Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1788 - November 18 2011   
      
   Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1788 with a release date of Friday,   
   November 18th, 2011 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.   
      
   The following is a Q-S-T. Ham radio and the National Weather Service   
   cooperate in a severe weather event in Alaska, rescue radio stands down in   
   Italy and Turkey, more intruders are found on 10 meters and an in-depth look   
   at the November 9th National E-A-S test. Was it a success or a failure?   
   Find out the details are on Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) report number 1788   
   coming your way right now.   
      
      
   (Billboard Cart Here)   
      
      
   **   
      
   RESCUE RADIO: HAMS LAUDED IN THE WAKE OF EARLY SEASON ALASKA STORM   
      
   Ham radio has been highlighted in the November 12th issue of the Alaska   
   Dispatch. This after an early season storm hit the most-Northern state.   
   Amateur Radio Newsline's Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, has the details:   
      
   --   
      
   According to the news article, when it became clear the Bering Sea storm was   
   going to be a major severe weather incident the National Weather Service got   
   word out to Alaska's amateur radio network that it wanted help. And as   
   crashing waves pounded beaches, the people who live in the remote, isolated   
   villages along the storm's path stayed connected via a web created by   
   Alaska's ham radio community.   
      
   When other communications failed, ham radio operators came to the rescue.   
   Throughout the storm, they were the eyes for scientists and weather   
   forecasters in Fairbanks and Anchorage who otherwise would have been   
   isolated from the severe weather conditions they could predict but not see.   
      
   Carven Scott, is a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Anchorage.   
   He told the newspaper that it was hams that were providing critical   
   observations as the storm blew past. Scott noted that the N-W-S does not   
   have much in the way of meteorological observation equipment in the western   
   part of the state but hams kept his agency alerted to the latest conditions   
   in remote areas. This included such data as how fast the wind was blowing   
   and from what direction; wave height; whether it was snowing or raining; and   
   the temperature. Scott says that these seemingly small details from various   
   villages made a big difference for the weather service in its predictions.   
      
   Scott credits Richard Courtney, NL9H, as the ham radio operator who came up   
   with the idea of an alliance between Alaska's ham community and the weather   
   forecasters. Scott said that he had for some time thought that amateur   
   radio would be a good communications supplement. With the Bering Sea storm   
   approaching the Alaska coast, Scott said that they decided to give it a   
   shot.   
      
   Scott told the newspaper that through the ham radio network he and his   
   colleagues learned that river ice in Koyuk was backing up and spilling onto   
   the banks. Also that roofs had blown off and water was surging in Nome, and   
   rain and snow were falling in several other villages.   
      
   The story also highlights the work of Martin Ruud, WL7MR, in the city of   
   Nome. From Tuesday night as the storm approached through the following   
   Thursday morning, WL7MR forwarded messages from islands and other coastal   
   communities. The newspaper says that Ruud had draped sleeping bags over his   
   windows to protect himself and his equipment in case a wind gust shattered   
   the glass. Outside, a 160-meter loop antenna stood ready atop four   
   telephone poles the city of Nome gave to him for free, knowing he could put   
   people in contact with the outside world when other methods failed.   
      
   For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, in the Newsroom   
   in Los Angeles.   
      
   --   
      
   The entire story of ham radios role in this major Alaskan winter severe   
   weather outburst can be read on-line at tinyurl.com/alaska-storm (Alaska   
   Dispatch)   
      
   **   
      
   RESCUE RADIO: MARITIME MOBILE NET IN CREW RESCUE   
      
   The South African Maritime Net recently assisted in the rescue of the crew of   
   the sailing vessel "Wizard" owned Gerry Boshoff, ZS6SUN . This after the   
   yacht struck a submersed container and began taking on water.   
      
   Boshoff maintained regular contact with the South African Maritime Net which   
   enabled Graham Griggs, ZS2ABK, to supply the maritime authorities with   
   needed information as to the yachts location and condition. This allowed   
   rescue personnel to reach the location and to the crew being saved. At last   
   report all were taken aboard a tanker which had been diverted to the spot   
   where the sailing vessel sank.   
      
