Volume 16, Number 6 (February 7, 1997)

IN THIS EDITION:

AMATEUR RADIO GAINS GROUND IN LITTLE LEOS BATTLE

As the fight continues to prevent hams from having to share 2 meters and 70 cm with the Low-Earth-Orbiting satellite industry, changes favorable to Amateur Radio have been incorporated in a draft report that will eventually go to the FCC. While the Little LEO industry persists in its efforts to secure a foothold on both bands, it seems to have turned its sights away from 144 to 146 MHz in favor of 146 to 148-MHz, which is not an amateur allocation in Region 1. But, most significant was the addition of eight words--at the ARRL's request--to a draft report section dealing with sharing with the Amateur Radio: "Any consideration of sharing would require further study." AMSAT supported the League in requesting the changes.

The latest draft also now states, "The diverse nature of the Amateur Service characteristics makes sharing difficult, but it has not yet been demonstrated to be impossible." The Informal Working Group-2A (IWG-2A) approved the changes at its January 21 meeting in Washington, DC. An earlier draft of the same section had called sharing "difficult, but not impossible" and claimed that studies had not considered certain sharing techniques discussed elsewhere in the report. The ARRL objected on the grounds that its study had taken some of the sharing techniques into account.

In this section of the report, the Little LEO industry also backed away from references that cited Resolution 640 (an ITU radio regulation that involves the use of specific bands on an emergency basis) as a way to leverage access to 430 to 440 MHz and 146 to 148 MHz in Regions 2 and 3, where that 2-meter band segment is an exclusive amateur allocation.

It's expected that when the FCC's WRC-97 Industry Advisory Committee (IAC) meets March 5, it will adopt the sharing section of the report (Section 4.12) as part of its report.

With the possible exception of 144 to 146 MHz, Amateur Radio still is not out of the woods, however. Another paper still under consideration in IWG-2A--submitted by a Little LEO consultant at the January 21 meeting--proposes little LEO sharing in several bands, including 146 to 148 and 430 to 450 MHz in those parts of the world where the Amateur Service is not primary (which, in the case of 430 to 450 MHz, includes the US), with provisions for emergency use elsewhere.

The ARRL objects to these proposals, noting that they are inconsistent with the report language that's already been agreed upon. The US Department of Defense objects to little LEO allocations at 430 to 450 MHz, where radiolocation (radar) is primary. Military radar and Amateur Radio operations have a long record of coexistence that would be upset by the introduction of a new satellite service.

Two Little LEO representatives on IWG-2A declined to lend their names to the most recent proposals, which were submitted in the names of CTA, E-SAT, Final Analysis, GE Starsys and VITA--all players in the Little LEO effort.

Any papers on which agreement cannot be reached within IWG-2A will not be included in the body of its report, but will be included in an annex along with opposing comments. At future IWG-2A meetings, the ARRL will continue to protest the inclusion in this paper of the 146 to 148 and 430 to 450-MHz bands.

YLRL FOUNDER ETHEL SMITH, K4LMB, SK

Ethel Smith, K4LMB, of McLean, Virginia--who inspired and helped found the Young Ladies Radio League (YLRL)--died February 5. She was 79. In accordance with her wishes, no services are scheduled.

A ham for more than 60 years, Smith--a Wenatchee, Washington, native--discovered "wireless" as a youngster and became licensed as W7FWB in 1936. A story in QST for May 1940 outlines how Smith's letter to QST encouraged other female hams to form their own organization, which became the YLRL in October 1939 (with Ethel Smith as its first president). Her stints with the Army and Navy during World War II led to an offer from the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC, in 1945 (she joined the Naval Reserve in 1950 and remained an active reservist for 10 years). Smith also participated in the formation of the Foundation for Amateur Radio (FAR) in 1957. Around that same time, she met and married the late John "Tex" De Bardeleben, W4TE (ex-W3CN), who was with the FCC. The couple set up housekeeping in Virginia, and she later served as the Virginia SEC (1966-69) and as an ARRL assistant director under four different Roanoke Division directors. Last August, six months after her 79th birthday, she celebrated her six decades in Amateur Radio by passing the Extra Class examination.

In addition to being a member of ARRL, Ethel Smith was a member of QCWA, served as its executive secretary and general manager in 1974-75, and was elected to the QCWA board of directors. Her other recognitions include: Ham of the Year, Washington, DC, Mobile Radio Club (1965); ARRL Roanoke Division Service Award (1972); Dayton Hamvention Special Achievement Award (1984); QCWA Roll of Honor (1987); Radio Club of America Fellow (1988); and Foundation for Amateur Radio Ham of the Year (1993).

