Post by David (N4DLT) on Aug 16, 2009 18:49:09 GMT -5
The following is a Q-S-T. A circus performer will be the next tourist in space. Will he also be the next ham radio operator on-orbit? Also, South Africa's next ham-sat is set for a mid-September launch, 2 meters proves to be a good band for DX, the vanity call sign fee is going up and ham radio will help to coordinate National Wildlife Refuge Week. All this and more on Amateur Radio Newsline™ report number 1670 coming your way right now.
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HAM RADIO IN SPACE: CIRQUE DU SOLEIL FOUNDER TO BE NEXT TOURIST IN SPACE
A former stiltwalker and fire-eater will be the next mega-millionaire tourist to visit the International Space Station. This with word that Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte is shelling out a reported $35 million for his round-trip ticket aboard a Russian spacecraft to visit the orbiting outpost. Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, has more:
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Guy Laliberte will rocket into orbit from Kazakhstan at the end of September with an American astronaut and Russian cosmonaut as his travel mates. Like his predecessors, Laliberte will then spend more than a week at the space station.
At a news conference in Houston, Laliberte said that he will be like a kid in a candy store" and will be experimenting with zero-gravity tricks.
Liliberte explained that he is not a scientist, a doctor nor an engineer. Rather he sees himself as an artist and creator. As such he says that he will try to accomplish this mission with his creativity and what life has given him as a tool.
Laliberte assured reporters that he will not play with any fire in space, but he hopes to try some acrobatics in weightlessness and may teach his crewmates a card trick or two.
Lileberte described his life as a fairy tale and said watching men land on the moon 40 years ago on a black-and-white television in a campground in the middle of the forest was his inspiration. He said this taught him that all things are possible. Now he says that it's his turn to inspire the next generation.
What's not known is whether or not Laliberte will get his ham ticket and conduct ARISS contacts with those of us here on Mother Earth.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, in the studio in Los Angeles.
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For those of you who do not speak French, Cirque du Soleil translates into the Circus of the Sun. It’s a truly amazing performance of acrobatic skill combined with dance and circus acts that once you see you will never forget. (Space Science Review)
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HAM RADIO IN SPACE: SUMBANDILASAT TO LAUNCH JUNE 15
South Africa's latest ham radio satellite called SumbandilaSat is now due to launch on September 15th. According to the Southern African Amateur Radio Satellite Association website the bird is already on its way to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazikstan from where it will be carried into orbit on board a Russian Soyuz launch vehicle.
The amateur radio payload on board SumbandilaSat is made up of an FM voice transponder with an uplink in the 2 meter band and a downlink in the 70 centimeters. It also carries a store and forward voice digipeater and a voice beacon. These will be operating in conjunction with the University of Stellenbosch Software Defined Radio project that will share the on-orbit VHF receiver and UHF transmitter.
SumbandilaSat will also carry a Very Low Frequency or V-L-F radio experiment from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. More on this South African ham radio in space project is on the World-Wide-Web at www.amsatsa.org.za. (AMSAT-ZA)
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HAM RADIO IN SPACE: A $8000 PERSONAL HAMSAT
In the old days hams bought a kit to build a transmitter or a receiver. Now, in the 21st century we seem to have entered the age of the personal satellite with the introduction of Interorbital’s TubeSat Personal Satellite Kit.
The new IOS TubeSat PS Kit is the low-cost alternative to the AMSAT- developed CubeSat. It has three-quarters of the mass (and volume of a CubeSat, but still offers plenty of room for most experiments or functions including those that enterprising ham radio groups might come up with. Perhapps a tiny D-Star repeater or linear translator. And best of all, the price of the TubeSat kit includes the price of a launch into Low-Earth-Orbit on an IOS Neptune 30 launch vehicle.
There is one negative to the Tubesat concept. Since the these tiny satellites are placed into self-decaying orbits only 192 miles above the Earth’s surface they will eventually fall back and burn up as they re-enter the atmosphere. On the other hand, being relatively short lived they will not contribute to any long-term build-up of orbital debris.
Launches are expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2010. The total price of the TubeSat Kit including a placing it in orbit is only $8,000. More is on-line at spacefellowship.com/2009/08/0...satellite-kit/ (VK4TJ)
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RADIO LAW: VANITY CALL SIGN FEE RISING IN SEPTEMBER
The cost of a United States amateur radio vanity call sign is once again going up. On August 11th, the FCC announced that the cost of an vanity call will increase from $12.30 to $13.40 for its 10 year term. Now that notice has been published in the Federal Register, the increase will take effect in 30 days on September 10th. (ARRL, FCC)
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RADIO LAW: ITS REALLY A MOBILE
A UK ham who thought he had found a novel way around local zoning restrictions is facing challenges from his neighbors. This, over 60 foot high telescoping tower complete with rotor and tri-band antenna mounted on a vehicle parked on his property.
Robert Dodson, G4RNK, is fighting calls to remove the tower that nests down to 27 feet from his back garden despite complaints from neighbors. Dodson claims he has not breached neighborhood planning regulations because the entire antenna system is mounted on a trailer,
Dodson was served an enforcement notice for its removal after he erected it without permission last September. At a planning inquiry on Wednesday, July 29th, Michael Matthews who is a lawyer representing Dodson outlined his grounds for appeal while senior enforcement officer Jamie Cooper upheld the authority’s position. Both parties thrashed out legal issues surrounding the tower and argued whether it is a temporary or permanent structure, which would determine if it needed planning permission.
Also present at the hearing were several neighbors who called the mast an ‘eyesore’ and claimed it interfered with their TV, radio and telephone signals. In rebuttal, Dodson said the entire installation had twice been tested and approved by U-K telecommunications regulator Ofcom.
A decision is expected to be made within the next month. (eHam.net)
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ENFORCEMENT: UNLICENSED BROADCASTER DINGED $10000
The FCC has ordered Texas resident Radhames Severino to pay a $10,000 fine. This for allegedly operating of an unlicensed radio transmitter on the frequency 101.5 MHz in the Houston area.
In its forfeiture order adopted on August 5th, the FCC noted that on May 26th the Commission’s Houston Resident Agent Office of the Enforcement Bureau had issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture in the amount of $10,000 to Severino for the alleged offense. To date, Severino has not filed a response to the order.
This case dates back to On October 23 and 25, 2006. That’s when the FCC responded to a complaint about an unlicensed radio station in the Houston area. An agent from the Commission's Houston Office T-hunted the signal on 101.5 MHz to a building in the Houston area. On October 31, 2006, an agent from the Houston Office inspected the radio station located in suites K-M of the building, which was labeled as the home of the Iglesia Misionera Evangelistica Elohim church. The agent determined that Severino leased these suites, was responsible for the station, and was the pastor for the church.
