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KC4CGY > ARRL 13.10.99 04:43l 455 Lines 24162 Bytes #-9737 (0) @ WW
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Subj: The ARRL Letter, Vol 18, No 40
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Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 16:38:27 -0400
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The ARRL Letter
Vol. 18, No. 40
October 8, 1999
__________________________________
=>To subscribe, unsubscribe, or change your e-mail delivery address:
see "How to Get The ARRL Letter," below
=>Delivery problems (ARRL member direct delivery only!):
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=>Editorial: Rick Lindquist, N1RL, e-mail elindquist@arrl.org
=>ARRL Audio News: http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/
or call 860-594-0384
=>The ARRLWeb Extra: http://www.arrl.org/members/
__________________________________
IN THIS EDITION:
* +AMSAT announces a Phase 3D launch agreement
* +FCC reorganization could enhance ham enforcement
* +Rick Palm, K1CE, to leave ARRL HQ staff
* +Buzzing intruder annoying 80-meter ops
* California 10-year old handles emergency call like a pro
* Solar update
IN BRIEF:
This weekend on the radio
Ballots mailed in four ARRL Divisions
Gettysburg FCC office to get monitoring antenna
UALR call sign server goes dark
DXCC status for East Timor in abeyance
New Orleans DX convention QRT
N1IRZ goes QRO
SUNSAT SO-35 concludes weekend schedule
Ernest W. Pappenfus, K6EZ, SK
+Available on ARRL Audio News
__________________________________
PHASE 3D ACCEPTED FOR "FIRST SUITABLE" ARIANE 5 LAUNCH
AMSAT says the Phase 3 Amateur Radio satellite has been accepted as a
payload for the "first suitable" Arianespace Ariane 5 vehicle launch. The
announcement came today from Phase 3D Project Leader and AMSAT-Germany
President Karl Meinzer, DJ4ZC, who said a launch opportunity could come
during the first half of next year.
"As the primary agency responsible for securing a launch opportunity for
Phase 3D, I am pleased to announce that AMSAT-Germany and Arianespace have
now come to an agreement calling for the launch of P3D as a secondary
payload aboard the 'first suitable' Ariane 5 flight," Meinzer said, adding
that the Ariane 5 has been the primary launch vehicle from the very
beginning of the project and the "unanimous choice" by AMSAT.
Specific details of the launch agreement--signed October 5--were not
released. Timing of the announcement could not have been more propitious.
The AMSAT-NA Symposium and Annual Meeting are being held this weekend in San
Diego.
In San Diego for the gathering, AMSAT-NA President Keith Baker, KB1SF, said
the news meant "lots of smiles around the conference room." Baker said he
was pleased that AMSAT-DL's negotiations with Arianespace resulted in a
launch contract for Phase 3D and was delighted that Phase 3D was again
slated to fly on an Ariane vehicle. "Following the resounding success of
Ariane Flight 503, the Ariane 5 has now proven itself to be a very capable
launcher," he said.
Once it's in orbit, Baker said, "the Phase 3D satellite will not only help
us usher in the new Millennium, it will also signal the dawn of a brand new
era for Amateur Radio."
While both AMSAT presidents expressed optimism for an early launch of the
satellite, Meinzer expressed caution that the wait for the "first suitable"
flight could still turn out to be a long one. Meinzer explained that
Ariane's launch manifests are continually being updated to accommodate
market changes as well as the availability of other payloads. "One or more
changes" to P3D's anticipated launch date as well as its specific Ariane 5
mission number "are a very real possibility before our satellite actually
flies," he said
Baker emphasized today that Phase 3D is "a standby passenger in every sense
of the word," so a specific launch date is "very uncertain" right now. Phase
3D is slated to be delivered to the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French
Guiana, later this month after one final "complete shakedown test" at the
Integration Lab.
ARRL Executive Vice President David Sumner, K1ZZ, welcomed the AMSAT
announcement. "Congratulations to AMSAT's Phase 3D team on moving another
important step closer to launch," Sumner said. "For those who have been
putting off getting their stations ready for Phase 3D, the time for
procrastination is just about over!" The League has been a major contributor
to the Phase 3D project.
