RADIO Ref: F4200010 Date: 03/31/98 From: STEVE COLETTI Time: 06:47pm \/To: ALL (Read 1 times) Subj: Newsline 1073 [5/6] >>> Part 5 of 6... nation. The source of the disturbance turned out to be a government controlled wide band data transmitter running several kilowatts of power. According to the RSGB, the transmitter showed up on 3.640 MHZ on Friday January 23rd. Fortunately, it got shifted to a non ham radio frequency of 3.369 MHZ late on Monday, January 26th. (Via RSGB) <*> DX In DX, Ron Woss, KE6JAB, reports on a recent satellite DX trip to Antarctica. Ron says that the trip and operation using a portable satellite station a huge success. His station consisted of 2 eggbeater antennas mounted on bamboo poles 20 feet apart. In his operating tent was an Icom IC-821 with a 70 centimeter preamp, a TNC and a laptop computer all powered by a lead acid battery. Using this setup Ron sent 70 messages of which 16 were J-PEG images. He used the UO-22 and KO-25 ham satellites. Those messages and images were posted on Ron's website, which got over 700 hits during the operating period. (Via VHF Reflector) On the HF bands, Bird Island off the coast of Port Elizabeth, South Africa will be on the air starting March 9th. The preferred frequencies of operations will be 1.842, 3.760, 7.060, 14.260, 21.260 and 28.460 MHZ. On six meters the operation will be on 50.200 while on two meters look for Bird Island on 144.450 MHZ. QSL as directed on the air. (Via SARL) <*> CLARA donates radio to county And finally, our congratulations go out to the County Line Amateur Radio Association of Northwest New Jersey. This, after the club has donates a 2 meter transceiver to the Office of Emergency Management of the Township of Washington New Jersey in Morris County. According to Chris Linne, N2OPO, the unit donated is a Kenwood TM-261A with a retail value of close to $300. It will be utilized by the Office of Emergency Management for monthly radio tests, drills, and actual emergency situations. The donation of the radio was made possible through the club's fund-raising programs to help ease the burden of government. The County Line Amateur Radio Association has also donated educational subscriptions of QST Magazine to three area high schools and the Washington Township Public Library during this past year. (Via Hudson Division Loop) <*> With thanks to the ARRL, the Hudson Division Loop, and Amateur News Weekly, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline. You can write to us at: Newsline P.O.Box 660937 Arcadia, California 91066 Our web page is at: www.arnewsline.org and our e-mail address is: newsline@ix.netcom.com A reminder that the nominating period is now open for the 1998 Newsline Young Ham of the Year Award. With corporate sponsorship from Yaesu USA and CQ Magazine, the Young Ham of the Year Award seeks to honor the Amateur Radio related achievements of those hams age 18 or younger. The full details, rules and a nominating form are available right now on our website at: www.arnewsline.org Or send a self addressed stamped envelope to the: 1998 Newsline YHotYA 28197 Robin Avenue Santa Clarita, California 91350 For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF at our editors desk, we at Newsline say 73 and we thank you for listening. >>> Continued to next message... ___ Blue Wave/DOS v2.30 --- PCBoard (R) v15.3/M 10 * Origin: MoonDog BBS Brooklyn,NY 718 692-2498 (1:278/15) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 135 AMATEUR RADIO Ref: F4200011 Date: 03/31/98 From: STEVE COLETTI Time: 06:47pm \/To: ALL (Read 1 times) Subj: Newsline 1073 [6/6] >>> Part 6 of 6... (* * * * Newsline is copyright 1998 & all rights are reserved. * * * * ... * This is the official BBS distribution of Amateur Radio Newsline * ___ Blue Wave/DOS v2.30 --- PCBoard (R) v15.3/M 10 * Origin: MoonDog BBS Brooklyn,NY 718 692-2498 (1:278/15) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 135 AMATEUR RADIO Ref: F4200012 Date: 03/31/98 From: STEVE COLETTI Time: 06:48pm \/To: ALL (Read 1 times) Subj: Newsline #1074 [1/6] * Crossposted from: R_Ham-Radio >>> Part 1 of 6... SB NEWSLIN @ ALLBBS $NLIN.1074 Amateur Radio Newsline #1074 13 Mar 1998 Please read The Newsline Information and Copyright Notice before using any part of either the text or audio versions of Newsline in any manner. For a copy of the notice e-mail: bigsteve@dorsai.org. Editorial comments should be E-Mailed to: newsline@ix.netcom.com E-Mail subscriptions: Send mail to listserv@netcom.com with the following commands in the body of the message (the subject is ignored) To subscribe: subscribe newsline-list To unsubscribe: unsubscribe newsline-list For more information: help For any subscription problems contact: