June 28, 1996

You can email this page's content administrator at rlindquist@arrl.org.

IN THIS UPDATE . . ..

In Brief: Shuttle rise and set times available on WWW; League represented at Friedrichshafen; Tennessee Bicentennial special event; New VA ARES regional net.

ENTHUSIASTIC STS-78 SHUTTLE HAMS GET RIGHT DOWN TO SAREX

STS-78 with space shuttle Columbia got off the ground right on schedule June 20. As of press time, all was reported well aboard the spacecraft, which carries two US and one Canadian ham as it circles the globe every 90 minutes at an altitude of more than 170 miles. The mission is planned to run for 17 days.

Apparently excited to chat with earthbound hams, the hams aboard the spacecraft set up the Shuttle Amateur Radio EXperiment--SAREX--just one day after the launch and well ahead of schedule. Mission Specialists Chuck Brady, N4BQW, and Susan Helms, KC7NHZ, were heard making space-to-ground contacts during an STS-78 pass over California. Also aboard is Payload Specialist Bob Thirsk, VA3CSA, a Canadian. Several stations have reported contacting the W5RRR-1 packet radio robot, which operates when the crew is not making voice contacts.

SAREX--the Shuttle Amateur Radio EXperiment--is sponsored by ARRL, AMSAT and NASA and is supported by the FCC. Amateur Radio has been flying aboard the shuttles since 1983.

The SAREX Working Group chose 11 schools from around the world to make scheduled contacts with the shuttle during this SAREX mission, so students can ask questions of the astronauts during the contact. Crew members have been making additional random contacts with earthbound hams.

On June 23, Helms took time to speak with students at Eisenhower Middle School in San Antonio, Texas. Students asked a dozen questions as an audience of 150 or so looked on. Under that school's "Young Astronaut Program," students have launched a model rocket to an altitude of 15,000 feet and have set up a permanent ham station. During another successful SAREX scheduled QSO with Heritage Middle School, Colleyville, Texas, the astronauts fielded 10 questions. Reporters from four TV stations, three radio stations and a couple of newspapers joined an enthusiastic audience of 150 on hand for the occasion. The audience could track the shuttle's progress on six large monitors; audio was piped into a public-address system.

"I was surprised at how fast the signal came up to perfectly readable. We were able to get all 10 student questions asked and answered. Commander Tom Henricks did an outstanding job with his replies," said Jim Sharp, W5UFI.

Students at Bethlehem Central High School in Delmar, New York, had a successful SAREX contact June 26 with space shuttle Columbia pilot Kevin Kregel. During the 6-1/2 minute QSO, 12 students received answers to questions on medical emergencies, the constellations and navigation, adjustment to space dizziness, free time and relaxation, sleep habits, the visible effects of pollution, getting along with the other astronauts, the length of the mission, and long-term effects of microgravity on the astronauts. The contact had been postponed from the March STS-76 mission. Local repeaters carried live audio of the QSO. Radio, TV and newspaper reporters plus an audience of 175 were on hand. A TV station aired the story within 90 minutes of the contact.

Geoffrey Phillips, N2TJK--who laid the groundwork for the school to be picked for a SAREX QSO and had graduated just a few days earlier--was able to see his dream for the school fulfilled.

Another QSO June 26 with the Saskatoon Public AerospaCe Education (SPACE), Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, started off well, and two students got in their questions before technical problems interrupted the QSO. Bob Thirsk, VA3CSA, took up the microphone to talk with students in his home country. This was a "telebridge QSO" with Gerald, ZS6BTD, as the ground station handling the relay between the shuttle and the station in Saskatoon. The QSO was resumed on a later pass via an HF relay through Tim, AB6FL, in California. Participants at SPACE were able to get in another 11 questions on that attempt. As Judy Luciuk of SPACE described it: "I couldn't even begin to tell you the excitement that was generated in that room full of people. Even the press, usually in a hurry to rush off, stayed out of genuine interest, and there were many who had a tear to wipe away, when the second contact was so successful. Even now, I can't believe that you did that for us. This will never be forgotten."

The USS Essex, off the coast of California, also made a QSO, and the astronauts told the Naval crew it was great to have all types of groups tracking them and listening to them from the ground.

John Vaughn, KC5FEV, in Houston, Texas was thrilled to contact W5RRR-1 on packet. "I just made my FIRST SAREX contact!!!! YaHOO!" he exclaimed in an e-mail message to the SAREX Working Group.

Patty Winter, N6BIS, also worked the packet robot on STS-78 on June 25. She said the robot was occasionally issuing a greeting:

Greetings from the space shuttle Columbia! We have now been on-orbit for six days. We have been busy operating the experiments of the Life and Microgravity Spacelab Mission. Today we had a half-day off and used this time to operate our amateur radio and set up the packet system. We have made several voice contacts with amateur operators in North America, Africa, Australia and Hawaii. The view of the Mediterranean and Middle East in the morning has been one of the highlights of the mission for all of us. 73, Tom, Kevin, Susan (KC7NHZ), Rick, Chuck (N4BQW), Mongo and Bob (VA3CSA).

