Volume 16, Number 28 (July 11, 1997)

Address Changes: Kathy Capodicasa, N1GZO, e-mail kcapodicasa@arrl.org.

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

IN THIS EDITION:

MIR, SHUTTLE QSO VIA HAM RADIO!

Ham radio has served as a convenient "chat" medium between the US space shuttle Columbia and the troubled Russian Mir space station in recent days. Last weekend, shuttle Commander Jim Halsell, KC5RNI, had two short, direct contacts on 2 meters with fellow astronaut Mike Foale, KB5UAC, aboard Mir. The first ship-to-ship SAREX/MIREX contact happened Saturday, July 5, at 1202 UTC during a Mir/Columbia "conjunction" over the Indian Ocean when the two spacecraft were only some 50 nautical miles apart. The contact lasted less than a minute. A little while later, with both spacecraft over the Pacific Ocean at 1336 UTC, another 30-45 second contact took place, according to Will Marchant, KC6ROL, of AMSAT. Marchant said the shuttle crew could hear Mir a lot longer than Foale could copy the shuttle's signal -- due to Mir's superior antenna and higher power. "The shuttle crew was pretty excited about their contact," Marchant said. Shuttle Pilot Susan Still reported observing Mir through binoculars while the ham radio contact was underway.

But the best QSO was yet to come. On Tuesday, July 8, 1900 UTC, Foale contacted the Johnson Space Center Amateur Radio Club station W5RRR, and, using a phone patch, the club patched through NASA's communications circuits to the space shuttle, enabling Foale to speak at length with the Columbia crew. During the ten-minute contact, Foale filled in his fellow astronauts about the situation aboard Mir, where a Progress supply rocket had just successfully been docked.

"We'd like to invite you to visit Mir," Foale said to the shuttle crew, which respectfully declined. Foale said the arrival of the Progress was "almost like Christmas." He said his personal items still in the damaged Spektr module had been replaced, along with a videocassette player. Foale told Halsell the Mir crew enjoys watching American movies when they have the time. He also told his fellow astronauts aboard the Columbia that he had not had a chance to see any of the pictures from the Mars Pathfinder mission as yet.

Foale said the Progress carried tea, coffee, chocolate and even fresh food, something that made the shuttle crew envious since they had long since consumed all of their fresh food. Janice Voss, KC5BTK, who flew with Foale on the STS-63 Mir rendezvous mission, said the two space programs were so intertwined that she had a package of Russian corn aboard the shuttle. Foale replied that the tea which he had just drunk (the first hot tea in a while) was the typical instant tea that's part of the shuttle's pantry.

During the contact, Mir passed from northwest to southeast, and Foale reported looking out of the flight engineer's window and seeing Florida. The shuttle was approximately 1000 miles further west. During a communication "handover" break, fellow astronaut and capcom Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, got a chance to exchange a few words with Foale. Foale also talked to astronaut Mike Gernhardt and gave Mir flight engineer Sasha Lazutkin the opportunity to talk to the shuttle crew.

NASA TV has aired segments of the Mir/shuttle conversation. Other Columbia-Mir conjunctions will be possible through the mission but whether another contact is attempted depends on the Columbia and Mir work schedules.

In a separate conversation via normal NASA communication channels, Foale told NASA chief Dan Goldin that he felt spoiled by the good communication with his family that ham radio has made possible. "Mike was really thankful for having ham radio onboard -- he enjoys talking with everyone," said SAREX Principal Investigator Matt Bordelon, KC5BTL, who was on hand at the time.

Meanwhile, the MIREX support team -- Miles Mann, WF1F, and Dave Larsen, N6CO -- has been handling family traffic for Foale via ham radio and attempting to help Foale with his radio problems (the Mir's transceiver was cutting out on high power because of a circuit overload). In a packet message to Larsen, Foale expressed the gratitude of the Mir crew "for all the good wishes and interest over the world, in our troubles and tribulations." Foale singled out for special mention "the few hams who work tirelessly on our behalf" to pass personal messages. Foale said that he and his wife were "extremely grateful to those hams who pass our messages for us." He also expressed appreciation for "how the world press is reacting to our situation." Added Foale: "We do not get this sort of opinion from our controllers." After the Mir's collision with a Progress cargo rocket, Foale said, "it was impossible to get any personal news of our well-being to our families" via the official communication channels. "Ham radio allowed us to fill the gap."