On November 7, 2006, the Houston Office sent a formal Notice of Unlicensed Operation to Severino at his residence. The notice warned him that operation of an unlicensed radio station violated Section 301 of the Act and directed him to cease all unlicensed operations immediately. The letter also outlined the potential penalties for such a violation,.
But the FCC warning to Severino apparently went unheeded. On January 30, March 12, and October 15, 2008, agents from the Houston Office, again T-hunted the signal on 101.5 MHz to Severino leased suites. This in turn lead to the issuance of a $10,000 Notice of Apparent Liability to Severino to which he never responded. As a result, Severino was given the customary 30 days to pay or to file an appeal. (FCC)
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THE SOCIAL SCENE: HUNTSVILLE HAMFEST VIDEO ON-LINE
If you want to be at this years Huntsville Hamfest but cannot make the trip Tom Medlin W5KUB, will be able to take you there vicariously. That’s because Tom bringing it direct to your computer screen through the magic of streaming video over the Internet.
Tom tells Newsline that he will be going live Friday morning August 14th at 08:00 Central time. This, to broadcast the 2009 Huntsville Hamfest on his world wide internet site that this year will feature a chat room for hams to discuss the convention with others. Tom also plans to give away prizes to viewers almost every hour during this live event.
Included in this years coverage will be the presentation of the Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year award to Andrew Koenig, KE5GDB. That takes place on Saturday afternoon, August 15th.
Tom's video streaming website is very easy to find. Simply type in w5kub.com or wa5kub.com to your web browser without the www and it should take you right these.
The bottom line: If you cannot make the trip to Huntsville this year, then tune in on w5kub.com and vicariously join in on the fun. (W5KUB)
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BREAK 1
From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including the WA2EHL repeater serving Burlington, New Jersey.
(5 sec pause here)
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SPECIAL REPORT: E SKIP ON 2 METERS
Friday, July 31st was an amazing day for DX. That is if you happened to have been on 2 meter SSB or Morse that day. Yes, we said 2 meters. Take a listen:
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Actual contact audio: Hear it in the MP3 version of this report downloadable at www.arnewsline.org
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That’s Jacque Dupuy, N0IRS, in Kansas City, Missouri, making the kind of VHF contacts that those who limit their operation only to repeaters are missing out on. Heres more:
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Actual contact audio: Hear it in the MP3 version of this report downloadable at www.arnewsline.org
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The secret to working DX like this is to be using the right mode on the right frequency when the band is open with E skip. With many of today's repeaters employing tone access, the day of listening for an out of area station on your favorite machine is fast coming to an end. You need to have a receiver capable of CW and SSB reception and be monitoring on or near 144.200 MHz to know when the DX is in.
And for those of you who want to hear more of what K0IRS has worked on 2 meters, simply go to YouTube dot com and put his call in the search box. What you see and hear may make a lot of you want to buy a big 2 meter antenna and a VHF multi-mode rig. (ARNewsline™ with audio from N0IRS video)
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RESCUE RADIO: OWENSBORO KY TRAINS TO EMCOMM HAMS
Local officials in Owensboro, Kentucky, are again turning to ham radio to solve some of the communication problems they encountered.
During that severe winter weather crisis cellphone service throughout the Owensboro area was disrupted, sometimes for days at a time. Landline phones were also affected, and communication problems were cited by multiple emergency response agencies as the biggest issue they faced.
But Owensboro is one community well acquainted with turning to ham radio in such situations thanks in great part to the late George Wilson, W4OYI. Long before he became President of the ARRL Wilson brought the concept of turning to radio amateurs for emergency assistance to the attention of city leaders.
That was several decades ago. Now, many other hams are following in George Wilson's steps including Bob Spears, AA4RL, who is a member and past president of the Owensboro Amateur Radio Club. He says that drawing on the experience of the amateur radio operators, emergency management officials decided to sponsor a class on amateur radio operation. The five-week session teaches the skills and rules needed to pass the Technician class amateur radio test.
Spears, who has been licensed since 1961 said in a recent newspaper interview that this educational series will be good for the community because it will provide more people who can be deployed with radios. Spears said that these new hams can serve as weather spotters as well as assisting the Red Cross assess damage. Having amateur radio operators throughout the county would give real-time, on-the-scene feedback to emergency managers and to officials with the National Weather Service office in Paducah.
Owensboro Kentucky has a long history of cooperation between rescue radio hams and city officials. This is just another example of how that tradition carries on. (ARNewsline™ and Published reports)
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RESCUE RADIO: HAWAII HAMS WERE PREPATED FOR FELICIA
Hams in Hawaii were ready for a big storm that never arrived. This as the threat from hurricane Felicia was downgraded to a tropical depression and has now has passed.
Ron Hashiro, AH6RH, is the Hawaii State Civil Defense RACES coordinator. He says that in preparation for Felicia that daily nets were in operation. But as the storm approached and broke apart the need for the Skywarn activation was cancelled.
Ron says that the daily State Civil Defense net was instead operated as an ARES net instead of a RACES activation. Because the threat did not materialize, RACES was not activated and this daily ARES net carried informational bulletins with revised frequencies and times as conditions warranted.
Hashiro says that it was a textbook example of coordination, information sharing and dissemination under the umbrella of ARES prior to activation to keep the amateur radio operators informed.
As an aside, Len Winkler, KB7LPW, who used to host the radio program Ham Radio and More now lives in Hawaii. He reports over Facebook that the area ended up with a total of 2" of rain but at the time of his posting on Wednesday, August 12th, they experienced some high winds that had began some 7 hours earlier. He reported that the winds were in excess of 35mph.and coming in from the West which is totally different than our normal. He added that his trees were not enjoying their swaying and that there were avocados everywhere. (AH6RH, KB7LPW)
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RESCUE RADIO: MISSOURI HAM ASSISTS LOST HIKERS
A Houston, Missouri amateur radio operator played a role in aiding some lost hikers recently in the Paddy Creek area in northwest Texas County. On Saturday, August 1st, Richard Wood, KB0MPO, was monitoring a local repeater when he heard a call for help. The person was asking for assistance for himself and several hikers who became lost on the Paddy Creek Trail.
It appears that one o the hikers had his own ham radio equipment with him and found a local repeater frequency to call for help. The hikers described their location. Wood assessed the situation and gave directions to return to their campsite.
