Volume 18, Number 30 (July 30, 1999)

The ARRL Letter Index
ARRL Audio News

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IN THIS EDITION:

+Available on ARRL Audio News

STS-93 IS A SAREX SUCCESS!

The STS-93 crew prior to launch. Back row (l-r): Pilot Jeff Ashby, Commander Eileen Collins, KD5EDS, and Mission Specialist Michel Tognini, KD5EJZ, of France. Front row (l-r): Mission Specialists Steven Hawley, and Cady Coleman, KC5ZTH. [NASA photo]

The STS-93 crew prior to launch. Back row (l-r): Pilot Jeff Ashby, Commander Eileen Collins, KD5EDS, and Mission Specialist Michel Tognini, KD5EJZ, of France. Front row (l-r): Mission Specialists Steven Hawley, and Cady Coleman, KC5ZTH. [NASA photo]

Shuttle Columbia mission STS-93 was an Amateur Radio success story. During the short mission, crew members completed Space Amateur Radio EXperiment contacts with five schools plus a contact with the cosmonauts aboard the Russian Mir space station. STS-93 returned to Earth July 27.

Launched July 23, STS-93 marked the 25th time the SAREX payload has flown on a shuttle mission. It also likely will be the last SAREX shuttle mission as future ham radio efforts in space will focus on the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station--or ARISS--project.

Lucky students at schools in Virginia, California, Texas and Florida had officially-scheduled QSOs with the STS-93 astronauts. All contacts eventually were successful, but not without a few glitches. The ham gear was deployed early in the mission, and during a pass over Houston, the SAREX Team--using the Johnson Space Center Amateur Radio Club's call sign, W5RRR--attempted a test pass that failed. Throughout the mission, John Nickel, WD5EEV; Karen Nickel, WD5EEU; and Gil Carman, WA5NOM, led the SAREX volunteers at the Johnson Space Center.

After troubleshooting during several Houston passes with STS-93 Commander Eileen Collins, KD5EDS, an orbiter power receptacle was found to be faulty. Meanwhile, the first scheduled school QSO with Buzz Aldrin Elementary School in Reston, Virginia, had audio on only one end of the contact, so the SAREX Team negotiated a new time slot for the school sked.

The next scheduled school QSO, with Harbor View Elementary in Corona Del Mar, California, was much more successful. Eight students interviewed the astronauts. One thing the kids wanted to know about was the food aboard the shuttle. "The food is quite good--really!," Collins replied. "Today I had rice and there are plenty of food items to choose from, including snacks."

The orbiter then maneuvered its attitude to accommodate another payload, the Southwest Ultraviolet Imaging System. The resulting tail-down, nose-up attitude is not conducive to QSOs, as the SAREX window antenna can't radiate the signal toward Earth. A scheduled QSO with Awty International School in Houston, Texas, failed, but a new schedule was negotiated. Prior to the next two schools QSOs, the SAREX Team worked with NASA to get the orbiter returned to a favorable attitude just for the SAREX activities.

Students were rewarded with excellent results. "I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank all of the individuals that made it possible for PSJA-Memorial Middle School to have a successful SAREX contact with STS-93," said Joe Kertesz, KC5RFW, of Memorial Middle School in Pharr, Texas. "Hats off to everyone, and a heartfelt thank you from me and my school. It was truly a memorable occasion." Then, Kertesz added, "Now, when does ARISS go on line?!"

Murphy almost took his toll on yet another school. Not long before the Osceola (Florida) Elementary School's QSO, SAREX relay station operator Gordon Williams, VK6IU, in Australia, discovered he had a problem with his gear. "Unbelievably, some Australia birds had pecked through Gordon's coax!" John Nickel related after speaking with Williams via telephone. VK6IU wound up climbing his tower in the rain early Monday, changing out the cable just in time to handle the SAREX relay.

On Monday evening, the Buzz Aldrin and Awty schools were rewarded for their patience with completed QSOs, and the students were thrilled. For more information about the school contacts, visit the STS-93 information page at http://garc.gsfc.nasa.gov/~kc6rol/sts93.html.

