SB NEWSLIN @ ALLBBS $NLIN.914 Amateur Radio Newsline #914 18 Feb 1995 Amateur Radio Newsline is produced as an audio service by Newsline, a service of the Westlink Radio Netowrk. The transcribed version is produced by Dale Cary, WD0AKO from materials provided by Newsline. and is jointly distributed to online services and bulletin board networks by Steve Coletti and Dale Cary. Editorial comment, news items and all other business should be directed to Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, Newsline's Producer and Editor-In-Chief. E-Mail - 3241437@mcimail.com or B.PASTERNAK@genie.geis.com Phone/Fax - +1 805 296-7180, fax senders wait for voice prompt. Text Version information: America Online - tstader@aol.com (Terry Stader, Sysop) or D.CARY@genie.geis.com Compuserv, Delphi, Genie - D.CARY@genie.geis.com Usenet - david@stat.com (David Dodell - Moderator rec-radio-info) FTP, (oak.oakland.edu) - wy1z@neu.edu (Scott Erlich, Boston ARC) Internet mailing list (individuals) - bigsteve@.dorsai.org Internet mailing list (re-distributors) - D.CARY@genie.geis.com BBS Networks: FidoNet - Joe Brown, 1:2526/111 RIME - RO mail to Steve Coletti, ->35 Others - Steve Coletti (within the conference) (Fido Netmail to 1:278/230) - - - - - - NEWSLINE RADIO - CBBS EDITION #914 - POSTED 02/18/95 (***************************************************************) (* *) (* * * ***** * * **** * ***** * * ***** *) (* ** * * * * * * * ** * * *) (* * * * *** * ** * *** * * * * * *** *) (* * ** * * ** * * * * * ** * *) (* * * ***** * * **** ***** ***** * * ***** *) (* *) (* **** * **** ***** *** *) (* * * * * * * * * * *) (* **** ***** * * * * * *) (* * * * * * * * * * *) (* * * * * **** ***** *** *) (* *) (***************************************************************) 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. For current information updates, please call Audio Version of Newsline ========================= Los Angeles............................ (213) 462-0008 Los Angeles (Instant Update Line)...... (805) 296-2407 Seattle................................ (206) 368-3969 Seattle................................ (206) 281-8455 Tacoma................................. (206) 927-7373 Louisville............................. (502) 894-8559 Dayton................................. (513) 275-9991 Chicago................................ (708) 289-0423 New York City.......................... Out Of Service Melbourne, FL.......................... (407) 259-4479 Electronic Hardcopy Version of Newsline ======================================= GEnie (RTC Bulletin Board)............. m345;1 GEnie (File Library)................... m345;3 Dallas Remote Imaging BBS (DRIG)....... (214) 492-7573 In bulletin number 36 The Midwest Connection BBS............. (701) 239-2440 In bulletin number 6 of the ham radio conference Delphi.....................In the ham radio conference CompuServe/HamNet.................... HamNet Library 0 Internet...............In the rec.radio.info newsgroup Internet FTP: oak.oakland.edu......................... In archive: pub/hamradio/docs/newsline Local BBS's............In the Ham Radio conferences on Fidonet, RIME, Intellec, I-Link and AR-Net For questions or comments about the text version, contact me at D.CARY@GENIE.GEIS.COM on the Internet. For the latest breaking info call the Instant Update Line listed above. To provide information please call (805) 296-7180. This line answers automatically and will accept up to 30 minutes of material. Check with your local amateur radio club to see if NEWSLINE can be heard weekly on the air in your area. Articles may be reproduced if printed in their entirety and credit is given to AMATEUR RADIO NEWSLINE as being the source. For further information about the AMATEUR RADIO NEWSLINE, please write to us with an SASE at P.O. Box 463, Pasadena, CA 91102. Thank You NEWSLINE (**************************************************************** Some of the hams of NEWSLINE RADIO... WA6ITF WB6MQV WB6FDF K6DUE W6RCL N6AHU N6AWE N6TCQ K6PGX N6PNY KU8R N8DTN W9JUV KC9RP K9XI KB5KCH KC5UD KC0HF G8AUU WD0AKO DJ0QN and many others in the United States and around the globe!!! (**************************************************************** [914] The following is a QST The ARRL's president is taken seriously ill. George Wilson W4OYI is felled by a stroke while on ham radio business in Washington, DC. The latest word on his condition on an expanded Newsline report number 914 coming your way right now! (***** ARRL PRESIDENT HOSPITALIZED A ham who is considered a friend to all of amateur radio is fighting to recover from a