SB NEWSLIN @ ALLBBS $NLIN.915 Amateur Radio Newsline #915 26 Feb 1995 Amateur Radio Newsline is produced as an audio service by Newsline, a service of the Westlink Radio Netowrk. The transcribed version is produced by Dale Cary, WD0AKO from materials provided by Newsline. and is jointly distributed to online services and bulletin board networks by Steve Coletti and Dale Cary. Copyright owner is Newsline. Permission to reuse all or part of either this written or the audio form requires that the item be taken in it's entirety, not be subject to any further editing or commentary, and that full credit given to Newsline as the source. Editorial comment, news items and all other business should be directed to Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, Newsline's Producer and Editor-In-Chief. E-Mail - 3241437@mcimail.com or B.PASTERNAK@genie.geis.com Phone/Fax - +1 805 296-7180, fax senders wait for voice prompt. Text Version information: America Online - tstader@aol.com (Terry Stader, Sysop) or D.CARY@genie.geis.com Compuserv, Delphi, Genie - D.CARY@genie.geis.com Usenet - david@stat.com (David Dodell - Moderator rec-radio-info) FTP, (oak.oakland.edu) - wy1z@neu.edu (Scott Erlich, Boston ARC) Internet mailing list (individuals) - bigsteve@.dorsai.org Internet mailing list (re-distributors) - D.CARY@genie.geis.com BBS Networks: FidoNet - Joe Brown, 1:2625/111 RIME - RO mail to Steve Coletti, ->35 Others - Steve Coletti (within the conference) (Fido Netmail to 1:278/230) - - - - - - NEWSLINE RADIO - CBBS EDITION #915 - POSTED 02/26/95 (***************************************************************) (* *) (* * * ***** * * **** * ***** * * ***** *) (* ** * * * * * * * ** * * *) (* * * * *** * ** * *** * * * * * *** *) (* * ** * * ** * * * * * ** * *) (* * * ***** * * **** ***** ***** * * ***** *) (* *) (* **** * **** ***** *** *) (* * * * * * * * * * *) (* **** ***** * * * * * *) (* * * * * * * * * * *) (* * * * * **** ***** *** *) (* *) (***************************************************************) 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.......................... Out of Service 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 CompuServe/HamNet.................... HamNet Library 0 Internet...............In the rec.radio.info newsgroup Internet FTP: oak.oakland.edu......................... In archive: pub/hamradio/docs/newsline Local BBS's............In the Ham Radio conferences on Fidonet, RIME, Intellec, I-Link and AR-Net For questions or comments about the text version, contact me at D.CARY@GENIE.GEIS.COM on the Internet. 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!!! (**************************************************************** [915] (* * * * C L O S E D C I R C U I T A D V I S O R Y * * * * (* * (* The following is a closed circuit advisory and not for * (* transmission over amateur radio. Newsline needs the * (* assistance of every listener who appreciates this service * (* to help to keep it on the air. The Newsline Support Fund * (* is set up separate from the on air service. It exists * (* for the single purpose of channeling donations directly to * (* the those providing services to the Newsline organization. * (* The address for the Newsline Support Fund is: * (* * (* Newsline Support Fund * (* P.O.Box 660937 * (* Arcadia, California * (* 91066 * (* * (* As always, we thank you for your support. * (* That ends this weeks closed circuit advisory with * (* Newsline Report #915 for release on Friday, February 27, * (* 1994 to follow. * (* * (* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Following is a QST The FCC says it wants to end its testing of computers for RFI radiation, ham radio's super hacker is jailed and an update on the medical condition of ARRL President George Wilson, W4OYI. All of this and more on Newsline report number 915 coming your way right now! (***** RFI CERTIFICATION Interference to ham radio and consumer entertainment equipment may soon get a lot worse. This is because the FCC is considering permitting the manufacturers of computers and computer peripherals to market their equipment without having to apply for equipment certification and await commission approval. Under current regulations, these devices must be FCC certified to ensure that they do not cause interference to radio services, including amateur radio. Certification requires that all measurement data and a detailed description of the product be submitted to the Commission's laboratory for review and approval. This is a process that can take 35 days or more. But the FCC calls the current regulations particularly burdensome for small manufacturers. They say that eliminating the wait could save the computer industry some 