owner-newsline-list@netcom.com, or the person or club redistributing Newsline to your mailbox. DISCLAIMER: If this publication has appeared in your mailbox without a subscription please contact your ARC. A number of them redistribute this publication to their members in accordance with the terms specified within the copyright notice. Standard Newsline distribution channels cannot help you in making changes or unsubscribing. NEWSLINE RADIO - CBBS EDITION #1074 - 3/13/98 (*************************************************) (* *) (* A M A T E U R *) (* *) (* R A D I O *) (* *) (* N E W S L I N E *) (* *) (*************************************************) [1074] Closed Circuit Advisory The following advisory is not necessarily for transmission over Amateur Radio. This is just a reminder that the address for the Newsline Support Fund is: Newsline c/o Andy Jarema-N6TCQ P.O.Box 660937 Arcadia, California 91066 Again, and as always, we thank you. This ends the closed circuit with Newsline report number 1074 for release on Friday, March 13, 1998 to follow. <*> The following is a QST No-code says "no" to "no-theory" and the National Weather Service needs more hams. These stories and more on Newsline report number 1074 coming your way right now! <*> No-Code International founder speaks out on No-Test Folks The founder of No-Code International is saying -- NO -- to those who want to do away with all ham radio license testing. Bruce Perins, K6BP, who is the former leader of the movement to replace Morse exams with alternative testing says that those demanding all testing be abolished really do not know what they are talking about. We have this report: Bruce Perins, K6BP, says that he started No-Code International to replace what he sees as obsolete elements of Amateur testing with more up to date ones. He wants to see Morse testing replace by additional exam material on theory or operating etiquette. As reported recently on Newsline, a movement is growing on the Internet to challenge competency testing for an Amateur Radio license in the federal courts. Advocates of test free access to ham radio contend that any examination is a violation of their individual civil rights. They say that the Constitution and the Communications Act gives all citizens free access to the ham bands. But in e-mail to Newsline Perins disagrees. He says that the right to free speech does not obligate the government or anyone else to provide anyone with a pulpit from which to practice it. This says Perins includes Amateur Radio or any other form of publication. Perins says that he been contacted a number of times by people who claim that Amateur testing violates a persons right to free speech. He notes that many of these people are also characterized by their use of offensive language on the Internet. And K6BP says that they all show a very poor understanding of the constitution and law in general, and should be ignored. That, says Perins >>> Continued to next message... ___ Blue Wave/DOS v2.30 --- PCBoard (R) v15.3/M 10 * Origin: MoonDog BBS Brooklyn,NY 718 692-2498 (1:278/15) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 135 AMATEUR RADIO Ref: F4200013 Date: 03/31/98 From: STEVE COLETTI Time: 06:48pm \/To: ALL (Read 1 times) Subj: Newsline #1074 [2/6] >>> Part 2 of 6... is the way in which he treats them. Perins says that he has avoided the Internet discussion groups such as rec.radio.amateur.policy for years, because of the small population of 'clueless individuals' who he says -- ruin these groups for everyone. Perins adds that anyone wishing to see the way that those he calls -- responsible people -- work to change Amateur Radio policy should check out the website at: www.nocode.org (Via K6BP, No-Code International, Newsline) <*> FCC License Issue Mistake A New England ham is protesting an FCC mistake that re-assigned his old call to another radio amateur before the end of the two year waiting period. It all began when Ron Toller, N1RT, learned that the FCC reissued his former call sign, WO4L, to a Florida man, less than twelve months after he gave it up in 1996. The FCC's vanity rules say callsigns will be held out of the pool for two years before being reissued. Toller said a spokesman at the FCC's Gettysburg office blamed the premature release on a computer glitch. The same individual told the ARRL that by the time the FCC discovered its error, it decided not to rescind the grant. This, because of the number of licenses that had been granted by then and the amount of time that had passed before the problem was discovered. But Toller's take on the turn of events is quite a bit different. He says that if all the hams must obey the rules, so should the FCC. He says he's petitioning to