When some of the hikers decided it was too far to make the trip back, KB0MPO notified the sheriff's department to make a rescue. The hikers ultimately returned to their starting point without further incident.
(KA0ADI)
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RESCUE RADIO: CAR HORN BASED EMERGENCY ALERT SYSYEM PROPOSED IN GERMANY
In the past, Germany used sirens to warn the population in the streets against floods and other dangerous situations. Today, most sirens are gone having been dismantled after the Cold War.
Now, researchers of the Fraunhofer Institute for Technological Trend Analysis want the population to be warned of pending disasters by use of common car horns. In fact, they have applied for a patent of a technology which allows the horns of parked cars to be activated in cases where such an immediate emergency natice to the Gerrman public is required..
The technology is based on the Germany's eCall emergency system, which new cars are going to be equipped with beginning in September 2010. The eCall system was developed at the initiative of the European Union Commission to help reduce the number of road traffic fatalities. It consists of a GPS sensor and a mobile phone component, which is activated only in case of an accident such as when airbags are triggered. The system then can transmit data such as the time and location of an accident and driving direction of the vehicle to an emergency call center.
The researchers soon realized that the eCall infrastructure can also be used to warn the population. Once the cars are equipped with a radio receiver, their horns can be triggered in case of disaster authorized civil protection agencies. This proposed new system is meant to complement rather than replace the other emergency alert options already in place in Germany many of which are broadcast based. More on this concept is on line www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0720083423.htm (Science Daily)..
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RADIO BUSINESS: MFJ ACQUIRES CUSHCRAFT AMATEUR ANTENNAS
In ham industry news, MFJ Enterprises, Inc., of Starkville, Mississippi has purchased Cushcraft Amateur Radio Antennas Product Line from Laird Technologies, St. Louis, Missouri. The sale was effective July 31, 2009 and MFJ has announced that Cushcraft products will continue to be manufactured in Manchester, New Hampshire.
According to MFJ Founder Martin Jue, K5FLU, Cushcraft Amateur Radio Antenna products have long been a popular source for a wide range of HF, VHF and UHF vertical, beam and yagi antennas for the amateur radio community. He says that the acquisition of Cushcraft Amateur Radio Antennas will bring over fifty new products to MFJ’s amateur radio product line. Jue added that his company will add more new products to this antenna line and will continue the Cushcraft Amateur Radio Antennas name long into the future. Look for more information soon at www.mfjenterprises.com. (MFJ)
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RADIO BUSINESS: RADIO SHACK TO BE KNOWN AS THE SHACK
And in case you have not heard the latest, Radio Shack will call itself the polite version of what hams have long called the chain. The Shack.
According to Chief Marketing Officer Lee Applbaum, customers, associates and even the investment community have long referred to Radio Shack as 'The Shack. So says Applbaum the company has decided to embrace that fact and -- in his words not ours -- to share it with the world.
According to Applbaum customers see more of a focus on mobility and wireless products in the new advertising. He says that the company is contemporizing the way it wants people to think of the brand, rather than actually changing the official name of the company.
The word contemporizing does not seem to appear in any dictionary but we did find the words contemporize. It means to give a modern or contemporary character or setting or to update. It also means to place in or regard as belonging to the same age or time. (Published reports)
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HAM HELP: PENNSYLVANIA HAM SEARCHING FOR ONE OF HIS OLD QSL CARDS
A Pennsylvania ham is looking for someone who has one of his old QSL cards so that he can recreate it and start using that design once again. Phil Lanse, K3IB, id that ham but the card he is looking for has his old K2IBP call sign on it.
Phil tells Newsline that he used those cards between 1953 and 1990 while he was very active on terrestrial VHF and EME from New Jersey. He says the card in question was printed by Richard "Brownie" Brown, W3CJI, who is now a silent key. The design featured Phil's K2IBP call in fluorescent blue letters outlined in black and black lettering on a fluorescent red background.
Phil says he would like to get a scan of one of his old cards so that he could have another print shop recreate it for him to use once again, If you can assist, please contact Phil by e-mail to l31nesep(at) epix (dot) net. He will be very grateful to anyone who can assist. (K3IB)
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BREAK 2
This is ham radio news for today’s radio amateur. From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline with links to the world from our only official website at www.arnewsline.org and being relayed by the volunteer services of the following radio amateur:
(5 sec pause here)
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THE CHANGING OF THE GUARD: ART HOUSHOLDER, K9TRG - S.K.
One of the hams who contributed mightily to the initial growth of FM in ham radio has become a silent key. Art Housholder, K9TRG, the founder of the Chicago-area based Spectronics passed away on Tuesday July 7th at age 82.
A a longtime resident of Elk Grove Village, Illinois, Art was one of those kids bitten by the amateur radio bug and soon became K9TRG. In the late 1960's his store, Spectronics was one of the centers where hams nationwide could purchase surplus land mobile two-way gear that they could convert to amateur radio use as mobile and fixed stations as well as repeaters.
Its unknown just how many repeaters started as used taxi and police radios that were recycled to ham radio through Spectronics, but the number had to have been into the hundreds if not thousands. In the process it also made the name Art Housholder and the call letters K9TRG a kind of early FM legend in the ham radio community.
Art Housholder was age 82 when he passed away at the Alexian Brothers Medical Center. A memorial was held on Saturday, July 11, at St. Michael the Archangel Cemetery in Palatine, Illinois. K9TRG leaves behind a legacy of helping to create a facet of ham radio that will likely live on for decades to come. (ARNewsline™)
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EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: 6 IN 10 COMPANIES TO SKIP WINDOWS 7 FOR NOW
The upcoming release of Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system has the computer world buzzing but the long awaited replacement for Vista may not get the level of corporate sales that its developers are hoping for. David Black, KB4KCH, reports:
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Six in 10 companies in a survey plan to skip the purchase of Microsoft Corp's Windows 7 computer operating system, many of them to pinch pennies and others over concern about compatibility with their existing applications.
Windows 7 will not be released until October 22nd, but has already garnered good reviews. This, in contrast to its disappointing current version known as Vista. Vista simply did not catch on with either consumers or the business world and many P-C makers opted to stay with the proven and popular Windows XP. Also, many companies rejected Windows Vista as unstable. For example, the chip maker Intel Corp, stayed with the older XP system.
So why will adoption of Windows 7 be slower than Mivrosoft expected? Many of the more than 1,000 companies that responded to a survey by ScriptLogic Corp say they have economized by cutting back on software updates and lack the resources to deploy Microsoft's latest offering. The survey found about 60 percent of those surveyed have no plans to deploy Windows 7. About 34 percent will deploy it by the end of 2010 and only 5.4 percent will deploy by the end of 2009
Forty-two percent said their biggest reason for avoiding Windows 7 was a "lack of time and resources. Another 39 percent of those surveyed said they had concern about the compatibility of Windows 7 with existing applications.
