Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1818 - June 15 2012   
      
   Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1818 with a release date of June 15,   
   2012 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.   
      
   The following is a Q-S-T. Hams in Colorado and New Mexico go on high alert   
   as wildfires rage in both states; new problems for a South African ham radio   
   satellite; Brunei says that it is cracking down unlicensed use of ham radio   
   gear; a verdict in the case of Greece vs. DJ6SI and ARRL Field Day 2012 is   
   right around the corner. Find out the details are on Amateur Radio Newsline   
   (tm) report number 1818 coming your way right now.   
      
      
   (Billboard Cart Here)   
      
      
   **   
      
   RESCUE RADIO: COLORADO AND NM HAMS STAND BY AS FLAMES RAGE   
      
   Ham radio operators in Colorado and New Mexico are on high alert as wildfires   
   whip across areas of both states. Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, is in the   
   newsroom with what we have so far:   
      
   --   
      
   Amateur radio emergency operators in Colorado and New Mexico are on standby   
   alert and a number are already involved in coordinated relief efforts as   
   wildfires rage across mainly wilderness areas of both states.   
      
   In Colorado, the best information came on Tuesday night the 12th from Amanda   
   Alden K1DDN. Alden and her husband Jeff, K0JSC, live in Carson City,   
   Colorado. She reported on the Ham Nation Internet TV show that hams further   
   North in the Ft. Collins area are very much involved in providing various   
   types of communications, with APRS markers for the fire areas being one of   
   the major resources.   
      
   Alden said that she has been in contact with Eugene Bentz, KI6MPA. He is the   
   EOC operator and resource net control. He told Alden that about 25   
   assistants are providing communications to the Forrest Service, the Colorado   
   State Patrol, the Larimer County Sheriff, the Red Cross as well as county   
   officials. Also, APRS information regarding fire locations is being posted   
   to both AGW Tracker and APRS.fi. The makers show fire locations as well as   
   EOC's, Incident Command Post and shelter markers. At the time of K1DDN's   
   report that fire was about 15 miles west of the city of Ft. Collins.   
      
   Moving south into New Mexico, Jay Miller, W5WHN, in Albuquerque has been in   
   monitoring the work of the hams involved in the Little Bear Fire that   
   erupted on Saturday the 9th. He tells Newsline that Joe Kenmore, K5FBK was   
   in the Lincoln County EOC when this blaze was first discovered. As this   
   newscast is prepared, Gerald Minor, N5RKE, is at the Shelter in Ruidoso and   
   Ed Meyer, WK7ED, is active at the shelter in Capitan.   
      
   Currently, the W5BI system at Rio Rancho has been linked receive only at this   
   time the 449.3 to 146.98 on Buck Mountain. This allows Albuquerque and   
   Santa Fe to talk directly to the affected area, if needed. Also the 146.66   
   MHz NM5ML repeater at Capitan has performed well linking back to all parts   
   of the State.   
      
   As we go to air, there has not yet been any mass call-out of hams in either   
   state, and hams involved in emergency communications groups were told on the   
   13th not to self deploy. But the word is to have their go kits ready and   
   to be ready to provide assistance as is needed.   
      
   More information as we get it.   
      
   For the amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, in the Newsroom   
   in Los Angeles. Jim.   
      
   --   
      
   According to fire officials it will be some time before these fires are   
   contained and controlled. We will have updates in future Amateur Radio   
   Newsline reports. (ARNewsline(tm), TWIT.TV, W5WHN)   
      
   **   
      
   HAM RADIO IN SPACE: BATTERIES FAIL ON SUMBABDILASAT   
      
   More problems for the South Africa built SumbabdilaSat ham radio satellite.   
   Amateur Radio Newsline's Norm Seeley, KI7UP, tells us the latest on the   
   seemingly problem prone bird:   
      
   --   
      
   South Africa Amsat reports that the satellites batteries on SumbandilaSat   
   have failed which means that the satellite is only active when the solar   
   panels are illuminated.   
      
   The report from SA-Amsat says that the satellite recovery team at SunSpace is   
   still incrementally reading back the program code from the nine power   
   modules. This, in an effort to determine the extent of the problem. But   
   with SumbandilaSat going through eclipses, the satellite is not available   
   for as long each day as the team would like.   
      
   According to Johann Lochner, ZR6CBC, because of the shorter illumination of   
   the solar panels in the Southern hemisphere winter and poor orientation of   
   the satellite with respect to the sun, progress is much slower than   
   originally anticipated. Lochner said that there where three passes to work   
   with in January but this month they currently have one.   
      
