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*******************
The ARRL Newsletter
Vol. 20, No. 23
June 8, 2001
*******************
IN THIS EDITION:
* HamCom Promotes Education in Amateur Radio
* Kentucky Hams Substitute Their Repeater For "Deaf" 911
System:
* IN BRIEF:
* Alinco still catching up with service issues following
move
* ARRL 2001 Atlantic Division Award Winners announced
* Eleven year-old ham gets Life membership and 60-year
plaque
* Francis Shepard, W7HAH, SK
* Indiana policeman receives first Radio Hero Award
* ISS Commander Frank Culbertson is now KD5OPQ
* Mario Acuna, LU9HBG, elected Fellow of AGU
* Meningitis scare at school brings out Ohio ARES unit
* SKYWARN operator struck by lightning
* Walter Taylor, K2MLT, SK
* Western Washington DX Club to host Northwest DX
Convention
* WIDAD, K1MOM and K1D call signs mean it's Kids Day
again
===========================================================
Editor's note: The ARRL Letter and ARRL Audio News are on
vacation. They will return June 13. This is an abbreviated
Letter produced by the editorial staff. See you next week.
===========================================================
== >HamCom Promotes Education in Amateur Radio
The West Gulf Division Convention and HamCom 2001 is just
days away--June 8-10--at the Arlington, Texas, Convention
Center. According to this year's Chairman, Maury Guzick,
W5BGP, it promises to be an education in Amateur Radio. "For
starters we have a new attraction this year that's never
been done before," Guzick wrote. "The ARRL and Ham-Com have
joined together to bring the ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency
Communications Course to you, live and in-person. It's the
same course as the one ARRL offers on-line, but with a live
teacher in a classroom style."
ARRL Public Service Specialist Steve Ewald, WV1X, will
conduct the two-day course at HamCom. Students have pre-
registered and will attend class sessions Saturday morning
and afternoon, completing the course Sunday morning. This is
the first time that Level I: Introduction to Amateur Radio
Emergency Communications (EC-001) will be offered as a
classroom course at a weekend convention.
To learn more about the ARRL Certification and Continuing
Education Program and the Amateur Radio Emergency
Communications Course, see http://www.arrl.org/cce .
== >Kentucky Hams Substitute Their Repeater For "Deaf" 911
System
Twice within a 24 hour period, Harold Hicks, KE4HON, an EMT
for the Whitley County, Kentucky ambulance service, and his
father, Jim Hicks, WB4CTX, Asssistant Section Manager,
Kentucky Division used an HT, the KB4PTJ 444.050 MHz
repeater and a telephone to relay emergency information to
911 dispatchers.
On Sunday morning, May 27, Whitley County and McCreary
County Emergency Medical Services responded to an automobile
accident in a remote area where the two counties join. Both
ambulance services lost radio contact with their 911
dispatchers due to the remoteness of the area. They could
not relay patient information to their dispatcher, their
location, nor advise them as to whether or not they needed a
helicopter to fly the patient out. KE4HON, using his HT,
contacted WB4CTX via the KB4PTJ repeater and asked him to
relay information to the respective 911 dispatchers. Using
the repeater and his home phone, Hicks advised Whitley
County EMS that the patient was conscious and alert and that
the helicopter and rescue crews could stand down. He told
the McCreary County 911 that their unit was ok and would be
the one transporting the patient.
Incredibly, less than 12 hours later, another accident
occurred in almost the same place and with the same
consequences regarding loss of 911-repeater contact. The
same situation played out-Hicks-to-Hicks-to 911. Whitley
County EMS was dispatched and the patient was brought to the
hospital.
Again Amateur Radio stepped into the breach and rendered a
public service. Incidentally, the KB4PTJ repeater and the
ambulance service repeater are less than three air miles
apart--John Meyers, N4GNL
___________________________________
== >IN BRIEF:
* Alinco still catching up with service issues following
move: The transfer of Alinco's distribution system from
California to ATOC Amateur Distributing in Ohio is nearly
complete, according to Craig Cota, a principal with ATOC.
