Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1771 - July 22 2011   
      
   Please note that this is an extended Amateur Radio Newsline report and   
   contains three breaks. Thank you.   
      
   Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1771 with a release date of Friday, July   
   22 2011 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.   
      
   The following is a Q-S-T. Another conviction in the highjacking of a yacht   
   that lead to the death of three United States hams; a South Dakota radio   
   amateur looses his life in a tower dismantling accident; South Sudan becomes   
   a sovereign nation recognized by the U-N as well as amateur radio; ham radio   
   bids farewell to the space shuttle and Media Network re-releases the Hitch   
   Hikers Guide to DXing. What is that you ask? Find out on an extended   
   Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) report number 1771 coming your way right now.   
      
      
   (Billboard Cart Here)   
      
      
   **   
      
   RADIO JUSTICE: YEMENI MAN PLEADS GUILTY IN HIGHJACKING THAT RESULTED IN THE   
   DEATH OF THREE HAMS   
      
   A Yemeni man pleaded guilty to acts of piracy on Thursday, July 14th in   
   connection to his role in the hijacking of a yacht off the coast of east   
   Africa that resulted in the deaths of four Americans including three ham   
   radio operators. Amateur Radio Newsline's Norm Seeley, KI7UP, has the   
   details.   
      
   --   
      
   As previously reported here on Newsline, Scott Adam, K9ESO, and his wife   
   Jean, KF6RVB, along with Bob Riggle, KE7IIV, and Phyllis Macay were on board   
   the yacht Quest off the coast of Oman when pirates boarded their vessel on   
   Friday, February 18th. Officials were in the process of negotiating for   
   their release when gunfire was heard around 1 a.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday,   
   February 22. United States forces responded and then boarded the Quest. It   
   was then that they discovered that all four hostages had been shot by the   
   high seas bandits. Despite immediate steps to provide life-saving care, all   
   four hostages ultimately succumb to their wounds.   
      
   Now, one of the alleged pirates identified as 23 year old Mounir Ali has   
   accepted a plea bargain by U.S. District Judge Mark Davis, where he plead   
   guilty to taking part in the armed hijacking. Ali claimed that he and four   
   other men from Yemen were crew members aboard another vessel that was   
   pirated by Somalis earlier in February. But prosecutors say that Ali   
   willingly elected to join the pirates in return for a share of the ransom   
   money. However they also say that he did not personally shoot nor did he   
   instruct anyone to shoot any of the four Americans.   
      
   For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Norm Seeley, KI7UP, in Scottsdale,   
   Arizona.   
      
   --   
      
   Ali is the 11th person convicted in relation to the highjacking and murders   
   of the four Americans on-board the Quest. Sentencing is scheduled for   
   October 21st. (Published news reports)   
      
   **   
      
   RADIO SAFETY: RADIO AMATEUR KILLED IN TOWER COLLAPSE ACCIDENT   
      
   A Hot Springs, South Dakota ham radio operator was killed and another   
   seriously injured Saturday, July 16th. This after a communications tower   
   they were helping dismantle was blown over by a gust of wind.   
      
   According to Fall River County emergency manager Frank Maynard, Tim Anderson,   
   K0OR, died of his injuries at Rapid City Regional Hospital shortly after   
   arriving by Life Flight helicopter. The second man, Tom Embree, NC0K, also   
   of Hot Springs, was also flown to Rapid City Regional Hospital where surgery   
   was performed Sunday. He remains in serious condition.   
      
   The men were helping their amateur radio club remove a 110 foot high tower on   
   the top of a near-by peak known as Gull Hill. The tower was no longer in   
   use, and the owner had offered it to the radio club, which was going to move   
   it to a new location.   
      
   News reports say that several other radio club members were on the ground at   
   the time of the accident. They had taken down all but the final 30 foot   
   section of the tower and were just beginning to release some guy wires when   
   a gust of wind blew the tower over with the two men still on it and then   
   collapsed on them.   
      
