
The electronic publication of the Amateur Radio Newsline is distributed
with the permission of Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, President and Editor of
Newsline.  The text version is edited from the original scripts and
transcribed from the audio reports by Dale Cary, WD0AKO, and is first
published in The Radio & Electronics Round Table on the Genie Online
System.

If you have any comment, suggestion, or news item you would like to submit,
send them via E-Mail to 3241437@mcimail.com or B.PASTERNAK@genie.geis.com.
You can contact Newsline at +1 805-296-7180.  It is a combination answering
and FAX machine, if you have a FAX to send, wait for the voice prompt and
press your fax-send button.

All other information and disclaimers are in the text header below.

 - - - - -

NEWSLINE RADIO - CBBS EDITION #891 - POSTED 09/10/94
 
(***************************************************************)
 (*                                                             *)
 (*      *   * ***** *    *  **** *     ***** *   * *****       *)
 (*      **  * *     *    * *     *       *   **  * *           *)
 (*      * * * ***   * ** *  ***  *       *   * * * ***         *)
 (*      *  ** *     * ** *     * *       *   *  ** *           *)
 (*      *   * *****  *  *  ****  ***** ***** *   * *****       *)
 (*                                                             *)
 (*                ****    *   ****  *****  ***                 *)
 (*                *   *  * *  *   *   *   *   *                *)
 (*                ****  ***** *   *   *   *   *                *)
 (*                *  *  *   * *   *   *   *   *                *)
 (*                *   * *   * ****  *****  ***                 *)
 (*                                                             *)
 (***************************************************************)
 
   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.......................... (718) 353-2801
     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
      Internet...............................
        In the rec.radio.info newsgroup
        FTP: oak.oakland.edu, archive: pub/hamradio/docs/newsline
      Fidonet, RIME, Intellec, I-Link........
        In the Ham Radio conferences on those networks
 
   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!!!
 
(****************************************************************
 
[891]
 
(* * * *   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 for transmission over ham   *
 (*  radio.  This is just a reminder that the address for the     *
 (*  Newsline Support Fund is Newsline, Post Office Box 463,      *
 (*  Pasadena, California 91102.  Again, and as always, we thank  *
 (*  you.                                                         *
 (*     That ends the closed circuit with Newsline report number  *
 (*  891 for release on Friday, September 9th, 1994 to follow.    *
 (*                                                               *
 (* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
 
                      The following is a QST
 
  The ARRL says NO to Romeo.  One of ham radio's hottest
 DXpeditions WON'T get DXCC credit!  Also, the FCC will continue to
 issue fines to private radio operators who break the rules.  These
 stories and more on Newsline report number 891 coming your way
 right now!
 
(*****
                       ARRL SAYS NO TO P5RS7
 
   If you made one of ham radio's rarest contacts with a 1992 to
 1993 P5RS7 DXpedition claiming to be in North Korea here's news
 you may not want to hear.  The American Radio Relay League says
 contacts from that event will NOT receive credit under the
 League's DX Century Club, or DXCC, program.  League officials cite
 discrepancies in documentation submitted by DXpedition organizer
 Romeo Stepanenko, 3W3RR.  This is a big disappointment to DX
 chasers, North Korea has no amateur radio activity.  When the
 DXpedition was organized, tens of thousands of hams saw this as a
 rare chance to snare a contact with one the most sought after
 countries in the world.  Now those hams are being told, it doesn't
 count.
   The decision to refuse credit is not a big surprise to many
 DXers.  Questions about proper documentation were raised shortly
 after the DXpedition ended in January, 1993.  The League sez
 documentation supporting the DXpedition did not establish that
 North Korean authorities granted operating permission.  And again
 according to the League, the documentation fails to establish
 whether the operation actually took place in North Korean
 territory.  It's not the kind of decision DXer Bob Russell,
 W4DZZ, wanted:
 
   "Oh, I hate to hear it, I really do."  Russell, W4DZZ.
 
   At the center of controversy is Romeo Stepanenko, an enigmatic
 amateur radio operator whose worldwide activities are frequently
 shrouded in mystery.  Nine days before the League announced its
 decision refusing DXCC credit, Romeo spoke with Newsline while
 attending the Huntsville, Alabama Hamfest.  He sez he operated
 from two North Korean military bases.
   "I operated from North Korea from December of '92 to January
 '93.  It is very hard DXpedition and we made around 35,000
 contacts."  Stepanenko, 3W3RR.
 
   Stepanenko sez getting permission was no simple task.
 
   "Is very long story.  I made the submission four years long.  I
 talked with around 200 guys in Northern Korea, in Russia and
 everywhere and I keep all those guys together, all the information
 together and I pay some money."  Stepanenko, 3W3RR.
 
   Bob Russell is frustrated at losing out on being able to claim
 a rare ham radio contact, but he supports the League's decision:
 
   "If he did not in fact have proper documentation and did not
 conduct that thing according to all the rules then I say that is
 the way it ought to be."  Russell, W4DZZ.
 