   That said, ZR6CBC says that SumbandilaSat is responding when it is in full   
   sunlight. As such, the recovery team is confident that some operations will   
   be restored. He says that it may even be possible to do some imaging and   
   have the amateur radio transponder back in operation. However, no one will   
   speculate as to when.   
      
   For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Norm Seeley, KI7UP, in Scottsdale,   
   Arizona.   
      
   --   
      
   Updates on the condition of SumbandillaSat can be found on-line at   
   www.amsatsa.org.za (SA AMSAT)   
      
   **   
      
   ENFORCEMENT: BRUNEI GOING AFTER UNLICENSED MOBILE OPERATORS   
      
   The Brunei government says that it is cracking down on anyone found operating   
   amateur radio gear without government authorization. Members of that   
   nation's citizenry who are convicted of illegal use of amateur radio   
   equipment without a license from the Authority for Info-communications   
   Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam or AITI will face a maximum fine of   
   10,000 Brunei dollars, up to three years imprisonment, or both.   
      
   This new anti pirate operating campaign appears aimed primarily at those   
   unlicensed individuals who use mobile gear on the VHF and UHF amateur bands.   
   It was announced by the AITI during a briefing on the first of several   
   joint operations with the Berakas Police to crack down on illegal use of   
   radio equipment. The operations involved a dedicated corps of sixteen   
   police personnel and seven AITI officials. (Borneo Bulletin)   
      
   **   
      
   RADIO LAW: DJ6SI VS. GREECE - THE COURT DECISION   
      
   A court decision in the case of DXer Baldur Drobnica, DJ6SI, who stood trial   
   last week in Greece on three charges involving his operation of an amateur   
   radio station on the vacation island of Kos. The three crimes he was   
   eventually charged with were conducting radio traffic without permission   
   from the Greek Government. Operating a transceiver that covered more   
   spectrum than just the ham radio bands permitted by Greece and his refusal   
   to surrender his equipment to the officer who investigated the incident.   
      
   According to a note posted to the Internet by his attorney, Drobnica was   
   acquitted on counts 1 and 2 after the court ruled that he was a properly   
   licensed radio amateur. However he was convicted on the third count of   
   refusing to surrender his equipment to the arresting officer.   
      
   No word of what penalties if any were imposed on the single count conviction.   
   However his lawyer is reported to already have filed an appeal on count   
   three and the court is expected to hold a separate trial on this issue at a   
   later date.   
      
   Please keep in mind that this report is based on multiple language   
   translations beginning in Greek with some of it electronic. As you all   
   know, the latter have been known to leave you wondering if the translation   
   is completely accurate. One report in translated English is on-line at   
   tinyurl.com/dj6si-verdict. (SV5BYR)   
      
   **   
      
   WORLDBEAT: RADIOSPORT FEDERATION OF AZBERAIJAN APPLIES FOR IARU MEMBERSHIP   
      
   The Federation of Radiosport of Azerbaijan has applied for International   
   Amateur Radio Union membership. The IARU Region 1 website reports that the   
   application has found to be in order and a proposal that organization be   
   elected as an IARU member has been put out to vote. Member Societies have   
   been requested to return their vote forms not later than November 1st. The   
   Federation of Radiosport of Azerbaijan was founded back in December of 2001.   
   (IARU Region 1)   
      
   **   
      
   BREAK 1   
      
   From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard   
   on bulletin stations around the world including the WB6VVV repeater serving   
   Lancaster, California.   
      
      
   (5 sec pause here)   
      
      
   **   
      
   HAM HAPPENINGS: POWER OUTAGE AFFECTS HAM-COM PLANO TEXAS   
      
   If you are old enough, you may remember 1970's Bobby Russel southern the folk   
   song titled The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia. Well this time it   
   wasn't a song and it took place in Texas when the lights and the air   
   conditioning went out at the Plano Center on Saturday, June 9th. This   
   during the annual Ham Com gathering. Chip Margelli, K7JA, of CQ Magazine   
   was there and gave a brief synopsis of what occurred:   
      
   --   
      
   K7JA: "Well, early in the afternoon the lights in the Plano center went out.   
   They had gone out the previous day and stayed off for about 30 seconds so   
   it was no big deal. But on Saturday they stayed off for quite a while and   
   folks that got onto the Internet to the Plano power company were told it   
   would be 4 hours that the power would be out. S a lot of exhibitors along   
   about 2 o'clock and 2:30 began packing up because it appears as if power was   
   not going to come back on. It came back at about 3:30 or 4 - somewhere in   
   there - but by then some of the crowd had gone. So it really was quite an   
   impact. The lights were bad enough but the lack of air conditioning really   
   impacted on everyones willingness to stay inside."   
      