   (SARL)   
      
   **   
      
   RESCUE RADIO: ITALY AND TURKEY SECURE HF EMCOMM OPERATIONS   
      
   Italian and Turkish High Frequency emergency operations on the 80 and 40   
   meter bands have been secured. As such there is no further need to take   
   care when operating around 3.643, 3.760MHz on 80 meters and 7.045 and 7.060   
   and 7.092 and 7.095 MHz on 40.   
      
   Keeping clear of these frequencies had been requested RNRE in Italy for   
   relief efforts following the flooding in the North West of that country and   
   TRAC for the Earthquake in Van province of Turkey. Both groups have offered   
   their thanks to the world ham radio community for its cooperation during   
   those hectic times.   
      
   **   
      
   ENFORCEMENT: AUSTRALIA'S ACMA ACTS AGAINST HOBBY RADIO RULES VIOLATORS   
      
   The recent issuing of warning notices and confiscations in four states by the   
   Australian Communications and Media Authority or ACMA shows it's serious   
   about infringements by hobby communicators.   
      
   Under the Radiocommunications Act, six individuals were given a warning for   
   their unlicensed operation and two additional warnings of possession of   
   modified amateur radio equipment.   
      
   The ACMA said all were operating on HF frequencies they were not licensed to   
   use, or allocated to the Amateur Service. A range of non-compliant equipment   
   has been surrendered to the ACMA.   
      
   A 70 Watt CB radio in Victoria, a 40 Watt CB radio and 400 Watt linear   
   amplifier in South Australia, a modified Kenwood ham band transceiver from   
   Tasmania, 70 watt CB radio and 600 watt linear amplifier in New South Wales.   
      
   The ACMA said operating non-compliant or modified radio communications   
   equipment on frequency bands contrary to that specified by a license   
   condition, had the potential to cause serious interference to radio   
   communications services.   
      
   While the ACMA prefers to educate those who operate outside their license   
   conditions, it will suspend or cancel licenses, issue infringement notices,   
   or commence prosecutions for more serious offences.   
      
   For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Graham Kemp, VK4BB, of the WIA News, in   
   Brisbane, Australia. (WIA News, VK3PC)   
      
   **   
      
   INTRUDER WATCH: PROBLEMS WORSENING ON 10 METERS AS MUF RISES   
      
   A recent issue of the IARU Monitoring System newsletter reports that the   
   intruder situation on 10 meters is getting worse as the Maximum Usable   
   Frequency or M-U-F continues to rise in Solar Cycle 24.   
      
   The report said that it found much CB-like traffic using AM, FM and SSB   
   between 28 and 29.7 MHz in September and again in October 2011. It pegs   
   Europe, Brazil and the Far East as the primary originating points for most   
   of the illegal 10 meter traffic. The report goes on to say that the band is   
   also still filled with numerous taxi cabs operating FM.   
      
   The report says that with conditions on the upper High Frequency bands   
   improving that we could soon witness what it calls the "apocalypse" on the   
   amateur- exclusive 10 meter band. The newsletter also describes   
   interference on the 24 MHz band from Codar Radar and numerous "CB" operators   
   taking to those airwaves as well.   
      
   As reported last week, Russia has agreed to do all it can to remove illegal   
   taxi radio operators from the 10 meter band but just how successful that   
   move will be remains to be seen.   
      
   (IARU-R1)   
      
   **   
      
   BREAK 1   
      
   From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard   
   on bulletin stations around the world including the N3EVW repeater serving   
   Scranton, Pennsylvania.   
      