250 million dollars a year. Also, that the proposed new authorization procedure would further align FCC requirements for personal computers with those used successfully in other parts of the world. It all sounds good until you read the fine print. This is because the proposed new procedure as outlined in ET Docket 95-19 means that FCC authorization would be replaced by paper. By a process based on a manufacturer's or supplier's Declaration Of Conformity. In simpler terms, a letter from the manufacturer or supplier to the FCC that says a given piece of computer equipment meets or exceeds minimum standards. But that's not all. The Commission also has proposed the option of permitting personal computer compliance to be based on tests and Declarations Of Conformity of individual components of parts without further testing of completed assemblies. Right now, we hams are the ones who usually get the complaints. If this all comes to pass, you may soon be protesting to your neighbor about his PC wiping out 20 meters during a major DX opening! (***** W4OYI RECOVERY UPDATE American Radio Relay League President George S. Wilson, W4OYI, is still hospitalized following a serious stroke that he suffered the evening of February 11th while in Washington, DC. We have this update on his condition. We have some relatively good news on President Wilson's condition. We get it from ARRL Executive Vice President Dave Sumner, K1ZZ. "As of Monday Afternoon, that would be February 20th, George's condition appeared to be improving. The doctors were quite optimistic that, having gotten through the most critical period, that he would continue to improve. They are gradually bringing him out of the sort of induced state of suspension they've had him in, in order to avoid further damage to the brain. It appears as if their is very little permanent damage that has been done, at least on the best assessments that they can make at this time. So we are all quite encouraged. It sounds as if he may be able to be transferred to a hospital at his home in Kentucky in about 3 weeks." Dave Sumner, K1ZZ. Dave adds that it is a little premature to make any final assessment, but the doctors are not ruling out that George Wilson, W4OYI may be permitted to eventually go back to work. Get well wishes can be sent to President Wilson in care of ARRL Headquarters, 225 Main Street, Newington, Connecticut 06111 or directly to George at his Callbook address. (***** SUPER HACKER N6NHG ARRESTED Convicted computer hacker Kevin David Mitnick, N6NHG is once again behind prison bars. The ham dubbed by the New York Times as the worlds most wanted fugitive hacker was arrested at an apartment in Raleigh, North Carolina after being traced there electronically by one of his alleged victims. Mitnick, 31, was taken into custody shortly after midnight on Wednesday, February 15th by federal agents assisted by state and local law enforcement authorities. This, after an intensive two week electronic manhunt based on information supplied by a San Diego computer security professional. An expert who says that Mitnick may have been the Christmas Day hacker who robbed his computer of several security programs he had written. The Times says it was computer security specialist Tsutomu Shimomura of San Diego's Supercomputer Labs who actually nailed N6NHG. Using his own computer expertise, Shimomura was able to determine on Saturday February, 12th that Mitnick was operating on-line using a computer and modem connected to a cellular telephone somewhere near Raleigh. Shimomura and investigators were then able to close in on the fugitive ham. Mitnick, of Van Nuys, California was convicted in 1988 in a Los Angeles federal court on charges of stealing computer programs and breaking into corporate computer networks. He received a one year prison sentence, spent part of it in a half-way house but vanished from the area in 1992. A federal arrest warrant was issued on charges that he violated the terms of his probation. While a fugitive Mitnick is alleged to have broken into numerous corporate and communications networks in California, Colorado and North Carolina. Investigators believe Mitnick may have caused damage to numerous files and may have stolen secret information including as many as 20,000 credit card numbers. He is also a suspect in a recent series of high profile security breaches to corporations on the Internet. Mitnick also faces investigation by various state agencies nationwide. He is being held without bail and with very limited telephone access in a North Carolina federal detention facility until the government completes it inquiry in the case. (***** HACKER TRACKER TO SPEAK IN DAYTON On a lighter note, word that computer hacker