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ScriptLogic is a corporation that provides help to companies in managing their Microsoft Windows-based networks. It sent out 20,000 surveys to information technology administrators to learn the state of the market. (Technology OnLine)
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EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: USB PORT PROTECTION FROM L-COM
A surge protector for your U-S-B ports. That’s the latest product from a company called L-com that is offering its model AL-ECF504-AB. This is a USB 2.0 connector port resistant to power surges and shielded against electromagnetic as well as RF interference. The unit is available as both Type A and Type B connectors. More is on-line at www.L-com.com. (L-COM)
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PUBLIC SERVICE: HAM RADIO TO COORDINATE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE WEEK
Ham radio is about to become involved with improving the environment. This with word that the KP1-5 Project, which sponsored the 2009 Desecheo Island DXpedition has announced that it will be serving as national coordinator for Amateur Radio's involvement in the 2009 National Wildlife Refuge Week from Sunday, October 12th to Saturday, October 18th.
The goal this year is to combine amateur radio's communication skills with ones enjoyment of the outdoors to help others learn about the National Wildlife Refuge System. Hams worldwide can help spread the word about the National Wildlife Refuge System by operating in or near a refuge during National Wildlife Refuge Week.
Only authorized, responsible access to refuges is sanctioned by this event. For more details please visit www.nwrweek-radio.info
By the way: This year the National Wildlife Refuge System celebrates 106 years of conservation and quality recreation in 2009. (Press release)
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WORLDBEAT-UK: AMSAT-UK COLOQUIUM VIDEOS NOW ON LINE
In news from around the world, the videos of presentations at this years AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium are now available to watch on the British Amateur Television Club website. All 18 sessions can be seen at www.batc.tv (Southgate)
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WORLDBEAT-AUSTRALIA: NEW VK BANDPLANS AND TONE ACCESS PLANS RELEASED
And word that the Wireless Institute of Australia has released revised repeater access plans that specifically include CTCSS tones, Echolink and D-STAR frequencies.
Under the revised scheme 91.5 Hz is the new CTCSS tone for standard repeater activation in Australia. It replaces 123 Hz which is no longer recommended for future relay devices due to problems with false detecting. 141.3 or 146.2 Hz are to be used to activate links to repeaters on other VHF and UHF bands. 85.4 Hz will be used to activate links to other bands that some operators are not permitted to directly use.
The WIA has also revised band plans so as to include recommended frequencies for D-Star and Echolink simplex operation. Included is an interim plan for the new 2200 Meter or 135.7 to 137.8 kHz very low frequency band as well. (WIA News)
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ON THE AIR: CELEBRATING A MUSEUM IN THE NETHERLANDS
On the air, listen out for PD55EA. That station will be on the air until August 28th to celebrate the 55th birthday of the "Ellert and Brammert" Museum in Schoonoord, the Netherlands.. They group will be active on 40, 20 and 10 meters using SSB and the digital modes. There may also be activity on 2 meters as well. QSL's will be sent automatically via the bureau. If you want to QSL direct, please send your QSL via PD7BZ. (DXNL)
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DX
In DX, F2VX and FYFYD, will sign portable 4J from August 11th to 29th, from Azerbaijan using mainly H-F SSB. QSL via direct with an self addressed envelope plus postage or via the French Ref-Bureau only.
And T6AD will be on the air using mainly CW during his free time from Afghanistan until 22nd of August. QSL via K2AU.
W2LPL will be operational portable A25 from Botswana from August 16th to the 19th. Plans are to use SSB and PSK31 on 20 meters. QSL's go to W2LPL.
EI6DX, will be active as portable 6W between November 7th to the 16th from Somone, Senegal which is located about 70 km southeast of the city of Dakar. He will concentrate on the lower bands and CW. QSL to RX3RC, direct or via the bureau.
EI3IO says he is leaving Ireland and will move to Bahrain for at least 2 years. He has not yet received his callsign yet but plans to be active on 160 meters through the VHF bands. Listen for him on 20 meters starting in September. Hopefully more details will be forthcoming at his Web page at EI3IO.com
Lastly, W2VQ and WQ2N using their own calls stroke FJ from St. Barthalamy between August 18th nto the 25th. Their operation will be on 80 through 6 meters using CW, SSB, RTTY and PSK31. An online log will be available during and after the operation.
(Above from various DX news sources.)
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THAT FINAL ITEM: RADIO LAW: TEEN SUES AMAZON OVER 1984 BOOK DELETION
Radio transmission is what makes the Amazon Kindle electronic book work and its Amazon's use of radio to delete a book from the Kindle that has lead to legal action against the merchandising giant. This, as a 17 year old student from Michigan has filed a lawsuit against Amazon after it deleted a book he had purchased for his Kindle device. Jerry Gaul, KE7GGV, has the details:
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The high school student, Justin D. Gawronski, filed suit in a Seattle, Washington court. He claims that Amazon forcibly recalled copies of George Orwell's "1984" in July after it was revealed that it was an unauthorized version. Gawronski's complaint alleges that he was reading "1984" over the summer for an advanced placement class and had to turn in notes called reflections on each hundred pages. Gawronski claims that with the loss of the digital book, his page count was thrown off and his notes were -- in his words -- "rendered useless because they no longer referenced the relevant parts of the book."
While buyers received refunds for the electronically recalled copies of the Orwell books, the fact that no advance notice has created an uproar against Amazon. The lawsuit, for one, alleges that Amazon did not make it clear enough to customers that remote book deletions were even a possibility. It also alleges that the company violated its own terms of use by radioing Gawronski work notes away, without giving him a chance to save it first.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jerry Gaule, KE7GGV.
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Gawronski along with a California resident are seeking class action status for the suit. Amazon has so far declined to comment on the tort action filed against it. (Todays Technology and other published news reports)
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NEWSCAST CLOSE
With thanks to Alan Labs, AMSAT, the ARRL, the CGC Communicator, CQ Magazine, the FCC, the Ohio Penn DX Bulletin, Radio Netherlands, Rain, the RSGB, the Southgate News and Australia's W-I-A News, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline™. Our e-mail address is newsline@arnewsline.org. More information is available at Amateur Radio Newsline's™ only official website located at www.arnewsline.org. You can also write to us or support us at Amateur Radio Newsline™, P.O. Box 660937, Arcadia, California 91066.