have the FCC vacate WO4L until the two-year period is up in November. N1RT says that the commission has an obligation to adhere to its own rules and he wants the grant rescinded. (Via ARRL) <*> Plea bargain in ham murder case A possible plea bargain in the case of a ham accused of murdering the surviving family members of a silent key. Just a few short months after internationally known Salina, Kansas ham Jim McKim, W0CY became a silent key, tragedy struck his family. On July, 21st, 1996 his widow Delores, his daughter Carol Abercrombie, and a great grandchild Christopher Abercrombie, who was just 5 years old, were all brutally murdered in the McKim home. Charged in the crime is Alan White, KA0QNB, of Salina. Last week the prosecutor in the triple murder case against White said that she is considering an agreement that would allow White to plead guilty and not have to face the death penalty. But the prosecutor, Saline County Attorney Julie McKina stressed that White will have to meet certain conditions before the plea agreement is made final. She would not specify what those conditions were. The details of Whites' possible plea bargain to keep him from the death chamber have not yet been made public. (Via Newsline) <*> Ecuador Mudslide At least seventeen people were killed by a mudslide on Wednesday, March 4th in a remote village along Ecuador's coastline. This, according to police reports from the area relayed by Amateur Radio. The news reports attributed to unidentified Ecuadorian radio amateurs say that the slide hit of the village of Rio Cana after several days of torrential rain. Civil defense officials say they had recovered six bodies but the rest were still covered by mud and other debris. The disaster is being blamed on the El Nino weather effect which meteorologists responsible for the unusually heavy rains affecting parts of Central and South America. What other participation hams are providing by way of relief efforts is unknown. (Via shortwave and published news reports) <*> Hams assist with Alabama Flood Relief Torrential downpours trigger devastating floods in south Alabama, amateur >>> Continued to next message... ___ Blue Wave/DOS v2.30 --- PCBoard (R) v15.3/M 10 * Origin: MoonDog BBS Brooklyn,NY 718 692-2498 (1:278/15) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 135 AMATEUR RADIO Ref: F4200014 Date: 03/31/98 From: STEVE COLETTI Time: 06:48pm \/To: ALL (Read 1 times) Subj: Newsline #1074 [3/6] >>> Part 3 of 6... radio emergency service members are on the scene. Nearly a foot of rain was just too much for several counties in Alabama's southeastern corner. The Pea River broke through a levee, inundating the town of Elba in six feet of water. Half the town's residents, about 2,000 people had to be evacuated by boat and by helicopter. Throughout Coffee county, eight amateurs provided emergency communications support March 8th, with many more on standby. That, according to Rick Palsulich, N4JAG. Amateurs were released by emergency management officials after about four hours, when public safety communications were restored. Along with the thunderstorms, the threat of tornadoes. That had hams in Dale County pulling an all-nighter for the National Weather Service. Local EMA officials were provided with amateur communications support beginning the night of March 7th and lasting into the next day. Ken Smith, W4TKI reports some of the heaviest communications traffic took place between 2 and 4 AM. Finally, amateurs with the Houston county emergency net were called into service because of flood threats from the Chattahooche River which separates Alabama from Georgia. Charles Finney, N4RNU, says the net activated at 10 PM the night of March 7th and secured 23 hours later. Hams helped with flood damage assessment and with tactical communications. Amateurs were also stationed at a shelter set up for flood victims and they gave level reports on the rising river from several locations as well as manning the emergency operations center. (Via Newsline) <*> NWS and Skywarn needs you With the unpredictable weather conditions caused by the El Nino effect, our National Weather Service is looking for additional ham radio volunteers for its Skywarn early warning program. Even with the newest equipment, and Doppler radar reports from trained amateurs are needed. National Weather Service personnel provide free training for public service organizations and Amateur Radio groups. Reports from trained amateurs in the field are often the confirmation needed to issue severe thunderstorm or tornado warnings. Check with Skywarn Net Representatives or your local Emergency Management Office for dates of training sessions in your area. There are National Weather