The Anchorage Amateur Radio Club/Amateur Radio Emergency Service Communications and Control Vehicle, now under development. [AARC Photo]
Jan 9, 2001
(In alphabetical order: )
The Anchorage Amateur Radio Club/Amateur Radio Emergency Service Communications and Control Vehicle, now under development. [AARC Photo] |
Alaska
club developing deluxe emergency communications unit: Jim Larsen, AL7FS, reports the Anchorage Amateur Radio
Club--KL7AA--expects to spend upwards of $100,000 to equip its emergency
communications motorhome and two antenna trailers with 12-kW diesel generators.
In addition to a full complement of Amateur Radio equipment, the motorhome will
include police, fire and utility company communication gear. "These services
believe enough in Amateur Radio that they are willing to commit radios from
their own systems and install them in our comm unit," Larsen said. "We will be
able to coordinate between services as the need arises." Jim Wiley, KL7CC, is
the project manager. Larsen also was among those who spoke out against the
recent FCC decision not to consider giving Amateur Radio antenna installations
protection under the limited federal preemption known as PRB-1 from private
deed covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&Rs). "I can assure you that
an Amateur Radio operator limited to stealth antennas due to CC&Rs would be
of very limited use in communications with the Lower 48 and even within the
state," he said. "CC&Rs are a plague." Larsen said the AARC is working
toward supporting the best-available emergency communication systems possible.
"CC&Rs destroy that capability for hams living in restricted housing," he
added. "CC&Rs can and will damage emergency communications in Alaska after
the next big emergency. There may also be scenarios in the Lower 48 that will
suffer similar damage from CC&Rs."
Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Course January registration: Registration for the Level II Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Course (EC-002) will open on Monday, January 14; registration for Level III (EC-003) will open January 21. January registration for the Level I ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Course (EC-001) is closed. February registration for Level I will open Monday, February 4. Courses must be completed in order, starting with Level I. To learn more, visit the ARRL Certification and Continuing Education Web page and the C-CE Links found there. For more information, contact Certification and Continuing Education Coordinator Dan Miller, K3UFG, cce@arrl.org.
ARRL equipment insurance administrator changes name: Seabury & Smith now is Marsh Affinity Group Services, a service of Seabury & Smith. The new name became effective January 1. Plan participants will receive a notice from the company and correspondence will begin bearing the new Marsh name. Beyond the name change, the company says that everything else remains the same. For more information on the ARRL equipment insurance program, visit the "All-Risk" Ham Radio Equipment Insurance Plan page on the ARRL Web site.
British ham knighted for microsat work: AMSAT News Service reports that Surrey Satellite Technology Limited CEO and Surrey Space Centre Director Martin Sweeting, G3YJO, of the has been awarded a knighthood in the Queen's New Year Honours for "services to microsatellite engineering." AMSAT-NA President Robin Haighton, VE3FRH, wrote "Sir Martin" on behalf of the organization to congratulate him on his appointment. "Your work with SSTL, and your added value to both the educational viewpoint and the development of satellites with international implications brings great credit to you and your colleagues," Haighton said. In a statement, Martin said he was "most surprised and awed" by the honor. "Achievement comes not from just one person but is the result of teamwork and friendships. I am therefore very pleased to accept this honour on behalf of all my friends and colleagues at Surrey, and elsewhere, who have contributed so much to our success over the last 20 years." Sweeting, who already was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1995, pioneered the concept of cost-effective spacecraft engineering when he lead a team of researchers at the University of Surrey in the design and construction of Britain's first microsatellite--UoSAT-1--launched successfully into low Earth orbit in 1981. He formed Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd in 1985, and it has become an acknowledged world leader in the field of cost-effective small satellites. SSTL won The Queen's Award for Technological Achievement in 1998.--AMSAT News Service; Surrey Space Centre
DARA announces 2002 scholarships: The Dayton Amateur Radio Association has announced the availability of scholarships for the 2002-2003 academic year. Applicants must be graduating high school seniors in 2002 and hold an FCC Amateur Radio license of any class. DARA grants scholarship awards of up to $2000, as determined by the scholarship committee, toward tuition at an institution of higher education--as outlined in the application. To obtain an application, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to DARA Scholarships, ATTN: DARA Scholarship Committee Chairman Gary Des Combes, N8EMO, 9873 Lower Valley Pike, Medway, OH 45341, or via e-mail to Gary Des Combes, n8emo1@msn.com. Completed applications must be postmarked by June 1, 2002.--Gary Des Combes, N8EMO
Eastern Pennsylvania STM Paul Craig, N3YSI, SK: Eastern Pennsylvania Section Traffic Manager Paul Craig, N3YSI, of Quakertown died unexpectedly January 8, 2002. He was 51. Craig served as Assistant Section Manager in Eastern Pennsylvania from January 2000 until December 2001. He also held the positions of Net Manager and Official Relay Station. Craig was a member of ARRL and of the RF Hill Amateur Radio Club--W3AI. "Paul was, and always will be, at the top of everyone's outstanding person list," said Eastern Pennsylvania Section Manager Eric Olena, WB3FPL. Survivors include Craig's wife Beverly, KB3DCT, and daughters Jessica and Sarah.