The mission garnered some good PR for Amateur Radio. The Los Angeles Times ran an article about the Harbor View Elementary School contact. The official July 24 STS-93 Status Report released by NASA included two references to SAREX activities by astronauts. Two on-line newspapers carried .wav files and details on the schools' SAREX educational events.

The Columbia-Mir QSO also was a huge success and in three languages--English, Russian and French, and the parties on both sides enjoyed their time on the air. "You could hear it in their voices-- they were smiling ear-to-ear," John Nickel said.

AMSAT's Pat Kilroy, WD8LAQ, reported that the Columbia-Mir QSO was "tricky" to complete, because of the timing. "Both crews had to be awake, and Mir had to pass over the horizon in Houston, where SAREX team member Brian Zemba, N1WSO, was waiting at Johnson Space Center Amateur Radio Club's station, W5RRR," he said. "Shuttle Columbia was almost half a world away, traveling over Indonesia."

Zemba successfully linked with French cosmonaut Jean-Pierre Haignere, FX0STB, who radioed, "This is Mir space station speaking, this is Jean-Pierre." Columbia astronaut Michel Tognini, KD5EJZ, then spoke with Jean-Pierre in their native French. Next they turned over their mikes to the two space commanders. Mir's Viktor Afanasyev, then congratulated Eileen Collins on being the first woman commander of a shuttle crew.

To listen to the exchange, click on NASA's .wav file at http://shuttle.nasa.gov/gallery/audio/shuttle/sts-93/wave/congrats.wav.

Tognini also exchanged greetings in Russian with cosmonaut Sergei Avdeyev. Tognini and Avdeyev flew to Mir together in 1992.--Rosalie White, WA1STO

ULS HAM RADIO PHASE-IN PERIOD BEGINS AUGUST 8

The FCC begins phasing in the Universal Licensing System for the Amateur Service August 8 at 4 PM Eastern Time. That's when the FCC stops accepting new or upgraded licensee data from Volunteer Examiner Coordinators under the current amateur licensing system.

The ULS ushers in an era of electronic, interactive filing and handling of Amateur Radio applications. Being phased out under ULS is the familiar paper FCC Form 610 series. A "universal" Form 605--primarily designed for electronic use but also available on paper--will take its place.

A July 23 FCC Public Notice says the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau will begin using the ULS for the Amateur Service on August 16. Existing Amateur Radio licensing data will be transferred into the ULS database during a weeklong phase-in period. During the phase-in period, the FCC will not process new or upgraded licenses.

Electronic filing of Amateur Radio license renewals using FCC Form 900 ends August 9 at 9 AM Eastern Time. Electronic filing of vanity call sign application Form 610V terminates August 13 at 5:30 PM Eastern Time. Hams should not attempt to file renewal or vanity applications until the ULS comes up August 16.

Starting August 16, hams registered in the ULS may file the new FCC Form 605 electronically at any time of day, seven days a week. FCC Form 605 will be used for license renewals, modifications, cancellations, vanity call sign application, application withdrawals and amendments, as well as requests for duplicate licenses and administrative updates (ie, a change of address or other clerical license modification). Applications for new or upgraded licenses will continue to be filed through a Volunteer Examiner Coordinator.

Automated processing of electronically filed applications will occur nightly each business day, but five days a week instead of seven. There will be no weekend processing under the ULS. The FCC has warned that applicants should anticipate processing delays during the first couple of weeks the ULS is in effect.

The FCC will stop accepting most Form 610 applications next February 16, but club station Form 610B will continue to be valid beyond the six-month transition window to allow time for the FCC to implement new handling procedures.

Among the advantages of the ULS, the FCC says, are fast and easy electronic filing, improved data accuracy through automated checking of applications, and better electronic access to licensing information. One feature of the new ULS is a renewal reminder sent 90 days prior to a license's expiration date. ULS also will simplify the process of submitting fees to the FCC, and the FCC said it anticipates that the ULS will be capable of accepting credit card payments on-line in the near future.