The Phase 3D project has been an international effort that has worked with
donated resources. In addition to AMSAT-DL and AMSAT-NA teams, AMSAT groups
from Austria, Great Britain, Japan, Canada, Finland, Russia, Belgium, the
Czech Republic, Slovenia, France, New Zealand and Hungary also have
participated.
AMSAT says that while Phase 3D's primary focus is on improved worldwide
satellite communication, the satellite also will have a very positive
influence on the future of Amateur Radio. "Phase 3D will be Amateur Radio's
premier vehicle to continue the quest for new communications technologies
for generations yet unborn," the AMSAT announcement said.
FCC REORGANIZATION COULD MEAN BETTER HAM ENFORCEMENT
Congressional oversight committees this week approved funding to create two
new FCC bureaus--Enforcement and Public Information, and Legal Adviser for
Enforcement Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, says Amateur Radio enforcement could
improve under the new regime.
Earlier this year, FCC Chairman William Kennard proposed the creation of the
new bureaus as part of his "A New FCC for the 21st Century" initiative.
Kennard told an audience at Georgetown University Law Center October 5 that
the two new bureaus "will go into operation in the very near future."
Amateur Radio enforcement--now under Hollingsworth in the Compliance and
Information Bureau--will be consolidated under the new Enforcement Bureau.
Heading the Enforcement Bureau will be FCC Deputy General Counsel David
Solomon. Hollingsworth will get a new title out of the deal. Once the new
bureau is established--probably by month's end--he'll become Special Counsel
for Amateur Radio Enforcement. Current Compliance and Information Bureau
Chief Richard Lee has been tapped to head the new Public Information Bureau.
Hollingsworth reiterated that he anticipates no changes in either the
direction or momentum of amateur enforcement under the new Enforcement
Bureau regime. "If anything, it will enhance it," he said Wednesday, adding
that he hopes to up the percentage of time he's able to devote to amateur
enforcement as a result of the reorganization. Hollingsworth's current
duties also include Land Mobile Service enforcement.
Hollingsworth also says he hopes to soon hand off management of the FCC
National Call Center. In July, Hollingsworth was designated to temporarily
take over the Call Center (888-CALL FCC) at the Commission's Gettysburg
office while NCC Director Cynthia Jeffries was detailed to other duties
involving the Y2K issue.
RICK PALM, K1CE, TO LEAVE ARRL HQ STAFF
ARRL Field Services Manager Rick Palm, K1CE, will leave the Headquarters
staff effective November 10. Palm and his wife Joanne, W1GUN, are moving to
Florida to be closer to her family.
"I'm leaving League Headquarters with nothing but good feelings and
memories," said Palm, who met his wife at the League in 1980 when she worked
as a secretary in the former Communications Department.
Palm, 45, characterized his move south as "semi-retirement" and said he
looks forward to continuing to serve the League as a volunteer.
A 20-year veteran staffer, Palm came aboard as a Membership Services
Assistant in 1979, moving up the ranks of Assistant Manager and Deputy
Manager before becoming Acting Manager of the old Membership Services
Department. When the department was dissolved in 1985 as part of a sweeping
HQ reorganization, Palm was tapped to head the new Field Services
Department. That department merged with the Educational Activities
Department early this year to became Field and Educational Services.
"It has been a privilege and a pleasure to serve the Field Organization of
volunteers who perform the vast majority of the League's work," Palm said.
"That work is performed on a daily and largely unsung basis with dedication
and excellence."
Palm said his mission over the years has been to try to avoid the pitfall of
the "ivory tower syndrome" and to empathize with the volunteer in the field
in meeting his or her needs. "My goal has been to bring a good measure of
respect for our volunteers by the rest of the ARRL, the amateur community at
large and the public they serve," he added.