   (5 sec pause here)   
      
      
   **   
      
   RESCUE RADIO: THE FIRST NATIONAL EAS TEST - A PARTIAL SUCCESS AND A   
   PARTIAL FAILURE   
      
   If you were listening to a radio or watching television at 2 p.m. Eastern U-S   
   time on Wednesday, November 9th this is what you may have heard:   
      
   --   
      
   Actual test audio air-check.   
      
   --   
      
   That's the sound of the nations first ever national test of the Emergency   
   Alert or E-A-S system. Here's Robert Sudock, WB6FDF, with a look at what   
   happened and possibly why:   
      
   --   
      
   In a November 11th letter to the CGC Communicator broadcast industry   
   newsletter, Richard Rudman, W6TIA, who is the California State Emergency   
   Communications Committee EAS Vice Chairman writes that FEMA, the Federal   
   Emergency Management Agency, will hopefully release the details soon. That   
   said, from some post-test recordings that he has listened to he believes   
   that there is a very strong likelihood that the audio loop-back that many   
   heard occurred at the FEMA warning origination point. Rudman says that   
   there are other theories being advanced, but that we will have to wait for   
   FEMA to issue its official post-test report to know with 100% certainty   
   exactly what happened and what will be done to prevent this from happening   
   in the future.   
      
   Rudman who is one of the architects of emergency public alert systems going   
   back several decades says that while a large number of people and media   
   outlets still represent   
   the test as a "failure" it wasn't that at all. Rudman says that he wants to   
   strongly restate his feeling that we need to look beyond the audio   
   shortcomings and concentrate on the many things that went right with the EAS   
   relay system, and on the distribution infrastructure and equipment issues   
   that will require EAS public and private   
   stakeholder cooperation to fix.   
      
   Rudman adds that at some point in the near future we will find out if our   
   government is serious about warnings or not. This he says includes dollars   
   for training from origination point on through; dollars for redundant and   
   resilient warning distribution infrastructure and now the will on the part   
   of FEMA and the FCC for as rapid a transition from SAME EAS to CAP EAS as   
   possible, with wired and wireless paths for CAP distribution that back up   
   Internet distribution.   
      
   But back in the nation's capitol, FEMA Integrated Public Alert and Warning   
   System Program Director Manny Centeno has a different view. In an interview   
   with Radio World magazine, Centeno claims that the test went off on time,   
   and was delivered across the country. He says that the quality of the   
   originating message was clear for the first four seconds; however a   
   technical malfunction occurred at a national primary level that introduced   
   dual header tones and subsequently decreased the original audio quality of   
   the message for downstream stations. Centeno says that this resulted in   
   distorted audio.   
      
   According to Centeno, the Federal Emergency Management Agency delivered the   
   audio to more than 60 Primary Entry Point stations that were all on a   
   telephone conference bridge during the event. All the national primary   
   stations were connected during the test. Asked whether a particular station   
   introduced the bad audio, Centeno said FEMA is looking into how the audio   
   was introduced into the system and is re-creating the anomaly in its lab.   
      
   Centeno reiterated that last the November 9th test will not be the last. He   
   says that FEMA looks forward to approaching the community with lessons   
   learned, hearing their observations in an open forum, and continuing to   
   improve the Best Practices Guide as well as the EAS system on a national   
   scale.   
      
   But there is one issue that has yet to be addressed. That's the human issue   
   of whether FEMA is expecting to much from the public when it holds an E-A-S   
   test. This is because the average radio listener and TV viewer is used to   
   great sounding audio all of the time. And what planners of the E-A-S within   
   FEMA and other government lettered agencies have yet to realize is that even   
   in the clear and without a loop-back problem, communications quality audio   
   of 300 to 3000 Hz is going to sound really lousy on even the cheapest of   
   pocket radios and that when the public hears alert tones that sound like   
   bursts of static, many are going to simply tune out.   
      
   These agencies also seem to not realize what Richard Rudman and other E-A-S   
   technologists do. That being in time of a real crisis situation that the   
   Internet and much of the nation's landline communications may be down and   
   that an alternate means of alerting the nations population is needed.   
      
