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Vol. 19, No. 35
September 15, 2000
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__________________________________
IN THIS EDITION:
* +ARISS ham gear reaches its destination
* +WS7W is new Rocky Mountain Vice Director
* +AO-27 is back on the air
* +US victim of W Timor violence also an amateur
* +FCC cancels license of "Captain Truth" suspect
* +FCC denies amateur applications
* +Transatlantic crossband LF QSO completed
* Solar update
* IN BRIEF:
This weekend on the radio
Emergency Communications course site moved
Alpha/Power to cease linear manufacturing
Coordinator steps into the void in New York, New Jersey
Florida ham is 2000 State Law Enforcement Officer of the Year
SETI League receives moonbounce grant
+Available on ARRL Audio News
__________________________________
ARISS HAM GEAR REACHES DESTINATION
The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station initial station
equipment plus supplies that the ISS Expedition 1 crew will need later this
year were delivered to the ISS this week. After entering the station itself,
astronauts and cosmonauts worked to unload the cargo--including the ham
gear--from the shuttle Atlantis and from a docked Russian Progress rocket
and to set the ISS up for its first crew.
There are three hams on the shuttle Atlantis mission. No Amateur Radio
operation will take place from the ISS until the Expedition 1 crew arrives
in early November, however, nor will there be any ham activity from the
shuttle on this trip.
On September 11, US astronaut Ed Lu, KC5WKJ, and Russian cosmonaut Yuri
Malenchenko completed a more than six-hour space walk. Lu and Malenchenko
attached nine power, data and communication cables to the ISS's newest
component, the Russian-built Zvezda service module, and to the Zarya control
module. They also assembled a magnetometer boom on Zvezda's exterior.
Other amateurs aboard include astronauts Dan Burbank, KC5ZSX, and Richard
Mastracchio, KC5ZTE.
NASA reportedly located a small problem on the Zvezda--a jammed solar panel
on one of its wings. The panel failed to unfold following the launch of the
module, and NASA says it might have to repair the problem on a later
mission. NASA also says one of eight Russian-made batteries used to power
the ISS might be malfunctioning.
Atlantis blasted off on schedule last Friday from the Kennedy Space Center.
It delivered amateur VHF and UHF hand-held transceivers for the
multi-national ARISS program, as well as a TNC for packet, a specially
developed headset and signal adapter module plus power adapters and
interconnecting cables. The gear will be stowed aboard the ISS until the
Expedition 1 crew of US astronaut Bill Shepherd, KD5GSL, and Russian
Cosmonauts Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR, and Yuri Gaidzenko come aboard.
The ARISS initial station gear will be installed temporarily aboard Zarya
and will use an existing antenna that's being adapted to support FM voice
and packet on 2 meters. The gear will be re-installed in the Zvezda Service
Module next year, and it will have both 2-meter and 70-cm capabilities. A
Russian call sign, RZ3DZR, has been issued for the ISS ham radio station.
For more information about Amateur Radio on the ISS and SAREX, visit the
ARISS Web site, http://ariss.gsfc.nasa.gov/.
MORTON IS NEW ROCKY MOUNTAIN VICE DIRECTOR
ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, this week appointed Warren G. "Rev"
Morton, WS7W, of Casper, Wyoming, as Rocky Mountain Division Vice Director.
He fills the vacancy left when former Rocky Mountain Director and Vice
Director Marshall Quiat, AG0X, stepped down as Vice Director earlier this
summer for health reasons. Morton's appointment is effective immediately.
Morton will complete Quiat's term of office, which runs through next year.
The ARRL Board of Directors last month elected Quiat to be an ARRL Honorary
Vice President.
Morton served two terms as Wyoming Section Manager, from 1993 until 1997.
While in that office, he spearheaded the successful effort to enact a PRB-1
bill in his state. (Morton's efforts are detailed in "Wyoming Hams Corral
City and County Antenna Restrictions," QST, July 1998.) The bill was signed
into law in 1997.
