Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1805 - March 16 2012   
      
   Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1805 with a release date of March 16th,   
   2012 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.   
      
   The following is a QST. More on ham radios role in the wake of a recent   
   tornado outbreak; FEMA asks the FCC to permit text to speech EAS   
   transmissions; interference from ocean buoys discovered on 10 meters and a   
   DXpedition to Mali is cancelled due to political unrest in that nation.   
   Find out the details are on Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) report number 1805   
   coming your way right now.   
      
      
   (Billboard Cart Here)   
      
      
   **   
      
   RESCUE RADIO: ARES HAMS FILL MULTIPLE ROLES DURING KENTUCKY SEVERE WEATHER   
   OUTBREAK   
      
   Amateur Radio operators in Hardin and surrounding Kentucky counties provided   
   critical communications during and after the severe weather outbreaks on   
   February 29th, and again on Saturday March 3rd. Amateur Radio Newsline's   
   Cheryl Lasek, K9BIK, is here with the details:   
      
   --   
      
   Members of the Hardin County Kentucky Amateur Radio Emergency Service were   
   activated initially by the National Weather Service. This as a resource to   
   relay significant weather information directly to their office in   
   Louisville.   
      
   Hardin County ARES provided weather spotting, logistics, disaster assessment,   
   and shelter coordination assistance. Throughout the severe weather, they   
   were busy maintaining communications with served agencies, with hams in   
   adjacent counties, other ARES units, and to amateur radio station WX4NWS   
   which is located at the Louisville National Weather service office.   
      
   Knowing in advance the high probability for dangerous weather, several of the   
   volunteer radio amateurs took personal time off from work in order to   
   perform this public service.   
      
   In the aftermath of these deadly storms, Hardin County Amateur Radio   
   operators continued to serve with agencies in affected areas in Southern   
   Indiana and Eastern Kentucky, providing communications, disaster assistance,   
   and support for ongoing search, rescue and recovery operations.   
      
   Fred Jones, WA4SWF, is the Region 4 Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator   
   for the ARES in Eastern Kentucky. He e-mailed Newsline that as of March   
   11th there were Amateur Radio emergency Service nets still in operation on 8   
   repeaters in Eastern Kentucky. Whether or not these nets have been secured   
   is unknown as we go to air.   
      
   For the amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Cheryl Lasek, K9BIK, in Zion, Illinois.   
      
   --   
      
   According to Shelby Ennis, W8WN, who is the Emergency Coordinator of the   
   Hardin County ARES, 20 operators were active during the emergency on   
   February 29th and 27 volunteered on March 3rd. (WA4SWF, KE4EK)   
      
   **   
      
   RESCUE RADIO: FEMA WANTS FCC TO ALLOW CAP TEXT TO SPEECH NOW   
      
   The Federal Emergency Management Agency better known by the acronym FEMA has   
   asked the FCC to reconsider portions of its latest EAS Report and Order.   
   Specifically in the area dealing with message standards.   
      
   In its filing, FEMA told the commission that portions of its 5th Report and   
   Order on EAS limit the ability of local emergency management officials to   
   obtain all of the benefits of Common Alerting Protocol messaging standards   
   for EAS. Especially those that deal with text to speech conversion .   
      
   The FCC had put off the text-to-speech conversion issue for a separate rule   
   making proceeding. But FEMA claims that one possible consequence of not   
   allowing such conversions now is that Common Alerting Protocol messages   
   supplied without audio content could cause a C-A-P equipped EAS device to   
   interrupt a stations normal programming and only convey an EAS header tone.   
   Or it might only transmit an alert signal and an end-of-message   
   notification.   
      
   FEMA says that for radio stations this would mean that no information usable   
   by the public would be conveyed. As such, FEMA is urging the FCC to   
   reconsider and to allow speech-to-text technology to support EAS radio   
   operations now.   
      
   (RW, Radio Today, Observer)   
      
   **   
      
   COMMUNICATIONS LAW: HOUSE ENERGY AND COMMERCE COMMITTEE APPROVES TWO FCC   
   REFORM MEASURES   
      
   The House Energy and Commerce Committee voted 31 to 16 on Tuesday March 6th   
   to approve an FCC reform bill that puts shot clocks on FCC decisions,   
   requires disclosure of items before votes, and limits on merger conditions.   
      
      
   The cable, phone and broadcast industries all supported the FCC reform   
   efforts as outlined in HR 3309, while House Democrats said the measure will   
   needlessly tie the FCC's hands and could lead to endless litigation.   
   Democrats have vowed to defeat the measure.   
      