"We are particularly interested in longer contacts, than simple QSO exchanges," Foale said. "It is good to tell people about our life here on Mir, and our problems, but the lives of hams on Earth are also interesting to us, and I hope more hams will take the time to tell us about their QTH and surroundings also," he concluded.

W1AW Station Manager Joe Carcia, NJ1Q, reports W1AW was able to connect with the R0MIR-1 packet BBS on 145.985 MHz on July 8 at around 1600 UTC. The pass was at approximately 22 degrees. "We've been trying for weeks to connect," Carcia said. The message he posted was: "Hello from the staff and visitors from W1AW in Newington, CT. Good luck and 73."

On July 10, Foale told N6CO in another packet message that the crew was "extremely busy, trying to crawl through all the bags unloaded from Progress." Foale said the crew will do a training run on July 15 prior to the space walk to attempt to repair the damage and restore power to the space station. Foale will sit out the space walk in the Soyuz vehicle.

[Thanks to Philip Chien, KC4YER, Pat Kilroy, WD8LAQ, Frank H. Bauer, KA3HDO, Dave Larsen, N6CO, Joe Carcia, NJ1Q, Matt Bordelon, KC5BTL, and Rosalie White, WA1STO, for their contributions to this report. -- Ed]

SAREX CONTACTS SUCCESSFUL

Ham radio has had a very prominent role in the shuttle Columbia mission STS-94, which continues until July 17. So far, the STS-94 crew -- which includes three hams -- has racked up 13 successful SAREX contacts with school groups as well as random QSOs with earthbound hams. Aboard the shuttle are Jim Halsell, KC5RNI, the mission commander; Janice Voss, KC5BTK; and Donald Thomas, KC5FVF, and the crew has been quite enthusiastic about ham radio on this mission. Case in point: KC5FVF, set up the orbiting ham shack and completed 19 random contacts before the "official" scheduled test pass.

A total of 17 schools, including one in the People's Republic of China, are scheduled to talk with the astronauts via Amateur Radio. During the earlier STS-83 mission, Columbia's premature return to Earth postponed all scheduled SAREX QSOs. Most were rescheduled for this "refly" mission, STS-94.

On Thursday, July 3, students at the Lexington Traditional Magnet School in Lexington, Kentucky, made contact with Columbia after a frustrating initial attempt. The youngsters spoke with Mission Specialist Mike Gernhardt aboard the shuttle via a telebridge to N6IZW in San Diego, California. All of the students asking questions are recently licensed amateurs.

On Friday, July 4, the students of Crittenden Middle School of Mountain View, California quizzed Commander Jim Halsell, KC5RNI, via the AMSAT Telebridge Network through Gordon Williams, VK6IU, in Western Australia. Five questions were asked and answered. In closing, the students chanted "Happy Independence Day, Columbia!" The youngsters also spent several minutes after the QSO chatting with VK6IU. A day earlier, the kids also got to meet with NASA Administrator Dan Goldin, in town for the dedication ceremony of the new teacher's resource center at the NASA Ames Research Center.

On Monday, July 7, 1355 UTC, the Columbia crew spoke with students at the S. J. Davis Middle School in San Antonio, Texas (via Steve Cerwin, WA5FRF). Fourteen students at the school got to chat with Halsell, and the school district taped the event. The youngsters got to ask six questions and five were answered. The contact was shortened by perhaps a minute or two at the start due to the "squint angle" of the window antenna. This happens when the orbiter's attitude is roughly "tail-down, main engines forward," says Pat Kilroy, WD8LAQ.

Also on Monday, at 1534 UTC, pupils at Burch Elementary School in Tyrone, Georgia, (via Bob Watson, KN4HH) got to ask the astronauts an even dozen questions. Teacher Kathy Akins reported an "excellent" contact with astronaut (payload specialist) Greg Linteris aboard the Columbia. On hand at the school were 75 people, mostly students, and a local TV station and two newspaper reporters also showed up to cover the event. The Burch QSO also encountered a brief delay because of the squint angle problem -- again the beginning of the contact. "It was very good pass," Watson said. "Signals peaked at S9+20db at the 23-degree elevation point. We got a very nice slot on the 6 PM news."