Members may write Morton at 1341 Trojan Dr, Casper, WY 82609, call him at
307-235-2799, or e-mail him at ws7w@arrl.org.
AO-27 IS BACK ON THE AIR!
The AO-27 satellite has returned to analog Amateur Radio service. AO-27
ground controller Chuck Wyrick, KM4NZ, reports the satellite showed up on
its first North American daylight pass on September 9.
Wyrick advises operators to wait until they hear the satellite in analog
mode--ie, no data being sent--before transmitting on the 145.850 MHz uplink
frequency. AO-27's downlink is 436.800 MHz.
Wyrick says the AO-27 analog FM repeater will be turned off for a few days
at a time over the next few months so ground controllers can gather whole
orbital data to verify the health of the satellite.
AO-27's computer crashed July 31, and it took more than one attempt to
reload the software and get the satellite up and running again.
"A lot of work has saved AO-27 for many more enjoyable amateur QSOs," Wyrick
said in a posting to the AMSAT bulletin board.
US VICTIM OF WEST TIMOR VIOLENCE ALSO AN AMATEUR
It's been learned that not one but two of the victims of mob violence
September 6 in West Timor, Indonesia, were Amateur Radio operators. Carlos
Luis Caceres, KD4SYB, a Technician licensee from Jacksonville, Florida, was
33. He was an ARRL member and a native of Puerto Rico. Caceres' name had
been misspelled in several media reports about the killings.
Caceres, Pero Simundza, 9A4SP, of Croatia, and Samson Aregahegn of
Ethiopia--all United Nations relief workers--died September 6 when thousands
of armed pro-Indonesian militiamen and their supporters stormed a UN office
in Atambua, West Timor, killing the three and injuring several others.
Witnesses say Indonesian security forces stood by and did nothing to stop
the violence. The killings were believed to be related to the earlier murder
of a militia leader the day before.
All three victims worked for the UN High Commission for Refugees, providing
humanitarian aid to refugees from East Timor, which voted last year to break
away from Indonesia and is now administered by the UN. An estimated 90,000
refugees remain in West Timor border camps after fleeing violence in East
Timor a year ago.
In an eerie e-mail message reportedly sent to UNHCR Headquarters the day he
was killed, Caceres spoke of the UN workers being barricaded at their
stations waiting for "a wave of violence" to hit. "The militias are on the
way," he wrote, "and I am sure they will do their best to demolish this
office." Caceres told his colleague that the remaining UN staff members were
"like bait, unarmed, waiting for the wave to hit."
Caceres' sister, Elba M. Caceres, was among those wanting to know why no one
was there to protect the workers who stayed behind. "I could not comprehend
how the United Nations was not there to protect them," she said in a message
to several US Department of State officials in which she described her
brother as "an extraordinary man" and demanded an explanation for what led
to the killings.
Caceres' father, Gregorio Caceres, KA4UXJ, said his son was fluent in
several languages and held degrees in journalism and law. "His ability with
different languages and his vast legal knowledge helped him perform at the
international level," the elder Caceres said.
Memorial Web sites for the two amateurs killed were established at
http://www.qsl.net/kd4syb and http://www.qsl.net/9a4sp.
FCC CANCELS LICENSE OF "CAPTAIN TRUTH" SUSPECT
The FCC has cancelled the license of the individual it strongly suspects was
"Captain Truth." The Commission notified John M. Yount of Newton, North
Carolina, on September 5 that it was canceling his Amateur Extra class
ticket because he failed to appear for re-examination. Yount had held the
call sign K4QIJ.
The FCC zeroed in on Yount last spring as a prime suspect in its "Captain
Truth" investigation into unidentified Amateur Radio transmissions and
malicious interference. FCC Special Counsel for Amateur Radio Enforcement
Riley Hollingsworth wrote Yount on March 29, citing FCC and other close-in
monitoring evidence that indicated Yount's station was the source of
"malicious interference and jamming" on 20 and 75 meters.