   At the same time the House also passed a second, non-controversial FCC reform   
   bill. HR 3310 that simply requires the FCC to conduct a biennial survey of   
   the state of competition in the marketplace that will be published online   
   and submitted to Congress. (B&C)   
      
   **   
      
   ON THE AIR: IRLP TOPIC CHANNELS INAUGURATED   
      
   The long-awaited Internet Radio Linking Project or IRLP Topic Channels have   
   now gone live. IRLP- users are now able to log onto reflector channels   
   allocated for interests ranging from DX'ing to music, media, history, the   
   upcoming 2012 election and many others.   
      
   For those not aware, the Internet Radio Linking Project was the result of   
   research and development by Dave Cameron, VE7LTD, back in 1998. This as a   
   way of using the Internet to interconnect repeaters world-wide. With the   
   advent of IRLP Topic Channels the concept has developed into a global   
   discussion real-time forum on almost any topic of interest to those signed   
   on.   
      
   For up-to-date information on the IRLP Topic Channels please visit   
   www.irlptopics.net. To locate an IRLP node near you go to status.irlp.net   
   on the world-wide-web. (W7RAT, Southgate)   
      
   **   
      
   INTRUDER WATCH: BUOYS ON 10 METERS   
      
   The source of some mysterious weak signals on 29.684 MHz with an 81.9 Baud   
   and 130 Hz shift have been located. According to the February IARU Region   
   One newsletter, the signals came from the Spanish coastal area and were   
   audible across all of Europe but only during band openings and only by   
   directional antennas.   
      
   It turns out the source of transmissions by Datawell buoys. These buoys,   
   produced in the Netherlands are used for measuring water temperatures and   
   wave heights. They are designed to transmit with 75 milliwatts on   
   frequencies between 27 and 40 MHz.   
      
   Dick Van Empelen, PA2GRU, of Heemstede in the Netherlands has since visited   
   the Datawell Company and has informed them that the buoy transmissions on   
   the amateur service 10 meter band are illegal. The operations chief   
   promised to inform all Datawell offices about the situation. (IARU-R1)   
      
   **   
      
   BREAKING NEWS: PLANNED MALI DXPEDITION ON HOLD DUE TO POLITICAL UNREST   
      
   Some breaking news in the world of DX. This with word that political unrest   
   has led to a planned DX operation to Mali being put on indefinite hold.   
      
   Two weeks ago members of the "Italian Dxpedition Team" announced that they   
   were planning to be active as TZ5T from Mali between April 12th to the 27th.   
   However, their Pilot station Art Lorenzo, IK7JWY, has now issued a   
   statement that the situation of civil war in Mali between the government and   
   Tuareg insurgents is worsening. Because of this and other concerns Mali   
   authorities will not issue licenses to radio amateurs who may be targeted   
   because of radio equipment.   
      
   For this reason the DXpedition has been postponed until a yet to be   
   determined later date. For updates please check in regularly at www (dot)   
   i2ysb (dot) com on the World-Wide-Web. And we will have more DX news later   
   on in this weeks report. (OPDX)   
      
   **   
      
   BREAK 1   
      
   From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard   
   on bulletin stations around the world including the Echo Repeater System   
   serving Mt. Prospect Illinois.   
      
   (5 sec pause here)   
      
   **   
      
   PROPAGATION: YET ANOTHER CME HEADS TOWARD EARTH   
      
   Spaceweather reports that the sun has again erupted in a way that will likely   
   affect radio propagation here on Earth for several days. Especially on the   
   High Frequency bands. We have more in this report:   
      
   --   
      
   Sunspot AR1429 unleashed another strong flare on March 13th. The category M   
   7.9 explosion produced a significant Coronal Mass Ejection or CME that solar   
   forecasters predicted would reach Earth at 06:20 UTC, plus or minus 7 hours,   
   on March 15th and whose effects on propagation could last for several days.   
      
      
   As a result, geomagnetic storms are possible when the charged cloud arrives   
   that could produce auroral displays in the Northern-most latitudes. This in   
   turn could lead to aurora propagation at 50 Mhz and above.   
      
   Ironically, a bright comet is at the same time diving into the sun. The   
   comet was recently discovered NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory SWAN   
   instrument. As such its been named "Comet SWAN."   
      