   Both Anderson and Embree are members of the Hot Springs Amateur Radio Club.   
   Hot Springs is located about 60 miles south of Rapid City. At the time of   
   his death, Anderson was the club's president. (KELO, other published news   
   reports)   
      
   **   
      
   WORLDBEAT: SOUTH SUDAN BECOMES SOVEREIGN ENTITY - ADDED TO DXCC AND CQ DX   
   AWARDS   
      
   The Republic of South Sudan is now the world's newest country and as   
   expected, it became the 193rd member of the United Nations on July 14th. It   
   also became a new DXCC entity on the same date and was also added to CQ DX   
   Awards Countries List as entity number 342.   
      
   Meantime, the latest news regarding the planned South Sudan operation by the   
   combined DX Friends and Intrepid DX Groups is that the two groups were to   
   meet in Cairo on July 21st. On July 22nd, they planned to fly to Juba which   
   is the capital of the South Sudan. As we go to air on the 23rd, they were   
   to meet with the Ministry of Communications to amend licenses to whatever   
   new I-T-U prefix is assigned to the South Sudan. If all goes as the DX'ers   
   hope they expect to take to the airwaves sometime between July 23rd or as   
   late as the 25th. The operation will continue until August 10th.   
      
   For the latest details on this upcoming South Sudan operation keep an eye on   
   www.dxfriends.com/SouthernSudan2011. We will have more DX news later on in   
   this weeks Amateur Radio Newsline report. (DX Friends)   
      
   **   
      
   RADIO LAW: HAMS IN FLANDERS (BELGIUM) NOW COVERED BY RADIATION LIMIT LAWS   
      
   The administration of the Flanders (Belgium) area in Northern Europe has now   
   included ham radio operators in its restrictive public safety radio   
   frequency Specific Absorption Rate or SAR Ministerial Decree. A law enacted   
   only this past January 26th. Frank Haas, KB4T, is here with the details on   
   the position the this puts hams in the region into:   
      
   --   
      
   The law was originally directed at telecommunications system operators to   
   protect the public from what some consider dangerous RF levels.   
      
   It now appears that radio amateurs in the Flanders region must also observe   
   the same standards and obligations and pay the same annual fee as their   
   commercial counterparts. In addition they will be subject to the same   
   government oversight and can face the same fines or imprisonment for   
   infractions and violations of the new Flanders Specific Absorption Rate   
   standard.   
      
   Radio amateurs in Flanders will soon have to apply for a certificate of   
   conformity for their station and presumably re-apply whenever the station   
   configuration changes. This costs about 75 Euros or $105 U.S. dollars.   
      
   In an application, a ham must supply a complete station location plan; an   
   installation plan of antennas and an installation plan of the entire station   
   site. Also required will be an overall safety analysis plan; a station   
   elevation plan and an overall cross-section layout diagram.   
      
   In simpler terms Flanders hams will have to file what amounts to a complete   
   engineering and electromagnetic impact study anytime even a minor station   
   change takes place.   
      
   Still unknown is what impact the law will have on mobile, portable and   
   hand-held operations by Flanders area hams.   
      
   For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Frank Haas, KB4T, in Holly Hill, Florida.   
      
   --   
      
   More on this rather radical law, most in the Flemish language, is now on line   
   at thesw various web locations: Antenna File in Google English -   
   http://tinyurl.com/BelgiumAntennaFile; SAR-Vlaanderen Facebook page (in   
   Flemish) http://nl-nl.facebook.com/pages/; SAR-Vlaanderen/165726696825269;   
   Joke Schauvliege Minister of Environment, Nature and Culture at   
   http://tinyurl.com/JokeSchauvliege and the Royal Union of Belgian Radio   
   Amateurs (UBA) http://tinyurl.com/BelgiumUBA) (Southgate, UBA, others)   
      
   **   
      
   RADIO LAW: RECONROBOTICS ENTERS CONSENT DECREE WITH FCC TO END INVESTIGATION   
   BROUGHT ON BY ARRL COMPLAINT   
      
   ReconRobotics has entered a Consent Decree agreement with the FCC where it   
   will make whats termed as a voluntary contribution of $17,000 to the United   
   States Treasury. This, to end an FCC investigation in response to a   
   complaint filed by the ARRL.   
      