tracker Cliff Stoll, K7TA is making a return appearance at the Dayton Hamvention. Stoll, author of the best selling book The Cuckoo's Egg and the soon to be released Silicon Snake Oil will return as the featured speaker for the 1995 Dayton Hamvention Grand Banquet. Stoll wowed the Hamvention banquet audience two years ago with his dynamic and often irreverent discourse on tracking down spies on the Internet. This time around, K7TA will talk about the hype, superhype and megahype surrounding the Internet which many are trying to sell as Americas electronic superhighway. Cliff's theme this time around is simple. He says that the Internet may be the great digital frontier, but it's a land without a soul and will never replace ham radio. The Hamvention Banquet will be held Saturday evening April 29th at the Downtown Dayton Convention Center. For ticket information call Dayton Hamvention (513) 276-6930 and press the number 6 once you get an answer. (***** WINTER STORMS Amateur radio operators in Alabama got first hand evidence of how important their emergency communications capabilities can be. That evidence came with incredible timing less than a week after hams met and pledged to work together to expand their Skywarn communications network. The National Weather Service plans to close two of its offices in that southern state. That's expected to leave storm spotter groups in the largest cities relying on each other to relay severe weather reports to forecasters. This was an eye opener. Here you have nearly a hundred hams from all across the state meeting to discuss working together. The hams picked a Saturday, February 11th to hold their statewide Skywarn meeting in Birmingham. Then, just five days later, deadly tornadoes strike the state right between Birmingham and Huntsville. Huntsville happens to be one of the areas that stands to be affected by the Weather Service consolidation. Lightning hits the Weather Service office in Huntsville, knocking out the radar and communications. Forecasters in Birmingham asked for help from amateur radio operators to allow the two offices to communicate. Amateur radio operators manned the Weather Service offices in each city, and used remote base technology to link repeaters in Huntsville and Birmingham together. The hams' services were needed for about two hours. But it drove home a point everyone had been discussing just the weekend before. And that point is simply that hams providing emergency communications in the state need to pull their resources and manpower together. The middle of February was a busy time for Skywarn groups in Alabama. In less than a one week period, amateur Skywarn nets were activated four times for everything from flash flooding to severe thunderstorms to tornadoes. (***** UK NEWS From Great Britain, word that the new RSGB Liaison Officer has been appointed for Lancashire. He is Steve Ireland, G1VRH of Blackpool in Lancashire. RLO's hold a wide range of information and they are available to help any RSGB member seeking advice. Also from the UK, the Severnside Television Group 3 centimeter Amateur Television repeater GB3XG has become operational. Requests for details should go to the licensee G8VPG, whose address is correct in the RSGB Call Book. (***** ZL CW Meanwhile, from New Zealand word that the NZART Council is conducting what it calls a realistic review of the amateur radio license grades in that country. Also being look at are the written examination syllabus and its structure, and the Morse code testing procedures. The NZART Council has established an Examinations Working Group to prepare the appropriate review documents. (***** UNCONSTITUTIONAL CABLE LAW Closer to home, a federal law that prohibits telephone companies from providing cable television programming through in their telephone service areas has been ruled unconstitutional by a San Francisco federal appeals court. The 1984 law was intended to prevent phone companies from dominating the cable industry. But 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals says that it violates the freedom of expression. The court also says that the law appears to have outlived its purpose as well. (***** PHASE IIID TV AMSAT's new Phase 3 D ham satellite is now a television star. At least some of the people putting it together are. On February 13th, AMSAT's Phase 3D integration facility in Orlando, Florida was visited by the television show "INSIDE SPACE". Among those interviewed were AMSAT's Keith Baker, KB1SF and Dick Jansson, WD4FAB. The discussion surrounded the AMSAT organization as a whole, its past accomplishments, and future endeavors. This, in addition to a detailed tour of the Phase 3D satellite under assembly. The program should air