Before departing on November 10, Palm and Educational Services Manager
Rosalie White, WA1STO, will make sure that everything is in place to ensure
continuity of support for the Field Organization. White is a 17-year veteran
of the Headquarters staff with a proven track record of working with ARRL
volunteers and federal agencies, especially NASA on the SAREX and current
International Space Station programs. In the late 1970s, she served as Club
and Training Department Manager.
WHAT'S THE BUZZ?
Efforts are under way in the US and Canada to identify the source of what's
being described as a loud and broad "125 Hz buzz" that's been showing up on
the 80-meter band. The ARRL Monitoring System has requested FCC assistance
in tracking down the harmful interference, which has been audible primarily
in the US Northeast. The League also is working with Radio Amateurs of
Canada. The annoying buzz frequently has been heard on or about 3.5 MHz.
It's also been monitored in the vicinity of 3.6 and 3.7 MHz. Sometimes, it
transmits for hours on end, other times for relatively brief periods of a
few seconds or minutes.
Audible over a bandwidth of more than 30 kHz, the signal has become an
increasing irritant to amateurs over the past few weeks. ARRL member Dave
Bowker, K1FK, in extreme northern Maine reported hearing the signal in
mid-September. "The interference is a square-wave modulated signal which
totally destroys any communications possibilities (20 kHz either side of
3.500 MHz with its 'buzz saw' characteristics," he reported.
Bowker's direction-finding efforts determined the signal was coming from the
north northeast "from over the polar region." At least some FCC staff
members believe the signal originates in Canada. An FCC staff member said
this week that the Commission has been investigating the emission "for a
couple of weeks" as a result of a complaint from an aeronautical weather
station that broadcasts at 3485 kHz. The staff member said the signal
appeared to come from Newfoundland and said the FCC was in contact with its
Canadian counterparts at Industry Canada.
There have been suggestions--unconfirmed--that the signal might be the
result of a system being operated by the Canadian military. Military
authorities North of the Border reportedly have said they will look into the
complaint. Other as-yet-unconfirmed information suggests, however, that the
signal was not of Canadian military origin at all nor even from Newfoundland
but might be coming from Europe.
"There are certain risks in trying to DF any pulse signal that may not be
transmitted mainly in the direction of the observer," says IARU Region 2
Monitoring System Coordinator Martin Potter, VE3OAT. Potter says bearings
obtained may actually be on the "returned signal" from reflection and
scatter points along the transmitted signal's path--either in the ionosphere
or on the ground or ocean, or both. "So it may be premature to conclude that
the transmitter is in Newfoundland, especially if reception is only by
skywave, without taking special measures while obtaining a bearing," he
said.
To add to the mystery, ARRL member Paul Veal, N0AH, in Wyoming--in a
TowerTalk reflector posting earlier this month--reported the signal was
appearing every morning at 1300 UTC on or about 3795 kHz. He said the signal
appeared to coming from a northwesterly to southwesterly direction.
Additional reports and observations are welcome to ARRL Monitoring System
Administrator Tom Hogerty, KC1J, thogerty@arrl.org.
RICKY TO THE RESCUE!
A 10-year-old California ham recently used ham radio to help save the life
of an injured fellow amateur. As a result, Ricky Rothbart, KF6VSH, of San
Rafael, California--who only got his Technician ticket in April--received a
Public Service commendation from the ARRL. He also gained a new appreciation
of Amateur Radio's emergency service potential.
On August 28, Ricky was in the family car heading home from a trip to LA.
"Ricky was in the back seat absorbed in monitoring his favorite frequencies
on his H-T," his dad, George Rothbart, KF6VSG, relates. "At about 6:10 PM,
he suddenly said, 'Hey Dad, there's a guy on the radio who is bleeding all
over the place and needs help!'."
It turned out the other ham had sliced his arm with plate glass and was
bleeding profusely and asking on-the-air for medical help. The injured
ham--Mike Lewis, KF6YDN--apparently was mobile in a remote area of
Pittsburg, California, at the time and his cell phone was not working.