   Dave Cisco, W4AXL, has a card recognizing his contact with
 Romeo's North Korean operation.  Now, Cisco sez, that card has a
 lot less value:
 
   "Well I was hoping, certainly since I took the time and effort
 then to work it, I was hoping it would count.  But, there'll be
 another time."  Cisco, W4AXL.
 
   Not everyone is as supportive of the DXCC decision as those in
 the south-east.  On the west coast the refusal to certify P5RS7
 for country credit is causing some DXers to be openly critical of
 the DXCC program and the American Radio Relay League.  They say
 that it's the ham community and not the DXCC desk that determines
 country status.  They say that they waited years for someone to
 put North Korea on the air and regardless of how it came about,
 they want it accepted by the League and their QSL cards accepted
 for DXCC.
 
(*****
                      FINES WILL BE COLLECTED
 
   The FCC will continue to issue and collect fines against
 regulatory violators in various services including land mobile,
 citizens band, emergency services and Amateur Radio.  This, even
 though a federal appeals court has ruled that the practice of
 issuing base forfeiture fines in other telecommunications services
 is illegal on constitutional grounds.
   On July 14th, A Washington, DC Court of Appeals ruled the FCC's
 revised method of assessing fines against broadcasters,
 cablecasters and telephone companies was improper because those
 most affected by the 1991 change had not been given time to
 comment on it before the regulation was enacted.  The court said
 that the FCC knowingly failed to give all interested parties the
 opportunity to comment on the policy change before it was adopted.
   Since the base monetary forfeiture amounts in all services were
 raised simultaneously, it was expected that all outstanding fines
 based on the new rates would be canceled or placed in limbo.  But
 that's not the case.
   Washington insiders say that the FCC appears to be taking a
 very narrow view of the Appeals Court decision.  While it may be
 unsure what it will do in regard to broadcast, cable and telephone
 related violations, the FCC appears to have decided that the
 decision affects these services only.
   The bottom line appears to be that the Commission will continue
 to issue very large monetary forfeitures based on its 1991 revised
 schedule in all services not directly covered in the Appeals Court
 decision.  This means that at least a half dozen hams facing major
 fines will have to pay up or take the matter into the federal
 courts.
 
(*****
                         LACK OF DIVERSITY
 
   The Federal Communications Commission has revised its rules to
 give minorities and women a better chance to bid for a new crop of
 wireless communications licenses, including two-way paging and
 messaging services.  The new plan is designed to make it easier
 for minorities and women to acquire new wireless communications
 licenses.  It responds to complaints that the original rules were
 not adequate.
   Under the arrangement, minority and female owned companies will
 be entitled to a 40 percent bidding credit, rather than the
 existing 25 percent.  That means a company would only have to pay
 60 percent of the winning bid to the government.  Also, bidding
 credit will be available for 10 of the 30 regional licenses.
   Prompting the change is the fact that none of 10 nationwide
 wireless licenses auctioned ended up in the hands of a minority or
 female owned company.
   The agency also announced that it will hold its second airwaves
 auction on October 26, when regional licenses for these services
 will be on the block.
 
(*****
       CQ ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR 50TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
 
   CQ magazine will celebrate a half century of service to amateur
 radio in 1995 with a special anniversary issue, a new group of
 operating awards and a variety of off air events and special
 opportunities.  The January, 1995, issue of CQ will be a
 collector's item.  It will include a special section devoted to
 the magazine's 50th anniversary.  Articles will trace the past
 half century in ham radio as well as the "real world," and will
 offer highlights of CQ's own history.  Advertisers will have
 special opportunities, as well.  And many CQ columnists will look
 back at how their specialty areas have changed and developed over
 the past 50 years.
   Plans are also being made for a variety of off air events,
 commemorative products and promotions.
 
(*****
                    10 METER BEACON DATABASE
 
   KD4DPC says that he is trying to develop an up to date beacon
 list for 10 meters.  If you are a beacon keeper or use beacons to
 estimate propagation on ten meters, please send him any
 information you have.  If possible include the call sign, antenna
 type, power output, location and any other pertinent facts.
 Reports can be sent to SEBA, Post Office Box 5391, Wilmington,
 North Carolina 28403.
 
(*****
                              GHANA
 
   In DX, word that the Central Arizona DX Association have big
 plans for the upcoming contest season.  Their operations from
 Ghana begins October 26th.  It runs through to November 4.  Listen
 for 9G5TL in the CQ World Wide SSB Contest on October 29 and 30.
 QSL via Jack Sheldon, Jr., PO Box 31898, Mesa, Arizona 85275-1898.
 
(*****
                         IYG ON THE AIR
 
   The Israeli Youth Group will hold several field day like
 operations in the near future at the Sea Of Galilee.  The working
 bands will be HF, 2 meters and 70 centimeters.  On the low bands
 the modes will be SSB and CW.  On VHF and UHF it will be FM.  For
 this event the special call sign will be 4X4IYG.  QSL to Ohad
 Miller 4Z9CHB, 12 Ha'ari Street, Haifa 33190 ISRAEL.
   This also reminds us to wish a very happy Rosh Hashanah, that's
 a happy Jewish new year to our listeners who are of that faith.
 