Service offices across the country. Contact your state Office of Emergency Preparedness for information on the NWS facility closest to you. (Via Amateur News Weekly) <*> NNJ ARC Chapters conduct communications test A 2 meter communication test has taken place in New Jersey as part of Amateur Radio emergency planning. The February 21st experiment involved the local New Jersey chapter of the American Red Cross and amateur radio stations in the northern half of the state. Ed Kaftanic, KE2MM, the Emergency Coordinator of the David Sarnoff Radio Club served as net control at the Red Cross Capital Area chapter in Princeton. The Capital Area chapter is the "lead" Red Cross chapter in the event of a state-wide emergency. Eleven other chapters responded out of the sixteen called. The test compared signal reports from three different repeaters resulting in a total of 33 check-ins, with each station checking in three times. The repeaters used were W2LI on 147.255 MHZ, W2QW on 146.625 MHZ, and K2ETS on 146.940 MHZ. The Warren County chapter, which was not within range of those three repeaters, utilized the Cherryville repeater on 147.375 MHZ. (Via Hudson Division Loop) <*> APRS QSY Update New Jersey will join the APRS QSY but Southern California ATV'ers and AM users are balking. New Jersey is slated to move its APRS operations from 145.790 over to 144.390 the weekend of April 5 and 6 unless severe weather threatens the area. Meantime out in Southern California its local politics that may get in the way of the area QSY'ing with the rest of the nation. There, hams involved in Amateur Television and old-time AM are both complaining that they were not consulted by the AMSAT or anyone else before the move became recommended. They say there are long established operations on 144.39 that will >>> Continued to next message... ___ Blue Wave/DOS v2.30 --- PCBoard (R) v15.3/M 10 * Origin: MoonDog BBS Brooklyn,NY 718 692-2498 (1:278/15) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 135 AMATEUR RADIO Ref: F4200015 Date: 03/31/98 From: STEVE COLETTI Time: 06:48pm \/To: ALL (Read 1 times) Subj: Newsline #1074 [4/6] >>> Part 4 of 6... interfere with APRS and that they will suffer interference from the packet based mode. (Via VHF Reflector) <*> The $600 HF Radio In ham radio industry news, SGC Corporation has announced that it will bring out an under $600 high frequency transceiver. The Bellevue, Washington based company says that it has developed a new twenty watt high frequency transceiver that carries a manufacturers suggested retail price of only $595. Based on a popular Index Labs design and dubbed the SGC-2020, the radio has tunable coverage 1.8 to 29.7 MHZ, has 40 memory channels, a microprocessor controlled iambic A mode keyer, digital frequency readout, front panel microphone jack and much more. No reaction yet from the big-four manufacturers to SGC's low priced challenge to a traditionally high ticket item. (Via press release, CQ Magazine, others) <*> WWW.QSL.NET ServerEfails VE2PIJ reports that due to a major problem with the server, all web and ftp files that were on popular ham radio oriented www.qsl.net have been destroyed. As a result, users will have to upload any files and webpages that they had on www.qsl.net. Pierre says via the Internet that users can still log in with their normal login and password for ftp purposes. He says that users of WS FTP should have no trouble uploading their pages. Anyone who experiences out of the ordinary problems should contact: webmaster@qsl.net Pierre adds that all mail forwarding is also down as a result of this crash. (Via VHF Reflector, VE2PIJ) <*> To the rescue in VK4 On the International scene, its shades of "Carl and Jerry" from way back. While they may not be hams yet, but four Australian pre-teen scouts showed resourcefulness in the world of electronics and electricity. This after getting lost overnight in the rugged Lamington Plateau area of South East Queensland. The four "hot wired" a dead cellular telephone to a lantern battery. That enabled them to summon help in the form of the areas rescue helicopters. The choppers spotted the kids, hovered overhead and winched the four youths to safety. (Via Q-News) <*> Paraguay orders radio station off the air Meantime, the government of Paraguay has ordered a radio station off the air for airing a phony news program that simulated a coup in progress in the country. Radio Uno in the city of Asuncion was ordered closed by the state's National Commission of Telecommunications. This, under a law which establishes that broadcasting has to be based on the transmission of objective news from responsible sources. The program faking a coup came just two days after rumors of real coup