For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors desk, I’m Don Wilbanks, AE5DW, saying 73 and we thank you for listening.
Amateur Radio Newsline™ is Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
__________________
Fred Lloyd, AA7BQ
Publisher, QRZ.COM
aa7bq@qrz.com
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HAM RADIO IN SPACE: CIRQUE DU SOLEIL FOUNDER TO BE NEXT TOURIST IN SPACE
A former stiltwalker and fire-eater will be the next mega-millionaire tourist to visit the International Space Station. This with word that Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte is shelling out a reported $35 million for his round-trip ticket aboard a Russian spacecraft to visit the orbiting outpost. Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, has more:
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Guy Laliberte will rocket into orbit from Kazakhstan at the end of September with an American astronaut and Russian cosmonaut as his travel mates. Like his predecessors, Laliberte will then spend more than a week at the space station.
At a news conference in Houston, Laliberte said that he will be like a kid in a candy store" and will be experimenting with zero-gravity tricks.
Liliberte explained that he is not a scientist, a doctor nor an engineer. Rather he sees himself as an artist and creator. As such he says that he will try to accomplish this mission with his creativity and what life has given him as a tool.
Laliberte assured reporters that he will not play with any fire in space, but he hopes to try some acrobatics in weightlessness and may teach his crewmates a card trick or two.
Lileberte described his life as a fairy tale and said watching men land on the moon 40 years ago on a black-and-white television in a campground in the middle of the forest was his inspiration. He said this taught him that all things are possible. Now he says that it's his turn to inspire the next generation.
What's not known is whether or not Laliberte will get his ham ticket and conduct ARISS contacts with those of us here on Mother Earth.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, in the studio in Los Angeles.
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For those of you who do not speak French, Cirque du Soleil translates into the Circus of the Sun. It’s a truly amazing performance of acrobatic skill combined with dance and circus acts that once you see you will never forget. (Space Science Review)
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HAM RADIO IN SPACE: SUMBANDILASAT TO LAUNCH JUNE 15
South Africa's latest ham radio satellite called SumbandilaSat is now due to launch on September 15th. According to the Southern African Amateur Radio Satellite Association website the bird is already on its way to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazikstan from where it will be carried into orbit on board a Russian Soyuz launch vehicle.
The amateur radio payload on board SumbandilaSat is made up of an FM voice transponder with an uplink in the 2 meter band and a downlink in the 70 centimeters. It also carries a store and forward voice digipeater and a voice beacon. These will be operating in conjunction with the University of Stellenbosch Software Defined Radio project that will share the on-orbit VHF receiver and UHF transmitter.
SumbandilaSat will also carry a Very Low Frequency or V-L-F radio experiment from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. More on this South African ham radio in space project is on the World-Wide-Web at www.amsatsa.org.za. (AMSAT-ZA)
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HAM RADIO IN SPACE: A $8000 PERSONAL HAMSAT
In the old days hams bought a kit to build a transmitter or a receiver. Now, in the 21st century we seem to have entered the age of the personal satellite with the introduction of Interorbital’s TubeSat Personal Satellite Kit.
The new IOS TubeSat PS Kit is the low-cost alternative to the AMSAT- developed CubeSat. It has three-quarters of the mass (and volume of a CubeSat, but still offers plenty of room for most experiments or functions including those that enterprising ham radio groups might come up with. Perhapps a tiny D-Star repeater or linear translator. And best of all, the price of the TubeSat kit includes the price of a launch into Low-Earth-Orbit on an IOS Neptune 30 launch vehicle.
There is one negative to the Tubesat concept. Since the these tiny satellites are placed into self-decaying orbits only 192 miles above the Earth’s surface they will eventually fall back and burn up as they re-enter the atmosphere. On the other hand, being relatively short lived they will not contribute to any long-term build-up of orbital debris.
Launches are expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2010. The total price of the TubeSat Kit including a placing it in orbit is only $8,000. More is on-line at spacefellowship.com/2009/08/0...satellite-kit/ (VK4TJ)
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RADIO LAW: VANITY CALL SIGN FEE RISING IN SEPTEMBER
The cost of a United States amateur radio vanity call sign is once again going up. On August 11th, the FCC announced that the cost of an vanity call will increase from $12.30 to $13.40 for its 10 year term. Now that notice has been published in the Federal Register, the increase will take effect in 30 days on September 10th. (ARRL, FCC)
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RADIO LAW: ITS REALLY A MOBILE
A UK ham who thought he had found a novel way around local zoning restrictions is facing challenges from his neighbors. This, over 60 foot high telescoping tower complete with rotor and tri-band antenna mounted on a vehicle parked on his property.
Robert Dodson, G4RNK, is fighting calls to remove the tower that nests down to 27 feet from his back garden despite complaints from neighbors. Dodson claims he has not breached neighborhood planning regulations because the entire antenna system is mounted on a trailer,
Dodson was served an enforcement notice for its removal after he erected it without permission last September. At a planning inquiry on Wednesday, July 29th, Michael Matthews who is a lawyer representing Dodson outlined his grounds for appeal while senior enforcement officer Jamie Cooper upheld the authority’s position. Both parties thrashed out legal issues surrounding the tower and argued whether it is a temporary or permanent structure, which would determine if it needed planning permission.
Also present at the hearing were several neighbors who called the mast an ‘eyesore’ and claimed it interfered with their TV, radio and telephone signals. In rebuttal, Dodson said the entire installation had twice been tested and approved by U-K telecommunications regulator Ofcom.
A decision is expected to be made within the next month. (eHam.net)
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ENFORCEMENT: UNLICENSED BROADCASTER DINGED $10000
The FCC has ordered Texas resident Radhames Severino to pay a $10,000 fine. This for allegedly operating of an unlicensed radio transmitter on the frequency 101.5 MHz in the Houston area.
In its forfeiture order adopted on August 5th, the FCC noted that on May 26th the Commission’s Houston Resident Agent Office of the Enforcement Bureau had issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture in the amount of $10,000 to Severino for the alleged offense. To date, Severino has not filed a response to the order.
This case dates back to On October 23 and 25, 2006. That’s when the FCC responded to a complaint about an unlicensed radio station in the Houston area. An agent from the Commission's Houston Office T-hunted the signal on 101.5 MHz to a building in the Houston area. On October 31, 2006, an agent from the Houston Office inspected the radio station located in suites K-M of the building, which was labeled as the home of the Iglesia Misionera Evangelistica Elohim church. The agent determined that Severino leased these suites, was responsible for the station, and was the pastor for the church.