   Back in 2010 the ARRL had alleged that ReconRobotics had violated Section   
   302a(b) of the Communications Act and Section 2.803 of the Commission's   
   rules regarding the manufacturing, marketing, distributing and selling of   
   radio frequency transmitters in the United States. In the complaint the   
   ARRL alleged that ReconRobotics had unlawfully marketed a remote-controlled,   
   maneuverable surveillance robot called the Recon Scout which operates in the   
   430 to 448 MHz band to public safety agencies and certain security personnel   
   prior to the grant of a necessary waiver.   
      
   The FCC granted a waiver to ReconRobotics in 2010 to allow public safety   
   licensees to operate the device in a portion of the 70 centimeter band   
   that's shared with ham radio operations. To date, no license applications   
   have been granted by the Commission for the device and the ARRL has   
   petitioned to deny all applications that have been or might be filed.   
   (ARRL)   
      
   **   
      
   BREAK 1   
      
   From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard   
   on bulletin stations around the world including the W0EF repeater serving   
   Minneapolis, Minnesota   
      
      
   (5 sec pause here)   
      
      
   **   
      
   COMMEMORATIVE EVENTS: REMEMBERING THE FIRST DECADE SINCE 911   
      
   This coming September 11th will be the 10th anniversary of the al-Queda   
   backed terrorist attacks of September 11th of 2001. These attacks felled   
   the two World Trade Center tower buildings in New York City and damaged the   
   Pentagon when radical Islamic extremists high-jacked four United States flag   
   carrier jetliners and crashed them into the two structures. Over 3000   
   American citizens were killed as well as a number of foreign nationals who   
   worked in the twin towers buildings.   
      
   Over the years there have been several ham radio operations in remembrance of   
   those whose lives were lost in this senseless and wanton carnage. With this   
   being the first decade anniversary of the September 11th, 2001 tragedy, we   
   here at the Amateur Radio Newsline are trying to compile a list of radio   
   clubs and individual hams who are planning any form of amateur radio   
   memorial operation to honor those whose lives were lost that day. If you   
   have plans to commemorate 911, please drop us an e-mail to newsline at   
   arnewsline dot org and let us know all of the details. We in turn will list   
   as many as we can on our website at www.arnewsline.org.   
      
   Those whose lives were lost on 911 deserve to be remembered. We will do our   
   part by providing web-space to list ham radio commemorative activities.   
   It's up to you to do the rest. (ARNewsline)   
      
   **   
      
   ON THE NET: FIRST LIVE REMOTE BROADCAST OF BOB HEIL'S HAM NATION ON JULY 26   
      
   If you are hearing this newscast before Tuesday, July 26th, be certain to   
   tune into Bob Heil, K9EID, show Ham Nation for its first live out of studio   
   remote broadcast. Bob along with co-host Gordon West, WB6NOA, plan to   
   originate from the historic radio room on board the famed Queen Mary ocean   
   liner. This is a major Southern California attraction moored in Long Beach   
   Harbor.   
      
   Their special guest will be Nate Brightman, K6OSC. Brightman is the person   
   generally credited with first bringing the radio room to life as an   
   operational ham radio station with the call sign W6RO several decades ago.   
      