   --   
      
   Unlike most ham radio shows that are full weekend events, Ham-Com is held   
   Friday and Saturday that closes both days at 6 p.m. local time. Even so,   
   K7JA says that it was "interesting" to have the lights come back on and   
   discover that many of the other exhibitors had already packed up and left.   
   Not to mention the attendees:   
      
   --   
      
   K7JA: "At the CQ booth we were quite fortunate because we were by an exit,   
   so there was a little bit of light there. We were doing `candle light   
   specials' to entice people to stop by our booth.   
      
   "But if was definitely a downer for everybody in the exhibit area. The   
   dealers and especially the manufacturers who'se radios are so dependant on   
   their displays. A lot of the transceiver manufacturers were just stopped   
   dead in the water because they couldn't get their displays to show off all   
   of the neat things that the radios could do."   
      
   --   
      
   At airtime the reason for the power failure has not been announced.   
   According to Chris Boone, WB5ITT, the outage appeared to affect only the   
   convention facility. In a e-mail to Newsline Boone said that all the stores   
   around the convention center were ok and the street lights still worked as   
   well. (ARNewsline(tm))   
      
   **   
      
   RADIO POLITICS: FCC ANNOUNCES TWO SPECTRUM-SHARING AGREEMENTS WITH MEXICO   
      
   A new spectrum sharing agreement between the United States and Mexico for the   
   800 Mhz and 1 point 9 Gigahertz bands has been negotiated by the FCC.   
      
   According to a June 11th press release by the FCC, the new 800 MHz Protocol   
   allots band segments between the United States and Mexico, specifies the   
   technical parameters for operation on these band segments within 68 miles of   
   the common border. It also creates a bi-national Task Force to support the   
   transition of incumbent operators along the border to the new allotment   
   plan.   
      
   The new protocol for 800 MHz replaces a previous agreement and paves the way   
   for completion of 800 MHz re-allocation or re-banding by U.S. public safety   
   and commercial licensees operating along the U.S.-Mexico border.   
      
   Higher up in frequency, a new protocol for the 1 point 9 Gigahertz band   
   allows the Sprint Nextel Corporation to deploy C-D-M-A service along the   
   border with Mexico. Sprint obtained access to the 1 point 9 Gigahertz band   
   in 2004. This, as compensation for vacating its spectrum holding in the   
   lower segment of the 800 MHz band in accordance with the rebanding project.   
      
   The FCC ordered re-banding will alleviate interference to public safety   
   licensees in the band caused by commercial cellular licensees. The relevant   
   documents are available on the International Bureau web site at   
   tinyurl.com/border-agreement. (FCC)   
      
   **   
      
   RADIO LAW: FCC RULES THAT STATE COURT CANNOT ORDER RADIO STATION LICENSE   
   TRANSFER   
      
   The FCC has ruled that a license issued by that agency cannot be used by a   
   local court to satisfy a debt.   
      
   In its finding the commission ruled that a court in Puerto Rico exceeded its   
   authority in ordering a broadcaster to turn over the license of WEGA-AM to   
   help satisfy a financial judgment.   
      
   The FCC had been asked to approve the involuntary assignment of the WEGA-AM   
   license to Carmelo Santiago Roman, owner of VI/MAN Broadcasting System   
   Corporation, This, after the local court ordered station owner A Radio Co.   
   to turn over cash, the license and other property to a court-appointed   
   holder pending a final court order in their financial dispute. Both sides   
   then presented arguments to the FCC explaining their legal views about the   
   involuntary license transfer.   
      
   Now in issuing a decision, Peter Doyle, who is Chief of the FCC's Media   
   Bureau's Audio Division, stated that his agency retains exclusive authority   
   to license broadcast stations. He noted that when a state court's decision   
   is contrary to commission policy, the commission is neither bound by the   
   state court order nor need take action to allow the order to be carried out.   
      
   Doyle continued that a license, unlike a station's physical assets, is not   
   subject to a mortgage, security interest, attachment or similar property   
   right. What's more, licenses are subject to the FCC's consent before any   
   transfer. As such the decision of the court in Puerto Rico to "attach" the   
   license of WEGA-AM is invalid from the outset. (FCC, RW)   
      
   **   
      
   HAM HAPPENINGS: RFINDER NOW FULLY SUPPORTS D-STAR LISTINGS   
      
   The world wide on-line repeater directory known as RFinder now supports   
   D-Star. This, as a direct result of its editorial staff attending the   
   D-Star forum at the recent Dayton.   
      
