formalizing reciprocal licensing between the two countries. Amateur   
   Radio Newsline's Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF, reports:    
      
       
      
   --    
      
       
      
       
      
   Under the agreement the New Zealand will be recognized as equivalent to   
   the Japanese First Class Radio Operator's qualification and a New   
   Zealand Amateur will be will be permitted to establish and operate a   
   station as an amateur radio operator in Japan.    
      
       
      
   Similarly the Japanese First and Second Class Radio Operator's   
   qualification will be recognized as holding the equivalent to the New   
   Zealand General Amateur Operators Certificate. This means that the   
   holder of a Japanese First or Second Class Radio Operator's   
   qualification visiting New Zealand may operate for up to 90 days using   
   their Japanese assigned call sign, with the addition of the ZL prefix.    
      
       
      
   Not included in the agreement are Japan's Third and Fourth Class   
   amateur license holders because there appear to be no New Zealand   
   licenses with equivalent levels of qualification.    
      
       
      
   For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF, on the South   
   Island in Nelson, New Zealand.    
      
       
      
   --    
      
       
      
   No date was announced for when this new reciprocal licensing agreement   
   will take effect. (NZART)    
      
       
      
   **    
      
       
      
   ENFORCEMENT: UNLICENSED OPERATIONS DISCOVERED ON 2 METERS IN EUROPE    
      
       
      
   The August issue of the International Amateur Radio Union Monitoring   
   System newsletter reports the amateur 2 meter band in Europe is being   
   used illegally by unlicensed stations using what are described as cheap   
   hand held transceivers.    
      
       
      
   The monitoring service says it has already received reports from   
   several countries about unlicensed operators using VHF FM handhelds in   
   the 144 MHz band. These include such wide ranging activities as   
   taxi-nets in the Canary Islands users in Germany.    
      
      
      
      
      
   The IARU Monitoring System asks that all radio amateurs to be aware of   
   this situation. Additionally they should inform their relevant national   
   authorities when this type of activity is encountered. Also to please   
   log their reports of any amateur band intruders online at   
   tinyurl.com/2-meter-intruder-watch. (IARU-R1)    
      
       
      
   **    
      
       
      
   RADIO HAZARD: CALIFORNIA WILDFIRE TAKES NUMEROUS REPEATERS OFF THE AIR   
   AND DESTROYS SEVERAL    
      
       
      
   A wildfire in Contra Costa County, California that started on September   
   8th forced the evacuation of at least 100 homes. It also took a cluster   
   of repeaters primarily serving the San Francisco Bay area off the air.   
   Four of the repeaters are owned by the Mt. Diablo Amateur Radio Club.   
   They were the lucky ones because all they lost was power to their   
   systems. Jim Siemons, AF6PU, is a spokesman for the club:    
      
       
      
   --    
      
       
      
   AF6PU: "MDARC has three ATV repeaters on 440, 900 MHz ans 1.2 GHz and   
   an APRS Digipeater ob 144.390 MHz. There are other buildings up on the   
   hill which are being fed by generators and the owner of the site is   
   going to string additional power lines to feed our vault and we might   
   be back on the air by this weekend. (ed Note: That would be Sept.   
   15th.)    
      
       
      
   --    
      
       
      
   According to Siemons, the clubs W6CX APRS digipeater was only recently   
   moved to the north   
      
   peak of Mount which was the systems home on another peak known as Rocky   
   Ridge.    
      
       
      
   Not so lucky on Mt. Diablo were several other repeaters housed in   
   another container. This included the K6MDD D-Star repeaters, the W6UUU   
   MotoTRBO repeater, and one of the sites of the Cactus Intertie. The   
   latter is a privately owned amateur radio system made up of a large   
   number of remotely controlled FM base stations that are interconnected   
   utilizing full duplex links. This includes the system on Mt. Diablo.   
   According to AF6PU, salvaging anything from that site is unlikely:    
      
       
      
   --    
      
       
      
   AF6PU: "They were actually closest to where the fire went into the   
   vault and firefighters were able to put the fire out but they had to   
   break into the vault and spray water all over the equipment so it   
   appears to be a total loss."    
      