Registration in the ULS is required. Applicants should use FCC Form 606 for both electronic or manual filing. To register online, visit http://www.fcc.gov/wtb/uls/ and click on "TIN/Call Sign Registration." A paper FCC Form 606 is available at http://www.fcc.gov/formpage.html or from the FCC's Forms Distribution Center, 800-418-3676.

The FCC will not process future license grants, upgrades, modifications or renewals for any applicant not registered in the ULS. Individuals eligible to hold a Social Security Number must provide this number to the FCC in order to be registered in the ULS.

A copy of the July 23, 1999 Public Notice is available at http://www.fcc.gov/wtb/uls. Additional information on ULS will appear in the Washington Mailbox column in the September issue of QST.

FCC AUDITS NEW YORK EXAMINATION SESSION

The FCC is auditing an Amateur Radio examination session held May 2, 1999, in Yonkers, New York, and has written four applicants to ask some very specific questions.

Those questioned about the ARRL-VEC examination session included an individual applying to upgrade to Amateur Extra, one upgrading to Advanced, one to Tech Plus, and one seeking a new Technician license. The letters, all from the FCC's Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, of the FCC's Compliance and Information Bureau note that the FCC has "not made a finding that you engaged in misconduct."

Hollingsworth invoked the FCC's authority "to request information from licensees and applications that the Commission needs in order to determine whether a licensee is qualified to retain a license, or whether an applicant should be granted a license."

In the case of the Extra, Advanced and Technician class applicants, the FCC enclosed a color copy of the answer sheets for the written exam, signed by the applicant, and questioned the appearance of blue markings on the answer sheets. Among other specific questions, the FCC asked which marks the applicants had placed on the answer sheets and if any marks already were on the sheet when it was handed out.

The FCC similarly queried the Tech Plus upgrade candidate about his Morse code answer sheet, asking if it was the only one he'd filled out on May 2 and if any of the answers were modified after he'd turned in the sheet; others who took code tests were asked if they had written down any of their copy, and, if so, what they did with those notes.

An applicant who supplied a Michigan mailing address was asked if he was present at the session, and if he'd had access to an answer template before or during the test session.

All four applicants also were asked to name the Volunteer Examiners who handed out their paperwork and to whom they gave their completed answer sheets, as well as any discussions they might have had with the examiners.

All applicants were given 30 days to respond to the questions or risk having the FCC dismiss their pending applications.

WB2OTK TELLS FCC CANCELLATION REQUEST SENT IN ERROR

When FCC attorney Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, got word July 22 via e-mail from Richard L. Whiten, WB2OTK, of Easley, South Carolina, that Whiten was getting out of ham radio and wanted to turn in his license, Hollingsworth obliged. He promptly canceled Whiten's General-class amateur privileges and deleted WB2OTK from the FCC database. At the time, the South Carolina ham was facing an FCC enforcement action that would have kept him off the HF bands for four months.

Hollingsworth explained that the FCC does not need the actual license document to cancel someone's amateur privileges. In the FCC's view, the license "grant" that exists in the FCC's database is all that matters in most cases.

Whiten subsequently claimed that the e-mail request to cancel his Amateur Radio license had been sent to the FCC in error, although the FCC says Whiten earlier "categorically denied" sending the e-mail request to cancel his ticket and also blamed it on "computer hackers." Hollingsworth has requested affidavits from Whiten explaining the circumstances and says the FCC will take the information he supplies under consideration, but in the meantime, he's warned Whiten to stay off the air.

Last month, the Commission modified Whiten's license for 120 days to prohibit operation below 30 MHz as part of a deal that would clear the books of any outstanding FCC enforcement issues against Whiten. By going along with the proposal, Hollingsworth said in a June 30 letter to Whiten, "all enforcement issues related to the operation of WB2OTK would be moot and the case terminated" at the end of the suspension October 25. The FCC also said that if there were no violations of the modification order, it would grant Whiten's request--set aside by the FCC earlier this year--for the vanity call sign W2OTK.

The FCC says it's received "numerous complaints" about Whiten "regarding profanity, obscenity, broadcasting extreme racial slurs, deliberate interference and failure to properly identify." In late January, Hollingsworth and an FCC engineering team visited Whiten's station.