Frequency coordinators collecting data for the 2002-2003 ARRL Repeater Directory: Data collection for the 2002-2003 edition of the ARRL Repeater Directory is under way. Coordinators throughout the US and Canada will provide data for the 31st edition of the popular reference, due on sale by mid-May. Editor Brennan Price, N4QX, encourages repeater owners who have made changes in the operating parameters of their repeaters to immediately alert the frequency coordinator for their area. "By longstanding directive of the ARRL Board of Directors, all data published in the Repeater Directory must be submitted through a frequency coordinator in areas where a coordinator exists," Price said. "Any clubs wishing to change their listings must report these changes to the frequency coordinator in their area so that the changes can be made in the 2002-2003 edition." Changes should be reported by January 31, 2002! Contact information for coordinators throughout the country is available from the National Frequency Coordinators' Council Web site or from Brennan Price, N4QX, n4qx@arrl.org.
 Veritable Kid's Day poster children: "Future ham radio operators in training" Geena and Luciano Schipelliti take time out from Kid's Day to smile for the camera. [Peter Schippeliti, W1DAD, Photo] |
K1D is a Kid's Day success: Peter Schipelliti, W1DAD, and XYL Jeanne, K1MOM, report their K1D special event leading up to and including Kid's Day January 5 was a huge success. K1D was active for two weeks prior to Kid's Day as a reminder of the upcoming event. "During this cheerleading phase of K1D, The Big Project, JOTA [Jamboree On The Air] and youth-related teaching topics were discussed," said Peter Schipelliti. "Over 200 requests from around the world were received (and fulfilled) for the free K1MOM Amateur Radio Coloring Book for Children." K1D was also active January 1 during ARRL Straight Key Night, making CW contacts and publicizing Kid's Day to CW operators. Schipelliti says contacts included KC4AAA in Antarctica; 4Z5FL/mobile in Israel; ZS1KC, a retired teacher in South Africa; and CO6XN, a middle school teacher in Cuba. During the Kid's Day event Geena age 6 and Luciano, almost 5, contacted a variety of stations among their approximately 45 contacts, with operators ranging in age from 2 to 84 years old. "I'm happy to say that many of our contacts were with stations that had multiple kids on their end. All were very excited to contact K1D," Schipelliti said. "Both kids had fun talking with other children and comparing notes on age, location, favorite color and family pets." K1D also contacted special event station K9O at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago. W1DAD and K1MOM will be sending out K1D certificates and QSLs upon receipt of an SASE (QSL to K1D, 7 Dearborn Ridge Rd, Atkinson, NH 03811-2229). Schipelliti said that since the K1MOM coloring book is becoming so popular, he and his wife plan to work on an updated version before the June Kid's Day.
 The www.findu.com map showing where balloonist Troy Bradley, KC5ORZ, landed near the Pennsylvania-Ohio border to set a new distance record for his balloon class. |
New Mexico ham-balloonist tracked via APRS on record-setting flight: An Albuquerque, New Mexico, TV station reports that balloonist Troy Bradley, KC5ORZ, landed safely January 5 near Youngstown, Ohio, after setting a new Class AA-3 balloon world distance record. According to KRQE, Channel 13, Bradley took off January 3 from Amarillo, Texas, in his balloon "Comet Startrail." With assistance from Peter Naumburg, K5HAB ("Hot Air Balloon"), Steve Dimse, K4HG, and Keith Sproul, WU2Z, Bradley's balloon was equipped with APRS (Automatic Position Reporting System ) equipment, so he could easily be tracked via the Internet. By reaching Youngstown in his helium-filled balloon, Bradley broke a world distance record of nearly 500 miles that had stood since 1922. Dimse is the developer of the findu.com Web site, while Sproul, along with is brother Mark, KB2ICI, developed the MacAPRS and WinAPRS programs.