Complicating the transfer was the fact that the Dayton
Hamvention occurred as the transition was taking place. "Our
timing couldn't have been worse," said Cota. "We were
literally unloading a moving van, and driving merchandise
directly to the dealers at the show." One aspect of the
transfer still pending is the service function. "We had
hoped to have factory training personnel work with our staff
in the transition. Unfortunately, plans were delayed," said
Cota. "We will continue to honor warranty claims, even if
the warranty expires during the transition period." For More
Information: http://www.alinco.com/usa.html .
* ARRL 2001 Atlantic Division Award Winners announced: The
ARRL Atlantic Division Awards Committee has named Roy
Heimel, AB4XS, 2001 Atlantic Division Ham of the Year.
Dennis Silage, K3DS, received the 2001 Atlantic Division
Technical Achievement Award. The committee members made
their choices based upon ballots received. Heimel has served
his club, the Headwaters ARC, in many capacities and has
organized and taught amateur radio licensing courses. He has
been associated with the Boy Scouts for over 22 years, and
served as a Girl Scout leader. Silage, K3DS, is the
technical chairman for the Delaware County ARA and the Mid-
Atlantic ARC. He is a frequent speaker on technical subjects
at amateur radio clubs through out the Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania area--Bernie Fuller, N3EFN, ARRL Atlantic
Division Director.
* Eleven year-old ham gets Life membership and 60-year
plaque: Ryan Rose, K3RLR, of Pasadena, Maryland, got more
than he bargained for at the Dayton Hamvention. Originally
licensed in May 1999 as a Novice--KB3DVA--Ryan now hold a
General ticket. This year at Hamvention he took out an ARRL
life membership (thanks to his dad, Bob, AA3RR). Due to a
vendor error, Ryan's plaque credited the 11-year-old with 60
years of membership instead of Life Membership! The problem
was corrected, and the correct Life Membership plaque
arrived a few days later.
* Francis Shepard, W7HAH, SK: Francis Shepard, W7HAH, of
Stevensville, Montana died May 16. He was 79. An ARRL
member, Shepard held VUCC on 50, 144 and 432 MHz. His 50-MHz
certificate was endorsed for 625 grid squares. "Shep led the
2-meter EME roles for contacts with a four-Yagi system. As a
ham, he lent a hand and his friendship to many, far and
wide," said his friend, Pat Hamilton, WA7PDC. "I will miss
listening to W7HAH work the stations I barely even heard."
* Indiana policeman receives first Radio Hero Award: Bill
Ward, N9RHY, of the Henry County, Indiana Sheriff's
department received the Radio Hero Award in recognition of
his use of Citizens Band radio in the capture of two
suspected murderers. Ward is the first recipient of this
award, which will be presented biannually by its
sponsors-REACT International Inc, Cobra Electronics and
Popular Communications magazine. The incident involved two
Vermont high school students who were suspected of murdering
a husband and wife-both professors at Dartmouth College.
Ward intercepted a truckdriver's CB call asking if anyone
could help these youths with a ride further west. Without
identifying himself, Ward told the youths to wait and
someone would be along to pick them up! In an earlier story
regarding REACT, ARRL and REACT signed a Memorandum of
Understanding intended to promote joint coordination of the
resources of both organizations and recognize the
capabilities of individual members to facilitate the flow of
information to and from the public during disaster and
emergency situations. For the complete MOU, see
http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/mou/react.html.
* ISS Commander Frank Culbertson is now KD5OPQ: The latest
NASA astronaut to become an Amateur Radio operator is the
commander of Expedition 3, Frank Culbertson, KD5OPQ. Joining
him on the International Space Station as part of the
Expedition 3 crew will be cosmonauts Mikhail Turin and
Vladimir Dezhurov, who will also have Amateur Radio licenses
prior to launch. Culbertson has logged over 344 hours in
space. Shuttle Mission STS-105, scheduled to fly in August,
will ferry Commander Culbertson to the ISS. It will return
with Expedition 2 crewmembers Susan Helms, KC7NHZ; Yury
Usachev, RW3FU; and James Voss who have spoken via Amateur
Radio with students in 15 schools during scheduled ARISS
QSOs.