In April, the FCC sent Whiten tape recordings of transmissions from his station made on two occasions in November and asked him to explain their contents. Whiten responded in May. Citing privacy concerns, the FCC did not go into details about Whiten's explanations for what was on the tapes, but Hollingsworth noted in his June 30 letter ordering the modification that Whiten had apologized for the operation of his station on the dates in question.

WALLIS ISLAND FW8ZZ DXPEDITION DEDICATED TO LOST DXERS

This summer's FW8ZZ DXpedition to Wallis Island will be dedicated to the memory of Chuck Swain, K7LMU, and Ted Thorpe, ZL2AWJ. Both were lost at sea in January 1966 when returning aboard the ketch Marinero from their DXpedition to Wallis Island as FW8ZZ.

"They were two fine gentlemen and we should not forget them," said Jarmo J. Jaakola, OH2BN, who will handle QSLs for the coming FW8ZZ trip. "It is time to pay homage to those who captured our imagination and helped to create the art and artistry of DX." Jaakola called the original FW8ZZ expedition "an inspiration for many of us who wanted to follow in their footsteps."

Arrangements have been made for this year's FW8ZZ expedition to drop flowers from their plane when approaching the area where Swain and Thorpe were lost.

The 1999 FW8ZZ DXpedition will hit the airwaves July 30 and close down August 3, 1999. A special effort will be made to include operation on the so-called "WARC" bands, but all regular DX bands will be offered. Frequencies will include 3.502, 3.795, 7.002, 7.095, 14.024, 14.195, 21.024, 21.295, 28.002 and 28.495. Equipment includes a Yaesu FT-1000MP and an FT-900 with amplifiers.

Operators are Eric Espositi, FK8GM, Kan Mizoguchi, JA1BK, Leena Laine, OH2BE, and Martti Laine, OH2BH.

ARRL DX Advisory Committee Chairman Wayne Mills, N7NG, will act as a global pilot for this expedition. He can be reached at n7ng@arrl.net

QSLs for FW8ZZ go to Jarmo J. Jaakola, OH2BN, Kiilletie 5-C-30, FIN-00710, Helsinki, Finland.

SOLAR UPDATE

Sun watcher Tad Cook, K7VVV, Seattle, Washington, reports: Sunspot numbers and solar flux took a big leap upward this week, and the trend continues until the weekend. Average sunspot numbers were up almost 55 points over last week, and average solar flux was up almost 42 points. The high solar flux reading of 197.8 on July 28 continued at 202.4 on July 29. This is much higher than forecast last week. Solar flux on July 30 is predicted to be around 200, and 190 and 180 on July 31 and August 1. Planetary A indices for July 31-August 2 are predicted to be 10 for all days.

Beyond the weekend, solar flux should drop to 170 around August 4, 160 by August 8, and 140 around August 12. Flux levels are expected to be back above 200 by August 19 and possibly 210 around August 21. By that date 10 meters should be quite exciting.

Sunspot numbers for July 22 through 28 were 127, 158, 173, 183, 150, 161, and 218, with a mean of 167.1. The 10.7 cm flux was 152.8, 193.7, 184.2, 182.3, 172.4, 174.5, and 197.8, with a mean of 179.7. The estimated planetary A indices were 24, 12, 12, 8, 7, 6 and 9, with a mean of 11.1.

In Brief:

  • This weekend on the radio: The Georgia QSO Party, the USI W/VE Islands Contest, the QRP ARCI Summer Daze SSB Sprint and the YO-DX Contest are scheduled for this weekend. Just ahead: The ARRL UHF Contest, the North American QSO Party (CW), the Ten-Ten International Net Summer Phone Contest, and the Boulder Amateur Radio Club Kid's Day event are the weekend of August 7-8. See July QST, page 88, and August QST, page 91, for details.

  • New North Texas SM: The North Texas Section has a new Section Manager, effective immediately. Donald L. Mathis, KB5YAM, of Oak Point succeeds Donald Thomas, KA1CWM, who resigned.