       
      
   --    
      
       
      
   Siemons said that it was only thanks to the firefighters who risked   
   their lives in fighting the Mt. Diablo fire that most of the radio   
   sites were saved:    
      
       
      
   --    
      
       
      
   AF6PU: "The efforts of the firefighters up there were incredible. I was   
   watching them drive around through my binoculars and was monitoring   
   their tactical channels and I can tell you that they put themselves in   
   a position that no normal person would put themselves in to try and   
   save the communications towers that are on the North and South peaks of   
   Mt. Diablo."    
      
   --    
      
       
      
   As this newscast is being prepared firefighters were calling the blaze   
   as being only 20 percent contained with no control date mentioned.   
   (AF6PU, MDARC, published News Reports)    
      
       
      
   **    
      
       
      
   RADIO LAW: FIRST RESTRUCTURING MEASURE PASSES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES    
      
       
      
   The United States House of Representatives has passed the first of two   
   FCC reform bills by a 415 to nothing vote.    
      
       
      
   The FCC Consolidated Reporting Act is co-sponsored by Communications   
   and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, W7EQI, Representative   
   Ranking Member Anna Eshoo and Louisiana Representative Steve Scalise.   
   The measure consolidates what are now eight separate reports required   
   by Congress on the industries regulated by the commission into one   
   biennial report. The measure known as H.R. 2844 also eliminates four   
   outdated reports, including one on the status of competition in the   
   telegraph industry that dates back to 1934.    
      
       
      
   Meanwhile, lawmakers are still working on another FCC reform bill which   
   would, among other things, establish more shot clocks for proceedings   
   along with requiring the agency to publish the full text of a rule for   
   public comment before a commission vote. A shot clock is used in some   
   sports to quicken the pace of a given athletic event game. In this case   
   the game is speeding up the activities of the FCC. (RW, TVT, other news   
   reports)    
      
       
      
   **    
      
       
      
   RADIO LAW: NAB OPPOSES CERTAIN CHANGES TO RF EXPOSURE REGULATIONS    
      
       
      
   The National Association of Broadcasters has come out in opposition to   
   a pair of proposed changes to the FCC's RF exposure rules as outlined   
   in ET Dockets 13-84 and 03-137. The trade association is focusing   
   specifically on a suggestion to reduce the allowable amount of RF   
   emissions for so-called transient persons near a radiating antenna.   
   Amateur Radio Newsline's Stephan Kinford, N8WB, has the details:    
      
       
      
   --    
      
       
      
   Currently, the FCC allows broadcasters to treat transient people or   
   persons, which include untrained employees or members of the public,   
   the same as RF-trained employees. This is provided such transients are   
   made aware of their possible exposure and such exposure is only brief   
   and not normally repeated. The transient exception only applies to   
   controlled environments, like fenced areas near tower sites or antennas   
   on rooftops with locked access.    
      
       
      
   Under changes to the RF exposure rules the FCC recently adopted,   
   workers in controlled environments must be made aware of their possible   
   exposure by verbal or written communication and must receive training   
   on how they can control their exposure. The stricter general population   
   uncontrolled exposure limits typically apply to situations where   
   members of the public or employees have no or little knowledge of   
   potential exposure and little means to mitigate their exposure.    
      
       
      
   According to NAB Instead of applying the occupational or controlled   
   limits to such transients, the FCC proposal would instead apply a newly   
   created, and effectively undefined, general population controlled   
   limit. This in turn would likely require significant and costly changes   
   to the way licensees comply with RF exposure rules.    
      
       
      
   The broadcast lobby group also disagree with the FCC proposal that   
   transient people should be supervised by trained occupational personnel   
   within the controlled area where the general population limit is   
   exceeded.    
      
       
      
   For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Stephan Kindord, N8WB, in   
   Wadsworth, Ohio.    
      