(*****
                       A FLAW IN THE IDEA
 
   And finally, we close with an infrequent Newsline editorial.
 This one is specifically addressed to repeater license holders and
 the councils that coordinated them to the frequencies they operate
 on.
   Over the past few weeks we have been reporting on the
 activities of one of the nations most prominent repeater frequency
 coordination groups in its effort to take back the band for the
 hams of the area.  Southern California's Two Meter Area Spectrum
 Management Association wants to rid its database of repeaters that
 only exist on paper.  To accomplish this, TASMA has instituted a
 pair of unique policy changes.  The popular one is a complete
 survey of two meters to determine the actual extent of activity.
 But their other plan to impose an annual fee of $10 on all TASMA
 coordinated repeaters to keep them listed in the database is
 meeting a lot of opposition.
   But there appears to be one major flaw in the TASMA plan.  That
 being a strange regulatory interpretation applied to coordinators
 by the FCC.  An interpretation that made it possible for anyone
 to call himself a coordinator and put the validity of all
 established repeater councils into question.
   In 1986 the FCC was asked twice within one week to determine
 which of two feuding coordination councils was the legitimate one.
 One case was in the Kansas and Missouri area.  The other out in
 southern California.
   Then Special Services Division Chief Raymond A. Kowalski came
 up with a finding that shocked the very foundation of voluntary
 repeater coordination.  Kowalski ruled that any number of
 frequency coordinators could serve the same geographic and
 demographic area.  He also interpreted the rules as saying that
 multiple coordinators need not even communicate their decisions
 with one another.  That it would be up to the repeater owners and
 not the coordinators to solve any interference problems that might
 come as the result.  A few days later Kowalski resigned from his
 FCC position and this interpretation has never been challenged
 directly with the FCC or in court.
   As a result, there is nothing other than peer pressure to stop
 anyone, ham or non-ham, from setting himself up as an Amateur
 Radio frequency coordinator.  And if TASMA is successful in
 forcing payment of its database maintenance fee it could be an
 open invitation for abuse of power by others with less noble
 ambition than the an established and respected repeater
 coordination group.
   In reality there is nothing to stop anyone from setting up shop
 as a ham radio frequency coordinator, instituting a fee structure
 and sending out bills to repeater owners in his region.  Invoices
 that carry a viable threat of de-coordination and formal complaint
 to the FCC if the billing is not promptly paid.  The scary thing
 is, that based on the way things are today, the FCC has no
 alternative but to act on the complaint.  This could easily bring
 the license holder of an de-coordinated repeater a fine of several
 thousand dollars.  As regular listeners know, this has already
 happened in Puerto Rico.
   Carried further, such a for profit ham radio coordination
 operation could wind up national in scope sand even impact on high
 frequency point to point operations.  This is because no laws,
 rules, guidelines or regulations exist that truly spell out what
 an Amateur Radio Frequency Coordinator is, what his
 responsibilities are, and what if any are the limits of his powers
 in assessing monies to provide his services.  What would you do if
 you got a notice telling you it was going to cost $20 to continue
 operating on a "coordinated" 20 meter net frequency?  Without FCC
 guidance, this is more of a possibility than you might think!
   As we said earlier, a few weeks ago the FCC began the process
 when it recognized the work of the coordination council for Puerto
 Rico and the United States Virgin Islands when it backed a
 decision ordering a de-coordinated repeater off the air.  But that
 is only one local FCC office dealing with one coordination group.
 What's needed is recognition on a national scale.
   So at this point we at Newsline are about to take the liberty
 of giving the FCC a bit of editorial advice.  It is our sincere
 belief that the time has come for the commission to establish
 operating guidelines for coordinators in the same way as it has in
 the all volunteer Amateur Radio testing program.  It needs to
 issue a formal statement recognizing the work of those who have
 been around for at least the past decade.  It needs signed
 contracts with coordination councils so that it can back up their
 decisions with the power of federal law.  Most important, the FCC
 has to indemnify all Amateur Radio frequency coordinators against
 frivolous law suits that have made their work impossible in many
 regions of the country.  To do anything less is inviting the
 dissolution of the voluntary coordination process and total
 anarchy on our VHF and UHF repeater bands.
   We at Newsline applaud TASMA on taking a leadership position in
 awakening the nations ham radio community to the fact that
 coordinators have a strong responsibility to the community they
 serve.  We also have to remind them that there is no enabling
 legislation in place and no binding contract between any
 coordinator and the FCC that permits the collection of any fee for
 services rendered.
   The coordination process for repeaters is still 100% voluntary,
 and 100% free of charge.  It will remain that way until the
 Federal Communications Commission changes Part 97 to make it
 otherwise.
 
(*****
 
   And for this week, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline.
 You can write to us at:
                            NEWSLINE
                            P.O. Box 463
                            Pasadena, CA
                            91102
 
(* * * Newsline Copyright 1994 all rights are reserved. * * *