On November 7, 2006, the Houston Office sent a formal Notice of Unlicensed Operation to Severino at his residence. The notice warned him that operation of an unlicensed radio station violated Section 301 of the Act and directed him to cease all unlicensed operations immediately. The letter also outlined the potential penalties for such a violation,.
But the FCC warning to Severino apparently went unheeded. On January 30, March 12, and October 15, 2008, agents from the Houston Office, again T-hunted the signal on 101.5 MHz to Severino leased suites. This in turn lead to the issuance of a $10,000 Notice of Apparent Liability to Severino to which he never responded. As a result, Severino was given the customary 30 days to pay or to file an appeal. (FCC)
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THE SOCIAL SCENE: HUNTSVILLE HAMFEST VIDEO ON-LINE
If you want to be at this years Huntsville Hamfest but cannot make the trip Tom Medlin W5KUB, will be able to take you there vicariously. That’s because Tom bringing it direct to your computer screen through the magic of streaming video over the Internet.
Tom tells Newsline that he will be going live Friday morning August 14th at 08:00 Central time. This, to broadcast the 2009 Huntsville Hamfest on his world wide internet site that this year will feature a chat room for hams to discuss the convention with others. Tom also plans to give away prizes to viewers almost every hour during this live event.
Included in this years coverage will be the presentation of the Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year award to Andrew Koenig, KE5GDB. That takes place on Saturday afternoon, August 15th.
Tom's video streaming website is very easy to find. Simply type in w5kub.com or wa5kub.com to your web browser without the www and it should take you right these.
The bottom line: If you cannot make the trip to Huntsville this year, then tune in on w5kub.com and vicariously join in on the fun. (W5KUB)
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BREAK 1
From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including the WA2EHL repeater serving Burlington, New Jersey.
(5 sec pause here)
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SPECIAL REPORT: E SKIP ON 2 METERS
Friday, July 31st was an amazing day for DX. That is if you happened to have been on 2 meter SSB or Morse that day. Yes, we said 2 meters. Take a listen:
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Actual contact audio: Hear it in the MP3 version of this report downloadable at www.arnewsline.org
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That’s Jacque Dupuy, N0IRS, in Kansas City, Missouri, making the kind of VHF contacts that those who limit their operation only to repeaters are missing out on. Heres more:
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Actual contact audio: Hear it in the MP3 version of this report downloadable at www.arnewsline.org
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The secret to working DX like this is to be using the right mode on the right frequency when the band is open with E skip. With many of today's repeaters employing tone access, the day of listening for an out of area station on your favorite machine is fast coming to an end. You need to have a receiver capable of CW and SSB reception and be monitoring on or near 144.200 MHz to know when the DX is in.
And for those of you who want to hear more of what K0IRS has worked on 2 meters, simply go to YouTube dot com and put his call in the search box. What you see and hear may make a lot of you want to buy a big 2 meter antenna and a VHF multi-mode rig. (ARNewsline™ with audio from N0IRS video)
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RESCUE RADIO: OWENSBORO KY TRAINS TO EMCOMM HAMS
Local officials in Owensboro, Kentucky, are again turning to ham radio to solve some of the communication problems they encountered.
During that severe winter weather crisis cellphone service throughout the Owensboro area was disrupted, sometimes for days at a time. Landline phones were also affected, and communication problems were cited by multiple emergency response agencies as the biggest issue they faced.
But Owensboro is one community well acquainted with turning to ham radio in such situations thanks in great part to the late George Wilson, W4OYI. Long before he became President of the ARRL Wilson brought the concept of turning to radio amateurs for emergency assistance to the attention of city leaders.
That was several decades ago. Now, many other hams are following in George Wilson's steps including Bob Spears, AA4RL, who is a member and past president of the Owensboro Amateur Radio Club. He says that drawing on the experience of the amateur radio operators, emergency management officials decided to sponsor a class on amateur radio operation. The five-week session teaches the skills and rules needed to pass the Technician class amateur radio test.
Spears, who has been licensed since 1961 said in a recent newspaper interview that this educational series will be good for the community because it will provide more people who can be deployed with radios. Spears said that these new hams can serve as weather spotters as well as assisting the Red Cross assess damage. Having amateur radio operators throughout the county would give real-time, on-the-scene feedback to emergency managers and to officials with the National Weather Service office in Paducah.
Owensboro Kentucky has a long history of cooperation between rescue radio hams and city officials. This is just another example of how that tradition carries on. (ARNewsline™ and Published reports)
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RESCUE RADIO: HAWAII HAMS WERE PREPATED FOR FELICIA
Hams in Hawaii were ready for a big storm that never arrived. This as the threat from hurricane Felicia was downgraded to a tropical depression and has now has passed.
Ron Hashiro, AH6RH, is the Hawaii State Civil Defense RACES coordinator. He says that in preparation for Felicia that daily nets were in operation. But as the storm approached and broke apart the need for the Skywarn activation was cancelled.
Ron says that the daily State Civil Defense net was instead operated as an ARES net instead of a RACES activation. Because the threat did not materialize, RACES was not activated and this daily ARES net carried informational bulletins with revised frequencies and times as conditions warranted.
Hashiro says that it was a textbook example of coordination, information sharing and dissemination under the umbrella of ARES prior to activation to keep the amateur radio operators informed.
As an aside, Len Winkler, KB7LPW, who used to host the radio program Ham Radio and More now lives in Hawaii. He reports over Facebook that the area ended up with a total of 2" of rain but at the time of his posting on Wednesday, August 12th, they experienced some high winds that had began some 7 hours earlier. He reported that the winds were in excess of 35mph.and coming in from the West which is totally different than our normal. He added that his trees were not enjoying their swaying and that there were avocados everywhere. (AH6RH, KB7LPW)
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RESCUE RADIO: MISSOURI HAM ASSISTS LOST HIKERS
A Houston, Missouri amateur radio operator played a role in aiding some lost hikers recently in the Paddy Creek area in northwest Texas County. On Saturday, August 1st, Richard Wood, KB0MPO, was monitoring a local repeater when he heard a call for help. The person was asking for assistance for himself and several hikers who became lost on the Paddy Creek Trail.
It appears that one o the hikers had his own ham radio equipment with him and found a local repeater frequency to call for help. The hikers described their location. Wood assessed the situation and gave directions to return to their campsite.
When some of the hikers decided it was too far to make the trip back, KB0MPO notified the sheriff's department to make a rescue. The hikers ultimately returned to their starting point without further incident.
(KA0ADI)
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RESCUE RADIO: CAR HORN BASED EMERGENCY ALERT SYSYEM PROPOSED IN GERMANY
In the past, Germany used sirens to warn the population in the streets against floods and other dangerous situations. Today, most sirens are gone having been dismantled after the Cold War.