Ricky immediately replied, identifying himself and requesting the man's
location and additional details. George Rothbart got on his cell phone,
contacted a family member as Lewis had requested, then dialed 911. With
Ricky working the emergency on his H-T--the Rothbarts were able to give the
911 dispatcher all the necessary information.
"By the time the emergency was over, three other hams had joined us on the
frequency," George Rothbart said, "but it was Ricky that got the vital
information to relay it to me in the front seat with the cell phone."
The Rothbarts never got to meet Lewis face-to-face. Attempts to contact
Lewis by telephone were unsuccessful.
George Rothbart says that when he and his son were studying for their exams
earlier this year, he'd told Ricky that someday he might be able to use his
new skills to save property or life. While he hardly thought it possible
then, he's now a firm believer. "I found that ham radio still works great,
and through ham radio a 10-year old can make a difference," he said. Both
George and Ricky Rothbart are ARRL members.
SOLAR UPDATE
Heliophile Tad Cook, Seattle, Washington, reports: Solar flux and sunspot
numbers were up this week, with sunspot numbers almost double the week
previous, but average solar flux up less than six points. Recent geomagnetic
instability finally quieted down, and on Wednesday morning UTC (Tuesday
night in North America) the K index was zero at the mid latitudes and the
College Index from Alaska.
Solar flux has been falling the past few days, after peaking at 146.2 on
Tuesday. The official daily numbers are always from the 2000 UTC reading at
Penticton, British Columbia, but there are readings at 1700 and 2300 UTC as
well. Following the 2000 UTC reading on Tuesday, the flux for each of the
three daily readings, through 2000 UTC Thursday, were 146.7, 139.6, 133.6,
132.1, 131.7, and 129.4.
The projected flux values for the next seven days, Friday through Thursday,
October 14 are 130, 135, 140, 145, 145, 150, and 150. The projected A
indices for the same dates are 10, 15, 25, 30, 20, 15 and 15. Monday,
October 11 looks like an unstable geomagnetic day. October 24 could be a bad
day as well.
Sunspot numbers for September 30 through October 6 were 84, 67, 47, 117,
148, 160 and 176 with a mean of 114.1. The 10.7-cm flux was 124.8, 121.6,
126.3, 134.5, 144.4, 146.2 and 133.6, with a mean of 133.1. The estimated
planetary A indices were 29, 11, 15, 10, 15, 16 and 6, with a mean of 14.6.
__________________________________
IN BRIEF:
* This weekend on the radio: The YLRL YL Anniversary Contest (CW) continues
through October 9; the Ten-Ten Day Sprint, the BARTG RTTY Sprint, the FISTS
CW Fall Sprint, the Pennsylvania QSO Party, and the Two Meter Sidewinder
Shootout are the weekend of October 9-10. Just ahead: Jamboree on the Air
(JOTA) is October 16-17. See September QST, page 49, for details. The RSGB
21/28 MHz Contest (CW), the JARTS WW RTTY Contest, the Illinois QSO Party,
the Asia-Pacific Sprint (CW) and the Worked All Germany Contest are the
weekend of October 16-17. See October QST, page 86, for details.
* Ballots mailed in four ARRL Divisions: Ballots for ARRL Board elections
have been mailed to ARRL full members as of September 10, 1999, in four ARRL
divisions. Balloting for Director will occur in the Great Lakes and Midwest
divisions. Balloting for Vice Director will occur in the Atlantic, Great
Lakes, and Pacific divisions. The deadline for receipt of completed ballots
is noon Friday, November 19, 1999. Any member in an affected division who is
entitled to a ballot and who does not receive one by November 1 should
request a duplicate ballot from the Secretary, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington,
CT 06111.