   According to a press release by the publication, it became apparent that   
   there was a lack of D-Star repeater locating options to the vastly growing   
   population of D-Star user base. As a result, as of May 24th RFinder fully   
   supports D- Star in the directory.   
      
   RFinder is available in the Apple App Store for iPhone and Android devices.   
   The web version can be found at www.rfinder.net (RFINDER)   
      
   **   
      
   HAM HAPPENINGS: INTERNATIONAL EME CONFERENCE TO BE HELD IN CAMBRIDGE ENGLAND   
      
   The 15th International Earth-Moon-Earth or EME conference will be held at   
   Churchill College, Cambridge, between 15 and 19 August. This is the first   
   time that this conference will be held in the United Kingdom and its   
   planners say that this will provide an opportunity to learn about this most   
   technically challenging aspect of the hobby.   
      
   The event will be hosted by the UK Microwave Group. In addition to   
   EME-specific lectures there will be presentations on radio astronomy and   
   deep space communications, as both these subjects have much in common with   
   EME.   
      
   Two Nobel Physics Laureates from the world of radio astronomy will be present   
   at the conference. Joe Taylor, K1JT, is a keen EME enthusiast and will be   
   presenting a paper on the MAP65 digital mode. His fellow-Laureate Professor   
   Antony Hewish is the speaker at the conference gala dinner on Saturday   
   August 18th.   
      
   All those wishing to attend must pre-register for this conference before   
   August 1st. Day passes and a range of accommodation packages from one to   
   four nights are available. See www.eme2012.com for full details. (Amsat-UK)   
      
   **   
      
   NAMES IN THE NEWS: DARA ANNOUNCES 2012 - 2013 LEADERSHIP   
      
   Some names in the news. The Dayton Amateur Radio Association, sends word from   
   Ron Moorefield, W8ILC, that Ron DuBon, N6JRL, has been re-elected as the   
   organizations President. This at the organizations meeting on Friday, June   
   1st.   
      
   Also retaining their seats on the DARA Board are Secretary Nancy Krodel,   
   KC8RMT; Treasurer Jon Thuermer, KB8SRQ; Senior Trustee Jerry Miller WD8QAI   
   and Junior Trustee Scott Meyers, AC8DE.   
      
   Others elected to the DARA board for 2013 are Vice Pesident Reuben Meeks,   
   W8GUC, Meeks had previously served as Dayton Amateur Radio Association   
   President back in 2001 and 2002. (W8ILC)   
      
   **   
      
   NAMES IN THE NEWS: TWO AWARDS CREATED TO HONOR THE LATE EUGENE ZIMMERMANN,   
   W3ZZ   
      
   To honor long-time VHF contester Eugene Zimmerman, W3ZZ, who became a Silent   
   Key on June 3, two new awards have been introduced for the ARRL June VHF   
   Contest in his memory.   
      
   First, the ARRL Contest Branch has renamed the plaque for the Overall Winner   
   for the Limited Multi-Operator the Gene Zimmerman, W3ZZ Memorial Plaque.   
   Zimmermann had been a very active as part of the K8GP team in this category.   
   At the same time the League issued a special thank you to Jeff Klein,   
   K1TEO, who graciously relinquished his long-time sponsorship of this plaque   
   to allow this to happen.   
      
   In addition, a new award has been created, thanks to Tim Duffy K3LR and Dave   
   Zeph, W9ZRX. The W3ZZ Rookie Award will be awarded to the top Single-Op,   
   Low Power score on a minimum of two bands by a "rookie" submitting a log in   
   the contest for the first time. This award is open to any operator that has   
   never submitted a log to the June VHF Contest.   
      
   Both of these awards were made available beginning with last weekend's ARRL   
   June VHF Contest. (KX9X, ARRL, VHF Reflector)   
      
   **   
      
      
   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)   
      
   **   
      
   HAM HAPPENINGS: ARRL FIELD DAY - JUNE 23 AND 24   
      
   For those few who are not yet aware, the annual ARRL Field Day takes place   
   each year on the 4th weekend of June. This year the Field Day starts at   
   1800 UTC on Saturday, June 23rd and runs through 2100 UTC on Sunday June   
   24th. And while its billed as an emergency preparedness exercise, its also   
   a great chance for you to tell the world about your hobby and the service it   
   provides to the community. Allen Pitts, W1AGP, is the Manager of Media and   
   Public Relations for the ARRL:   
      
   --   
      
   W1AGP: "Its also a chance for us to show off to various legislators and   
   government agencies to remind them that we are here; that we need the   
   spectrum. We provide emergency services and most of all, we have fun doing   
   it."   
      