sudden and very serious illness. ARRL President George S. Wilson, W4OYI, is reported in guarded condition following a stroke he suffered the evening of February 11th. George Wilson and several other high ranking league officials were winding up a series of meetings in Washington, DC. George was returning to his hotel when he took ill. Paramedics were called. They transported the ARRL President to a local hospital where his condition was quickly diagnosed. About twenty four hours later, after he had been stabilized, President Wilson was moved to a facility in Virginia that specializes in treating this kind of disorder. There, a surgical procedure was performed to relieve the pressure on the brain. As we go to air, W4OYI is reported to be resting comfortably in the Intensive Care Unit. He is sedated, and for the moment, only close relatives permitted to visit. By way of background, George Wilson has been a very different kind of ARRL leader. Anyone who has ever had the opportunity to meet him knows that W4OYI is friendly and approachable individual reminiscent of the ARRL presidency of the late Victor C. Clark, W4KFC. When he took office George Wilson made it clear that he would do all he could to preserve our ham bands and make them more pleasant to operate. He has been at the forefront of efforts in both areas. The results can be seen in several stories you are about to hear in this weeks newscast. These include the details on the new vanity call sign program and a major victory in retaining the 902 to 928 MHz band. More important, to his friends here at Newsline and his friends around the world, George Wilson W4OYI is a very special person who has dedicated himself to the human side of ham radio. We ask that you join with us in praying for his full, speedy and complete recovery. Get well wishes should be sent via ARRL headquarters or to W4OYI at his callbook address. We will have an update on President Wilson's condition next week. (***** VANITY CALL SIGN ORDER RELEASED The FCC has released its Report and Order in PR Docket 93-305, amending its rules to provide for a vanity call sign program. As previously reported, to accommodate requests for specific, vanity call signs, the Commission will use a series of four starting gates. The Commission will announce the opening of each gate by a Public Notice. The first gate will open as soon as the new application form, FCC Form 610-V, is available and the Commission's licensing facility is prepared to begin processing the applications. Applicants will then be permitted to request call signs reflecting their own or other call sign regions. Except for a close relative applying for a deceased licensee's call sign, or a club station trustee applying with the written consent of a close relative of a deceased licensee, a vacated call sign will not be assignable for a two-year waiting period. For clubs, persons not already holding a club station license, as trustee, must first apply for and receive a valid Amateur license before filing an application for a vanity call sign. The FCC has also set aside the one-by-one call sign block until the matter of assignment of these calls could be addressed in a separate proceeding. The ARRL has requested the assignment of one-by-one call signs to special event stations of national significance. The new rules are effective March 24. FCC will begin accepting applications for new club and military recreation station licenses on that date. Applications will go to the Commission's contractor, Mellon Bank, which will accept them in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They will be processed in the order they are received. A $70 fee will have to be paid when requesting a new or renewed vanity call sign. (***** CHANGES TO 902 MHz BAND Amateurs and unlicensed Part 15 users will continue to have access to 902 to 928 MHz. This, on a secondary basis to the new Location and Monitoring Service as well as industrial, scientific, and medical systems; and to government users. The FCC has adopted the new rules for the future licensing and continued development of a number of services, including Amateur Radio in the 902 MHz band. The new rules set standards for what had previously been called automatic vehicle monitoring systems but which the Commission now refers to as the Location and Monitoring Service. As a result of the change, Part 15 users are now on a secondary basis to all other services including amateurs. The FCC says that it will now adopt a plan to afford both amateurs and Part 15 users a greater degree of protection from interference from other services. It