       
      
   --    
      
       
      
   Comments on further changes were due to ET Dockets 13-84 and 03-137   
   were due to the Commission. by Sept. 3rd. Reply comments are still open   
   with a cutoff date of November 1st. (RW)    
      
       
      
   **    
      
       
      
   BREAK 1    
      
       
      
   Time for you to identify. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on   
   bulletin stations around the world including the KC2DAA repeater   
   serving Beacon    
      
       
      
   (5 sec pause here)    
      
       
      
       
      
   **    
      
       
      
   DISTRACTED DRIVING: NHSTA ISSUES VOLUNTARY DISTRACTED DRIVING FUTURE   
   ELECTRONIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES    
      
       
      
   A new set of voluntary guideless for the operation of future vehicle   
   electronics has been issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety   
   Administration. Amateur Radio Newsline's Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, has   
   more:    
      
       
      
   --    
      
       
      
   The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has released its   
   visual-manual driver distraction guidelines for electronic devices in   
   vehicles. They apply to original, in-vehicle electronic devices used by   
   the driver to perform secondary tasks where the driver must look at a   
   device, manipulates a related control with his or her hand and watches   
   for visual feedback. Communications, entertainment, information   
   gathering and navigation fall under this umbrella. Although the   
   guidelines apply to new technology, they also are applicable to common   
   electronic devices referred to as conventional information or   
   communications systems, such as AM/FM radios, satellite radios, CD   
   players, cassette players and MP3 players.    
      
       
      
   The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration believes some   
   secondary tasks also interfere with a driver's ability to control the   
   car safely. Two examples would be displaying video or scrolling text.   
   Other activities the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration   
   considers distracting include displaying video not related to driving,   
   automatically scrolling text, large amounts of static text for reading   
   and manual text entry. The guidelines recommend these devices be   
   designed to lock out the driver's ability to access them at a certain   
   point if the vehicle is moving. However they would not mean to block   
   simple map displays and related text, so long as the material is   
   displayed in a safe manner.    
      
       
      
   The bottom line according to the National Highway Traffic Safety   
   Administration is that any task performed by a driver should be   
   interruptible at any time, and that the driver, not the device, should   
   control the pace of task interactions.    
      
       
      
   How this could all impact on the development of the next generation of   
   add-on mobile two-way radio gear including rigs used by ham radio   
   operators can not even be speculated on at this time, but simplified   
   eyes on the road operation will be most likely    
      
       
      
   For the Amateur Radio Newsline' Im Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, in Los   
   Angeles.    
      
       
      
   --    
      
       
      
   The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is a part of the   
   Department of Transportation. It issued these nonbinding, voluntary   
   guidelines to promote safety by discouraging the introduction of   
   excessively distracting devices in vehicles. You can find the entire   
   281 page set of guidelines on the agency's website www.nhtsa.gov and on   
   the Department of Transportation's distracted driving website   
   distraction.gov. (RW, NHTSA, DoT)    
      
       
      
       
      
   **    
      
       
      
   RADIO LAW: POWAY CALIFORNIA MAY LOOSEN ITS HAM RADIO ANTENNA   
   REGULATIONS    
      
       
      
   Some good news for hams living in Poway At a meeting on Tuesday   
   September 3rd the Poway City Council took action to assure about fifty   
   local amateur radio operators that the regulatory body will take a   
   serious look at revising local planning codes. This to make certain   
   that they conform with federal laws including PRB One regarding the   
   placement of antennas on private property.    
      
       
      
   Currently the city requires every antenna installation to go through a   
   minor development review application process, which costs the applicant   
   $719. In late 2005 the council gave its preliminary approval to some   
   changes, but never followed through with the final adoption.    
      
       
      
   Now, all five council members have agreed that the application fee   
   should be waived or at least significantly reduced. They then   
   instructed the city staff to return in 30 days with a plan and timeline   
   for the regulation review.    
      
       
      
   The radio operators were invited to the meeting by Poway Mayor Don   
   Higginson. They reportedly applauded at the end of the discussion.    
      