   --   
      
   Again, these years ARRL Field Day takes place from 1800 UTC on Saturday, June   
   23rd and runs through 2100 UTC on Sunday June 24th. We hope to hear you on   
   the air. (ARNewsline(tm))   
      
   **   
      
   RADIOSPORTS: AUSTRALIA VHF-UHF FIELD DAY JUNE 23-24   
      
   Meantime, down-under Australia's Winter VHF-UHF Field Day will be held over   
   the same weekend of June 23 and 24. The event runs for 24 hours, but there   
   are also 8 hour sections for operators who may not be able to camp   
   overnight. There are also separate categories for single and multiple   
   operator stations. And if you don't like the cold weather of the Southern   
   hemisphere winter, there is also a separate home station category. More   
   details are on the contest page at wia.org.au (VK3KM)   
      
   **   
      
   HAM RADIO IN SPACE: PHONESATS SHOWN AT MAY MAKER FAIRE   
      
   Turning to ham radio in space related news, some new amateur radio satellites   
   based on cellphones were recently shown to the public at the 2012 Bay Area   
   Maker Faire in San Mateo, California. Amateur Radio Newsline's Skeeter   
   Nash, N5ASH, reports:   
      
   --   
      
   Among the displays was one for the PhoneSat amateur radio satellites. These   
   are a pair of ham radio satellites both of which run the Android operating   
   system and will be enclosed in a standard 1U CubeSat structure.   
      
   PhoneSat 1.0 cost about $3500 and is built around the Nexus One smartphone.   
   It will operate on battery power only with a mission lifetime of approx 1   
   week. Its big brother called PhoneSat 2.0 used a Nexus S smartphone and has   
   solar panels on each face for a mission lifetime that should last at least   
   two weeks when it will likely de-orbit.   
      
   The IARU has coordinated a frequency of 437.425 MHz for the AX.25 AFSK   
   downlink.   
      
   The first launch is scheduled for the third quarter of 2012 on the   
   Antares-110 launch vehicle. It will carry two PhoneSat 1.0 satellites and   
   one PhoneSat 2.0. A second PhoneSat launch is expected to occur sometime in   
   2013.   
      
   --   
   The 2012 Bay Area Maker Faire took place May 19th to the 20th. Several news   
   reports estimate that 65,000 to 70,000 attended this ever growing West Coast   
   event that was held the same weekend as the Dayton Hamvention. (Phonesat   
   Team)   
      
   **   
      
   HAM RADIO IN SPACE: ARISS DIGIPETER MOVES TO 437.550 MHZ   
      
   The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station or ARISS digipeater has   
   changed frequency from 145.825 MHz to 437.550 MHz. Packet operations were   
   moved to the Columbus Module UHF radio when the Kenwood D700 radio was   
   recently powered off due to needing an additional air purifier to support   
   the recently arrived Automated Transfer Vehicle or ATV.   
      
   Normally the air purifier is located in the ATV but recent power support   
   issues necessitated the system be relocated to the Service Module. As a   
   result the purifier is now using the power outlet that the Kenwood radio   
   normally uses.   
      
   The Russian team has agreed to briefly power the purifier off for the   
   scheduled ARISS school events but then will re-activate the purifier right   
   afterwards. This appears to be a long term impact as ATV is currently   
   scheduled to depart from ISS in September. (ARISS, AMSAT, N5VHO)   
      
   **   
      
   RADIO IN SPACE: NASA SCRAPS GEMS X-RAY RESEARCH TELESCOPE PROJECT   
      
   According to space.com, NASA has cancelled a project to build an X-ray   
   telescope designed to look for black holes, neutron stars, and the remnants   
   of dead star systems and radio the results back to Earth. This due to cost   
   overruns.   
      
   The GEMS telescope, short for Gravity and Extreme Magnetism Small Explorer,   
   had a budget of $105 million plus additional costs associated with launching   
   it into space. But what have been termed as soaring development costs   
   caused NASA to scrap the project.   
      