  • Vanity update: The FCC in Gettysburg reports it has processed vanity call sign applications received through July 2. The FCC issued 96 grants. Another 173 applications landed in the work-in-process (WIPs) stack.--FCC

  • King Hassan II, CN8MH, SK: Morocco's King Hassan II (Moulay Hassan), CN8MH, died July 24. He had been licensed since 1956. Ahmed Boudda, CN8GI, called the late monarch "a friend to all Moroccan hams." US President Bill Clinton was among the international dignitaries attending services for King Hassan II on July 25.

  • Nebraska hams aid in fire response: Hams in Buffalo County, Nebraska, helped local authorities the evening of July 12 when a fire broke out at a lumber yard in Kearney. EC Danny Baer, KA0DBK--who's also a fireman--put out a call for additional ARES volunteers, then assisted the Kearney Police Department by directing traffic. Other ARES members were put to work on traffic and crowd control details. A Salvation Army team provided food and water to the emergency workers on the scene. Five ARES members spent more than five hours at the scene. The lumber yard was destroyed along with three other businesses. Baer recommends planning ahead and training for emergencies, then remaining prepared. "Have your emergency bag ready and extra batteries charged, and your H-T ready," he concludes. "You never know when an emergency might happen."

  • Michigan YL pioneer W8UOI, SK: Polly M. McNutt, W8UOI, believed to be the first Michigan woman to receive an Amateur Radio license, died July 17, 1999. She was 85.

  • Ham dies in rescue chopper crash: Charles R. "Mac" Atteberry, W0MAC, of Houston, Texas, died July 17 when a Hermann Hospital Life Flight helicopter on which he was a crew member mysteriously plummeted into a muddy field south of Houston. Two other crew members also died. Atteberry, 32, was a paramedic.

  • Ham radio in The Americas info: A new, bilingual source of information about Amateur Radio in The Americas now is available via the IARU Region 2 Web site, http://www.iaru-r2.org. Visitors to the site will find news and information in both English and Spanish. Of particular interest is the Electronic Region 2 News, edited by David Evans, VE6DXX.--IARU

  • South Africa added to third-party traffic list: South Africa (ZS) has been added to the list of countries with which the US has a third-party traffic agreement. The FCC updated its Amateur Service International Arrangements in a Public Notice July 21, listing all countries that have made necessary arrangements with the US to permit an Amateur Radio station regulated by the FCC to exchange messages for a third party. The updated list also is available on ARRLWeb at http://www.arrl.org/field/regulations/io/3rdparty.html.

  • Last call for ARDFers: Openings remain on Amateur Radio Direction Finding Team USA for the IARU-sanctioned competition at the Friendship Games in August. the first IARU Region 2 Amateur Radio Direction Finding Championships this August. The big event is August 9-14 in Portland, Oregon. Send e-mail to TeamUSA@homingin.com for information on how you can take part. Visit http://www.homingin.com for detailed information.--Joe Moell K0OV

    New England Division Volunteer of the Year Jim Heedles, WW1Y (right), receives an award certificate from New England Director Tom Frenaye, K1KI. [Photo courtesy of Tom Frenaye, K1KI]

    New England Division Volunteer of the Year Jim Heedles, WW1Y (right), receives an award certificate from New England Director Tom Frenaye, K1KI. [Photo courtesy of Tom Frenaye, K1KI]

  • WW1Y is New England Division Volunteer of the Year: The New England Division Volunteer of the Year award has been presented to Jim Heedles, WW1Y, of Amherst, New Hampshire. The Volunteer of the Year award is awarded each year to the New England Amateur Radio operator who demonstrates excellence in a combination of categories, including teamwork, service to the public and fellow amateurs, recruitment and training of volunteers, and community relations. WW1Y was nominated by the incoming New Hampshire Section Manager Mike Graham, K7CTW, and previous SM Al Shuman, N1FIK, for a lengthy list of volunteer efforts within the Nashua Area Radio Club, and the general Amateur Radio community in New England. He is one of the primary movers behind the N1FD Field Day efforts, continually works on new ham and new member recruitment, gives exams under the Volunteer Exam program, and participates on related volunteer efforts in the local community. Congratulations, Jim!