The Columbia ham crew uses separate receive and transmit frequencies. Please do not transmit on the shuttle's downlink frequency. The downlink is your receiving frequency. The uplink is your transmitting frequency. The crew will not favor any of the uplink frequencies, 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. Here are the SAREX frequencies:

* Worldwide FM Voice Downlink: 145.55 MHz

* FM Voice Uplink (except Europe): 144.91, 144.93, 144.95, 144.97, and 144.99 MHz

* Europe-only FM Voice Uplink: 144.70, 144.75, and 144.80 MHz

* FM Packet Downlink: 145.55 MHz

* FM Packet Uplink: 144.49 MHz

Send reports and QSLs to ARRL EAD, STS-78 QSL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111-1494, USA. Include the following information in your QSL or report: STS-78, date and time in UTC, frequency and mode. If you wish to receive a card, include an SASE using a large, business-sized envelope. "The Net" in Anacortes, Washington, has generously volunteered to manage the cards for this mission.

Members of the Goddard Amateur Radio Club in Greenbelt, Maryland, retransmit live shuttle air-to-ground audio over the amateur frequencies from club station WA3NAN. To listen in, tune to 3.86, 7.185, 14.295, 21.395, and 28.65 MHz, and in the Maryland/DC area on VHF at 147.45 MHz.

Listen to W1AW for SAREX information and Keplerian element updates as they become available. For more information, check the ARRL SAREX Web Page, http://www.arrl.org/sarex/ or call the ARRL Educational Activities Department for more information, 860-594-0301.

NFCC MOVES ONE STEP CLOSER TO POSSIBLE SPOC

The National Frequency Coordinator's Conference now has a charter board of directors. Owen Wormser, K6LEW, the chairman of the NFCC's drafting committee reports the committee disbanded after electing a board that includes some former drafting committee members. The new NFCC board members are Dave Shiplett, AC4MU, (two-year term); Dick Isely, WD9GIG, (two-year term); Owen Wormser, K6LEW, (two-year term); Whit Brown, WB0CJX, (one-year term); and James Fortney, K6IYK, (one-year term).

During its tenure, the drafting committee--appointed during a national repeater coordination meeting in St Louis, Missouri, last October--developed and approved NFCC bylaws, articles of incorporation and a draft memorandum of understanding between the NFCC and the ARRL. The draft provides a starting point for discussions between the two organizations as to how they can work together to strengthen FCC recognition of the amateur coordination process.

As drafting committee chairman, Wormser acknowledged "the tireless efforts and voluntary contributions of each member of the drafting committee." In addition to Isley, Brown, and Fortney, drafting committee members included Bill Kelsey, WA6FVC, and Paul Gilbert, KE5ZW.

"I extend my appreciation to all of you for your efforts to make our job easier by participating fully and openly in the deliberative process over the past eight months," Wormser concluded.

THIS WEEK IN AMATEUR RADIO RETURNS TO SATELLITE AIR

This Week in Amateur Radio returned to the satellite airwaves on Saturday, June 22, following an agreement to put the national bulletin service on the Hughes Communications SBS-6 Ku-band commercial satellite (through the facilities of the W0KIE satellite network).

This Week in Amateur Radio, a weekly audio news magazine, carries ARRL and RAC bulletins, contest and convention information, propagation forecasts and other features.

More than 100 nets and repeaters throughout North America had carried TWIAR until March 30, when the Tech Talk Network disbanded. Efforts continue to find a new C-band (4 GHz) satellite carrier. The move to Ku band (12 GHz) will force some affiliates to retrofit their receiving systems, said Executive Producer Stephan Anderman, WA3RKB. He reports the service will air at a new time and will feature a shorter 50-minute format. Previously, the program averaged 75 minutes each week.

"Regretfully, the new format and uplink timing constraints eliminate the possibility of any future live call-in features," Anderman said. In addition, This Week in Amateur Radio will no longer be able to carry the Amateur Radio Newsline dial-up feature. Anderman said the move to a "leaner and meaner" production should help increase listenership.

The service will move to 9 PM EDT each Saturday. It will be carried on SBS-6, transponder 13B upper. The transponder center frequency is 12.019 GHz. Affiliates will need to tune up in frequency to 12.031 GHz. Program audio will be on a 6.2 MHz analog subcarrier. SBS-6 is collocated with Galaxy VI at 74 degrees west longitude. Efforts are also being made to "simulcast" the service on the Internet.

TWIAR is produced by Community Video Associates Inc, a not-for-profit corporation based in Albany, New York. Production and transmission expenses are underwritten by donations from repeater operators, Amateur Radio clubs and individuals.