   The comet's death plunge or "swan dive" as some astronomers are calling it   
   comes just as the sun has unleashed the strong flare. Because of this some   
   of the SOHO images of the comet are confused to some degree by energetic   
   protons striking the camera's imaging sensor.   
      
   For the amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, in the Newsroom   
   in Los Angeles.   
      
   --   
      
   For updates on this and other solar activity we suggest that you check   
   spaceweather.com for the latest information. (Spaceweather, Space.com)   
      
   **   
      
   ENFORCEMENT: FCC AFFIRMS $25000 FINE FOR UNLICENSED SAN JOSE CA FM BROADCAST   
   OPERATIONS   
      
   The FCC has affirmed a $25,000 Notice of Apparent Liability issued to Gabriel   
   A. Garcia of San Jose, California. This for a 2010 series of unlicensed   
   radio transmissions heard on 92.9 MHz, 93.7 and 104.3 MHz all traced to   
   Garcia residences.   
      
   Garcia was issued four notices of unlicensed operation from the FCC before   
   being issued the proposed fine in 2011. The base penalty in such cases is   
   $10,000 but the agency has said that Garcia operated on multiple   
   frequencies, on multiple occasions, and called his behavior particularly   
   egregious. This because his transmissions allegedly interfered with the   
   Aviation Radio Services band.   
      
   Garcia never responded to the proposed fine. Having not heard an appeal from   
   him since issuing the NAL last March, the FCC now has finalized the $25,000   
   fine and given him the customary 30 days to pay. If he fails to do so the   
   case may be referred to the Department of Justice for collection. (FCC)   
      
   **   
      
   COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATION: FREQUENCY COORDINATION FOR 2012 POLITICAL   
   CONVENTIONS COMMITTEE FORMED   
      
   Broadcast engineers have formed a committee to coordinate spectrum use at the   
   Democratic and Republican conventions this summer. According to member Ray   
   Benedict PolComm 2012 was formed in an effort to head off radio and TV   
   personnel who may show up at the conventions and then try to use their   
   wireless mics and two-way radios without first going through the frequency   
   coordination process.   
      
   The Republican convention is Aug. 27th to the 30th in Tampa, Florida and the   
   Democratic convention is September 3rd to the 6th in Charlotte, North   
   Carolina. The committee says that it will seek a temporary rules waiver to   
   allow TV Channels 14, 16 and 17 to be used as communication channels in   
   Tampa and TV Channels 14, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 in Charlotte.   
      
   Broadcast engineering consultant Louis Libin is the PolComm 2012 chairman.   
   Libin has chaired frequency coordination committees for past seven national   
   political conventions. (RW)   
      
   **   
      
   NEW PRODUCTS: THE TALENT POD FROM HENRY ENGINEERING   
      
   A fascinating new piece of merchandise has come along that while not meant   
   for ham radio, deserves a mention.   
      
   Henry Engineering, the California-based company owned by Hank Landsberg,   
   WB6MEU, has come out with a broadcast product that could also be of interest   
   to contesters, DX'ers as well as dedicated multi-operator stations such as   
   during Field Day. Called the Talent Pod, the unit is a desktop local host   
   controller for microphones and headphones that the company says solves audio   
   problems often encountered when doing remote broadcasts.   
      
   Talent Pod is a mini-console made for use by an announcer. It gives that   
   person full control of his or her mic and headphones. It lets the announcer   
   turn the mic on and off and create a mix of local and return audio in the   
   headphones. The mic button is illuminated and is visible in outdoor   
   settings. A cough button momentarily mutes mic audio.   
      
   There are also two separate inputs for local and return audio, with a volume   
   control for each. The operator can control the volume level and mix of the   
   headphone audio.   
      
   To prevent confusion between the local and return audio, Talent Pod also has   
   two pan switches, so the announcer can independently position the local and   
   return audio in the center, left or right channel of the headphones.   
      