   The bottom line is that the current E-A-S system may be a bit to complex for   
   its own good. Some of us old enough to remember the days of the old   
   Conelrad emergency alerting system tests that began in 1951 and continued   
   until 1963. Those people also recall how well it worked because of its   
   simplicity. It did not rely on computer routing and an immense software   
   controlled hihgherarchy. Rather it placed its trust in the hands of human   
   beings and only once in its history did that human system ever fail.   
      
   For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Robert Sudock, WB6FDF, in Los Angeles.   
      
   --   
      
   If you have never heard a Conelrad alert but would like to, then take your   
   web browser to tinyurl.com/first-conelrad-test. And yes, things were much   
   simpler back then. (Adapted from the CGC Communicator, RW, others)   
      
   **   
      
   BANDPLANNING: ARRL AD HOC COMMITTEE ON MICROWAVE BANDS   
      
   And this for hams who like to operate in the microwave spectrum. An ARRL Ad   
   Hoc Committee has been tasked by the Leagues Board of Directors with   
   recommending updates to the ARRL band plans for the amateur bands between   
   902 MHz and 3.5 GHz. If you are now active on any of these bands or are   
   developing plans to do so, the committee would like to hear from you. The   
   band plans for these bands may be found at www.arrl.org/band-plan-1.   
   Comments go via the ARRL website at   
   www.arrl.org/microwave-band-plan-input-form. You have till December 15th to   
   respond.   
      
   (WA6ILQ. W9QZB, others)   
      
   **   
      
   HAM HAPPENINGS: FROSTFEST 2012 IN RICHMOND VIRGINIA   
      
   Turning to the ham radio social scene, Frostfest 2012, sponsored by the   
   Richmond Amateur Telecommunications Society, takes place on Saturday,   
   February 4th. This event features manufacturer's representatives from major   
   equipment makers, new equipment vendors, 300 tables of indoor flea market   
   sales, VE Testing, DXCC Card Checking, forums and meetings. The venue is   
   the Richmond Raceway Complex in Richmond Virginia. This event is also the   
   ARRL Virginia State Convention. More is on-line at www.frostfest.com.   
      
   **   
      
   HAM HAPPENINGS: 15th INTERNATIONAL EME CONFERENCE TWEETING   
      
   There is now an official Twitter information feed for the upcoming 15th   
   International E-M-E Conference. That happening is to be held in Cambridge,   
   United Kingdom, August 16th to the 18th of 2012. The Twitter feed can be   
   found at twitter.com/moonbounce2012. For more information on the conference   
   take your web browser to www.eme2012.com   
      
   (Southgate)   
      
   **   
      
   HAM HAPPENINGS: DAYTON HAMVENTION TOPS 22,000 IN 2011   
      
   Its taken a few months to compile, but according to Dayton Hamvention on-line   
   Moderator Bill Curtice, WA8ABP, the official attendance for the 2011   
   gathering has been tallied at 22,312. That appears to be up by several   
   hundred over 2009 and 2010. It is a sign that at least the health of the   
   ham radio economy is improving even if that of the rest of the nation seems   
   to be lagging behind. The information was posted to the Hamvention   
   reflector on Sunday, November 13th.   
      
   (Hamvention(r) News Group, WA8ABP)   
      
   **   
      
      
   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)   
      
   **   
      
   RADIO TECHNOLOGY: PROBLEMS WITH P25 SECURITY   
      
   While it's not of much concern to hams who have adopted Project 25 digital   
   audio, researchers looking at the security of this system have discovered   
   that it's easily jammed, and almost as easily compromised. And all of this   
   can be accomplished using a kid's toy. Amateur Radio Newsline welcomes   
   Heather Butera-Howell, KB3TZD, to the Amateur Radio Newsline family. She   
   has this report:   
      
   --   
      
   During a two-year study, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania   
   found that encryption on a police P 25 network was not only routinely   
   switched off, but also demonstrated how a 25 dollar toy called the "GirlTECH   
   IM me" could be reprogrammed to jam transmissions and even exclude specific   
   users or subnets. It also showed how a more-expensive option could track a   
   specific user.   
      