Now, researchers of the Fraunhofer Institute for Technological Trend Analysis want the population to be warned of pending disasters by use of common car horns. In fact, they have applied for a patent of a technology which allows the horns of parked cars to be activated in cases where such an immediate emergency natice to the Gerrman public is required..
The technology is based on the Germany's eCall emergency system, which new cars are going to be equipped with beginning in September 2010. The eCall system was developed at the initiative of the European Union Commission to help reduce the number of road traffic fatalities. It consists of a GPS sensor and a mobile phone component, which is activated only in case of an accident such as when airbags are triggered. The system then can transmit data such as the time and location of an accident and driving direction of the vehicle to an emergency call center.
The researchers soon realized that the eCall infrastructure can also be used to warn the population. Once the cars are equipped with a radio receiver, their horns can be triggered in case of disaster authorized civil protection agencies. This proposed new system is meant to complement rather than replace the other emergency alert options already in place in Germany many of which are broadcast based. More on this concept is on line www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0720083423.htm (Science Daily)..
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RADIO BUSINESS: MFJ ACQUIRES CUSHCRAFT AMATEUR ANTENNAS
In ham industry news, MFJ Enterprises, Inc., of Starkville, Mississippi has purchased Cushcraft Amateur Radio Antennas Product Line from Laird Technologies, St. Louis, Missouri. The sale was effective July 31, 2009 and MFJ has announced that Cushcraft products will continue to be manufactured in Manchester, New Hampshire.
According to MFJ Founder Martin Jue, K5FLU, Cushcraft Amateur Radio Antenna products have long been a popular source for a wide range of HF, VHF and UHF vertical, beam and yagi antennas for the amateur radio community. He says that the acquisition of Cushcraft Amateur Radio Antennas will bring over fifty new products to MFJ’s amateur radio product line. Jue added that his company will add more new products to this antenna line and will continue the Cushcraft Amateur Radio Antennas name long into the future. Look for more information soon at www.mfjenterprises.com. (MFJ)
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RADIO BUSINESS: RADIO SHACK TO BE KNOWN AS THE SHACK
And in case you have not heard the latest, Radio Shack will call itself the polite version of what hams have long called the chain. The Shack.
According to Chief Marketing Officer Lee Applbaum, customers, associates and even the investment community have long referred to Radio Shack as 'The Shack. So says Applbaum the company has decided to embrace that fact and -- in his words not ours -- to share it with the world.
According to Applbaum customers see more of a focus on mobility and wireless products in the new advertising. He says that the company is contemporizing the way it wants people to think of the brand, rather than actually changing the official name of the company.
The word contemporizing does not seem to appear in any dictionary but we did find the words contemporize. It means to give a modern or contemporary character or setting or to update. It also means to place in or regard as belonging to the same age or time. (Published reports)
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HAM HELP: PENNSYLVANIA HAM SEARCHING FOR ONE OF HIS OLD QSL CARDS
A Pennsylvania ham is looking for someone who has one of his old QSL cards so that he can recreate it and start using that design once again. Phil Lanse, K3IB, id that ham but the card he is looking for has his old K2IBP call sign on it.
Phil tells Newsline that he used those cards between 1953 and 1990 while he was very active on terrestrial VHF and EME from New Jersey. He says the card in question was printed by Richard "Brownie" Brown, W3CJI, who is now a silent key. The design featured Phil's K2IBP call in fluorescent blue letters outlined in black and black lettering on a fluorescent red background.
Phil says he would like to get a scan of one of his old cards so that he could have another print shop recreate it for him to use once again, If you can assist, please contact Phil by e-mail to l31nesep(at) epix (dot) net. He will be very grateful to anyone who can assist. (K3IB)
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BREAK 2
This is ham radio news for today’s radio amateur. From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline with links to the world from our only official website at www.arnewsline.org and being relayed by the volunteer services of the following radio amateur:
(5 sec pause here)
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THE CHANGING OF THE GUARD: ART HOUSHOLDER, K9TRG - S.K.
One of the hams who contributed mightily to the initial growth of FM in ham radio has become a silent key. Art Housholder, K9TRG, the founder of the Chicago-area based Spectronics passed away on Tuesday July 7th at age 82.
A a longtime resident of Elk Grove Village, Illinois, Art was one of those kids bitten by the amateur radio bug and soon became K9TRG. In the late 1960's his store, Spectronics was one of the centers where hams nationwide could purchase surplus land mobile two-way gear that they could convert to amateur radio use as mobile and fixed stations as well as repeaters.
Its unknown just how many repeaters started as used taxi and police radios that were recycled to ham radio through Spectronics, but the number had to have been into the hundreds if not thousands. In the process it also made the name Art Housholder and the call letters K9TRG a kind of early FM legend in the ham radio community.
Art Housholder was age 82 when he passed away at the Alexian Brothers Medical Center. A memorial was held on Saturday, July 11, at St. Michael the Archangel Cemetery in Palatine, Illinois. K9TRG leaves behind a legacy of helping to create a facet of ham radio that will likely live on for decades to come. (ARNewsline™)
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EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: 6 IN 10 COMPANIES TO SKIP WINDOWS 7 FOR NOW
The upcoming release of Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system has the computer world buzzing but the long awaited replacement for Vista may not get the level of corporate sales that its developers are hoping for. David Black, KB4KCH, reports:
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Six in 10 companies in a survey plan to skip the purchase of Microsoft Corp's Windows 7 computer operating system, many of them to pinch pennies and others over concern about compatibility with their existing applications.
Windows 7 will not be released until October 22nd, but has already garnered good reviews. This, in contrast to its disappointing current version known as Vista. Vista simply did not catch on with either consumers or the business world and many P-C makers opted to stay with the proven and popular Windows XP. Also, many companies rejected Windows Vista as unstable. For example, the chip maker Intel Corp, stayed with the older XP system.
So why will adoption of Windows 7 be slower than Mivrosoft expected? Many of the more than 1,000 companies that responded to a survey by ScriptLogic Corp say they have economized by cutting back on software updates and lack the resources to deploy Microsoft's latest offering. The survey found about 60 percent of those surveyed have no plans to deploy Windows 7. About 34 percent will deploy it by the end of 2010 and only 5.4 percent will deploy by the end of 2009
Forty-two percent said their biggest reason for avoiding Windows 7 was a "lack of time and resources. Another 39 percent of those surveyed said they had concern about the compatibility of Windows 7 with existing applications.