   As most hams involved in contesting and multi-op DXing will note, all of   
   these functions could easily be adapted to use in an amateur radio multi   
   operator station environment. All it takes is a bit of imagination. More   
   information on the Talent Pod is on line at www.henryeng.com. (RW)   
      
   **   
      
   HAM RADIO HONORS: ARRL OPENS NOMINATIONS FOR SEVERAL AWARDS   
      
   The nomination period is now open for a number of ARRL awards that are   
   designed to recognize educational and technological pursuits in Amateur   
   Radio, as well as an award to honor a young Amateur Radio operator. These   
   include the Herb S. Brier Instructor of the Year Award for educators and the   
   Hiram Percy Maxim Award is for a licensed radio amateur under age 21 to name   
   only two. In all there are a half a dozen awards this year. For more   
   information take your web browser to tinyurl.com/arrl-awards-2012 or contact   
   Steve Ewald, by e-mail to wv1x (at) arrl (dot) org. (ARRL)   
      
   **   
      
   HAM HAPPENINGS: INTERNATIONAL MUSEUMS WEEKEND REGISTRATION NOW OPEN   
      
   The International Museums Weekend special event operations will take place on   
   the weekends of June 16th through the 17th and again on June 23rd and 24th.   
   Radio amateurs are encouraged to participate in this event by setting up   
   stations in their local museums.   
      
   The International Museums Weekend organizer Harry Bloomfield, M1BYT in Leeds   
   in the U-K. He asks that all those intending to take part in the event to   
   register their museum operation at www.ukradioamateur.co.uk/imw.   
      
   This is not only a fun event but one that permits you to showcase amateur   
   radio to non-hams world wide. (WIA News)   
      
   **   
      
   HAM HAPPENINGS: CELEBRATING THE MORSE CODE   
      
   New York's QSY Society Amateur Radio Club will be hosting a special event   
   station at the Samuel F. B. Morse Estate at Locust Grove in the city of   
   Poughkeepsie. This in celebration of his creation of the Morse Code in   
   1832. The operation will run from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight   
   Time on Saturday April 14th using the special event callsign K2QS.   
   Transmissions will be centered on 7.034 on 40 meters and 14.034 MHz on 20.   
   Hams making contact with K2QS will be eligible for a special commutative QSL   
   card. QSL requests go to David Ruth at 48 Hoof Print Road, Millbrook, New   
   York, 12545. ((KB2VJP)   
      
   **   
      
   NAMES IN THE NEWS: STEVE FLETCHER G4RFC NAMED RSGB OLYMPIC FACILITATOR   
      
   Some names in the news. The Radio Society of Great Britain has announced   
   that Steve Fletcher, G4RFC, has been appointed as the U-K national society's   
   Olympic Facilitator. According to a press release, Fletcher will be drawing   
   together all the information on radio amateur special events associated with   
   the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games in the UK. S As such he wants to   
   hear about any individual plans so the RSGB website can show who is doing   
   what, when and where. Fletcher can be reached by e-mail to g4rfcinfo (at)   
   yahoo (dot) co (dot)uk. (GB2RS)   
      
   **   
      
   NAMES IN THE NEWS: G6LVB TO SPEAK AT AMSAT-NA - TAPR HAMVENTION BANQUET   
      
   Howard Long, G6LVB will be the featured speaker at the 2012 AMSAT/TAPR   
   Hamvention Banquet on Friday night, May 18th in Dayton, Ohio. Long will be   
   talking about his FUNcube Dongle and the 64 to 1700 MHz Software Defined   
   Receiver. Banquet tickets will not be sold at the AMSAT booth during the   
   Hamvention therefore reservations must be made ahead of time through the   
   AMSAT Store. Its located in cyberspace at tinyurl.com/amsat-na-store.   
   Tickets are priced at $30 each. (ANS)   
      
   **   
      
   NAMES IN THE NEWS: K9EID UK AUDIO TALK POSTED TO YOUTUBE   
      
   And a talk about improving audio on the ham radio bands given by Bob Heil,   
   K9EID, has been posted on-line by M3XYP. Recorded at the United Kingdom   
   2011 National Hamfest, the video is in five parts and can be found at   
   www.youtube.com/user/m3xypsar/videos (M3XYP)   
      
   **   
      
   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)   
      
   **   
      
   THE CHANGING OF THE GUARD: PACIFIC DXER RON WRIGHT ZL1AMO - S.K.   
      
   Another of those sad changing of the guard moments. This with word that the   
   ham radio community has lost legendary Pacific DX'er and DXpeditioner Ron   
   Wright, ZL1AMO.   
      
   Word went out two weeks ago that Wright had been admitted to the North Shore   
   Hospital in New Zealand because of a collapsed lung but recovered. The last   
   medical update noted that ZL1AMO was in stable condition.   
      