   P 25 is the United States equivalent to the trans-European Trunked Radio or   
   TETRA digital audio radio system. But unlike TETRA, which is deployed in a   
   dedicated and fairly secure radio spectrum, P 25 had to be compatible with   
   the existing analog systems, and is thus squeezed into a fixed 12.5   
   kilohertz split-channel spacing. However, that is not the only thing making   
   it vulnerable. According to the report P 25 uses fixed-length packets,   
   optionally encrypted using a symmetric key, distributed to handsets manually   
   or over the air.   
      
   They say that the first problem is the key distribution doesn't always work.   
   As such the research team found users frequently get cut out and have to ask   
   the rest of the group to switch off encryption for the duration of the   
   operation. Individual users can also, inadvertently, switch off their own   
   encryption without other users being alert enough to notice.   
      
   The researcher's 16 page report does have practical advice for users of the P   
   25 digital audio mode. It suggests reprogramming handsets to make switching   
   off encryption less obvious, and reminding users when it has been switched   
   off. But the team also concludes that fundamentally the P 25 system wasn't   
   designed with a properly layered security model, and that this will always   
   leave it more vulnerable than it should be.   
      
   For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Heather Butera-Howell, KB3TZD, in   
   Pennsylvania.   
      
   --   
      
   More about this issue with the P-25 system is on-line at   
   tinyurl.com/p25-secure (The A Register)   
      
   **   
      
   HAM RADIO IN SPACE: KC5ZSX NOW ON THE ISS   
      
   Amid steady snow, a Soyuz TMA-22 spacecraft roared to life from the Bikenour   
   Cosmodrome in Kazikstan at 10:14 G-M-T one Monday, November 14th. On board   
   were United States Astronaut Daniel Burbank KC5ZSX along with commander   
   Anton Shkaplerov and engineer Anatoly Ivanishin.   
      
   The three were supposed to have launched on September 22. That went on-hold   
   after an unmanned Progress cargo ship suffered a third stage malfunction   
   during launch August 24th and failed to reach orbit. The third stage of   
   the cargo craft's rocket is virtually identical to the one used in the   
   manned version.   
      
   The three Expedition 29 space explorers docked with the ISS on Wednesday,   
   November 16th. All the current Expedition 29 I-S-S crew members are radio   
   amateurs. This includes commander Michael Fossum KF5AQG, Sergei Volkov   
   U4MIR and Satoshi Furukawa KE5DAW. Once they return to Earth on November   
   21st, Daniel Burbank KC5ZSX will be the Expedition 30 commander and also   
   become the only radio amateur on the ISS until the next crew change about 6   
   months from now. More is on-line at spaceflightnow.com.   
      
   **   
      
   HAM RADIO IN SPACE: RESEARCHER SAYS ARISSAT-1 WILL DEORBIT IN APRIL   
      
   The ARISSat-1 satellite is due to re-enter Earth's atmosphere in early April   
   2012. This, according to predictions from Mineo Wakita, JE9PEL, made on his   
   website at tinyurl.com/7qw2nt9.   
      
   At his site JE9PEL has posted charts that show the slowly declining orbit of   
   ARISSat-1 which was hand launched from the International Space Station back   
   on August 8th. If his predictions hold accurate then ARISSat-1 still has   
   several months left on-orbit before it meets a fiery demise as it re-enters   
   the Earths atmosphere. Meantime the satellite remains quite active and has   
   become one of the most popular birds since the start of ham radios   
   operations from space.   
      