   (pomeradonews.com)    
      
       
      
   **    
      
       
      
   RESCUE RADIO: NM HAMS AID IN SEARCH FOR MISSING FIREFIGHTER    
      
       
      
   Ham radio was involved in a search for a missing firefighter found dead   
   Friday, September 6th atop a New Mexico mesa, where he apparently had   
   crashed his All Terrain Vehicle.    
      
       
      
   Hundreds of volunteers, firefighters, search and rescue teams and the   
   Civil Air Patrol had spent a week combing some 50 square miles of steep   
   canyons looking for Token Adams. Adams was a 41-year-old U.S. Forest   
   Service fighter who disappeared August 30th while checking a report of   
   smoke.    
      
       
      
   Some of those involved in the search effort included Sandoval and   
   Bernalillo County ARES Members. New Mexico Section Emergency   
   Coordinator Michael Scales, K5SCA, and Section Manager, Bill Kauffman,   
   W5YEJ, were both directly involved in the search mission. (W5WHN)    
      
       
      
   **    
      
       
      
   RESCUE RADIO: NEW WILLIAMSON COUNTY TEXAS EOC INCLUDES HAM RADIO    
      
       
      
   A new $18 million Emergency Operations Center in Williamson County,   
   Texas, will provide a room for amateur radio operators.    
      
       
      
   Jarred Thomas is the Emergency Management Coordinator. He says that   
   local amateur radio operators will also have a room in which to gather.   
   He notes that natural disasters such as a 1997 F 5 tornado with winds   
   in excess of 200 miles per hour is in part the reason for the Emergency   
   Operations Center's existence.    
      
       
      
   The new nerve center will be command central for major emergencies and   
   also houses the county's 911 communications department, which had   
   outgrown its home at the sheriff's office. A large conference center   
   and separate room for media are also included at the EOC. More is on   
   the web at tinyurl.com/hams-at-new-eoc. (The Statesman)    
      
       
      
   **    
      
       
      
   RADIO BUSINESS: AMERICAN TOWER TO ACQUIRE GLOBAL TOWER PARTNERS    
      
       
      
   If you own a repeater or remote station sited on a tower or other   
   structure operated by Global Tower Partners you will likely soon have a   
   new landlord. This with word that American Tower Corporation has   
   announced an agreement to acquire the outstanding common membership   
   interests of MIP Tower Holdings LLC, for a purchase price of   
   approximately $4.8 billion. MIP is the parent company of Global Tower   
   Partners, and its related companies    
      
       
      
   American Tower says it expects that the acquisition of the MIP Tower   
   holdings portfolio will generate approximately $345 million in revenues   
   and approximately $270 million of gross margin in 2014. The transaction   
   is subject to customary regulatory and closing conditions. If all goes   
   as expected the purchase will likely be completed in the fourth quarter   
   of this year. (American Tower, Global Tower Partners, RW)    
      
       
      
   **    
      
       
      
   RADIO BUSINESS: FUTURE AES SUPERFEST CANCELLED    
      
       
      
   The annual March Amateur Electronic Supply Superfest is no more. In an   
   e-mail posted to the Chicago's NS9RC North Shore Amateur Radio Club   
   remailer, Don Whitman, KK9H, says that he learned from AES employee Ray   
   Grenier, K9KHW, that there would no longer be an AES Superfest held in   
   Milwaukee.    
      
       
      
   Grenier, who spoke to Whitman at the recent Radio Expo convention   
   reportedly mentioned several factors that led to the decision to   
   abandon future Superfests. Among these are the high prices for gasoline   
   that has curtailed the number of Illinois residents that drive up to   
   Wisconsin for the event. Also there has been a drop in the number of   
   commercial exhibitors willing to come due to increased expenses and the   
   difficulty of finding interesting speakers. (KC9RP, NS9RC)    
      
       
      
   **    
      
       
      
   NAMES IN THE NEWS: W2TRR JOINS BURK TECHNOLOGY    
      
       
      
   Burk Technology has announced that it has added former Buckley   
   Broadcasting and WOR - AM Director of Engineering Tom Ray, W2TRR, to   
   its team. Burk Technology designs, builds and sells high-quality   
   electronics that monitor and control mission-critical facilities and   
   functions.    
      