   According to reports, Wright was still in the hospital at the time of his   
   death on March 6th. Services for ZL1AMO were to be held at the Morrison   
   Fuenral Home in Henderson, New Zealand on Saturday March 10th. At the time   
   of his passing Ron Wright, ZL1AMO, was age of 75. (OPDX, NZ Herald)   
      
   **   
      
   HAM RADIO IN SPACE: CALL FOR SPEAKERS AT 2012 AMSAT UK SPACE COLLOQUIUM   
      
   A call has gone out for speakers for the AMSAT-UK 2012 International Space   
   Colloquium. This years gathering will take on the weekend of September 15th   
   to the 16th at the Holiday Inn, Guildford, England. Also being sought are   
   papers for subsequent publishing on the AMSAT-UK web site.   
      
   Submissions should be sent via e-mail to david dot johnson at blackpepper dot   
   co dot uk or to the postal address for G4DPZ found on QRZ dot com. More   
   information on this event is on-line at www (dot) uk (dot) amsat (dot)   
   org/colloquium/twelve.   
      
   This years Colloquium will take place only a few weeks prior to the planned   
   launch of AMSAT-UK's FUNcube-1 ham radio satellite. (AMSAT-UK)   
      
   **   
      
   HAM RADIO IN SPACE: AMATEUR RADIO SATELLITE COORDINATION FORMS REVISED   
      
   Hans van de Groenendaal, ZS6AKV, reports that the Amateur Satellite Frequency   
   Coordination request form has been updated and is available for download   
   from www.iaru.org/satellite. Also on the IARU satellite web page are a   
   number of guideline documents which will assist satellite builders,   
   including a document on the ITU requirements for amateur radio satellites.   
   ZS6AKV is the IARU Satellite Advisor. (ZS6AKV)   
      
   **   
      
   HAM RADIO IN SPACE: AMSAT-NA RECEIVES OKJ TO RE-DISTRIBUTE KEPS   
      
   AMSAT's Ray Hoad, WA5QGD has announced that the organizations request to   
   re-distribute US Air Force Space Command Keplerian elements from SpaceTrack   
   has been approved for the period April 1, 2012 to April 1, 2013. AMSAT's   
   request to distribute the orbital element data was approved on March 1st.   
   (ANS, WA5QGD)   
      
   **   
      
   WORLDBEAT: RNW MEDIA NETWORK WEBLOG TO END MARCH 22   
      
   The Radio Netherlands Media Network Weblog will be closing for good at the   
   end of the winter shortwave broadcast season on Saturday March 24th. This   
   as the result of a new mandate by the the Holland-based broadcaster that   
   effective on January 1, 2013, it will no longer be possible to provide   
   coverage of international media news.   
      
   The Weblog is written and edited by Andy Sennitt and contains over 15,000   
   media news items published since October 2003. Sennitt says that it will   
   remain online as a searchable archive. To prevent spam, it will no longer   
   be possible to add comments, but the nearly 14,000 comments already received   
   will still be available for viewing.   
      
   The last Media Network newsletter will be e-mailed to subscribers on March   
   22nd. (Media Network)   
      
   **   
      
   WORLDBEAT: GREECE TURNS OFF 11 MEDIUM WAVE TRANSMITTERS   
      
   The Administrative Board of the Greek Public Broadcaster has ordered the   
   switch-off of eleven medium wave transmitters. This as a result of new   
   austerity measures due to the financial situation being faced by that   
   European nation. This leaves only nine medium wave transmitters with their   
   respective Greek Public Radio programs in operation. The action was adopted   
   by the Administrative Board after a meeting on February 17th.   
   (GreekRadio.com)   
      
   **   
      
   RADIOSPORT: 2012 CQIR CONTEST CELECRATES IRTS 80TH ANNIVERSARY   
      
   From the radiosports file, word that the CQIR contest is taking place at not   
   long after this newscast goes to air. That being from mid-day on Saturday   
   March 17th to mid-day on the 18th.   
      
   This years contest will be the international showpiece event for the Irish   
   Radio Transmitters Society`s 80th anniversary celebration. Paul O'Kane,   
   EI5DI, advises that his contest logger will be free and unrestricted for the   
   contest. Also that his SD may be downloaded from ei5di.com.   
      
   CQIR entrants should be aware that the Russian DX contest overlaps with it.   
   You can easily tell the difference between the two in that Russian stations   
   will send a 2 character district code instead of a serial report as used in   
   the CQIR competition.   
      