will also clarify what constitutes harmful interference to LMS licensees by Part 15 devices. Look for operational restrictions to be imposed to maintain the coexistence of the many varied users of the band. (***** NJ ANTENNA WIN The perseverance of a Winslow, New Jersey ham with a little help from the American Radio Relay League has paid off in an apparent victory for Paul Kaplan, N2FOB. Kaplan says that the township would let him put up a television tower but not one for ham radio. That a local ordinance not only forbids ham radio and CB towers in residential areas, but even forces radio users to keep towers outside residential areas at least fifteen hundred feet away. Kaplan considered that to be discriminatory and lodged a legal challenge. This lead to a hearing where a judge realized the impossibility of the situation. "The judge on his own calculated that 1500 feet would be a 162 acres. So I would have to buy a piece of property and install the tower in the center of 162 acres of land to be in compliance with this ordinance. And the judge basically found that to be unreasonable." Paul Kaplan, N2FOB. Based on the fact that the town was willing to approve TV towers but refuses hams and CB'ers their antennas and support structures, the judge threw out the ordinance. He did say that the town does have the right to reasonably control several aspects of am ham radio or CB tower, but PRB 1 denies them an outright ban. As we go to air, Kaplan is still waiting for the townships zoning board to react to the judges decision. A hearing is schedule for about a month from now. The town has the option of filing an appeal, but it's more likely that Kaplan will soon be able to use his TV tower for ham radio. Kaplan says he is so happy that he is flying a flag! "A lot of the help came from the American Radio Relay League. It was really fantastic. The League on three separate occasions, almost overnight, sent me documentation regarding PRB 1, 200 or so newspaper articles on how hams help through out the community and Internationally. The League was just fantastic. In fact the lawyer, one lawyer said to another lawyer, if the amateurs had a union, it would be the American Radio Relay League. I think that is a complement to the League and in fact right now I have the League Flag, the ARRL Banner is flying from my tower as just a sign of victory." Kaplan. Kaplan says that the ARRL flag won't come down until the antenna goes up. (***** CORDLESS PHONES NOW ECPA PROTECTED WA2RCB reports via packet that Public Law #103-114 has amended the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 to cover all cordless telephone frequencies. This was part of the recently passed Wiretap Act. As such, it is now just as illegal to monitor cordless telephones frequencies on your scanner, as it is to monitor 800 Mhz Cellular Phones. No word yet from the manufacturers if they will delete coverage of these frequencies from their current production on the assembly line or future models. (***** Special Olympics World Games The 1995 Special Olympics World Games will be held in New Haven, CT from July 1st through the 9th. Approximately 7,500 athletes and 500,000 spectators are expected. As part of the festivities, a special event station with the call sign W1SO will be operating from the venue of the Games. Current plans call for several HF and VHF positions. A special commemorative QSL card or certificate will be available. For more information, contact Neil Salowitz, WA1CBW via America Online or at his callbook address. (***** ARRL NUMBERS The ARRL reports that its membership rose about one percent in 1994, new members more than making up for the inevitable attrition of deaths and drop-outs. Declining sunspots left DXCC activity flat for the year, contest entries the same, while QSLs forwarded by the ARRL Outgoing QSL Service dropped off by 18%. (***** FAR SCHOLARSHIPS The Washington, DC based Foundation for Amateur Radio is once again coordinating the distribution of fifty-six scholarships for the 1995 to 1996 academic year. Licensed radio amateurs may compete for these awards if they plan to pursue a full time course of studies beyond high school. Applicants must be accepted for enrollment in an accredited college, university or technical school. The scholarships range in value from $500 to $2000 each. For more information please write to the Foundation For Amateur Radio, 6903 Rhode Island Avenue, College Park, Maryland 20740. (***** YHOTY CUTOFF EXTENDED The cutoff date for filing for the 1995 Newsline Young Ham of the Year Award has been extended to June 30th. The