       
      
   During his 15 years tenure WOR AM in New York, Tom Ray rebuilt the   
   facility and made WOR the first high-power AM HD radio station in the   
   country. He is a regular contributor to the trade publication Radio   
   World, has published several papers for the National Association of   
   Broadcasters Engineering Conference, has been on the Society of   
   Broadcast Engineers board and was chairman of SBE Chapter 15 in New   
   York City for nine years.    
      
       
      
   Currently, W2TRR owns Tom Ray Broadcast Consulting in New Windsor, New   
   York. His QRZ.com bio says that he is a member of the Orange County New   
   York Amateur Radio Club and the Broadcast Engineering Amateur Radio   
   Society which is run by ABC Radio and Television. Ray also operates an   
   APRS digipeater and i-gate station. The home station call is W2TRR and   
   mobile operation is as W2TRR-9. (RW, QRZ)    
      
       
      
   **    
      
       
      
   HAM HAPPENINGS: CONTEST UNIVERSITY 2014 IN DAYTON OHIO    
      
       
      
   Its never to early to plan for the future and in that vein comes word   
   that Contest University 2014 will be held next May 15th at the Crowne   
   Plaza Hotel in Dayton, Ohio.    
      
       
      
   According to organizer K3LR, if you stayed at the Crowne Plaza for the   
   2013 event, filled out a 2014 reservation form and dropped it off at   
   the registration desk, then you should already have an e-mail   
   confirmation from the hotel for your 2014 reservation. If not and you   
   would like to reserve a room contact the hotel directly and use the   
   code CON. The base room rate for the Contest room University is $139.00   
   per night.    
      
       
      
   Hamvention 2014 runs from May 16th to the 18th with separate ansulary   
   activities like Contest University taking place earlier in the week.    
      
   (Contest University)    
      
       
      
   **    
      
       
      
   BREAK 2    
      
       
      
   This is ham radio news for today's radio amateur. 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)    
      
       
      
   **    
      
       
      
   EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: STANFORD SOLAR SCIENTISTS SOLVE ONE OF THE SUN'S   
   MYSTERIES    
      
       
      
   Solar scientists at Stanford University in California have solved one   
   of the few remaining fundamental mysteries of how the sun works. And   
   its something that hams will want to know as it does affect   
   propagation. Amateur Radio Newsline's Heather Embee, KB3TZD, has the   
   details:    
      
       
      
   --    
      
       
      
   According to researchers, the mechanism in question is known as   
   meridional flow and is said to work something like a conveyor belt.   
   Magnetic plasma migrates on the sun's surface from the equator to the   
   poles. It then cycles into the sun's interior on its way back to the   
   equator. The rate and depth beneath the surface of the sun at which   
   this process occurs is critical for predicting the sun's magnetic and   
   flare activity, but has remained largely unknown until now.    
      
       
      
   To find out how it actually worked, researchers used the   
   Stanford-operated Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager or HMI instrument   
   onboard NASA's Solar Dynamic Observatory to track solar waves in much   
   the way seismologists would study seismic movements beneath the surface   
   of the Earth. Every 45 seconds for the past two years, the HMI's   
   Doppler radar recorded images of plasma waves moving across the sun's   
   surface which were then radioed back to Earth. By identifying patterns   
   of sets of waves, the scientists could recognize how the solar   
   materials move from the sun's equator toward the poles, and how they   
   return to the equator through the sun's interior.    
      
       
      
   One startling discovery is that the equator-ward flow is actually   
   sandwiched between two layers of poleward flowing currents. This is a   
   more complicated mechanism than previously thought. Its also one that   
   could help refine predictions of the sun's activity.    
      
       
      
   For example, some computer models projected that the current solar   
   cycle would be strong, but observations have since showed it is   
   actually much weaker than the previous cycle. This inconsistency could   
   be due to the previously unknown inaccuracies of the meridional   
   circulation mechanism used in the simulations.    
      