   Full rules for the CQIR contest are available on-line at www.irts.ie. (IRTS)   
      
   **   
      
   DX   
      
   2E1EUB, will once again be active as from Eastern Scotland as 2M1EUB for 7   
   days beginning March 24th. He will be located in the Cairngorms National   
   Park operating on 160 and 80 meters and several ham satellites. QSL as   
   directed under 2M1EUB on QRZ.com.   
      
   The current XW1A and XWØZJZ operations from Laos have been approved for   
   DXCC credit. Bill Moore, NC1L, who heads up the DXCC Desk at ARRL   
   headquarters made the approval official on Tuesday, March 13th.   
      
   EI7CC will be on the air from Lesotho as 7P8PB through April 3rd. Activity   
   will be holiday style and he will operate when circumstances permit. QSL via   
   EI7CC, either direct or via the bureau. Logs will be uploaded to Logbook of   
   the World immediately after his return to Ireland.   
      
   A large group from Germany and Poland plan to be active from the Pacific   
   island of Tonga until March 24th. They are using the callsign is A35YZ. QSL   
   via DL7DF.   
      
   Down the road a bit comes word that DK9FN will once again return to Temotu   
   Province be active as H40FN between this December 22nd and January 7th of   
   2013. QSL H40FN via HA8DD. More details will be forthcoming.   
      
   Lastly comes news that F4CYZ will be operational from Morocco as CN2YZ   
   through years end. His activity will be from the city of Tangier and   
   especially on the weekends. The Mediterraneo DX Club is supporting his   
   activities and is also providing a Web site with a log-check. Its in   
   cyberspace at www.mdxc.org/cn2yz.   
      
   (Above from various DX news sources)   
      
   **   
      
   THAT FINAL ITEM: BILL BEFORE CONGRESS TO LET ASTRONAUTS KEEP SPACE SOUVENIRS   
      
   And finally this week, a dispute between NASA and some former astronauts over   
   ownership of space artifacts has led to a bill in Congress that would give   
   the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astronauts "full ownership rights." This, to   
   items such as checklists and personal logs from their missions. Amateur   
   Radio Newsline's Don Wilbanks, AE5DW, has the rest of the story:   
      
   --   
      
   Known as H.R. 4158 the proposed legislation grows out of an effort last year   
   by Apollo 13 Commander Jim Lovell to sell the lunar module activation   
   checklist that had been used to convert the moon lander into a space   
   lifeboat on the periled 1970 Apollo 13 mission. The sale brought   
   record-setting $388,375 but it was put on hold after the National   
   Aeronautics and Space Administration demanded proof that the former   
   astronaut owned the item.   
      
   Now comes H.R. 4158 that was introduced by Representative Ralph Hall of   
   Texas. Hall is the chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology   
   Committee. He measures co-sponsor was Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson,   
   also of Texas. It has since amassed an additional fifteen co-sponsors.   
      
   In a letter to heir congressional colleagues the two key sponsors wrote that   
   the legislation would allow the first generation of astronauts to retain   
   spaceflight artifacts that have been in their possession. In many cases for   
   more than 40 years.   
      
   Under the proposed measure, astronauts from the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo   
   programs would be allowed to keep items such as personal logs and   
   checklists. The only thing off limits would be rock samples gathered on   
   those early lunar missions. The so-called =E2=80=9CMoon Rocks.=E2=80=9D   
      
   After meeting with Lovell and several other former astronauts last month,   
   NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said that these are American heroes. He   
   called them fellow astronauts and personal friends who have acted in good   
   faith. As such, Bolden says that they are committed to working together to   
   find the right policy and legal paths forward to address outstanding   
   ownership questions.   
      
   H.R. 4158 has bi-partisan support and is expected to make it all the way   
   through the Congressional rule making process.   
      
   For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Don Wilbanks, AE5DW, in New Orleans.   
      
   --   
      
   This was not the first time that NASA has challenged the sale by an astronaut   
   of a piece of space memorabilia. In 2010, NASA challenged Apollo 14   
   astronaut Edgar Mitchell's attempt to sell a camera he took to the moon.   
   Mitchell eventually agreed to donate the camera to the Smithsonian's   
   National Air and Space Museum. (collectspace.com; physorg.com, others)   
      
   **   
      
   NEWSCAST CLOSE   
      
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   For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors desk, I'm Jim Davis,   
   W2JKD, on Florida's Sunshine Coast saying 73 and we thank you for listening.   
      
      
   Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.   
      
      
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   Thank you and good day!   
      
   -73-   
      
      
    * Origin: (1:3634/12)