Northern New York Section boasts eight-year-old licensee: ARRL Northern New York Section Manager Tom Dick, KF2GC, credits the ARRL VEC volunteer examiner program and Ride the Airwaves with ALFA & ZULU by John Abbott, K6YB, SK, which is sold by ARRL, for helping to produce "probably the youngest new ham in the North Country," eight-year-old Michael Burns, KC2IXA, of Potsdam. "We here at NNY are very proud of Michael's accomplishment in passing his Technician test and getting his license," Dick said. "Ham radio's future is now, and our young people are its future today." Michael's proud dad, Rich Burns, NT2W, said his son passed his test December 11 after about six weeks of study using the ALFA & ZULU book and other resources, including sample tests on the Internet. Coincidentally, Rich Burns said, he passed his 20 WPM Morse exam the day his son was born. "Dad was a very active CW op when Michael was a baby, and Michael's first word was, appropriately, 'Beep,' Rich Burns said." Michael is said to be enjoying his new operating privileges and is considering an upgrade to General so he can work HF digital modes, his father added.
Recent ARRL book provides DSP essentials: The recent ARRL publication Digital Signal Processing Technology, Essentials of the Communications Revolution is written for radio amateurs and engineers who want to learn how DSP works. Author Doug Smith, KF6DX, brings together fundamental concepts of DSP in a comprehensive, readable treatise focusing on its applications in communications technology. The book assumes no prior DSP knowledge and begins with basic concepts and gradually brings in more complex ideas. The work is sufficiently analytical for those skilled in math to fully understand DSP and its applications, while simultaneously affording those less mathematically inclined an understandable picture of this exciting technology. The book explains how DSP gives us higher performance at lower cost. It also offers a brief history of DSP and an overview of its applications, details digital sampling, including fundamental and harmonic sampling, aliasing and mechanisms at play in real data converters, and makes clear how numbers are actually stored and manipulated. It also reviews digital filter designs and properties, including adaptive filters. An engineer with Ten-Tec, Smith since 1998 has served as editor of QEX: Forum for Communications Experimenters, published by ARRL. He was the recipient of the 1998 ARRL Doug DeMaw, W1FB, Technical Excellence Award. Smith was involved in the design of some innovative products for amateurs, including the Kachina 505DSP, the first full-power, computer-controlled HF amateur transceiver. Digital Signal Processing Technology is $44.95 and is available from dealers who sell ARRL publications, or from ARRL Publication Sales, 225 Main St, Newington CT 06111-1494, (toll-free) 888-277-5289, fax 860-594-0303, or via ARRLWeb.
RSGB elects a new president: Bob Whelan, G3PJT, is the new president of the Radio Society of Great Britain, effective January 1. Whelan succeeds Don Beattie, G3BJ; he will serve a two-year term. Whelan said he was looking forward to the challenges ahead in raising the awareness of the value of Amateur Radio as a way of interesting the next generation of radio engineers and scientists--as well as its being a rewarding and stimulating technological pastime for all ages. A member of the council of the Smith Institute, Whelan was previously a member of the board of the National Physical Laboratory. There are 58,000 amateurs in the UK. The Radio Society of Great Britain is an International Amateur Radio Union member-society.
Satellites almost teenagers: Happy birthday this month to UO-14, AO-16, LO-19, DO-17 and WO-18. All were launched January 22, 1990. Of the group, only UO-14 remains fully operational. According to AMSAT, AO-16 is "semi-operational" (digipeater command is on, and the satellite continues to transmit telemetry), while LO-19 has only a CW beacon on the air, and DO-17 and WO-18 are no longer working.--AMSAT News Service
 Paul Godley, 2ZE, from the February 1922 issue of QST |
Special event commemorating ARRL transatlantic tests is extended: Special event station GB2ZE has received permission to operate for an additional month, until February 2, 2002, to mark the 80th anniversary of the successful Amateur Radio transatlantic listening tests of 1921. The station is operating from Ardrossan in southwestern Scotland, where the listening tests receiving site was located. The tests culminated on December 12, 1921, when ARRL's special representative Paul F. Godley, 2ZE, confirmed reception of 1BCG in Greenwich, Connecticut, which had been erected especially for the tests. Listening between 200 and 400 meters, Godley also heard several other Amateur Radio transmissions from North America during his stay (Godley used a superheterodyne receiver and a Beverage antenna). GB2ZE will operate CW and SSB on a variety of bands, conditions depending. For more information, contact Andy Goldie, GM0DEX.
Vote on QST Cover Plaque Award: The winner
of the QST
Cover Plaque Award for December 2001 was Joe Taylor, K1JT, for his article "WSJT:
New Software for VHF Meteor-Scatter Communication." Congratulations, Joe! The
winner of the QST Cover Plaque award--given to the author of the best
article in each issue--is determined by a vote of ARRL members. Voting takes
place each month on the Cover Plaque Poll
Web page. As soon as your copy arrives, cast a ballot for your favorite
article in the January 2002 issue of QST. Voting ends January 31.
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