       
      
   For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Heather Embee, KB3TZD, in Berwick,   
   Pennsylvania.    
      
       
      
   --    
      
       
      
   The report was published in the online edition of The Astrophysical   
   Journal Letters. (Space & Science)    
      
       
      
   **    
      
       
      
   RADIO IN SPACE: US RESEARCH PROBE HEADS TOWARD THE MOON    
      
       
      
   More than 40 years after the last Apollo astronauts left the moon, NASA   
   has launched a small robotic spacecraft to investigate Earths primary   
   satellite. The Ladee spacecraft, which is charged with studying the   
   lunar atmosphere and dust, soared aloft aboard a Minotaur launch   
   vehicle rocket a little before midnight on Friday, September 6th with   
   its destination being the moon.    
      
       
      
   Ladee is a acronym for the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment   
   Explorer mission. It is using the so-called sling-shot effect of   
   Earth's gravity to propel it to moon. This by it making three   
   increasingly larger circuits around our home planet before getting   
   close enough to transfer into a lunar orbit. Because of this the   
   spacecraft will require a full month to reach Earth's closest neighbor.    
      
       
      
   Ladee, which is the size of a small car, is expected to reach the moon   
   on October 6th. Researchers hope to use it to learn the composition of   
   the moon's weak atmosphere and how it might change over time. Another   
   puzzle, dating back decades, is whether dust rises of its own accord   
   from the lunar surface.    
      
       
      
   To accomplish its mission the Ladee spacecraft carries three scientific   
   research instruments. And in addition to traditional radio gear it is   
   also carrying a. experimental Laser communications package that could   
   revolutionize data relay. NASA wants to experiment with this system to   
   see if it might eventually be able to replace its traditional RF based   
   communications with coherent modulated light transmission that might   
   afford greater bandwidth using significantly less power and smaller   
   devices. For now, data gathered by Ladee will reportedly be sent back   
   to Earth using both systems.    
      
       
      
   The $280 million moon-orbiting operation will last six months. It will   
   end when the spacecraft is commanded to make a final plunge to the   
   surface of the moon. More about Ladee mission is on the web at   
   tinyurl.com/back-to-the-moon (NASA, guardian.com, )    
      
       
      
   **    
      
       
      
       
      
   EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: QSCOPE LOG STATISTICS AND CHARTS    
      
       
      
   Back on the ground, QScope.org is a new online application that   
   provides statistics and charts from amateur radio logs. While some   
   features are designed with contesting in mind, most of the statistics   
   will be useful for DXers and DXpeditions. You just import your ADIF 2   
   or Cabrillo logs into QScope database and then browse the statistic and   
   charts pages. Registration and access to the website are free at   
   www.qscope.org (OPDX, Southgate)    
      
       
      
   **    
      
       
      
   ON THE AIR: CELEBRATING HUNGARY'S TECHNICAL COLLEGE OF THEODORE PUSKAS    
      
       
      
   On the air, listen out for HA75KBF which is on the air celebrating the   
   75th anniversary of the amateur radio club at Hungary's Technical   
   College of Theodore Puskas. If you work them, QSL via the clubs regular   
   call sign of HA5BKF. (Via e-mail)    
      
       
      
   **    
      
       
      
   DX    
      
       
      
   In DX, Bill Moore, NC1L, the ARRL Awards Branch Manager, reports that   
   the current JY9FC operation beginning this past August has been   
   approved for DXCC credit. If you have a card for that operation now is   
   the time to submit it.    
      
       
      
   HA3JB will be operational slash 4O from Montenegro between September   
   23rad to the 30th. Activity will be on CW, RTTY and SSB. QSL via HA3JB   
   direct    
      
       
      
   N4WDT and K4ZIN are planning to on the air from Sierra Leone between   
   October 16th and the 21st. They are currently waiting for a license   
   approval and plan to operate 160 through 10 meters with a focus on 30,   
   17 and 12 meters as well as the lower bands. QSL electronically via   
   Logbook of the World or via their home callsigns.    
      