In an article in last fall's QCWA Journal celebrating Smith's 60 years in the hobby, she was quoted as saying: "Amateur Radio is still the main focus of my life. It has brought me all the good things that ever happened to me. It gave me a challenging and rewarding career. It gave me a wonderful husband and the greatest collection of friends in the world--all over the world. I owe more to Amateur Radio than I can ever possibly repay." The quarterly featured a front-cover picture of Smith in her W7FWB shack. The QCWA has put $500 into its scholarship fund in memory of Ethel Smith.

ARRL Executive Vice President David Sumner, K1ZZ, expressed sorrow at Smith's passing, calling her "a leading light in the ham community." Sumner said that she "never stopped contributing, learning, and growing. I don't think it ever would have occurred to her that she should."

VANITY CALL SIGN PROCESSING STILL ON HOLD

Vanity call sign processing apparently will remain on hold for a while longer as the FCC's Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, office continues to deal with a backlog of vanity applications that required special handling--the so-called WIPS (work in process) stack. As of February 6, WIPS was backlogged to mid-November. An FCC spokesman said the FCC will process vanity applications received in December, January and February--in parts or all at once--after it has completed work on the WIPS backlog. The FCC has not processed any vanity call sign applications since mid-December, but some new call signs have trickled out over the past several weeks as the FCC resolved issues on WIPS applications. The last applications processed were received by the FCC prior to December 1, 1996.

Although vanity Gate 2 opened in late September, the program remains popular, and vanity call sign applications continue to pour into Gettysburg office. During January, Gettysburg got 945 applications, 479 on paper and 466 filed electronically.

The FCC has not said when Gate 3 will open.

HAM-ENTREPRENEUR GIVES $35 MILLION TO USC

California businessman Gordon S. Marshall, W6RR--who credits ham radio for sparking his interest in electronics--is donating $35 million to the University of Southern California's School of Business. Marshall, 77, graduated from USC after World War II service as a bomber pilot. Marshall founded Marshall Industries in El Monte, California, in the 1950s and went on to make his fortune as one of the country's largest distributors of electronic components. In recognition of Marshall's largesse, USC has renamed the business school after him. The donation is the second-largest ever made to USC. The school says some of the money will go toward new programs, including one that will send all 258 first-year MBA students to study abroad. --Los Angeles Times (tnx to Stanly Savage, W6ABN)

TUSCALOOSA TORNADO

Ham radio was a vital link when a tornado hit Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on January 24. The National Weather Service put out a call for radio amateurs to help relay storm reports. From the Mississippi border on the west to Georgia on the east, spotter groups throughout the state activated and filled various frequencies with emergency information. In central Alabama, large hail was widespread. Amateurs relayed dozens of reports of hail, up to golf-ball size. In West Alabama, a tornado slammed into Tuscaloosa shortly after 5 PM, killing one person and causing extensive damage. Hams stayed on the job from mid-afternoon until nearly midnight, running Skywarn nets and assisting with damage reports. Other hams helped with Red Cross disaster relief and emergency management operations. At one point, more than half a dozen Alabama counties were under tornado or severe thunderstorm warnings at the same time. Hams stayed on alert overnight to provide important information on the severe weather in the area. --Amateur Radio Newsline

HAMS USING APRS AND GPS ASKED TO CONTRIBUTE TO DGPS STUDY

Hams involved with APRS and GPS are being asked to contribute to a federal study into the benefits of establishing a national differential global positioning system (DGPS) radio beacon service. The US Coast Guard and the US Army Corps of Engineers already provide (or soon will provide) DGPS signals in coastal areas and along navigable waterways. Terrestrial DGPS signals--in the 285 to 325 kHz spectrum--complement satellite GPS data by increasing their accuracy. Ted Pugh of PB Farradyne Inc, which is studying the benefits and feasibility of setting up an inland DGPS system, wants to hear from the amateur community about its use of GPS and APRS in public safety applications, and how DGPS might help. "We are interested in any public benefit you or your organization might identify for such an undertaking--especially as it may relate to public safety or public betterment applications," said Pugh in a letter to ARRL HQ.

Pugh estimated that nationwide, no-cost DGPS service could be in place by 2001. Comments may be sent to John F. "Ted" Pugh at pught@farradyne.com.