* Gettysburg FCC office to get monitoring antenna: In October, the Army
Corps of Engineers will install an all-band delta loop antenna at the FCC's
Gettysburg facility. Among other purposes, this system--at a height of 75
feet--will assist in real-time monitoring of the Amateur Radio Service and
serve as a "force multiplier" for the High Frequency Direction Finding
Center in Laurel, Maryland.--Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH
* UALR call sign server goes dark: The University of Arkansas at Little Rock
(UALR) has shut down its Amateur Radio Callsign Lookup Page "for an
indeterminate time" and probably for good. An announcement on the page
(http://www.ualr.edu/~hamradio/callsign.html) cites the FCC's new database
format and location--necessitated by the switch to the Universal Licensing
System--as the main reason for the closure. The UALR site, instituted four
years ago, was among the first--if not the first--Web-based call sign
servers. Up-to-date FCC amateur licensee and call sign information now is
available from the ARRL at http://www.arrl.org/fcc/fcclook.php3.
* DXCC status for East Timor in abeyance: Don't look for East Timor to
attain DXCC status anytime very soon. While Indonesia has conceded
peacekeeping duties to UN forces, Indonesia has yet to renounce its
sovereignty over East Timor, formerly Portuguese Timor, CR8/CR10. Under DXCC
rules, if and when East Timor is added to the DXCC list, old CR8/CR10
contacts will not be valid for East Timor for current DXCC applicants. (Only
CR8/CR10 contacts made on or before September 14, 1976, count for Portuguese
Timor.) It's also likely that another prefix would be assigned.
* New Orleans DX convention QRT: The New Orleans International DX Convention
has called it quits after eight years. A message from Convention President
Don Boudreau, W5FKX, said that after "several weeks of review and
soul-searching," the convention's Board of Directors voted to dissolve the
annual convention. Faced with a financial deficit and a flat attendance for
the last several years, a majority of the Board reportedly no longer was
willing or able to justify the extensive amount of work and effort that was
required to maintain a quality program. "It was with great sadness that this
final step was taken," said a statement from Boudreau. The Board extended
its sincere thanks to the Convention's friends and supporters, as well as to
all those who have attended over the last eight years. The last Convention
was held the weekend of August 28-29.
* N1IRZ goes QRO: An interview about radio astronomy with Dave Finley,
N1IRZ, is set to air this weekend on the Spanish National Radio's
English-language shortwave service. Finley, of the National Radio Astronomy
Observatory in Socorro, New Mexico, recently was interviewed by host Justin
Coe for the service's Radio Waves program. Finley said the "probable" air
date is Sunday, October 10 (Saturday evening/early Sunday morning in the US)
on 15,385 kHz at 0000 and 0100 UTC and on 6055 kHz at 0500 UTC. "I hope this
doesn't affect my credentials as a QRPer," Finley commented.--Dave Finley,
N1IRZ
* SUNSAT SO-35 concludes weekend schedule: The South African SUNSAT
satellite concludes its weekend operating schedule October 9 and 10.
SUNSAT's FM uplink is on 436.291 MHz (+/- 9 kHz Doppler shift); downlink is
on 145.825 MHz. Passes last about 15 minutes, and several are over the US.
The tentative schedule (times in UTC): October 9, 1615-1630, 1750-1810 and
1934-1948; October 10, 1711-1730. The three successive passes October 9 over
the US coincide with the AMSAT-NA Symposium and Annual Meeting in San Diego,
California, that weekend. Reports are welcome to
saamsat@intekom.co.za.--AMSAT News Service via Hans van de Groenendaal,
ZS5AKV
* Ernest W. Pappenfus, K6EZ, SK: A major figure in the development of
Collins Amateur Radio gear, Ernie Pappenfus, K6EZ (ex-W0SYF; WB6LOH), of
Temecula, California, died August 14. He was 81. During his years at Collins
in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, Pappenfus directed development of such
products as the famous S-Line and the 30L-1. An ARRL member, Pappenfus
co-authored the book Single Sideband Principles and Circuits, published in
1964, and wrote three articles for QST in the 1950s and 1960s.--thanks to
Bob Sherman, ND6N/Golden Triangle ARC; Electric Radio
===========================================================
The ARRL Letter is published Fridays, 50 times each year, by the American
Radio Relay League, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111; tel 860-594-0200; fax
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Editorial, Rick Lindquist, N1RL, e-mail elindquist@arrl.org.
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