For more information, call George Bowen, N2LQS, 518-283-3665; e-mail kxkvi@delphi.com, or Stephan Anderman, WA3RKB, 518-664-6809; e-mail sanderman@delphi.com.

FCC ISSUED CALL SIGN UPDATE

The following is a list of the FCC's most recently issued call signs as of June 1, 1996. 

District    Group A     Group B     Group C     Group D
             Extra      Advanced    Tech/Gen    Novice

   0         AB0CB        KI0DE      KB0WQF
   1         AA1QA        KE1FB      N1XLL      KB1BYG
   2         AB2BH        KG2HK        ++       KB2ZEP
   3         AA3OI        KE3WR      N3XPK      KB3BPF
   4         AE4VG        KT4RR        ++       KF4KCB
   5         AC5IG        KM5AP        ++       KC5UUR
   6         AC6VK        KQ6GU        ++       KF6EHR
   7         AB7RC        KJ7YN        ++       KC7RIH
   8         AA8XH        KG8XL        ++       KC8EBP
   9         AA9SL        KG9GP        ++       KB9NUV
Hawaii        ++          AH6OP        ++       WH6DBY
Alaska        ++          AL7QL        ++       WL7CTL
Virgin Is    WP2X         KP2CJ      NP2JI      WP2AIE
Puerto Rico   ++          KP3AA      KP3BP      WP4NMF

++All call signs in this group have been issued in this area.
VANITY CALL SIGN ADVICE: READ DIRECTIONS!

Larry Weikert, who's the FCC's point man in Gettysburg for processing vanity call sign applications, says too many vanity applicants are failing to follow directions when filing Form 610V. He advised that all applicants take the time to carefully read the instructions and follow them explicitly to avoid problems or disappointments.

In addition, applicants should always print legibly.

Weikert also said some applicants are attaching Form 610s to their vanity call sign applications to renew licenses or to file an address change. Form 610 transactions should be filed separately, not as part of a vanity call sign application.

The FCC opened vanity call sign Gate 1 on May 31 and will open Gate 1A on July 22. Under Gate 1A, an applicant may request the call sign once held by a deceased former member as an in memoriam club station call.

WAYNE GREEN SAYS 73 NOT AFFECTED BY BANKRUPTCY FILING

73 Amateur Radio Today magazine founder Wayne Green II, W2NSD, of Peterborough, New Hampshire, said none of his businesses included in a recent bankruptcy filing was currently active, and the filing will not affect 73 "nor any active businesses." In a June 23 fax, Green confirmed the substance of a New Hampshire newspaper report that said Wayne Green Inc had filed chapter 7 bankruptcy.

According to the Federal Bankruptcy Court for the New Hampshire District in Manchester, New Hampshire, Green filed voluntarily "as a business." A chapter 7 filing means the affected enterprises are out of business.

A report in the June 20, 1996, edition of The Monadnock Ledger said that Green's wife, Sherry Smyth-Green bought 73 two years ago. The ham magazine remains in business with "a considerably downsized staff" of about a dozen, according to the Ledger, which quoted Smyth-Green.

The affected Green subsidiaries include Almost Free CDs, Uncle Wayne's Books, Creative Music, N.H. Language Systems and Green With Envy.

Wayne Green--who happens to be 73 years old--is a frequent hamfest speaker and well-known for his lengthy "Never Say Die!" commentaries, once edited CQ magazine. He's also the founder and former publisher of BYTE, among the first computer magazines.

MILITARY EXERCISES ON 6 METERS?

Hams in various parts of the Midwest and South recently reported hearing what sounded like military training exercises on 50.2 MHz-FM. Signals heard from EM48 near St Louis included stations identifying themselves as "Blaster" and "Observer 61." It's all legal, however, provided it's US military. According to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's Frequency Management Manual, "military tactical and training assignments may be authorized after coordination with appropriate FCC field offices." In this case, it seems that troops from Fort Bliss, Texas, were using 6 meters during "Roving Sands," a tactical exercise.

Stanley F. Greene, a Department of Defense area frequency coordinator (and former ham) at White Sands (New Mexico) Missile Range and Ft Bliss said his office halted the use of 6 meters after he learned that the troops' signals might be interfering with amateurs.

"We are also now taking action to suspend until further notice all area Military training and weapons systems evaluation authorizations for the 50 to 50.5 MHz band," he wrote in response to an inquiry from Dave Batcho, N5JHV, of Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Under certain conditions, the military may use not only 6 meters, but also Amateur Radio allocations at 10 and 2 meters, plus 222-225, 420-450, 1240-1300 and 2300-2400 MHz for such purposes. Operations are supposed to be confined to between 6 AM and 6 PM local time. Military stations also are to follow a listen-before-transmit protocol, avoid harmful interference to Amateur Radio operations in bands where hams have primary status, and--in general--avoid populated areas and use minimal power and short transmissions.

