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. - - - - - NEWSLINE RADIO - CBBS EDITION #886 - POSTED 08/06/94 (***************************************************************) (* *) (* * * ***** * * **** * ***** * * ***** *) (* ** * * * * * * * ** * * *) (* * * * *** * ** * *** * * * * * *** *) (* * ** * * ** * * * * * ** * *) (* * * ***** * * **** ***** ***** * * ***** *) (* *) (* **** * **** ***** *** *) (* * * * * * * * * * *) (* **** ***** * * * * * *) (* * * * * * * * * * *) (* * * * * **** ***** *** *) (* *) (***************************************************************) 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. For current information updates, please call Audio Version of Newsline ========================= Los Angeles............................ (213) 462-0008 Los Angeles (Instant Update Line)...... 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In the rec.radio.info newsgroup FTP: oak.oakland.edu, archive: pub/hamradio/docs/newsline Fidonet, RIME, Intellec, I-Link........ In the Ham Radio conferences on those networks 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 KB5KCH KC5UD KC0HF G8AUU WD0AKO DJ0QN and many others in the United States and around the globe!!! (**************************************************************** [886] Newsline report number 886 for release on Friday, August 5, 1994. The following is a QST New problems for a New York ham fighting for his tower and antenna. Also a pirate broadcaster is shut down in California and excessive cable leakage forces cable systems off some channels in Michigan. These stories and more on an expanded Newsline Report number 886 coming your way right now! (***** HEMPSTEAD vs. NADEL The town of Hempstead, New York has found yet another legal loophole to again deny a ham the right to have an Amateur Radio tower and antenna. Newsline spoke to Mark Nadel, NK2T who has taken on Hempsteads anti ham radio stand. He says that after all this time, it may be back to square number one. "Wednesday July the 13th the town of Hempstead had come up with and absolutely incredible maneuver. And what they have done, they have now dismissed the application without prejudice. The town of Hempstead has decided that what has happened here is we have not presented our case. They feel we did not show why we needed a 55 foot height. Unfortunately, the information was presented in the case very thoroughly by three of four different technical experts. But the judge in his ruling left it open quite wide open. What happened here is the judge left a lot of it up to interpretation for the town to rewrite their findings. Did not give them direction, so when the town interpreted the rewrite. They rewrote it with extremely strong language and dismissed it, they didn't deny it. They dismissed it!" Mark Nadel, NK2T. Nadel says that he really has only two options. "At this point according to legal counsel, are to either to file an additional article 78, go through the courts. Or possibly reapply for a whole new series." Nadel, NK2T. Nadel tells Newsline that a group called Radio has been formed to help defray his legal expenses. Radio sponsors it's own automated telephone line to keep hams updated on this precedent setting case. You can hear these bulletins by dialing area code (516) 735-2500 for regular updates on the Hempstead, New York tower case. Litigation that could eventually impact hams throughout the Empire state. (***** FCC TO REORGANIZE A late breaking story. Dateline Washington, DC. Ham Radio will be loosing two of its staunchest supporters in key positions at the FCC. This, after a decision by the commission to add two new bureaus and totally reorganize a good part of its operations. A new Wireless Telecommunications Bureau is to have as a co-deputy chief Ralph Haller, N4RH. Ralph is currently chief of the Private Radio Bureau, as a ham and a FCC official is well known to most amateurs. Also, Richard M. Smith, now head of the Field Operations Bureau, is to be chief of a new Office of Engineering and Technology. Beverly Baker, who is now deputy chief of the Private Radio Bureau, is to replace Smith at the FOB. The changes are not immediate. Any reorganization will become effective only after formal Commission and Congressional approval has been obtained. Exactly what impact these changes will have on ham radio, and who will tapped to replace N4RH at the Private Radio Bureau are questions that remain unanswered as we go to air. (***** PIRATE RADIO STATION CLOSED DOWN A pirate broadcast station has been closed down by the FCC. This, after a listener complain about interference to his favorite station. After finding that he could no longer receive KQED-FM, a San Francisco educational station on 88.5 MHz the San Jose listener complained to the FCC. The Commission dispatched a direction- finding vehicle to the San Jose area. There, investigators found an unlicensed station transmitting music over an area of 25 square miles using a fairly powerful transmitter. As a result of a station inspection, the unlicensed operator ceased operation. This being an egregious case of blatant disregard for government regulation, the FCC says that a Notice of Apparent Liability to Monetary Forfeiture will definitely be issued in this case. The FCC release did not say weather or not the pirate broadcaster was a ham. (***** TWO CABLE SYSTEMS SHUT DOWN Two cable television systems were recently ordered stop the use of certain channels because of excessive system leakage. Last April 13th and 14th, the