circulated throughout that Paraguayan city. (Via shortwave news reports.) <*> DL cancels 6 meters Also, don't look to hear German stations on 6 meters for the foreseeable future. According to DF9CY, the special permits issued to 1000 German hams for 50 MHZ operation expired at the end of 1997 and so far the government has not seen fit to renew them. As a result, German hams are not allowed to work on 50 MHZ at this time. The embargo will last until a new set of rules permitting 6 meter operation is enacted by the German telecommunications regulatory agency. (Via VHF Reflector, DF9CY, Q-News, others) <*> >>> Continued to next message... ___ Blue Wave/DOS v2.30 --- PCBoard (R) v15.3/M 10 * Origin: MoonDog BBS Brooklyn,NY 718 692-2498 (1:278/15) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 135 AMATEUR RADIO Ref: F4200016 Date: 03/31/98 From: STEVE COLETTI Time: 06:48pm \/To: ALL (Read 1 times) Subj: Newsline #1074 [5/6] >>> Part 5 of 6... DX In DX, its 6 meters that's making news once again. First with rumors that VE9AA will once again hit the DXpedition trail to put CY9 and possibly CY0 on the air for the in early July. Emphasis will be on 6 meters and some HF. And Jose Hierro, EA7KQ has worked South Africa on 6 meters. Jose says he not only contacted ZS6PJS on March 7th. He also heard the V51VHF beacon for several hours as well. He also heard TT8JE on both cw and SSB on 50.110 MHz, but there were no takers for this rather rare 6 meter station. And the Weak Signal Group that meets on 3.843 MHZ at 9:00 PM Eastern says that it will hold its annual weak signal banquet at the Dayton Hamvention on Friday, May 15th. This gathering was a sell out last year and with only 125 tickets available, these interested in attending had better not delay. For more information visit the groups webside at: www.wa8wzg.com (Via various sources) <*> Christie Aponte WP4MTI Fund Update Finally, from Boston, an update on the results of a fund drive to replace the stolen two meter radio belonging to eleven year old Christie Aponte, WP4MTI. As regular listeners already know, Christie is a pre-teen ham from Puerto Rico with family ties to Boston, Massachusetts. This past Christmas, Boston hams set out to raise funds to replace Christie's two meter radio that was stolen while she was undergoing surgery at Children's Hospital. According to an Internet posting from N1AUP, W1EK and KA1PON, the Boston ham community opened its heart to little Christie. Over $1000 was raised in cash contributions, but it did not end there. Hams also donated a Drake high frequency transceiver, lots of coax cable, two antennas, an Alinco 2 Meter FM radio, a 35 amp Power Supply and an SWR meter. Others provided Christie with an ARRL membership, an YLRL membership and a Waltham Amateur Radio Club life membership. The Boston Amateur Radio Club had already made Christie a member of its organization. As a result, there was enough money to pay for ARRL insurance to safeguard her station. The remainder of the funds that continue to trickle in will be presented to Christie when she returns to Childrens Hospital for a check-up sometime this month. Christie Aponte, WP4MTI was seriously injured in an auto accident four years ago, and has undergone eleven separate surgical procedures so far. Her medical bills are substantial, and will put significant pressure on the family's ability to save for a college education for her. As a result, Boston area ham radio clubs are exploring ways that they can help out in this area as well. Meantime, Kip, Joe and Anne say that they will keep everyone posted regarding Christie's recuperation. Two web sites to help Christie are now under construction. Their addresses are: Web Info (under construction) Christie Web Page #1 http://www.melrose.org/christie/index.htm Christie Web Page #2 http://vbos.net/public/christie/christie.htm <*> With thanks to the AMSAT, the ARRL, the Hudson Division Loop, Amateur News Weekly and Australia's Q-News, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline. You can write to us at: Newsline P.O.Box 660937 Arcadia, California 91066 Our e-mail address is: newsline@ix.netcom.com A reminder that the nominating period is now open for the 1998 Newsline Young Ham of the Year Award. With corporate sponsorship from Yaesu USA and CQ Magazine, the Young Ham of the Year Award seeks to honor the Amateur Radio related achievements of those hams age 18 or younger. The full details, rules and a nominating form are available right now on our website at: www.arnewsline.org Or send a self addressed stamped envelope to the: >>> Continued to next message... ___ Blue Wave/DOS v2.30 --- PCBoard (R) v15.3/M 10 * Origin: MoonDog BBS Brooklyn,NY 718 692-2498 (1:278/15)