      
   Ham Nation airs live on Leo LaPorte's Twit internet television network every   
   Tuesday at 9 P.M Eastern time. To tune in simply take your web browser to   
   www dot twit dot tv and click in the tab marked "live." You can also see a   
   replay of the show about 24 hours later by downloading the podcast at www   
   dot twit dot tv. (ARNewsline)   
      
   **   
      
   RADIO SITE NEWS: CALIFORNIA INSTITUTES $150 FIRE PREVENTION FEE   
      
   If you own a repeater, a remote base station or even a home in the state of   
   California, a new law signed by Governor Jerry Brown may affect you.   
   Measure ABX1 29 imposes an annual fee of up to a $150 on every habitable   
   structure in the State Responsibility Area or SRA to fund fire prevention   
   activities. The governor said that due to population and development growth   
   in these SRA's, taxpayer borne costs for fire protection have risen in   
   recent decades.   
      
   California hams may need a local map to determine whether their repeaters,   
   remote transmitter sites or even their homes are located in an State   
   Responsibility. One fire official notes that, "As written, revenue from the   
   fee would go to CalFire and an equivalent amount of General Funds would be   
   removed from CalFire's budget for no net gain. A copy of ABX1 29 is on line   
   at tinyurl.com/150FireFee. (CGC Communicator)   
      
   **   
      
   HAM HAPPENINGS: ILLW THE WEEKEND OF AUGUST 20 - 21   
      
   With only a few weeks to go to the International Lighthouse and Lightship   
   Weekend, a total of 290 entries have been received but many more expected   
   before the event.   
      
   So far this year 13 Lightships are entered mainly from Belgium, England,   
   Germany and the USA. There's also one each in the Netherlands, Sweden and   
   Wales. For those not aware, lightships are a rarer breed of the long-gone   
   era of magnified flashes a light used by ships as they navigated along the   
   coast and around the world.   
      
   Since 1998 the 48 hour, third weekend in August event has attracted more than   
   440 entrants, from some 50 nations. This year the dates are August 20th and   
   the 21st. More information is on the World Wide Web at illw.net. (VK3PC)   
      
   **   
      
   THE SOCIAL SCENE: ARRL MIDWEST CONVENTION IN CEDAR RAPIDS IA. AUG 5 - 7   
      
   And the ARRL Midwest Division Convention and Summerfest 2011 will take place   
   August 5th through the 7th in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Events on August 5th and   
   6th will be held at Clarion Hotel & Convention Center with events for Sunday   
   the 7th to be held at the near-by Teamsters Hall. A convention brochure   
   containing a speakers list, forum line-up, registration form and more is   
   available ob-line at tinyurl.com/cedar-rapids-summerfest. (Press release)   
      
   **   
      
   THE SOCIAL SCENE: RAC AGM AND HAMFEST 2011 IN NEWFOUNDLAND   
      
   Radio Amateurs of Canada will hold the eighteenth Annual General Meeting on   
   July 30th in St. John's Newfoundland. The venue is the Battery Hotel and   
   Conference Center at Signal Hill which is also playing host to the   
   concurrent Hamfest 2011 events hosted by the Society of Newfoundland Radio   
   Amateurs. Please visit www.sonra.ca for more details. (RAC)   
      
   **   
      
   THE SOCIAL SCENE: YO0YOA & YO0TSL CELEBRATE YOUTH AND TESLA   
      
   Romania's Zamolxes Foundation Radio Club will be operating the special call   
   sign YO0YOA through years end. This, to promote the first youth ham radio   
   organization in Europe known as Youngsters on the Air.   
      
   Youngsters on the Air is operated under a grant from Youth in Action and is   
   financed by the European Commission to interest youngsters in amateur radio.   
   Operation of YO0YOA will be on all HF and VHF bands.   
      
   Also on the air will be station YO0TSL. This station is to commemorate 155th   
   birthday of famed inventor and researcher Nikola Tesla. (YO9GJX)   
      
   **   
      
   NAMES IN THE NEWS: WB4APR AND THE APRS GOLDEN PACKET TEST   
      
   Some names in the news. First up is Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, who invites you to   
   join in the terrestrial annual APRS Golden Packet attempt on Sunday July   
   24th. This, from Noon to 16:00 hours your local time.   
      