FCC's Detroit, Michigan engineers monitored the cable systems serving the cities of Williamsburg, Corbin, and Kentucky finding several large signal leaks. Engineers soon discovered two cable television systems that had excessive radiation on aeronautical frequencies. Both systems exceeded the Cumulative Leakage Index limit and required that the Detroit Office's Engineer in Charge shutdown cable operations on frequencies that could pose a threat to reliable aviation communications. (***** WEATHER WARNINGS Members of the FCC's Emergency Broadcast System staff have held a meeting with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to design an integrated approach to an "All Hazards Warning System." The National Weather Service Radio and the NWS transmitters would be incorporated into the Emergency Broadcast System. Currently, NOAA weather broadcasts cannot be heard everywhere by the general public. The new technologies described in the Commission's recent Report and Order could be used to relay the weather broadcasts to more people. (***** NATIONAL EMERGENCY COORDINATION NET The FCC's own radio stations began participating in FEMA's National Emergency Coordination Network -- a network of government radio stations. Its purpose is to establish a backup communications system so that government stations can coordinate with each other during emergencies when telephone circuits are inoperable. Fourteen FCC offices participated in a recent communications exercise, which happened to coincided with the start of the 1994 hurricane season. (***** ARRL PRESENTS AWARDS The ARRL Board of Directors has issued a number of awards to members of the nations Amateur Radio community for their ongoing contributions to the service. In recognition of more than ten years of successful SAREX missions aboard space shuttle flights, the ARRL Board has expressed its gratitude to the SAREX Working Group. The group was commended for its efforts to make Amateur Radio communications a part of past, present and future space missions, including the Space Station. Jonathan M. LeBretton, N1MJM, of Plymouth, Massachusetts, was selected as the 1993 Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Award winner; James Dalley, W0NAP, of Centerville, Utah, was selected as the Herb S. Brier Volunteer Instructor of the Year and the Board picked Sheila Perry, N0UOP, of Bloomfield, Missouri, as the 1993 Professional Educator of the Year. Rick Campbell, KK7B, of Chassell, Michigan, was selected at the winner of the Technical Excellence Award for his article, "High-Performance, Single-Signal, Direct-Conversion Receivers," appearing in the January 1993 issue of QST. The Board also tabbed Newslines good friend Len Winkler, KB7LPW of Phoenix, Arizona, be the recipient of the Philip J. McGan Silver Antenna Award. This award recognizes outstanding achievement in the public relations arena. As many of you already know, Len Winkler is the host of the live national ham radio call-in program "Ham Radio and More" that originates from the studios of KFNN radio in Phoenix and is distributed nationally by satellite. The ARRL Board of Directors has also created the Professional Media Award was created to recognize journalists and other professionals who make distinguished contributions to the public image of Amateur Radio. Details on this will be announced shortly. The Board also thanked all Amateurs for their public relations efforts. (***** COURT UPHOLDS KV4FZ CONVICTION A Virgin Islands Federal Appeals court has denied an appeal by Herbert L. Schoenbohm, KV4FZ to have his telephone related fraud conviction overturned. In April of 1992, Schoenbohm was convicted on a three count indictment. Later, convictions two and three were overturned. Schoenbohm then filed a motion for a new trial and for acquittal on the remaining count. Both motions were denied because in the courts view there was enough other evidence to uphold a conviction on count number 1. Schoenbohm had also filed a motion for correction of sentence. At the resentencing he received two months of incarceration which the court suspended. He was also forced to serve two months of house arrest. KV4FZ's next move was to file appeals before the United States District Court for the Virgin Islands. On July 22nd that body ruled again that there was sufficient evidence for the jury to have returned a verdict of guilty on count number 1. The court also denied Schoenbohm's motion for a new trial It found that other evidence thrown out in dismissing counts 2 and 3 would not have denied Schoenbohm a fair trial. At this point Schoenbohm has only two avenues open to him. He can request the same appeals court reconsider its decision or he can attempt to take the matter directly to the United States Supreme Court. (***** MOTOROLA PROBLEMS Problems continue for two rival companies in their attempt to land a contract to install a new land mobile emergency communications system in Birmingham, Alabama. The latest development is the disclosure of a memo that puts one of the two bidders in a not so good light. The controversy started when the city chose Motorola over Erickson GE. Motorola's bid was nearly a million dollars higher. Erickson GE filed suit against the city and Motorola. Erickson GE says city officials suggested that paying money could help win influence on the companies behalf. Adding to the controversy is an internal memo Motorola wrote to the cities communications consultant. That memo mentions what it calls numerous "Gothas". They were included