   **   
      
      
   COMING TO THE AIR: MARCH 2012 DXPEDITION NEEDS MORE OPERATORS   
      
   Planning is well underway for an upcoming DXpedition to Botswana, but more   
   operators are needed. This according to organizer Charles Frost, K5LBU, who   
   tells the Ohio Pen DX Newsletter that the operation appears to have lost 3   
   members for the March 2012 DXpedition and that its looking for replacements   
   who might like to go with it.   
      
   K5LBU who is better known as Frosty says that the current plan is to arrive   
   in Johannesburg, South Africa on March 15th. They will then spend 3 nights   
   in a game park on the way to Botswana arriving at the Lotsane Lodge on March   
   18th and returning to Johannesburg on the 28th. He adds that they will   
   operate as A25HQ in the CQ WPX Contest while there.   
      
   According to K5LBU in addition to transportation to and from Johannesburg the   
   cost is $235 a day per person and this covers all meals, transport and   
   lodging. All you will need is your laptop for logging and a key and   
   headset. Equipment the DXpedition is bringing along includes an Icom 746   
   Pro, a Yaesu FT 450 and at least one Expert 1K-FA amplifiers. Antennas are   
   a T6 Log Periodic, an HF2V, and a folded dipole that covers 160 through10   
   meters also. If you would like to go please E-mail Frosty to 3da0cf (at)   
   gmail (dot) com.   
      
   OPDX   
      
   **   
      
   DX   
      
   In DX, JH1NBN will be active as 8Q7ZB from the Maldives Islands through   
   November 29th. Operations are on the HF bands, propagation permitting. He   
   may also enter the CQ World Wide DX CW Contest on November 26th and the   
   27th. QSL via his home callsign, either direct or via the bureau.   
      
   K9NW will be active as C91NW from Mozambique through November 29th. His   
   operations will be on 160 through 10 meters using CW, SSB, RTTY and possibly   
   6 meters as well. QSL via his home callsign.   
      
   A large multi-national team will be on the air from Nepal until November   
   25th. The callsign to look out for is 9N7MD. Activity will be on all bands   
   in SSB, CW and RTTY. The QSL Manager is IK2VUC and logs will also be   
   uploaded to Logbook of the World.   
      
   Lastly, DK9PY will be operational portable FG from Guadeloupe through   
   November 26th. Activity will be only CW mainly on the 30, 17 and 12 meter   
   bands. Also listen out on 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 meters usually at about 15   
   kHz from the bottom of the band edge. QSL via his home callsign, either   
   direct or by the bureau.   
      
   **   
      
   THAT FINAL ITEM: VISITING GERMANYS HAM RADIO CONVENTION THANKS TO THE CAMERA   
   OF DC3AQ   
      
   And finally this week, a new video about the HAMRADIO 2011 convention in   
   Friedrichshafen, Germany, last spring is now on-line. Often called the   
   Dayton of Europe, this years HAMRADIO featured 184 exhibitors,   
   representatives from 29 countries and an attendance up with the biggest   
   shows. These three factors made it a truly international event.   
      
   The show was produced by Matthias Schilhab, DC3AQ, and uses only video and   
   the voices of the attendees to tell the story of HAMRADIO as seen through   
   the eyes of each person interviewed and presented in that person's home   
   language. For example, here is a sample from those who expressed their view   
   of the event in the English language:   
      
   --   
      
   Actual show audio sample.   
      
   --   
      
   According to film maker DC3AQ, he decided not to narrate or to translate the   
   film because he and his crew didn't know whether to release it in German,   
   English, or Spanish. Instead, he calls the on-line release his polyglot   
   version with each language standing on its own. Hence its title of HAMRADIO   
   2011 Polyglot.   
      
   You can view this 14 minute movie on-line at tinyurl.com/dc3aq-DL-Movie. And   
   less we forget to mention, DC3AQ says that he funded this project himself   
   without any support any sponsor or radio club. We say bravo on this very   
   special gift from him to the world-wide amateur radio community. (DC3AQ,   
   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 editors desk, I'm Jim Damron,   
   N8TMW, in Chasrleston, West Virginia, 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!   
      
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