   During this test Bob needs hams with Kenwood D700 transceivers to drive or   
   hike to the top of some of the highest mountains in the USA. Then set up as   
   a portable APRS digipeater to see if hams can link a Golden Packet across   
   thousands of miles.   
      
   At airtime it is known that there will be an attempt along the Appalachian   
   Trail from Alabama to Maine and another along the Pacific Crest trail from   
   San Diego. California to Seattle, Washington. More information can be found   
   on line at tinyurl.com/APRS-East for eastern states operations and   
   tinyurl.com/APRS-West for operations out West. (WB4APR via VHF Reflector)   
      
   **   
      
   NAMES IN THE NEWS: W5NPR APPOINTED WEST INTERIM TEXAS SM   
      
   Bill Roberts, W5NPR, of Alpine, has been appointed as the Interim West Texas   
   Section Manager as of July 8, 2011. Roberts has served as the ARRL West   
   Texas Section Traffic Manager since 2009. He is a past president of the Big   
   Bend Amateur Radio Club and is also active as a back-up net control station   
   for the Big Bend Emergency West Texas ARES Net and a net control station for   
   the National Traffic System's Daytime Region Net 5   
      
   ARRL Membership and Volunteer Programs Manager Dave Patton, NN1N, made the   
   appointment in consultation with ARRL West Gulf Division Director David   
   Woolweaver, K5RAV. Roberts will serve as Interim West Texas Section Manager   
   until a Section Manager is declared elected.   
   (ARRL)   
      
   **   
      
   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)   
      
   **   
      
   EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: RESEARCHERS DEVELOP ENERGY RECYCLING SENSORS   
      
   Researchers at Georgia Tech are tapping RF transmissions from a television   
   station located half a kilometer from their lab to power a wireless   
   temperature sensor. Amateur Radio Newsline's Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, is in   
   the science center with more:   
      
   --   
      
   A Georgia Tech Research News article said scavenging experiments using TV   
   bands has already yielded power amounting to hundreds of microwatts. It   
   also says that multi-band systems are expected to generate one milliwatt or   
   more. That says researchers is enough to operate many small electronic   
   devices, including a variety of sensors and microprocessors.   
      
   The report goes on to note that devices requiring 50 milliwatts or more   
   should be able to be powered by adding super-capacitors across the output of   
   the power system for storage and using cycled operation. The Georgia Tech   
   team is also looking at alternative power for the sensors. The current line   
   of thinking is most likely solar power for daytime operations with the   
   scavenged RF power used at night.   
      
   The self-powered wireless sensors are created using ink-jet printers and a   
   special ink containing nanoparticles of silver and/or other material. The   
   researchers have been able to literally print out a combination of sensors,   
   antennas and energy-scavenging capabilities on paper or flexible polymers.   
   The resulting sensors can be used for chemical, biological, heat and stress   
   testing for defense and industry.   
      
   For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, in Los Angeles.   
      
   --   
      
      
   So far these energy scavenging devices are able to recycle energy using RF   
   sources ranging from 100 MHz to 15 GHz or higher. More about this   
   breakthrough is on-line at tinyurl.com/recycled-power. (Georgia Tech   
   Research News)   
      
   **   
      
   WORLDBEAT: SAARDT TO UNDERWRITE THE COST OF 5 SOUTH AFRICAN STUDENT HAM   
   RADIO EXAMS   
      
   The South African Amateur Radio Development Trust has announced that it is   
   underwriting the cost for a number of students under the age of 25 to take   
   that nations Class A Radio Amateur Exam this October. Through the generous   
   sponsorship of the Tony Reumerman, ZS6AOG and his family, the Trust is able   
   to offer five such financial assistance plans this year. Each includes   
   payment of the examination fee, a one year South African Radio League   
   student membership subscription and tuition fee of 640 South African Rand.   
   The total package is worth about 1000 Rand which is the equivalent of $143   
   United States dollars at the current international monetary exchange rate.   
   (SARL News)   
      
   **   
      
   RADIO IN SPACE: FIRST EVER ORBITING OF AN ASTEROID ACHIEVED BY RADIO   
      
   For the first time in history, a spacecraft from Earth is in orbit around an   
   asteroid and it is radio that has made it happen.   
      