to cause Erickson GE, again quoting "much grief". The memo goes on to say that the consultant tried to make sure it didn't look too obvious that he favored Motorola. The consultant describes charges he tried to design the bid to favor Motorola as a complete lie. While the case remains in court, Motorola continues with plans to install the system. The city has already paid Motorola part of the systems $11.3 million price tag. It seems obvious that the city of Birmingham wants Motorola equipment for its new radio system. The question is whether or not the courts hearing the case will allow the city to get its way. (***** SAREX CELEBRATES APOLLO 11 In commemoration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, the STS-65 SAREX station on board the Space Shuttle Columbia operated as a special event station from 17:13 UTC, July 19 until 13:43 UTC, July 21. The SAREX station joined at least 12 other amateur stations associated with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in commemorating the landing of the Apollo Moon Lander Eagle on the moon's surface in 1969. Contacts made during the event will be eligible for a special commemorative certificate. Please send your report and QSL with a large 9-inch by 12-inch self-addressed stamped-envelope to the ARRL Educational Activities Department, STS-65 Apollo Special Event, 225 Main Street, Newington, CT 06111. (***** CHINESE HAM EXAMS On the international scene, word that the first ever Individual Amateur Radio Operator's License exams were scheduled to be held July 16 and 17 in up to 26 cities. Organized by the Chinese Radio Sports Association, the tests covered five different categories of hobby radio operations. These include two types VHF only amateur radio, two types of high frequency licenses and a special class for Chinese citizens who want to own a shortwave receiver to SWL. Different requirements exist for the different classes of hobby radio operations. The contents of these exams are said to have included Chinese radio regulations, approved communication procedures and radio theory. For high frequency operation the tests also included examinations on international phonetics and Morse code. No word on how many candidates were tested, and how they did. (***** HAM RADIO AIDS FLEEING CUBANS Also, the United States Coast Guard, the FCC and ham radio recently teamed up to help bring some Cuban nationals who were fleeing the tyranny of Dictator Fidel Castro to sanctuary here in the United States. When the Coast Guard received a report from a ham radio operator in Panama that a vessel carrying individuals fleeing from Cuba was being fired upon by a Cuban patrol boat, it requested FCC assistance to confirm the distress and to provide a location fix. The FCC direction-finder network pinpointed the signal. The information was verified and then relayed back to the Coast Guard which dispatched a plane and patrol boat. Sixty four Cubans, including four wounded, were found aboard the boat. All were transported safely to Miami. (***** JOHNSON OBIT Some sad news to report. Jerold Robert Johnson, WA5RON has died. Better known as Ron Johnson to his many friends in ham radio, he was a former director of the Texas VHF - FM society and helped in the development of many of the band planning techniques now commonplace in VHF and UHF repeater operations nationwide. Ron was also the deputy director of the Mutual UFO Network as well as a member of AMSAT North America and the Austin Amateur Radio Club. He is survived by his wife Rox Ann and to young sons. Ron Johnson WA5RON was only age 43. (***** DX In DX, a six week SSB only operation from the Northern Cook Islands as ZK1KH is in the planning stages. No date has been mentioned but the operators will favor 21.177 and 28.490 MHz. Meanwhile AA6LF has wrapped up his ZK1ALF stint and is on his way home. Also, S92SS from Sao Tome has been heard on the WARC bands. Check 18.087 or 10.109 MHz around 22:45 UTC. If not there, check 20 meter SSB between 21:00 and 23:00 UTC. Another station signing S92YL has also been active from Sao Tome on 15 and 20 meters between 20:30 and 21:30 UTC as well. (***** LONG DISTANCE CUSTOMERS The Ferndale Office Washington FCC office recently received a strange interference complaint. This, from a person who was receiving interference from his own personal computer to various radio and television receivers in his home. Apparently the computer manual provided FCC contact information as to where the user could receive the Field Operations Bureau's interference handbook and request other assistance. Nothing special here you say. Well, heres the kicker. The call came all the way to Washington State from Barcelona, Spain. The FCC says that particular complainant will not receive any on-site investigation. Yea, we can just see the FCC staffers. You know -- arguing over who will have to make that "terrible" 10 hour flight to Barcelona. Its probably better that they passed this one up. (***** And for this week, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline. You can write to us at: NEWSLINE PO Box 463 Pasadena, CA 90102 Before we go, this word to our New York City listeners. We are aware that the line serving your area has been down for several months. But here is some good news. Replacement hardware has been shipped to N2ETO in Queens, New York. Paul should have your local number back on-line in a week or two. We will let you know as soon as that service resumes. (* * * Newsline Copyright 1994 all rights are reserved. * * *