SOLAR ACTIVITY UP A BIT

Solar forecaster Tad Cook, KT7H, in Seattle, Washington, reports: Solar activity rose a bit this week, but only slightly, with the solar flux above the 90 day average of 77 for three days. Average sunspot numbers were almost three times the average of the previous week.

Geomagnetic activity was slightly lower. The geomagnetic field became disturbed a couple of days before this reporting period (on January 28) because of a high-speed solar windstream from a coronal hole on the Sun. This caused a geomagnetic storm, more pronounced at higher latitudes, which resulted in the usual absorption of signals and poor conditions. There is a possibility for some slightly unsettled geomagnetic conditions over the next few days, and again, but a bit more severe around February 22-24. Solar flux is expected to drop down to the lower or mid-70s until February 21, when it is expected to rise again, going above 80 after March 1.

Sunspot numbers for January 30 through February 5 were 15, 13, 14, 36, 45, 44 and 33, respectively, with a mean of 28.6. The 10.7-cm flux was 73.6, 72.4, 71.3, 78.4, 79.6, 80.7 and 75.3, respectively, with a mean of 75.9. Estimated planetary A indices for the same period were 11, 8, 6, 10, 7, 5, and 7, respectively, with a mean of 7.7.

Here are a couple of path projections for this week, from California to Japan and from Ohio to Europe. From California to Japan, check 80 meters from 0730 to 1530 UTC, 40 meters from 0630 to 1700 UTC, 30 meters around 0430, 1230, and 1600 to 1900 UTC, and 20 meters from 2200 to 0130 UTC. The 17-meter band should be good from 2230 to 0030 UTC, and 15 meters around 2300 UTC. From Ohio to Europe, check 80 meters from 2200 to 0800 UTC, 40 meters from 2100 to 0100 UTC and from 0530 to 0900 UTC, 30 meters from 1400 to 1830 UTC and around 2000 UTC, and 20 meters from 1530 to 1730 UTC.

In Brief:

  • This weekend on the radio: North American Sprint, CW, 0000 to 0400 UTC February 9; QCWA Golden Anniversary QSO Party, 1400 UTC February 8 to 0600 UTC February 10; IDRA World Wide RTTY WPX Contest, 0000 February 8 to 2400 UTC February 9. See February QST, page 103 for details.

  • Idaho hams help flood victims: Fruitland, Idaho, police officer Stephanie Steele, KC7DBA, directed traffic in Payette, Idaho, January 11, but not for the reasons that usually place her in that role. This time, Steele--the president of Treasure Valley Radio Association in Fruitland--was directing a line of pickup trucks into position on a recently flooded street, where she and other hams had gathered to help clean up the homes of flood victims--among them, club members Jim and Leora Johnson, W7TYG and KB7WFI, respectively, and Lewis Moberly, N7IFE. Steele conceived and directed the work party, which involved some two dozen ham volunteers. Flooding of the Payette River ravaged several neighborhoods during early January. --Treasure Valley Radio Association

  • Copy this weak signal and WIN $100! A nonham has become the first winner of the Mike Cook, AF9Y, weak-signal challenge. Gary Huntress, an electrical engineer at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport, Rhode Island, deciphered the call sign of the very weak EME signal calling AF9Y from a 60-second .wav file that Cook has had posted on his Web page, http://www.webcom.com/af9y/ for the past couple of years. In addition to the $100 prize, Huntress also got a free copy of Cook's FFTDSP42 program. Huntress has agreed to keep the identity of the calling station a mystery so the contest can continue. Cook says he'll award another $100 to the second successful identification of the station.

  • Ham named to board: President Clinton has named Alberto A. Sagues, KA4MTO, of Lutz, Florida, as a member of the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board. Sagues, 50, is a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of South Florida.

  • Au revoir, CW! French maritime radio authorities phased out the use of Morse code on January 31, after 93 years, in favor of newer technology. The US Coast Guard abandoned CW two years ago. --Press reports (tnx to George Chaet, W1RGH)

The ARRL Letter

The ARRL Letter is published by the American Radio Relay League, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111; tel 860-594-0200; fax 860-594-0259. Rodney J. Stafford, KB6ZV, President; David Sumner, K1ZZ, Executive Vice President.

Circulation, Kathy Capodicasa, N1GZO, e-mail kcapodicasa@arrl.org.

Editorial, Rick Lindquist, N1RL, e-mail elindquist@arrl.org.

Visit the ARRLWeb page at http://www.arrl.org.

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