   On Monday, July 18th NASA confirmed that its Dawn spacecraft was captured   
   into orbit around the massive asteroid Vesta after a multi-million-mile   
   journey. The entry into orbit occurred while the spacecraft's antenna was   
   pointed away from Earth, so mission controllers had to wait for Dawn to   
   re-establish radio contact to confirm its success.   
      
   The capture was estimated to have occurred at 1 a.m on Friday, July 15th when   
   Dawn was 9,900 miles from Vesta and 117 million miles from Earth. According   
   to researchers at the Let Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California,   
   this put the intercept inside of the main asteroid belt between Mars and   
   Jupiter.   
      
   NASA said that after the orbital capture, Dawn sent an initial close-up image   
   taken of the asteroid for navigation purposes. The spacecraft is now being   
   prepared to begin a study of a surface that may date to the earliest era of   
   the solar system, of which Vesta is believed to be a part of. Before the   
   Dawn mission, images of Vesta were obtained by ground- and space-based   
   telescopes but did not show much surface detail. (NASA, Science OnLine)   
      
   **   
      
   HAM RADIO IN SPACE: CELEBRATING THE FINAL US SPACE SHUTTLE FLIGHT   
      
   N4S was the callsign of the special events station that was on the air to   
   celebrate the final flight of the United States Space Shuttle program.   
   Operating from a location not far from the Cape Canaveral launch facility,   
   N4S was on the air from launch through landing of the space ship Atlantis on   
   the STS-135 and final mission of the space shuttle program. Take a listen:   
      
   --   
      
   Audio of contact. Hear it by downloading the MP3 file of this weeks newscast   
   at www.arnewsline.org.   
      
   --   
      
   That was recorded here at the Newsline studio on a dipole antenna on a day   
   with pretty poor propagation. N4S used CW, SSB and PSK on 40, 20 and 15   
   meters along with D-Star using the KJ4OXT repeater.   
      
   Those who made contact with N4S are eligible to receive a special   
   commemorative certificate in exchange for their QSL. Send QSL's along with   
   an 8.5 x 11 inch self addressed stamped envelope to the North Brevard   
   Amateur Radio Club, P O Box 1033, Mims, Florida, 32754 (AA4MI)   
      
   **   
      
   HAM RADIO IN SPACE: ISS AND ATLANTIS CAUGHT IN DAYLIGHT VIDEO   
      
   And speaking about the final shuttle mission, an amateur astronomer named   
   Scott Ferguson has successfully captured video of the space shuttle Atlantis   
   docked to the International Space Station in broad daylight.   
      
   Ferguson used a video camera attached to an 8 inch telescope to capture the   
   event. His video was taken about an hour and a quarter after sunrise.   
   Atlantis is the glowing white object at the top of the ISS. You can also   
   clearly see the solar panels on the space station itself, and get a hint of   
   other structures too.   
      
   You can watch this rather exciting and historic video and read more about how   
   it was accomplished by taking your web browser to   
   tinyurl.com/iss-in-daylight. (Discover On-Line via KB4KCH)   
      
   **   
      
   BREAK 3   
      
   With lots of news to report this week, 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)   
      
   **   
      
   HAM RADIO IN SPACE: A LOOK BACK AT THE SHUTTLE AMATEUR RADIO EXPERIMENT   
      
   Amateur radio has been an active participant on Space Shuttle flights since   
   STS-9 Now that the shuttle program is at an end, Newsline Producer Bill   
   Pasternak, WA6ITF, takes a quick look back at how the shuttle took manned   
   ham radio into space:   
      
   --   
      
   Audio of W5LFL first CQ approaching the US Pacific coast. Hear it by   
   downloading the MP3 file of this weeks newscast at www.arnewsline.org.   
      