And Monday, at 1705 UTC, a crowd of 600 was in the audience as youngsters at Artesia Public Schools in Artesia, New Mexico, (via Bob Perkins, KU5J) put 18 questions to the astronauts (17 were answered). The event drew TV coverage to hear astronaut Susan Still, and there was still a problem with squint angle at the beginning of the contact. "It was great!" said teacher Camille George. "She [Susan still] came through loud and clear. We are elated."

On Tuesday, July 8, pupils at Mountain View Elementary in Dewey, Arizona, started their day with a very nice chat with Halsell, via the station of Dave Boone, AB7JA. For most of the pass, signals were quite strong. Approximately 100 people were in attendance, and six students got to ask 11 questions. Several news media representatives were present and a local radio station did a simulcast of the QSO.

At 2152 UTC that same day, Jenny Dunklee's summer astronomy class at the Ione Junior High School in Jackson, California, was excited to be able to include a contact with Janice Voss on their second day of summer classes. Dunklee, who graduated from the University of California-Santa Cruz, just a few weeks ago was thrilled and spoke enthusiastically about this "great opportunity for my students" to learn firsthand about space exploration. After an initial delay because of the squint angle, signals were good for the remainder of the contact, which was broadcast live over local cable TV. It was also covered by a local radio station and the Amador County newspaper. Fourteen students got to ask a total of 15 questions. The contact was done through the Honolulu, Hawaii, SAREX ground station at Sacred Hearts School. Nancy Rocheleau, WH6PN, was the control operator for the station, with Dick Flagg, AH6NM, assisting. The school reported that the students were dancing after the successful contact. (Flagg also provided the connection for Halsell to talk with his parents earlier on Tuesday. The crew also made random contacts with another 10 hams on Tuesday.)

On Wednesday, students and members of the Foursquare Radio Amateur Youth club, KE6SWH, were excited to complete a contact with Halsell aboard Columbia. The contact was routed through the W5RRR ground station at NASA Johnson Spaceflight Center in Houston. Larry Dietrich, WD8KUJ, was the control operator at W5RRR. Dan Lechliter, AC6NZ, linked via 440 MHz from the Oxnard High School auditorium to KE6SWH, which then patched the signal into the Telebridge provided courtesy of Darome in Chicago. The QSO occasioned media attention from KEYT-TV, Santa Barbara, as well as The Los Angeles Times and the Ventura County Star. The students completed eight questions and answers with Halsell. A number of the students had recently obtained ham tickets in preparation for the shuttle contact. Students were from Oxnard High School and Hale Middle School of Woodland Hills. According to Oxnard High Principal Daisy Tatum, the students were very enthusiastic and excited about completing the contact.

Also on Wednesday, students at Lawrence Intermediate School, Lawrenceville, New Jersey, enjoyed a chat with Halsell. Contact was established via AH6NM in Hawaii (with WH6PN at the controls). The school was telebridged into the contact with Jim Millner, WB2REM, coordinating at the school. Students asked 11 questions. The audience of 450 onlookers, included 150 science teachers. Among the local media were several TV and radio stations plus newspapers.

On Thursday, July 10, 2032 UTC, Alvin C. York Agricultural Institute, Jamestown, Tennessee, had what was described as "a difficult contact" with Jamestown native (and payload specialist) Roger Crouch at the mike of KC5RNI. As in earlier telebridge QSOs, contact was established by AH6NM in Hawaii, with WH6PN at the controls. Homer Delk coordinated at the school. Despite the very rough copy, the school reported five questions were answered. Crouch's mother was in attendance, along with local media that included two radio stations and several newspapers.

Successful SAREX contacts occurred Friday, July 11, with Dunn's Corners Elementary School, Westerly, Rhode Island (via telebridge), and Center Street School, El Segundo, California. Pupils at the Rhode Island school got to ask 16 questions of the shuttle crew, while the youngsters in California managed to put 22 questions to the astronauts during their contact.

