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. If you would like back issues of the Newsline transcripts you can get them by any of the following means. Genie users can find them in the Radio & Electronics software library, M345;3. 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Schleck, KD3FU - Elmers Resource List Scott Ehrlich, WY1Z - Ham files administrator at oak.oakland.edu - - - - - NEWSLINE RADIO - CBBS EDITION #118 - POSTED 04/02/94 (***************************************************************) (* *) (* * * ***** * * **** * ***** * * ***** *) (* ** * * * * * * * ** * * *) (* * * * *** * ** * *** * * * * * *** *) (* * ** * * ** * * * * * ** * *) (* * * ***** * * **** ***** ***** * * ***** *) (* *) (* **** * **** ***** *** *) (* * * * * * * * * * *) (* **** ***** * * * * * *) (* * * * * * * * * * *) (* * * * * **** ***** *** *) (* *) (***************************************************************) 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. The electronic version of newsline is posted on this CBBS twice monthly. For current information updates, please call 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 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!!! (***************************************************************) [868] (* * * C L O S E D C I R C U I T A D V I S O R Y * * *) (* *) (* This is a CLOSED CIRCUIT ADVISORY and is NOT for air *) (* over amateur radio. According to Newsline Support Fund *) (* administrator Norm Chalfin, K6PGX, the funds needed to *) (* keep Newsline in operation are once again low. *) (* According to Norm, it now costs a bit over $850 a month *) (* to pay the telecommunications and equipment supply *) (* bills. That is up over $150 from the same time last *) (* year. *) (* For those of you unaware, Newsline pays the cost of *) (* three telephones including the one used for news *) (* gathering. We also pay for several electronic news and *) (* information services, we pay for electronic mail, for *) (* raw tape stock and the cost of repairing and updating *) (* our production facilities. *) (* Right now, Newsline has enough funds to carry it *) (* through to the end of April, but that's it. Therefore *) (* we are once again appealing to all of our listeners to *) (* assist in any way that you can so that Newsline can *) (* continue to being you these weekly ham radio news *) (* bulletins. Our address is the Newsline Support Fund, *) (* Post Office Box 463, Pasadena, CA 91102. *) (* *) (* Again, and as always, we thank you for your ongoing *) (* interest and support. That ends the closed circuit *) (* advisory with Newsline report number 868 for release on *) (* Friday, April 1, 1994. *) (* *) (* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *) The following is a QST A bizarre licensing scam in Texas leads to the forfeiture of ham tickets, two more hams are barred by a court order from operating on a Southern California repeater and a famous ham astronaut is off to work in Russia. (***** TEXAS VE SCAM The FCC is cancelling the amateur radio licenses of at least two people. This, as the Commission expands its investigation into an elaborate scam involving bogus ham licenses. The scheme involves a complicated web of name and address changes, callsign upgrades, an undercover examinee, and allegations that the names of deceased hams were used to obtain amateur radio licenses. The scam was uncovered during a routine check of lists of people getting their ham licenses. Investigators became suspicious when they saw a familiar name: Hector Cruz. That's the name of a man linked to an early 1980's scheme when people tried to get licenses using the names of deceased hams. Further investigation led to Luis A. Rivera, KP4UP, and Gleason Petit, AB5KT. Both were listed as volunteer examiners in Texas. Records show Rivera was an examiner at the session where Hector Cruz as licensed. Luis Rivera was also involved in the earlier scam. Examination sessions Rivera administered allegedly include widespread irregularities. Rivera sessions reportedly list the names of out of state applicants as taking tests. In fact, they never showed up. An undercover examinee attended one session and found evidence of fraud. The man claiming to be Gleason Petit has reportedly admitted that his real name is Anthony Hopkins. The real Gleason Petit was an amateur operator who died in 1985. Luis Rivera denies he is the same person named in the earlier scam. But he and Hopkins were told to turn in their amateur licenses. How many fraudulent licenses were issued under this scheme? Information on that is not yet available. This tangled web of apparent fraud and conspiracy remains under investigation. (***** CLARA REPEATER HARASSMENT Two more southern California hams accused by the Claremont Amateur Repeater Association of harassing the clubs two meter repeater have been ordered by a civil court to stay away. Only a month after successfully obtaining a restraining order against Tim Seawolf, KJ5KE, that bars his operation on or near frequencies maintained for use by the CLARA systems, the club was in court again on March 24th. This time seeking a similar ruling against Drew Feldman, N3KSO, and Anthony Cardenes, WA6IGJ. Gary Krist, KI6FG, is the president of the Claremont Repeater group. "We prevailed again in court against Mr. Anthony Cardenes, WA6IGJ, and Mr. Drew Feldman, N3KSO. We did obtain our permanent restraining order. The Defendants were once more ordered to keep away the typical hundred yards from the meeting sites, etc., etc. Not to use the Claremont Repeater, nor its assigned frequencies. Ultimately we were awarded attorneys costs and fees in the amount of $3000 to be paid by the defendants. Each shall pay $30 a piece on the first and fifteenth of each month until their debt is paid off." Gary Krist, KI6FG, President of the Claremont Repeater group. It's not over yet. The Claremont group still has several other legal actions pending or planned. This, to insure that those it deems to be undesirable are kept off the clubs repeaters and away from harassing its members. At airtime its not known if Cardenes or Feldman plan to file an appeal. (***** INDONESIA QUAKE Amateur radio was at the forefront of relief efforts when more than 120 people died in an earthquake in Indonesia in February. Press reports say that ham radio was the only communication initially available from the affected area. The town of Liwa in the province of Lampung suffered the greatest damage and loss of life. A government official told The Jakarta Post that ham radio was the only way to communicate with Liwa. (***** KB5AWP TO RUSSIA SAREX Astronaut Ken Cameron, KB5AWP, is