   --   
      
   That's what it sounded like on my Icom IC-2AT in the courtyard of the old   
   Metromedia Square building in Hollywood, California that winter evening in   
   1983 as Astronaut and Mission Specialist Owen Garriott, W5LFL, streaked   
   across the nighttime sky at close to 135 nautical miles above me in the   
   space ship Columbia.   
      
   Dr. Garriott was fulfilling a dream that he'd had since before his first trip   
   to orbit aboard Spacelab several years earlier. That was to take a ham   
   radio station with him into space. Now, thanks to some assistance from the   
   late NBC Newsman Roy Neal, K6DUE, the blessings of then NASA Administrator   
   Jess Moore, and an amazing flying machine called the Space Shuttle, it had   
   come to pass.   
      
   His first CQ from orbit brought thousands of responses, but the one that he   
   heard best and who became the first United States ham to contact W5LFL was   
   Lance Collister, then WA1JXN, now W7GJ, of Frenchtown Montana. The QSO   
   between the two hams lasted only a few seconds during which ham radio   
   history was made:   
      
   --   
      
   First QSO betweek W5LFL/space mobile and WA1JXN in Montana. Hear it by   
   downloading the MP3 file of this weeks newscast at www.arnewsline.org.   
      
   --   
      
   To get on the air from Columbia Dr. Garriott used a commercial handie talkie   
   that had been modified and programmed for operation on several ham radio   
   frequencies. To get signals out of and back into the orbiting spaceship   
   W5LFL used a specially-designed cavity antenna engineered to fit a specific   
   shuttle window and was held in place with Velcro binders. The antenna,   
   designed by members of the Johnson Space Center Amateur Radio Club was   
   roughly 24 inches in diameter and looked somewhat like a large aluminum cake   
   pan with a piece of coaxial cable running from it to connect it to the   
   hand-held transceiver.   
      
   Knowing the number of QSO's would be fast and furious a small cassette   
   recorder was attached to the system to log anyone he heard and anyone he   
   talked to.   
      
   --   
      
   Random QSO space to ground audio. Hear it by downloading the MP3 file of   
   this weeks newscast at www.arnewsline.org.   
      
      
   --   
   In addition to the random QSO's , Garriott also had some interesting   
   pre-arranged contacts. Among others W5LFL was able to speak with the   
   amateur radio club in his hometown of Enid, Oklahoma and with the Johnson   
   Space Center Amateur Radio Club in Houston Texas whose members had helped   
   develop his flight ham station hardware. He also held QSO's with the late   
   Senator Barry M. Goldwater Goldwater and with Jordan's late King Hussein,   
   JY1.   
   --   
   Contact between W5LFL and JY1: Hear it by downloading the MP3 file of this   
   weeks newscast at www.arnewsline.org.   
   --   
   Dr. Garriott's ham radio adventure on STS-9 ushered in a host of outstanding   
   outreach activities that in following years that put ham radio onto almost   
   every shuttle mission. It also lead to the creation of the Shuttle Amateur   
   Radio Experiment or SAREX program. This was the ground breaking alliance   
   between the ARRL, AMSAT and NASA that over the years enabled astronauts   
   on-orbit to make contact with thousands of school kids as well as to their   
   own families back on Earth. And not only using FM voice. Soon both slow   
   scan Amateur television and packet messaging were a part of SAREX as well.   
   Eventually SAREX went from the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment to be renamed   
   the Space Amateur Radio Experiment and then to ARISS - Amateur Radio on   
   the International Space Station. Today, Earth to space station contacts are   
   almost routine. More modern equipment and external antennas in the   
   International Space Station make signals both ways a lot stronger than they   
   were back in 1983 when Dr. Owen Garriott, W5LFL, called that first CQ from   
   the space ship Columbia and ushered in the era of manned ham radio in space.   
      