Hollingsworth said this week that "Captain Truth" has not been heard on the
air since the FCC's initial letter to Yount on March 29. After failing to
get a satisfactory reply, Hollingsworth wrote Yount in July requesting that
he retake his examinations under the supervision of an ARRL-VEC volunteer
examiner team on or before September 1. "And he never showed up,"
Hollingsworth said.
The FCC says radio-direction finding bearings led to Yount's residence and
antenna. Part of its monitoring evidence resulted from work done by the
FCC's High-Frequency Direction Finding facility in Columbia, Maryland, the
FCC said.
Yount suggested in his only reply to the FCC that there were a lot of
vehicles and other houses on his property and that someone else could have
been responsible for the transmissions the FCC had monitored and tracked.
Hollingsworth said he wrote Yount again on June 1 to seek clarification and
additional information in the ongoing investigation before sending the
retesting notice on July 17. "I never heard from him again," Hollingsworth
said.
FCC DENIES AMATEUR PETITIONS
The FCC this week denied three petitions for reconsideration filed by
Amateur Radio operators. All of the petitions were turned down because the
FCC said they had not been filed properly.
In separate orders released September 11, the Wireless Telecommunications
Bureau, dismissed the petitions of Lawrence Gutter, ex-WA2YTO, and Richard
E. Jamison, KG6ARN and ex-K1OTO. Both had sought reconsideration of the
FCC's denial of their license renewal applications.
Gutter's and Jamison's licenses both expired in late 1997, and the two filed
for renewal in late 1999. Both filed at or near the end of their two-year
grace periods. Neither included their Taxpayer Identification
Number--typically a Social Security Number for an individual--on his renewal
application, and the FCC promptly dismissed both applications.
Citing their earlier ignorance of the FCC's TIN requirement, Gutter and
Jamison sent second applications that included their TINs to Gettysburg
after their grace periods had expired.
In an Order released September 12, the FCC also turned down the Petition for
Reconsideration filed by Charles W. Heard, W4CO and formerly W2FLA. Heard
had sought reconsideration of the October 1999 denial of his application for
the vanity call sign W4FX. The call sign went instead to another applicant,
Robert C. Williams, formerly KA4H. Both had filed electronic applications
for W4FX on August 16, 1999. Heard contended that the FCC erred in assigning
W4FX due to a handling error and because of misuse of the system. The FCC
Order said Heard's allegations "lack merit" and that the ULS "processes
mutually exclusive vanity call sign applications received on the same day in
random order." The system selected Williams as the recipient on October 28,
1999.
But in the end, the FCC dismissed all three petitions as "improperly filed,"
because they were sent to the FCC's office in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania,
rather than to Washington, DC, and were not received by the FCC Secretary's
office within 30 days, as FCC rules require.
In footnotes to the Gutter and Jamison rulings, however, the FCC strongly
suggested that their petitions would have been denied even if they had been
properly filed. The Commission said the fact that Gutter and Jamison were
unaware of the TIN requirement was not sufficient justification for the
reinstatement of their licenses.
The FCC also said Gutter and Jamison could have avoided problems by not
waiting until the end of their grace periods to file for license renewal.
Jamison got licensed again in March after taking the Amateur Extra-class
exam battery over from scratch. Gutter, who had held a General ticket,
remains unlicensed.
UK-CANADA CROSSBAND LF QSO COMPLETED
In the spirit of the early transatlantic tests, a crossband LF-HF contact
between the United Kingdom and Canada was completed September 10. The
contact involved well-known LFer Dave Bowman, G0MRF, operating on 135.711
kHz and John Currie, VE1ZJ, on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada,
operating on 20 meters.
"Dave had a surprisingly strong signal into FN95, Cape Breton Island,"
Currie said in an e-mail message to Andr' Kesteloot, N4ICK, who's involved
with the AMRAD LF experiment in the US.