On Saturday, July 12, the shuttle crew will attempt a contact via ham radio with Larry Pepper, 5X6A, in Uganda. Pepper is a former NASA flight surgeon who's now a missionary. The crew will use 2 meters to VK5AGR in Australia who will complete the circuit to Africa via phone patch. A SAREX contact with Tsinghua University in the People's Republic of China is set for Monday, July 14.

The STS-94 crew will use KC5RNI, KC5BTK, and KC5FVF on FM voice and W5RRR-1 on packet. They'll be available for random QSOs during their breaks, before and after meal time, and during their pre-sleep time. Officially, the SAREX hardware was to fly in Configuration B, which is voice only, battery operation. However, power conservation measures have been successful to date and mission control advised the SAREX team and the astronauts to initiate use of the Packet Radio system (Configuration C), which has been reported active. (Do not be surprised if you see "STS-83" in its beacon.) Edward Chuang, BV1AF, reports hearing the STS-94 packet signal Thursday, July 10, at 0057 UTC from his QTH in the northeastern part of Taiwan, although he did not connect.

The SAREX Working Group has designated the following frequencies during this mission. FM voice downlink (worldwide): 145.55 MHz; FM voice uplink (except Europe): 144.91, 144.93, 144.95, 144.97, and 144.99 MHz; FM voice uplink (Europe only): 144.70, 144.75, and 144.80 MHz; FM packet downlink: 145.55 MHz; FM packet uplink: 144.49 MHz.

Hams should avoid transmitting on the shuttle's downlink frequencies. The uplink is your transmitting frequency. The crew will not favor any uplink frequency, so your ability to communicate with SAREX will be the "luck of the draw." Transmit only when the shuttle is within range of your station, and when the shuttle's station is on-the-air. Columbia is scheduled to return to Earth on July 17.

QSLs go to ARRL EAD, STS-94 QSL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111-1494. Include the following information in your QSL or report: STS-94, date, time in UTC, frequency and mode (FM, voice or packet). You must also include a business-sized SASE.

Additional STS-94 mission information is available from NASA at the NASA Shuttle Web site, http://shuttle.nasa.gov.

[Thanks to Charlie Sufana, AJ9N; Tim Bosma, W6ISS; Pat Kilroy, WD8LAQ; Frank Bauer, KA3HDO; and Rosalie White, WA1STO, for their assistance in compiling these reports. -- Ed]

QST NAMES NEW "YL NEWS" EDITOR

Diane Ortiz, K2DO, has been named as the new editor of QST's bimonthly "YL News" column.

Ms. Ortiz is an editorial manager and writer at Newsday, one of New York City and Long Island's largest daily newspapers. Her Amateur Radio writing credits include articles published in CQ VHF, CQ Contest and elsewhere. She is a member of the ARRL, YLRL, QCWA and FISTS.

Licensed in 1972 as WN2HML, Ms. Ortiz has embraced a broad range of interests from VHF contesting to public service activities. She is currently the ARRL Hudson Division Assistant Director in charge of publicity, an ARRL Public Information Officer, a Volunteer Examiner, and the secretary of the Long Island Mobile Amateur Radio Club. Ms. Ortiz is also involved in producing New York City's first live monthly cable TV show devoted to Amateur Radio.

The first "YL News" column under Diane Ortiz's byline is scheduled to appear in the October issue of QST. "I'm very excited at the opportunity to showcase the experiences, views and accomplishments of women Amateur Radio operators in QST's "YL News" column," Ms Ortiz stated. "It's a place where I hope everyone will want to look for news, ideas and information about women and ham radio." -- Steve Ford, WB8IMY

DXCC APPROVES OPERATIONS

The ARRL DXCC Desk has received and approved documentation for the following operations:

3A/DJ7RJ, 3B8/DL6UAA, 3B8/EA3ELM, 3C5Z, 3D2UK, 3XY03A, 8Q7AF, 9H3VG, 9H3VH, 9H3WD, 9H3WM, 9K2/YO9HP, and 9U5T.