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ScriptLogic is a corporation that provides help to companies in managing their Microsoft Windows-based networks. It sent out 20,000 surveys to information technology administrators to learn the state of the market. (Technology OnLine)
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EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: USB PORT PROTECTION FROM L-COM
A surge protector for your U-S-B ports. That’s the latest product from a company called L-com that is offering its model AL-ECF504-AB. This is a USB 2.0 connector port resistant to power surges and shielded against electromagnetic as well as RF interference. The unit is available as both Type A and Type B connectors. More is on-line at www.L-com.com. (L-COM)
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PUBLIC SERVICE: HAM RADIO TO COORDINATE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE WEEK
Ham radio is about to become involved with improving the environment. This with word that the KP1-5 Project, which sponsored the 2009 Desecheo Island DXpedition has announced that it will be serving as national coordinator for Amateur Radio's involvement in the 2009 National Wildlife Refuge Week from Sunday, October 12th to Saturday, October 18th.
The goal this year is to combine amateur radio's communication skills with ones enjoyment of the outdoors to help others learn about the National Wildlife Refuge System. Hams worldwide can help spread the word about the National Wildlife Refuge System by operating in or near a refuge during National Wildlife Refuge Week.
Only authorized, responsible access to refuges is sanctioned by this event. For more details please visit www.nwrweek-radio.info
By the way: This year the National Wildlife Refuge System celebrates 106 years of conservation and quality recreation in 2009. (Press release)
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WORLDBEAT-UK: AMSAT-UK COLOQUIUM VIDEOS NOW ON LINE
In news from around the world, the videos of presentations at this years AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium are now available to watch on the British Amateur Television Club website. All 18 sessions can be seen at www.batc.tv (Southgate)
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WORLDBEAT-AUSTRALIA: NEW VK BANDPLANS AND TONE ACCESS PLANS RELEASED
And word that the Wireless Institute of Australia has released revised repeater access plans that specifically include CTCSS tones, Echolink and D-STAR frequencies.
Under the revised scheme 91.5 Hz is the new CTCSS tone for standard repeater activation in Australia. It replaces 123 Hz which is no longer recommended for future relay devices due to problems with false detecting. 141.3 or 146.2 Hz are to be used to activate links to repeaters on other VHF and UHF bands. 85.4 Hz will be used to activate links to other bands that some operators are not permitted to directly use.
The WIA has also revised band plans so as to include recommended frequencies for D-Star and Echolink simplex operation. Included is an interim plan for the new 2200 Meter or 135.7 to 137.8 kHz very low frequency band as well. (WIA News)
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ON THE AIR: CELEBRATING A MUSEUM IN THE NETHERLANDS
On the air, listen out for PD55EA. That station will be on the air until August 28th to celebrate the 55th birthday of the "Ellert and Brammert" Museum in Schoonoord, the Netherlands.. They group will be active on 40, 20 and 10 meters using SSB and the digital modes. There may also be activity on 2 meters as well. QSL's will be sent automatically via the bureau. If you want to QSL direct, please send your QSL via PD7BZ. (DXNL)
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DX
In DX, F2VX and FYFYD, will sign portable 4J from August 11th to 29th, from Azerbaijan using mainly H-F SSB. QSL via direct with an self addressed envelope plus postage or via the French Ref-Bureau only.
And T6AD will be on the air using mainly CW during his free time from Afghanistan until 22nd of August. QSL via K2AU.
W2LPL will be operational portable A25 from Botswana from August 16th to the 19th. Plans are to use SSB and PSK31 on 20 meters. QSL's go to W2LPL.
EI6DX, will be active as portable 6W between November 7th to the 16th from Somone, Senegal which is located about 70 km southeast of the city of Dakar. He will concentrate on the lower bands and CW. QSL to RX3RC, direct or via the bureau.
EI3IO says he is leaving Ireland and will move to Bahrain for at least 2 years. He has not yet received his callsign yet but plans to be active on 160 meters through the VHF bands. Listen for him on 20 meters starting in September. Hopefully more details will be forthcoming at his Web page at EI3IO.com
Lastly, W2VQ and WQ2N using their own calls stroke FJ from St. Barthalamy between August 18th nto the 25th. Their operation will be on 80 through 6 meters using CW, SSB, RTTY and PSK31. An online log will be available during and after the operation.
(Above from various DX news sources.)
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THAT FINAL ITEM: RADIO LAW: TEEN SUES AMAZON OVER 1984 BOOK DELETION
Radio transmission is what makes the Amazon Kindle electronic book work and its Amazon's use of radio to delete a book from the Kindle that has lead to legal action against the merchandising giant. This, as a 17 year old student from Michigan has filed a lawsuit against Amazon after it deleted a book he had purchased for his Kindle device. Jerry Gaul, KE7GGV, has the details:
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The high school student, Justin D. Gawronski, filed suit in a Seattle, Washington court. He claims that Amazon forcibly recalled copies of George Orwell's "1984" in July after it was revealed that it was an unauthorized version. Gawronski's complaint alleges that he was reading "1984" over the summer for an advanced placement class and had to turn in notes called reflections on each hundred pages. Gawronski claims that with the loss of the digital book, his page count was thrown off and his notes were -- in his words -- "rendered useless because they no longer referenced the relevant parts of the book."
While buyers received refunds for the electronically recalled copies of the Orwell books, the fact that no advance notice has created an uproar against Amazon. The lawsuit, for one, alleges that Amazon did not make it clear enough to customers that remote book deletions were even a possibility. It also alleges that the company violated its own terms of use by radioing Gawronski work notes away, without giving him a chance to save it first.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jerry Gaule, KE7GGV.
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Gawronski along with a California resident are seeking class action status for the suit. Amazon has so far declined to comment on the tort action filed against it. (Todays Technology and other published news reports)
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NEWSCAST CLOSE
With thanks to Alan Labs, AMSAT, the ARRL, the CGC Communicator, CQ Magazine, the FCC, the Ohio Penn DX Bulletin, Radio Netherlands, Rain, the RSGB, the Southgate News and Australia's W-I-A News, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline™. Our e-mail address is newsline@arnewsline.org. More information is available at Amateur Radio Newsline's™ only official website located at www.arnewsline.org. You can also write to us or support us at Amateur Radio Newsline™, P.O. Box 660937, Arcadia, California 91066.
For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors desk, I’m Don Wilbanks, AE5DW, saying 73 and we thank you for listening.
Amateur Radio Newsline™ is Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
__________________
Fred Lloyd, AA7BQ
Publisher, QRZ.COM
aa7bq@qrz.com