       
      
   OH6KZP, will be active as CR2X from the Azores during the CQ World Wide   
   DX SSB Contest on October 26th and 27th. This, as a   
   Single-Operator/All-Band/High-Power entry. Before the contest begins he   
   may be on signing his own call portable CT8. QSL via OH2BH.    
      
       
      
   DJ7RJ will be active stroke FR from Reunion Island between September   
   28th and November 2nd. His operation will be on 160 through 10 meters   
   using CW and SSB. QSL via DJ7RJ, direct or by the bureau.    
      
       
      
   Lastly, K7AR will be active as E51AAR from Rarotonga in the South Cook   
   Islands, between October 21st and the 26th. His operation will be   
   mainly using RTTY but he will also participate in the CQWW DX SSB   
   Contest. Log will be uploaded to Logbook of the World upon his return   
   home. QSL via K7AR, direct or by the Bureau.    
      
       
      
   (Above courtesy of various DX news sources)    
      
       
      
   **    
      
       
      
   EMERGING TECHGNOLOGY: SOLAR POWERED PICO BALLOONS SET NEW ENDURANCE   
   RECORD    
      
       
      
   A pair of solar powered pico balloons launched from the United Kingdom   
   have set what appears to be an all time endurance record over Europe.   
   Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, is in the newsroom with the latest on the   
   flights of B-11 and B-12:    
      
       
      
   --    
      
       
      
   United Kingdom experimenter Leo Bodnar in cooperation with members of   
   Europe's ham radio community has set some interesting records flying   
   radio equipped pico balloons. His latest, simply called B-11 and B-12   
   were launched by Leo from the town of Silverstone on September 1 and 2   
   respectively. As of late on September 9th, both balloons were still in   
   the air transmitting in the Domino EX 16 data mode on 434.500 MHz USB.    
      
      
      
      
      
   During their long duration record-breaking flights, the two balloons   
   have between them flown over most countries in Europe. B-11 was last   
   reported over Turkey and B-12 over the Ukraine. Both balloons are   
   powered by small solar panels which recharge a tiny on-board battery.   
   Unfortunately, B-12 did suffer a battery failure so it only transmits   
   when in sunlight.    
      
       
      
   As this newscast goes to air, both pico balloons have so far floated at   
   least 1550 miles from their launch point could still be in-flight. Keep   
   an eye on leobodmar.com/balloons for the latest.    
      
       
      
   From the other side of the world, I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, in the   
   newsroom in Los Angeles.    
      
       
      
   --    
      
       
      
   Pico balloons do not go to extremes altitudes but instead float at   
   anywhere between 6500 to 26000 feet for an extended period of time.   
   From those heights above sea level their 434 MHz transmitters can have   
   a radio range of up to 250 miles depending on line of sight. You can   
   see the tracks of these latest radio equipped pico balloons on the web   
   at tinyurl.com/b11-b12-flight. (Southgate, Leo Bodnar Balloons)    
      
       
      
   **   
      
      
      
      
      
       
      
   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, TWiT-TV and Australia's W-I-A News,   
   that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline(tm). Our e-mail address is   
   newsline (at) arnewsline (dot) org. More information is available at   
   Amateur Radio Newsline's(tm) only official website located at   
   www.arnewsline.org. You can also write to us or support us at Amateur   
   Radio Newsline(tm), 28197 Robin Avenue, Santa Clarita California, 91350    
      
       
      
   For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors' desk, I'm Skeeter   
   Nash, N5ASH, near Houston, Texas, saying 73 and we thank you for   
   listening.    
      
       
      
   Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2013. All rights reserved.   
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
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   ***   
      
   As a Service to the HAM Radio Community and Ham Operators all around   
   the world, this Amateur Radio Newline(tm) message has been gated from   
   the internet and posted to you by Waldo's Place USA, 1:3634/12. We hope   
   you enjoyed it!   
      
   Please address all comments and questions to the ARNewsletter editor as   
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   Thank you and good day!   
      
   -73-   
      
      
    * Origin: (1:3634/12)