off to Russia. Ken has been named Director of Operations - Russia and manager of NASA operational activities at the Russian control center at Kaliningrad. There KB5AWP will work with Russian Space Agency engineers and flight controllers on the US - Russia cooperative space program. Among his many duties Ken will supervise NASA astronaut training at Star City and develop plans and procedures to support joint space shuttle - Russian Mir space station flights and space station development. He is also expected to command one of the early shuttle docking missions with Mir. Cameron, 44, has flown on two SAREX shuttle missions, STS-37 in 1991 and STS-56 in 1993. Both these were all-ham flights. (***** RADIO SHACK IN RUSSIA Word that Tandy Corporation has opened its first Radio Shack store in Russia. The Moscow store, which officially opened January 14th. It is identical in look and layout to stores in the USA and is franchised to the Trident Group, a Florida based international distribution company. Its being managed by Trident A O, a Russian company. (***** ITAMSAT PROBLEM The Itamsat ham radio satellite has developed what may be a major problem. Sometime during the week of March 7th, the PSK modulation on the primary transmitter became more and more difficult to decode. According to Alberto Zagni, I2KBD, of the Itamsat command team, a residual carrier and lower output power seem to indicate a failure in the PSK balanced modulator. Alberto says that the condition seems worse at the satellites low current power setting. He notes that increasing the power level makes the demodulation easier, but this solution is not acceptable due to power budget constraints. Ground controllers decided to switch to the secondary PSK transmitter on 435.822 MHz. The first two passes over Italy confirmed the correct operation of the spacecraft. Action is now being taken to analyze the performance of the satellite in this new configuration. Alberto says that the on board flying BBS is working as usual and status bulletins will be uploaded regularly. (***** CALL FOR PAPERS - ARRL NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL WORKSHOP A call for papers has been issued for the sixth Proceedings of the ARRL National Educational Workshop, with a deadline of April 29, 1994. The workshop will be held June 10th at the ARRL National Convention in Arlington, TX. For an author's guide, contact Tracy Bedlack, N1QDO, at the Educational Activities Department, ARRL Headquarters, 225 Main Street, Newington, CT 06111. (***** FCC ON THE INTERNET The FCC has announced that some of its information is now available on the Internet. Postings including the FCC Daily Digest, news releases, some public notices, and the text of speeches by Commission officials. The exact file names are listed in the FCC Daily Digest and FCC's Internet address is simply ftp.fcc.gov (***** WEST COAST VHF CONVENTION The 1994 West Coast VHF/UHF Conference will take place the weekend of April 29 and 30 and May 1 at the Sheraton Cerritos Hotel Town Center in Cerritos, California. The event will feature a swap meet, breakfast, banquet, technical talks, vendor exhibits, noise figure and antenna measurement tests, and more. For registration and information please write to the Southern California Six Meter Club, PO Box 10441, Fullerton, CA 92635. A No-Code Technician Class license preparation course taught by Loraine McCarthy, N6CIO, with testing of students will take place following the class. Pre-registration for the class is required. Yes, this is the same weekend as the 1994 Dayton Hamvention in Ohio. (***** ARRL DX ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACTION In DX, the ARRL DX Advisory Committee has announced that the question of new country status for Pratas Island, BV9, has been removed from the DXAC agenda pending receipt of further information from the petitioner. The committee says that on receipt of the requested information, the matter will be placed on the agenda, and a vote scheduled. No vote had ever been held on the Partas Island DXCC country status petition. (***** BLANCARD TRIBUTE A special tribute to a very special ham. Each year, members of the Birmingham Amateur Radio Club in Alabama recognize a member for his or her contributions to ham radio. BARC normally presents its Citizenship Award during the Club's Hamfest, held in May. But this year is different. The 1994 Citizenship Award was presented two months early. That is because the clubs recipient and the circumstances are special. The callsign AA4LB is a familiar one to central Alabama amateur radio operators. Frank Blanchard has contributed his time and talents to the ham community in many ways. He has served in the clubs administration, on its hamfest board of governors, he chaired field day, and Frank played a key roll in setting up the volunteer examiner coordinator program. Fellow club members say no one deserves this years Citizenship Award more than Frank Blanchard. On a cool spring like evening club members made a surprise visit to the seventh floor of a Birmingham hospital. That is where Blanchard fights a life threatening illness. "It was a very emotional scene because you know he's. At this stage of the game he is very emotional. It was very heart warming. That is about all I can say." Genoa Blanchard, wife of Frank Blanchard, AA4LB, BARC Citizenship Award winner for 1994. It is hard for Franks wife, Genoa to talk about. She and her husband of 34 years share a lifetime of memories. Ham radio has been a big part of it. Taking part in county hunting nets is one of Franks favorite ham activities. "We sat on many a county line with me looking out the window and him (Frank) talking. You know it was something that he enjoyed and he just lived and breathed ham radio. You can come down to our house and look in his ham shack and know that. He has got practically every piece of equipment that was ever made." Genoa Blanchard. Presenting Frank with his award was a tearful experience. "He was very pleased and honored and surprised to get this award. He was just, you know, very grateful, very emotional." Genoa Blanchard. Frank is known for always thinking ahead. He has already directed family members to make final arrangements and other difficult decisions. Fifty six year old Frank Blanchard knows that the future holds no promises. But he is sure of one thing. However much time is left, his life has been made richer thanks to the loving fraternity that is Amateur Radio. (***** For this week, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline. You can write to us at Post Office Box 463, Pasadena, CA 91102. * * * Newsline Copyright 1994 all rights are reserved. * * *