   The telescope was reportedly still in the design stage and no hardware had   
   been built when the space agency pulled the plug on the mission.   
   (Space)   
      
   **   
      
   HAM HAPPENINGS: EFC 2012 ON THE AIR.   
      
   On the air keep your ears open for numerous special event stations from the   
   Ukraine and Poland to be active during the 2012 European Football   
   Championship 2012 that runs through July 5th. This is an on-the-air   
   activity by Polish and Ukrainian amateurs that are affiliated with PZK and   
   UARL national societies and will use special prefixes such as 3Z2012 from   
   Poland and EM2012 from the Ukraine to mention only two. Operations will be   
   on all the amateur bands and there are two awards which can be earned during   
   this period. More detailed information about their activities can be found   
   on the web at efc2012.pzk.org.pl. (Southgate)   
      
   **   
      
   DX   
      
   In DX, word that F4EBT will be traveling in the French Polynesia area of the   
   Pacific until 24th June. He is using the callsign FO stroke F4EBT from at   
   least two different locations in the Islands on the Air OC-046 group and at   
   least four different islands in the OC-067 group. QSLs go via his home call   
   or via the French bureau.   
      
   NK8O is working at Mwanza on Lake Victoria, Tanzania and plans to be active   
   as 5H3CP through June 22nd. Activity will be in his spare time with QRP   
   power on various HF bands using CW. QSL direct to his home call.   
      
   Lastly, M0AEP under the call VP2MDD will be on the air from Montserrat until   
   August 6th. He says that he will concentrate on 12, 10 and 6 meters. Please   
   QSL this operation as directed on the air.   
      
   (Above from various DX news sources)   
      
   **   
      
   THAT FINAL ITEM: SHORTWAVE NEWS: WASHINGTON DC GATHERING FINDS NEW   
   INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING INITIATIVES   
      
   And finally this week, a large number of the presentations at the recent   
   National Association of Shortwave Broadcasters meeting centered on the idea   
   how shortwave radio can find a place in the 21st century. Amateur Radio   
   Newsline's Heather Butera-Howell, KB3TZD, has the details:   
      
   --   
      
   Dismissed by some as a relic of the Cold War era disappearing under the   
   shadow of emerging digital communications, many of the conference's speakers   
   argued that the answer to shortwave's future may reside in providing service   
   to areas of the world with little electric power. Also, that it remains an   
   effective means of relaying information to citizens of countries with   
   repressive regimes. It was noted that because shortwave radio is harder to   
   interrupt than the Internet, Radio Free Asia, the conference host,   
   broadcasts to the highly censored areas like North Korea.   
      
   Presenting the results of a study on which audiences were tuning into   
   shortwave across the globe was Dr. Kim Andrew Elliott. Elliott is an   
   audience research specialist. He pointed out that in countries like Nigeria   
   and Zimbabwe, people tended to own more radios than televisions. According   
   to Elliott. 32% of those surveyed face to face in the impoverished,   
   politically tumultuous nation of Zimbabwe said that they own shortwave   
   radios,   
      
   Another presenter was Thomas Witherspoon, who founded Ears to Our World.   
   This is a U-S based non-profit organization that supplies shortwave radios   
   to developing, conflict-riddled nations like South Sudan. Witherspoon said   
   he is skeptical when people dismiss shortwave radio's future on premises   
   like the Internet is everywhere.   
      
   Witherspoon says that we can look at the reasons why radio is on the decline,   
   or instead the ways we can invest in shortwave radio and why we should do   
   that. He says that it's affordable, and broadcasters are doing it pretty   
   efficiently.   
      
   One of the conference's attendees was Shahnaz Ghavami of the United States   
   FCC. She said that after that after spending the day with the international   
   broadcasters it makes you think about shortwave as something new.   
      
   For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Heater Butera-Howell, KB3TZD, in Berwick,   
   Pennsylvania.   
      
   --   
      
   The National Association of Shortwave Broadcasters meeting was held May 10th   
   and 11th in Washington, D.C. (RW, B&C, others)   
      
   **   
      
   NEWSCAST CLOSE   
      
   With thanks to Alan Labs, AMSAT, the ARRL, the CGC Communicator, CQ Magazine,   
   the FCC, the Ohio Penn DX Bulletin, Radio Netherlands, Rain, the RSGB, the   
   Southgate News and Australia's W-I-A News, that's all from the Amateur Radio   
   Newsline(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 Davis,   
   W2JKD, saying 73 and we thank you for listening.   
      
   Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2012. 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   
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   Thank you and good day!   
      
   -73-   
      
      
    * Origin: (1:3634/12)