Using spectral software, Currie reports that he observed "weak dashes" from
G0MRF just after 2205 UTC on September 9. He says noise was extremely low.
Shortly after sunset on Cape Breton Island he observed a lot of dashes. "It
looked like G0MRF was coming across the pond," he said. Bowman's signal was
never audible in Canada.
Currie said he had "solid copy on G0MRF" by 2245 UTC, and the crossband QSO
was completed on September 10 at 0008 UTC. "I could see every dot and dash,"
he reported. By 0100 he could no longer copy the signal, and by 0250 UTC
they were fading. "I did not see them on the spectrogram again," he
reported.
Bowman says he was operating from a 15th floor West London apartment, the
home of Sean Griffin, 2E1AXK. The antenna was two sloping 250-foot long
wires about 80 degrees apart. Grounding was via the building's plumbing.
Loading involved fixed and variable inductors. Bowman estimated maximum
power into the antenna at 700 W, but at one point, he dropped his power to
about 320 W and VE1ZJ was still copying. "Even allowing for the large
antenna, I believe this shows that many UK/EU stations will be able to make
the transatlantic path this winter," Bowman said.
Canada has not yet authorized Amateur Radio operation at 136 kHz, but some
stations have been given permission to experiment there. Larry Kayser,
VA3LK, and Mitch Powell, VE3OT, completed the first two-way LF contact in
Canada on July 22 on 136 kHz, using very slow-speed CW (dubbed "QRSS").
Kayser is testing equipment and processes in preparation for the
TransAtlantic II attempt on LF set to occur November 10-27 from
Newfoundland. TransAtlant Sunday through Thursday. Solar flux is expected to
stay above 150 until October 5, then reach the next minimum around 125 on
October 10 or 11.
Planetary A indices predicted for Friday through next Thursday are 45, 12,
12, 10, 12, 12 and 10. The high A index forecast for Friday is probably due
to the M-Class solar flare which erupted at 1213 UTC on Tuesday. Shortly
after this flare, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory recorded a
spectacular and fast-moving full-halo coronal mass ejection. The result may
be mid-latitude auroral displays, along with a minor to major geomagnetic
storm.
Next week is the autumnal equinox, a time when HF conditions should be at
their best. Let's hope that the sun cooperates, t run of Alpha
87A and 99 amplifiers is completed. Alpha/Power said that that warranty and
post-warranty service will continue to be available. Dick Ehrhorn,
W0ID/W4ETO, says that "a combination of health issues and family
obligations" has made it impossible for John Brosnahan, W0UN, the president
and technical director of Alpha/Power, to continue at his present pace with
Alpha/Power. Ehrhorn said he's "not willing to risk that Alpha legacy" with
someone else, "Nor am I aware of any person or entity with the desire, the
proven ability, the commitment, and the resources to acquire Alpha and
perpetuate the standards to which we've been dedicated for thirty-one
years." Ehrhorn says the company remains open to "serious discussions,"
however. In 1996, Ehrhorn and Dave Wilson, AA0RS/G3SZA, bought back the
Alpha amplifier business from ETO, which had merged with Applied Science and
Technology in 1995. Ehrhorn founded ETO in 1970 and designed all the early
Alpha linears. By 1995, it was a $20-million company. For more information,
visit the Alpha/Power Web site, http://www.alpha-power-inc.com.--Alpha/Power
news release
* Coordinator steps into the void in New York, New Jersey: A new,
independent agency has been formed to provide Amateur Radio frequency
coordination for the New York City/Long Island, Northern New Jersey, and
downstate New York region. The Metropolitan Coordination Association Inc--or
MetroCor--was organized by a volunteer group of concerned Amateurs. MetroCor
intends to address spectrum usage issues in one of the most densely
populated areas of the country, which has been without such services for
several years. MetroCor has notified the FCC, the National Frequency
Coordinators' Council Inc, the ARRL, and the spectrum management councils in
adjacent states of its intention to voluntarily provide coordination
services for facilities operating on frequencies above 29.5 MHz. The ARRL's
Brennan Price, N4QX--the League's point man for repeater and coordination