Also: BS7H, C50YL, C53HP, C93/JA6SJN, C93/JG6BKB, C93/JR6XIW, D25L, D2FIB, D68KS, ES1HR, ET3FB, HS9AL, J3X, J6/F5CCO, J75T, J77C, J77FT, J79BP, J79QA, J79RC, J79WP, PJ8DX,

Also: S07NY, SM5ENX/DU1, T32HA, TI*/AA8HV, TI/ON7ZM, TL8EJ, TN7A, TO5C, TT6FNU, TY1RY, V5/DK2WH, V5/W8UVZ, VK0IR, VK9FL, VK9PG, XT2GA, XZ1N, YV7/AH6OM, YV7/WH6DAG, Z2/SM0FIB, and ZK1JOO.

For more information, contact Bill Kennamer, K5FUV, bkennamer@arrl.org.

SUN IS FLAT!

Solar seer Tad Cook, K7VVV, in Seattle, Washington, reports: Conditions are still flat. The average solar flux, sunspot number and planetary A index hardly varied from last week to this week. Because short-term forecasts are based upon the previous solar rotation, no activity is predicted for the next month, except for a possible slightly unsettled period around July 23 or 24.

W7ZT in Arizona reports he didn't even notice any seasonal sporadic E skip on the higher frequencies over the Field Day weekend. W4VOS offered some comparisons of previous solar cycles. He noted that it is mostly true that each odd-numbered solar cycle was greater than the previous cycle. We are now awaiting activity from cycle 23, so this is a cause for some hope. But with a chart from a 12-year old issue of a DX newsletter which showed cycle data provided by KH6BZF, W4VOS commented that cycle 9 around 1850 was smaller than cycle 8, and cycle 5 around 1805 was much smaller than cycle 4. Will cycle 23 be the third cycle in history to break this rule? Let us hope not.

Sunspot numbers for July 3 through 9 were 12, 12, 11, 11, 26, 25 and 31 with a mean of 18.3. The 10.7-cm flux was 69, 69.7, 69.7, 71.8, 71.7, 71.2 and 70.2, with a mean of 70.5, and estimated planetary A indices were 7, 7, 4, 4, 14, 5, and 11, with a mean of 7.4.

Readers who wish to comment can email the author at tad@ssc.com.

JOHN AVERY, VE9IW, SK

Maritimes Section Manager, John Avery, VE9IW, of Swan Creek, New Brunswick, Canada, passed away July 9, after battling cancer for several months. He was 67. Avery was retired from the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals and was a veteran of the Korean conflict. A ham for 36 years and section manager since 1993, Avery recently was named "Ham of the Year" by the Fredericton Amateur Radio Club. RAC Atlantic Region Director Bill Gillis, VE1WG, said that despite his illness, Avery frequently talked about plans to develop and expand RAC activities. "When he was able to travel he eagerly anticipated each flea market and hamfest," Gillis said. Mel Ellis, VE9KK, called Avery "a very active and dedicated ham who volunteered his time to many amateur clubs and organizations." His wife, Ethel, and six children (including son Jeffery, VA3JTA) survive. Services are July 14, 11 AM, at St Vincent De Paul Church, Oromocto, New Brunswick. -- Wm. J. Gillis, VE1WG

JUSTIN BARTON, WA1ITZ, SK

Former Vermont Section Manager Justin Barton, WA1ITZ, of Randolph, Vermont, died July 10. He was 69. Barton recently stepped down as section manager for reasons of ill health. He was succeeded by Bernie Capron, N1NDN, of Northfield.

Barton became Vermont SM in 1994. He was elected again in 1996. An effort last fall to recall him turned instead into a vote of confidence. The recall vote tally was 135 "yes" votes and 257 "no" votes. Barton was a driving force behind the establishment of the Vermont Amateur Radio Council.

Upon learning of Barton's death, former ARRL New England Division Director Bill Burden, WB1BRE, had words of praise. "Justin gave it his all during his tenure. It was my pleasure to work with him on several projects, and I will miss Justin's wit and insight." Burden said Barton "believed in family first and hobbies second."

Services will be held Monday, July 14, 9 AM, at St Catherines Church, Norwood, Massachusetts.