   Looking back over the years of ham radio operations from the United States   
   Space Shuttle, I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, in the Newsroom in the City of   
   Angels.   
      
   --   
      
   In all there were five videos made chronicling ham radio on board the United   
   States space shuttles. They live on as a lasting reminder of manned amateur   
   radios first steps into space. (ARNewsline(tm))   
      
   **   
      
   DX   
      
   In DX, NQ6K will be active as stroke VY0 from Devon Island in the Canadian   
   high Arctic through August 5th. The crew will be primarily using 20, 15v and   
   10 meters running PSK31 and RTTY and possibly SSB. Other bands will also be   
   used depending on propagation. Please see devon2011 (dot) nq6k (dot) org for   
   current frequency updates, and contact information.   
      
   DD0CW will active from Mongolia as JT1FDB until the first week of August.   
   According to his QRZ.com Web page, he has permission to be active on 160   
   throgh 6 meters as well as the VHF and UHF bands using all modes, but he   
   prefers CW. QSL via DD0CW.   
      
   Some DX slims appear to be on the air. This according to ZL2TZE, informs   
   OPDX that there are pirate stations active claiming to be on Chatham Island   
   using the calls ZL7014 and ZL7PW. ZL2TZE says that there is no current   
   licensed operator with these callsigns listed.   
      
   DJ7ZG and DL7AFS will be active as VK9CX from the Cocos Keeling Islands   
   between October 19th and November 9th. No modes or times of operation are   
   yet known. QSL this one via DL7AFS.   
      
   Lastly, members of the SV9 DX Team with co-operation of SV5BYR will be active   
   as J45K from Kasos Island during the RSGB Islands on the Air Contest the   
   weekend of July 30th to the 31st. The first team with the equipment will be   
   on the island Tuesday, July 26th. Operations will be on 160 through 2   
   meters during weekend. QSL via SV9DJO or electronically using Logbook of   
   the World.   
      
   (Above from various DX news sources)   
      
   **   
      
   THAT FINAL ITEM: THE HITCHHIKERS GUIDE TO DXING RADIO PARODY RE-RELEASED   
      
   And finally this week, it's been thirty years since former Radio Netherlands   
   Media Network host Jonathan Marks, G8WGN, wrote a parody on international   
   radio broadcasting. One based on his favorite radio series at the time, the   
   Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy. He called it the Hitchhikers Guide To   
   DX'ing and it was an overwhelming hit when it first aired back in 1980.   
   Heres a quick sample, courtesy of G8WGN:   
      
   --   
      
   Sample audio from Hitch Hikers Guide to DXing. Hear it by downloading the MP3   
   file of this weeks newscast at www.arnewsline.org.   
      
   --   
      
   As Marks writes in his on-line blog, there seemed to be so much to make fun   
   of at the time because of the boring propaganda at the height of the Cold   
   War. According to Marks, several segments of this classic series are now   
   available for download from the Media Network Vintage Vault at   
   jonathanmarks.libsyn.com. The rest says G8WGN, will follow shortly.   
      
   Jonathan also invites everyone to browse through other material stored at the   
   Media Network Vintage Vault and he encourages you to share your stories as   
   well. (ARNewsline(tm))   
      
   **   
      
   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 WIA 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 editor's desk, I'm David Black,   
   KB4KCH, at the South-East bureau in Birmingham, Alabama, saying 73 and we   
   thank you for listening.   
      
   Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2011. All rights reserved.   
      
      
   ***   
      
   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   
   described in this posting. If you have any specific questions concerning   
   the actual posting of this message service, you may address them to   
   hamfdn -at- wpusa.dynip.com.   
      
   Thank you and good day!   
      
   -73-   
      
      
    * Origin: (1:3634/12)