in two to three months on the SCI-FI channel. (***** BALLOON PAYLOAD FAILS "We will be back" says the leader of the Iowa Balloon Scientists ham radio group. This, following an unsuccessful attempt to launch a balloon carrying Amateur Radio on January 21st. Barry Buelow, WA0RJT, a spokesman for the Iowa based group says that they had hoped to loft payloads including a transmitter sending global positioning information on 446 MHz, a 2 meter packet digipeater and a 144 to 440 MHz crossband voice repeater. Buelow says that unexpected interactions between the repeater and the GPS receiver forced the team to remove the repeater from the payload. Although the balloon ultimately was launched, the payload failed. (***** DX In DX, G3MRC is active as 9Q5MRC from the Republic of Zaire. Joe has been heard operating mainly on 20 and 30 meter CW. Activity seems to be between 19:00 and 22:00z. His length of stay is unknown at this time. QSL via G3MRC. Meanwhile LA9IY, is also active from Zaire as 9Q5IY. Bjorn will be there for three months and has been heard operating on 18.071 MHz around 16:30z. QSL via LA1K because Bjorn is not a member of the Norwegian bureau. (***** FUND ADMINISTRATORS REPORT And now for a new feature. As you all know, a good part of our operating expenses are borne by a separate Newsline Support Fund. The current Administrator of this fund is our own anchorman Andy Jarema, N6TCQ. Among Andy's many talents is that he holds a CPA degree and is volunteering even more of his free time to watch over Newsline's finances. Andy feels that its time to let everyone know a bit about who is assisting in this area. "From the state of California we heard from David Swann, KD6FJB of Santa Maria, Sam Pennosian KO6HE of San Mario, Cal Clemins, KE6HLL of Hemit, and Richard Grambsch, WA6TEM of Sunnyvale. And since we are a media source we couldn't help but notice hearing from Daniel Amoroso, NM3S from Media, PA. Clubs we heard from include the Amateur Radio Club of Anderson, CA, the Amateur Radio Emergency Council Repeater Group of West Palm Beach, FL, the Indianapolis Amateur Radio Association and everyone that supported us at the 1994 Indianapolis Hamfest. Remember the clubs who support us get the club name, repeater callsign and service area get a mention during the newscast id break. From our studios in Hollywood, I'm Andy Jarema, N6TCQ." Look for Andy's report at least once a month here on Newsline. (***** Bill Grenfell, W4GF, SK Some sad news to report. William S. Grenfell, W4GF, a former chief of the FCC's Amateur Branch and former chief of the Amateur Service Section has died. Bill passed away on January 27, 1995, in Vienna, Virginia. He was 82 years old. Bill Grenfell worked for the FCC from 1940 until retiring in 1971, except for several years in the US Navy during World War II. He was an ARRL life member, a Quarter Century Wireless Association life member, a fellow of the Radio Club of America, and a member and former president of the Potomac Valley Radio Club. He was a licensed pilot and regularly flew his plane to the Dayton HamVention. Bill Grenfell died after an illness of several years. His wife, Bernece, died earlier, and he leaves no close survivors. (***** W9YZE, MORSE CHAMP S.K. Also, world famous Morse Code champ Harry A. Turner, W9YZE, died December 21, 1994, in Alton, Illinois. While in the military in 1942, Turner was clocked at 35 wpm using a hand telegraph key. In 1964 he applied to the Signal Corps for certification of his code speed record. His request was granted making him the record holder. W9YZE was 88 years old when he passed away. (***** BEST OF 75 NET No you are not listening to another case of malicious interference on some Los Angeles area 2 meter repeater. Rather this is a weekly on air competition. It's found every Sunday night on the Best of 75 Meters Net. A place where representatives of all other frequencies can compete against one another to see which one has the strongest signal on the band. Literally a ham radio horse race! But there is also a serious side to The Best of 75 Meters Net. Each week, net control station Don Simpson, KO4TA bring on a well known guest speaker over his autopatch. One of the first was W5YI VEC Administrator Fred Maia who fielded questions on a wide variety of topics including the vanity call sign program. The Best of 75 Meters Net meets every Sunday for at least three hours starting at 7 PM eastern time. Look for it on 3.975 MHz, sit back and enjoy a grand old ham radio fun time! (***** And for this week, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline. You can write to us at Post Office Box 660937 in Arcadia, California 91066. (* * * Newsline Copyright 1995 all rights are reserved. * * * --