original date was April 30th, but has been moved two months later as a result of the recent agreement with the Huntsville Hamfest. It is hoped that the extra two months will permit additional nominations. Again, the new cutoff date for Young Ham of the Year nominations is June 30th, 1995. (***** HOUSTON AMSAT NET The Houston AMSAT Net is now on Telstar 302, Transponder 21, 5.8 Mhz Audio Subcarrier. KK5DO reports that the net came to the bird on February 7th. (***** NOAA J LAUNCHED The NOAA J data satellite was successfully launched on Friday December 30 at 02:02 PST from Vandenberg AFB atop an Atlas-E booster. The burn was nominal for a 870 km near polar orbit inclined 98 degrees. (***** DX In DX news, word that K8VIR, will be traveling to several different Pacific locations over the next six months. Activity will begin from New Caledonia but no starting day or call sign have been announced. The only other information reported is that he will be active from Western Samoa, Tonga and maybe a few surprise locations. Also, W1BIH is active from Curacao until mid April as PJ9JT. John has been heard on 3.506 MHz starting around 01:30 UTC and on 40 meter CW between 01:00 and 02:00 UTC. QSL via W1AX. And the long awaited 3D2R Rotuma operation has been cancelled by 7L2RPY. Tetu says that bad weather between Fiji and Rotuma makes transit impossible, but the expedition will be operational from Fiji. (***** ALABAMA SKYWARN And finally, a history-making event for amateur radio has taken place in Alabama. On February 11th, hams from across the state met and pledged to work together on one of the most ambitious communications projects ever in Alabama. What ham radio operators plan to do is expected to help save countless lives. This is the first time a meeting like this has ever taken place in Alabama. Amateur radio operators from across the state, all active in providing Skywarn storm spotter communications, say it's time to work together. In the past, the groups operated on their own, relaying information to their local National Weather Service office. But the Weather Service plans to consolidate its operations by closing two offices in Alabama. Hams over a large part of the state will exchange reports with a single office instead. That means the various Skywarn groups will depend on each other to relay vital information over longer distances. Tom Moore, KL7Q, is the ARRL's Section Manager for Alabama. He calls the meeting unprecedented. "It doesn't have any name on it that is unique to a local area such as an ARES Group or RACES Group, you can't infringe on my area or my responsibilities or anything. This is a Skywarn thing. You don't have to be ARRL, you don't have to be anything. You just have to be Amateur Radio. I think that right there is one of the keys in allowing everybody to feel like they can participate." Tom Moore, KL7Q. The Skywarn groups plan to link repeaters between cities and they want to expand packet radio capability. Section Emergency Coordinator Rick Kimbrell, KC4RNF, calls the meeting very productive. "I was extremely proud to see all the folks. The volunteering of the people for the committees to work on linking up repeater systems, for the digital committees as well as getting involved in their areas in northern Alabama, southeastern Alabama, Columbus, GA area. It was extremely encouraging. We didn't have a lot of folks just sitting to see what was happening. They became involved once they found out all the details. It is starting to come together as a state more. What ever boundaries were separating us in the past, whatever differences that we had in other areas of the state seem to be evaporating. We are coming together as amateurs in Alabama." Rick Kimbrell, KC4RNF. Skywarn group leaders realize there's no shortage of work and potential obstacles in building an effective network. But they say amateur radio in Alabama has begun a new era, one of cooperation, because lives may depend on it. Don't be surprised if similar efforts take place in many other parts of the U.S. as well. That's because the National Weather Service plans to consolidate operations all across the nation. (***** HEADLINE REVIEW Again repeating this weeks top story. ARRL President George Wilson, W4OYI, is hospitalized in Washington, DC after suffering a stroke while in the nations capitol in league business. An update on his condition next week. (***** And for this week, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline. You can write to us at Post Office Box 660937 in Arcadia, CA 91066. (* * * Newsline Copyright 1995 all rights are reserved. * * *