issues--says MetroCor is the only entity that has notified the ARRL of its
intention to provide coordination services for the region. But he points out
that the ARRL does not certify frequency coordinators. "Frequency
coordinators derive their authority from the voluntary participation of the
local amateur community that they serve," he said. MetroCor has defined its
service area to include Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam,
Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, Sullivan, Ulster, and Westchester
counties in New York, and the Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex,
Monmouth, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union, and Warren counties in
New Jersey. These areas, along with Dutchess County in New York, and the
entire state of Connecticut, formerly were served by the Tri-State Amateur
Radio Club. TSARC has been inactive for several years. Additional details
are available on MetroCor's Web site, http://www.qsl.net/metrocor or by
calling MetroCor evenings before 10 PM at 973-875-4772; e-mail
metrocor@qsl.net .--MetroCor news release; ARRL
* Florida ham is 2000 State Law Enforcement Officer of the Year: ARRL member
David Myers, W4USA, of Orange Park, Florida, has been selected as the 2000
Florida State Law Enforcement Officer of the Year. He was honored at the
State Law Enforcement Chiefs Association conference in August. Myers heads
the Fraudulent Identification Program through the Division of Alcoholic
Beverages and Tobacco under the Florida Department of Business and
Professional Regulation. The program is known nationally, and Myers is
recognized as one of the nation's leading experts in fraudulent
identification Internet issues. "Some 30 percent of the fake IDs authorities
now see in Florida are produced on the Internet, up from 5 percent last year
and 1 percent two years ago," said Myers. He says some fake ID sites get
more than 10,000 inquiries a day, and that operators can generate more than
$1 million a year. Frequently sought out by news media for his expertise,
Myers testified last May before the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on
Investigations on fraudulent identification and credentials on the Internet.
He has closed 33 Internet sites and has an impressive record of 310 arrests
for possession of false IDs.--Department of Business & Professional
Regulation news release.
* SETI League receives moonbounce grant: The SETI League Inc has received a
small equipment grant from the American Astronomical Society to help it
construct a transmitter to bounce microwave signals off the moon's surface.
The project, "A Lunar Reflective Test Beacon for Radio Astronomy and SETI,"
will enable amateur and professional radio astronomers to calibrate their
receiving systems by providing a stable reference signal from a known point
in the sky. "We should be ready to start bouncing interesting microwave
signals off the lunar surface early in 2001," said Paul Shuch, N6TX, the
SETI League's executive director. The SETI League, a nonprofit organization
that's spearheading a privately funded search for evidence of
extraterrestrial life--has 1200 members in 59 countries. Many of them also
are Amateur Radio operators. For more information, visit the SETI League Web
site, http://www.setileague.org or email info@setileague.org .--SETI League
news release
===========================================================
The ARRL Letter is published Fridays, 50 times each year, by the American
Radio Relay League--The National Association For Amateur Radio--225 Main St,
Newington, CT 06111; tel 860-594-0200; fax 860-594-0259;
http://www.arrl.org. Jim Haynie, W5JBP, President; David Sumner, K1ZZ,
Executive Vice President.
The ARRL Letter offers a weekly summary of essential news of interest to
active amateurs that's available in advance of publication in QST, our
official journal. The ARRL Letter strives to be timely, accurate, concise,
and readable. The ARRLWeb Extra at http://www.arrl.org/members-only/extra
offers ARRL members access to late-breaking news and informative features,
updated regularly.
Material from The ARRL Letter may be republished or reproduced in whole or
in part in any form without additional permission. Credit must be given to
The ARRL Letter and The American Radio Relay League.
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