SB NEWSLIN @ ALLBBS $NLIN.917 Amateur Radio Newsline #917 12 Mar 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, 1:2625/111 RIME - RO mail to Steve Coletti, ->35 Others - Steve Coletti (within the conference) (Fido Netmail to 1:278/230) - - - - - - NEWSLINE RADIO - CBBS EDITION #917 - POSTED 03/11/95 (***************************************************************) (* *) (* * * ***** * * **** * ***** * * ***** *) (* ** * * * * * * * ** * * *) (* * * * *** * ** * *** * * * * * *** *) (* * ** * * ** * * * * * ** * *) (* * * ***** * * **** ***** ***** * * ***** *) (* *) (***************************************************************) 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 KB4KCH KC5UD KC0HF G8AUU WD0AKO DJ0QN and many others in the United States and around the globe!!! (**************************************************************** [917] (* * * * C L O S E D C I R C U I T A D V I S O R Y * * * * (* * (* The following advisory is not necessarily for trans- * (* mission 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 917 for release * (* on Friday, March 10, 1995 to follow. * (* * (* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The following is a QST A delay in the vanity call sign program, bad checks passed at a hamfest and electronic fish all highlight Newsline report number 917 coming your way right now! (***** VANITY CALL SIGN FORM There will be a delay in getting the vanity call sign program underway. This is because the new Federal Communications Commission form necessary for applying for a vanity call the new Form 610-V will not be available until after May 1. Because of this, applications for vanity call signs can not be accepted until after the form is available. This, even though the effective date for the new program to begin is March 24th. Beginning May 1st, FCC Form 610-V may be requested by calling the FCC Forms Distribution Center at 1-800-418-3676. Hams who call the FCC to request the form before then will not have their names recorded and it will be necessary for them to request the form again, when it is available. As an alternative you can send an Self Addressed Stamped Envelope to ARRL-VEC at anytime. Write Form 610-V request on the outer envelope and it will be sent to you as soon as it's available. The FCC says that it will make a public announcement of the date of opening of the first gate to file a vanity call sign application. Do not send in any forms until after that date is announced. (***** EMERGENCY COMMENTS The ARRL has filed comments on FCC notices of proposed rule making concerning a proposed new Emergency Alert System in FO Dockets 91-302 and 91-171. The League says that the EAS proposal signals the Commission's intention to integrate broadcast alerting concepts into local and regional emergency response plans, and said that the Amateur Service is a logical partner in providing emergency information to the public. ARRL assert that Amateur Radio has a long history of providing emergency communication. This, through the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service and the Amateur Radio Emergency Service. And the national society says while the Commission proposal cites hams as an auxiliary entity in emergency communication operations, the reality is that the Amateur Service is a principal provider of communication during disaster relief and other emergencies. The League believes that Amateur Radio must be considered an available resource at all levels of EAS organization. It notes its memoranda of understanding with the American National Red Cross, the Salvation Army, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Communications System, the Associated Public Safety Communications Officers, and the National Weather Service as basis. The League suggests that EAS participants should be a part of overall emergency planning, not just emergency communication planning. It urges the total integration of Amateur Radio and other radio services into the overall planning. (***** SECTION MANGER SPEAKS OUT And speaking about ham radio in emergency planning, the ARRL's new Section Manager for Alabama wants to see hams in that state unite, regardless of whether they are League affiliated. Tom Moore, KL7Q, was appointed Section Manager following the December 31st 1994 resignation of Ken McGlaughn (pronounced "Mac GLAWN"), KM4JD. One of Moore's first actions as new Section leader was to call a statewide cabinet meeting January 21st. During that meeting, Moore paid tribute to the many hams who, 'though not League members, contribute to the amateur radio service and to their community. Moore has a warning for hams everywhere. He says the grab for valuable frequency spectrum by businesses with deep pockets will continue to threaten amateur radio. About 40 amateurs attended the cabinet meeting. Moore's term as Section manager runs through December 31st. (***** RUBBER CHECKS A ham radio con man appears to be at work in the mid-west hamfest circuit. This, with a number of exhibitors at a recent Missouri show duped out of new equipment paid for with bad checks. The person passing the bad paper claims the identity of Frank J. Margita (pronounced "MAR-GEE-TA") of Topeka Kansas, but that appears to be a phony. This, because the real Frank J. Margita passed away in Florida in 1992. The con man is described as 40 to 50 years old standing six feet tall and weighing about 200 pounds. Witnesses say he has a beard, is very knowledgeable about ham radio. He may claim that he recently passed an Amateur Radio test and is waiting for his call sign. Among the items that the phony Frank J. Margita paid for with rubber checks was a new Yaesu F-T 890 high frequency transceiver bearing the serial number 211200762. If