IN BRIEF:

  • This weekend on the radio: The IARU HF World Championship starts at 1200 UTC on Saturday, July 12. Remember to listen for IARU Headquarters station NU1AW, which will debut from Connecticut this weekend to hand out a IARU multiplier, and for W1AW/7, which will operate from the QTH of Rush Drake, W7RM, in Washington. All other headquarters stations of IARU member societies are also multipliers for this event. See how many you can collect! The complete rules are on page 100, April 1997 QST. Also on tap this weekend, the CQ WW VHF Contest and QRP ARCI Summer Homebrew Sprint.

  • No ARRL Letter on July 18: The ARRL Letter will be on vacation July 18, 1997. Publication resumes with Vol 16, No 29, on July 25, 1997.

  • FCC reminder: The FCC is warning companies that offer to modify scanning receivers (this includes many H-Ts with extended receive coverage) in order to receive cellular telephone frequencies that this activity prohibited by federal law and FCC rules. The FCC's reminder, issued July 10, noted that scanning receivers must be FCC-certified and incapable of "readily being altered by the user" to pick up the cellular bands. "The modification of scanners on a substantial scale to receive cellular frequencies will be considered to constitute manufacture of such equipment" in violation of federal law and FCC rules, the Public Notice said. "Entities engaged in such activity are cautioned to cease advertising and/or performing any such activity immediately." -- FCC

  • FCC consumer assistance line: The FCC's Consumer Assistance number in Gettysburg, 800-322-1117, is being discontinued. All calls now should go to the new, toll-free number, 888-CALL FCC (888-225-5322). For the time being, calls to 800-322-1117 will ring over to the new number after a little message that informs the caller of the change.

  • Pathfinder mission engineer is WA6NVA: Gordon Wood, WA6NVA, of La Canada, California, credits ham radio for starting him on the path that led to his becoming the chief engineer for communications for the Pathfinder mission. Wood works at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The Pathfinder mission has, so far, been a spectacular success and popular with the public. Wood got into ham radio about 40 years ago, at age 12, when his father bought him an old shortwave radio at a thrift shop. An article July 4 in The Los Angeles Times quotes Wood as saying: "Mankind after all these years is reaching out from his own planet with little toys to snoop around and understand whatever else is out there in the universe." Previously, he worked on the Mariner, Viking and Voyager interplanetary missions. Pathfinder images and news are available at http://mars.sgi.com/, http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/, and http://dhcom.com/astronomy/pathfinder.htm. -- thanks to Jeff Reinhardt, AA6JR

  • Pathfinder frequency: If you're up for some real DXing, according to Phil Karn, KA9Q, the downlink frequency for the Mars Pathfinder it is 8.420 GHz. See his Mars Pathfinder X-band Downlink Link Budget page at http://people.qualcomm.com/karn/mpf_budget.html.

  • Clarification -- What is a leap second? A report in The ARRL Letter, Vol 16, No 26, oversimplified the reasons behind the so-called "leap second." A leap second is one second added to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) to make UTC agree with astronomical time to within 0.9 second. UTC is based on the performance of atomic clocks. Astronomical time is based on the rate of rotation of the earth. Since atomic clocks are more stable than the rate at which the earth rotates, leap seconds are needed to keep the two time scales in agreement. The first leap second occurred on June 30, 1972. Although it is possible to have a negative leap second (a second removed from UTC), so far, all leap seconds have been positive (a second has been added to UTC). Based on what we know about Earth's rotation, it is unlikely that we will have a negative leap second in the foreseeable future. -- National Institute of Standards and Technology

  • USS Salem special event: Under sponsorship of the USS Salem Radio Club and the SNS Radio Club, K1USN will operate as a special event station from the USS Salem at Quincy, Massachusetts, from July 12, 1600 UTC, to July 13, 1800 UTC. Some former USS Salem radio ops will be on board for the event, and K1USN will use both the ship's equipment (on AM and CW) and modern gear. (This will mark the first time the ship's transmitters have been operated in many years.) Operation will be on SSB, CW, FM and RTTY, 80 through 2 meters. Frequencies include 3.860, 7.260, 14.260, and 18.160 MHz. QSL to Bob Callahan, WA1QWT, 56 Acorn St, Scituate, MA 02066.