* Mario Acuna, LU9HBG, elected Fellow of AGU: Mario Acuna,
LU9HBG, has been elected Fellow of the American Geophysical
Union, an honor reserved for the top one percent of the
scientists working in Geophysics and Space Physics. The
award was made at the AGU Spring Meeting in Boston. Acuna,
well known in the AMSAT/Satellite community, helped in the
development of P3A, AO-10 and AO-13. For many years Acuna
has been the supplier of high accuracy magnetometers flown
on the UoSATs , professional earth-orbiting satellites and
deep-space probes.
* Meningitis scare at school brings out Ohio ARES unit: When
two fifteen year old students in a near-by community died of
Meningitis, the Salem, Ohio community hospital set up
antibiotic dispensing stations at the southeast elementary
school as a precaution. At times the line exceeded 1000
people. Hospital phone lines were jammed by incoming calls.
People standing in line to get medication were using their
cell phones making matters worse. ARES EC, KA8OEB, activated
the Salem club and set up stations at the school and
hospital. Members of Columbiana County ARES and Salem Area
ARA assisted, using 2-meter and 70cm repeaters. ARES
services ran for two days. More than 37000 people in Salem
and Alliance received antibiotics.
* SKYWARN operator struck by lightning: Danny Townsend,
KB5ZEA, was struck by lightning on Sunday, May 27, while
engaged in SKYWARN reporting. As Townsend keyed his mike to
respond to KD5JGW's weather report, lightning hit the tower,
destroying the station equipment and knocking Townsend to
the floor. He was taken to the hospital and found to be OK,
but he says he still has a ringing in his ears. "As we
operate Skywarn and ARES, we need to keep in mind the
dangers we can be exposed to," said Townsend. " I have
always been conscious of lighting and what it can do, but
have continued to operate during bad weather. I will
continue to do what I can to help my fellow man, but with a
little more caution. I will attempt to rebuild my station
with total emergency power as well as attic antennas."--
KB5ZEA.
* Walter Taylor, K2MLT, SK: Walter Taylor, K2MLT, of
Hammondsport, New York- died April 20. He was 69. A fourth-
generation vintner, Taylor was also an artist, inventor,
aviator and poet. An ARRL member, his radio interests also
included ownership of two commercial broadcast stations.
Among his survivors are his wife, Lillian, three sons, a
daughter, and two grandchildren.
* Western Washington DX Club to host Northwest DX
Convention: The Western Washington DX Club will host the
Northwest DX Convention--DXing in the 21st Century!--in
Seattle, Washington, July 20-22 at the Everett Holiday Inn.
Speakers include Bill Fisher, W4AN; Carl Luetzelschwab,
K9LA; DXCC Manager Bill Moore, NC1L; Garry Shapiro, NI6T and
NCJ Editor Dennis Motschenbacher, K7BV. DX videos will be
shown hourly. Send questions to convention@wwdxc.org or to
WWDXC, PO Box 395, Mercer Island, WA 98040. For on-line
registration and the up to date convention agenda, visit the
WWDXC Web site, http://www.wwdxc.org/convention .
* WIDAD, K1MOM and K1D call signs mean it's Kids Day again:
Peter and Jeanne Schipelliti, W1DAD and K1MOM, respectively,
and their kids Geena, age 6 and Luciano, age 4, have
activated the special 1X1 call sign, K1D. The family wanted
to promote ARRL's Kid's Day and assist hams in igniting the
interest of children in Amateur Radio. They plan to use the
call sign from June 2-17. Kid's Day is June 16, from 1800-
2400Z. Listen for K1D on 28350, 21380, 14270, 7230 and 3895
kHz. Hams who plan to put youngsters on the air for Kid's
Day, can get a free Amateur Radio coloring book and youthful
operating aids from K1MOM at: k1mom@arrl.net. For more info
on Kid's Day, see: http://www.arrl.org/FandES/ead/kd-
rules.html .
===========================================================
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
The ARRL Letter offers a weekly summary of essential news of
interest to active amateurs. The ARRL Letter strives to be
timely, accurate, concise, and readable. The ARRLWeb Extra
at http://www.arrl.org/members-only/extra offers ARRL
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Material from The ARRL Letter may be republished or
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or call 860-594-0384
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