anyone tries to sell you this radio or a new Midland 2 meter HT at a bargain price, please contact Detective Bill Fisher of the Saint Joseph Missouri Police Department at 501 Farron Street, in Saint Joseph, Missouri 64501. (***** STS-67 UPDATE The SAREX Shuttle Amateur Radio ham station on board the spaceship Endeavour has been working flawlessly, but the same cannot be said for the scientific gear. Just two days into a planned two-week astronomy mission, the team of orbiting astrophysicists was struggling to point an array of ultraviolet telescopes to the pre-selected celestial targets. Astronaut Ron Parise, WA4SIR told mission control the pointing system was drifting all over the place. The crew has had to manually point one of the three telescopes, which are supposed to lock automatically on their targets using a computer. Later, Mission Control reported that most of the problems had been resolved with a change in procedures. This, in time for the space scientists to go back and focus on lost targets. As reported last week, six of the seven Endeavour astronauts have their ham radio license. These include Ron Parise, WA4SIR on his second trip into space. With Ron are Commander Steve Oswald, KB5YSR, Pilot Bill Gregory, KC5MGA, Mission Specialist Tammy Jernigan, KC5MGF, Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence, KC5KII and Payload Specialist Sam Durrance, N3TQA. SAREX is being flown in configuration C on this mission. This means its operational on both voice and packet. A record 26 schools from around the world are participating in SAREX with a scheduled contact with the astronauts. Even more will be listening in to the school student's question and answer session with the astronauts. (***** IS FCC PLANNING TAX ON MODEM USERS? N3GPU reports via packet that Baltimore radio station WCBM carried a news story which says that the FCC is developing plans to assess charges for modem users who pass data back and forth with online services such as Compuserve, America Online, Prodigy, and the like. The story went on to say that the proposed user fees could be as high as $6 per hour, and would be charged by the telephone carriers with FCC permission, as partial compensation for the costs of long distance service deregulation. The WCBM story concluded by saying that a similar effort by the FCC several years ago was shelved because of the weight of public comment against it. (***** HIGHER BROADCAST FEES On the regulatory scene, Broadcasters and cable TV operators may face hikes in FCC user fees to pay for 1995 regulation under a new government proposal. VHF TV stations in the top 10 markets would be required to pay $21,540 to the FCC, up from $18,000 a year ago. VHF TV stations in markets below the top 10 would pay between $5,950 and $19,075 for 1995 FCC regulation. UHF station payments would range from $4,775 in the smallest markets to $17,150 in the 10 largest markets. Cable operators could be assessed 51 cents per subscriber, up from 37 cents in 1994. Radio stations would be hit with higher FCC user fees as well. The FCC proposal stems from Congress' ongoing effort to make regulated industries pay for the cost of FCC oversight. (***** HDTV The era of high-definition television has been a long time coming to the United States but 1995 could prove to be a crucial year for those championing the new technology. After years of research and narrowly focused testing, a consortium of companies is putting the finishing touches on a system that is likely to be ready for its last go-round in the laboratory. If all goes smoothly, a special advisory committee called The Grand Alliance could recommend by late summer that federal regulators approve the system as the U.S. standard for transmitting HDTV signals. Alliance members believe that receivers could be available to the public in late 1996 or early 1997. This the same time frame when HDTV broadcasts would be available. (***** DX In DX, reports from the Tokyo PacketCluster indicate that two Laotian stations are currently active. XW2A and XW1BOD have been mainly heard on 20 and 40 meters CW. The two station operate on 20 meters between 23:00 and 01:00 UTC and on 40 meters between 14:30 and 17:00 UTC between 21:00 and 22:30 UTC. Also, several Japanese sources report that JH1AJT, who was recently active from Bhutan hopes to make a return sometime this summer. Reportedly, he has left all the rigs, antennas and amps in A5 land and plans to go back again to activate the station for a longer stay. (***** ELECTRONIC FISH-NAP And finally, four men were charged in a scheme to poach some electronic fish. That's right, we said fish as in large mouth bass. This, after some of the protected fish were tracked to a commercial farm through electronic devices implanted by state wildlife officials. Prosecutors say the men illegally pulled more than 40,000 pounds of the bass from the Potomac River over three years. They then sold the protected fish to wholesalers in the United States and Canada. But authorities were able to track the poached fish because some had tiny tagging transmitters implanted as part of a study by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to track their growth and movement. Fish and Game authorities were first tipped to the alleged scheme by a Canadian inspector who saw a shipment at a Toronto wholesaler. After getting the lead, Maryland detectives took a receiver that monitors animal tag transmitters to a fish farm, where they picked up radio signals coming from the breeding ponds. (***** And for this week, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline. You can write to us at: Newsline P.O.Box 660937 Arcadia, California 91066 (* * * Newsline Copyright 1995 all rights are reserved. * * *