  • Island to be activated for IOTA event: West Island Amateur Radio Club of Montreal will activate Whitehead Island (NA-014) -- a small island in the Bay of Fundy between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, Canada, for the IOTA contest. Operation will begin Saturday, July 26 and continue through the IOTA contest until July 30. The special call sign XJ9GM will be used to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Grand Manan Elementary School, where the radio operation will be set up. Look for XJ9GM around 1.835, 3.510, 3.795, 7.050, 7.250, 10.110, 14.040, 14.195, 18.080, 18.120, 21.040 and 21.320 MHz. QSL to the West Island Amateur Radio Club Inc, Box 884, Pte Claire/Dorval, Quebec H9R 4Z6. For more information, contact Fred Archibald, VE2SEI, 130 Embleton Crescent, Pte Claire, Quebec H9R 3N2 Canada; tel 514-694-3441; fax 514-630-4134; e-mail archibal@pubnix.net. -- Fred Archibald, VE2SEI

  • Ham-pilot credited with saving lives: Pilot Leonard Westbo, W7MCU, of Kent, Washington, was credited with saving the lives of his three passengers after his small plane crashed and broke up in a glacier canyon in British Columbia in late June. One man received a fractured vertebra, but the others were not seriously hurt. Westbo was able to use the plane's radio to transmit its location to rescuers. The four were on a fishing trip when the plane went down after its engine apparently failed. -- Harry Lewis, W7JWJ, WWA Section Manager

  • N7MBA is new Premier VP of Sales: Jim Newcomb, N7MBA, has been named vice president of sales for ADI/Premier Communications. Newcomb, who has 15 years experience in the ham radio industry, previously was national sales manager for ICOM America. At Premier, he'll oversee all day-to-day operations and will be responsible for sales. For more information, call ADI/Premier at 800-666-2654.

  • Former Hudson Director recovering from surgery: Best wishes to former ARRL Hudson Division Director Richard Sandell, WK6R, who's making a speedy recovery from laparoscopic surgery July to remove his gall bladder. -- Stephan Anderman, WA3RKB

  • Two hams among honored broadcasters: Martin Vodovoz, WA7TYY, and Steve Scott, KD8S, were among several Society of Broadcast Engineers members inducted into the Nevada Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame on June 13. The event honored broadcasters with 20 or more years of experience. Vodovoz is chief engineer at KLVX-TV; Scott is a maintenance engineer at KUPN. Also inducted were John Holland and Tom Cross of KVBC, and Doug Kramer and Jack Wilkinson of KLAS. -- Steve Scott, KD8S

  • New WIA VK3 QSL bureau: The new address for the Wireless Institute of Australia's VK3 QSL Bureau is WIA Victoria, Inwards QSL Bureau, 40G Victory Blvd, Ashburton, Victoria 3147 Australia. The current VK3 bureau address will be discontinued after December 31, 1997. -- WIA

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.

The purpose of The ARRL Letter is to provide the essential news of interest to active, organizationally minded radio amateurs faster than it can be disseminated by our official journal, QST. We strive to be fast, accurate and readable in our reporting.

Material from The ARRL Letter may be reproduced in whole or in part, in any form, including photoreproduction and electronic databanks, provided that credit is given to The ARRL Letter and The American Radio Relay League.

How to Get The ARRL Letter:

The ARRL Letter is distributed directly from ARRL HQ only to elected League officials and certain ARRL appointees and to paid subscribers of the now-defunct hard-copy edition of The ARRL Letter . For members and nonmembers alike, The ARRL Letter is available free of charge from these sources:

  • The ARRLWeb page (http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/). This version of The ARRL Letter includes any photographs.

  • The HIRAM BBS: 860-594-0306.

  • The ARRL Technical Information Server (Info Server): Send an e-mail message to info@arrl.org. The subject line should be blank. In the message body, type send ltrmmdd.txt, where mm represents two digits for the month and dd represents two digits for the day (The ARRL Letter is published every Friday). For example, to request The ARRL Letter file for Friday, January 3, 1997, you'd type send ltr0103.txt. Then, on a separate line, type quit.

  • CompuServe and America Online subscribers, as a downloadable text file in the services' ham radio libraries

  • The Netcom server, run by the Boston Amateur Radio Club and Mike Ardai, N1IST: Send e-mail to listserv@netcom.com (no subject needed). The body of the message should say subscribe letter-list.