Greene said that area military tactical exercises like "Roving Sands" and range evaluation programs often require the use of "all available VHF tactical radio communication channels including those allowed in the 50 to 54 MHz amateur band." He noted that "Roving Sands" was over for the year.

SOLAR FORECAST: BOTTOMING OUT

Solar seer Tad Cook, KT7H, in Seattle, Washington, reports five more days of zero sunspots since the last report. Look for more periods of no visible sunspots as we move through the solar cycle minimum. The most disturbed period was around 0300 UTC on June 19 when the K index was five (the Boulder A index for that day was 15).

Solar flux is expected to stay below 70 until the end of June, then peak just above 70 around July 2 and 3, moving again below 70 after July 5.

Sunspot numbers for June 13 through 19 were 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 12 and 24 respectively, with a mean of 5.1. The 10.7-cm flux was 68.1, 67.7, 67.3, 66.9, 67.4, 67.7, and 68.5 respectively, with a mean of 67.7.

PAPERS DUE JULY 23 FOR 1996 ARRL AND TAPR DIGITAL CONFERENCE

The deadline to submit papers for the 1996 ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications Conference--the year's premier Amateur Radio digital communications event--is July 23, 1996. The conference is set for September 20-22, 1996, in Seattle, Washington--just minutes from the SeaTac Airport. This marks the first time the ARRL Digital Communications Conference and TAPR Annual General Meeting have joined into one conference. Local sponsors include the Puget Sound Amateur Radio TCP/IP Group and Boeing Employees Amateur Radio Society (BEARS).

Papers are invited for publication in the conference proceedings. Presentation at the conference is not required for publication. Send papers by July 23 to Maty Weinberg, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111 USA or via the Internet at lweinberg@arrl.org. Maty also has details on format requirements.

For full details and paper guidelines, contact TAPR (see below) or check http://www.tapr.org/.

This international forum is for both beginners and experts in digital communications, networking and related technologies to meet, publish their work and present new ideas and techniques for discussion. An entire morning will be given over to beginning and intermediate presentations on APRS, satellite communication, TCP/IP, digital radio, spread spectrum and other topics. Workshop presentations include Keith Sproul, WU2Z, on APRS packet-location software; Dewayne Hendricks, WA8DZP, on "How to Utilize Part 15 Radios for Ham Applications," and a workshop on Wireless Networking using WA4DSY 56-K RF modem technology and its accessories.

For more information on the conference, registration, and hotel reservations, contact TAPR, 8987-309 E Tanque Verde Rd, No. 337, Tucson, AZ 85749-9399, tel 817-383-0000; fax 817-566-2544; e-mail tapr@tapr.org or visit http://www.tapr.org.

In Brief . . .

  • Space shuttle Columbia rise and set times are being made available via the World Wide Web for 176 cities across the United States, Canada and around the world. These rise and set times let you quickly determine when the Shuttle will be above the horizon at your location. This information is available via a link from the SAREX home page: http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/sarex/sarex.html courtesy of AMSAT volunteer Terry Jones, NZ8C.--Frank Bauer, KA3HDO

  • ARRL President Rod Stafford, KB6ZV, Technical Relations Manager Paul Rinaldo, W4RI, DXCC Manager Bill Kennamer, K5FUV, Vice President Joel Harrison, WB5IGF, and International Affairs Vice President Larry Price, W4RA, will represent the League at the Deutscher Amateur Radio Club convention and hamfest in Friedrichshafen, Germany. The ARRL will offer the popular CD-ROM publication containing QST, QEX and NCJ for 1995 as well as other ARRL publications.

  • The Smoky Mountain ARC of Maryville/Alcoa, Tennessee, will mark the Tennessee Bicentennial on the Fourth of July. The club's station, W4OLB, will be active in the General portion of the 40, 20, and 10 meter bands. The club offers a certificate for contacts. Send a SASE to W4OLB, 1623 Scenic Dr, Maryville, TN 37803. For more information, e-mail kr4fk@aol.com.

  • Bob Oldham, KS4LB, the EC for Hanover County, Virginia, reports a routine ARES net came close to activating when "a bit of weather came through Richmond" on June 24, and several members checked in using emergency power. (Severe weather also hit the nation's capital the same day.) "We'd have been ready," Oldham said. He's trying to coordinate activities among five ARES groups in the Richmond vicinity by inaugurating an areawide VHF net on the first Wednesday of every month at 9 PM (local) beginning July 3 on the 146.94 MHz repeater. He said there are more than 80 signed-up ARES members in the Richmond vicinity.

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.

Electronic edition circulation, Kathy Capodicasa, N1GZO, e-mail kcapodicasa@arrl.org.

Editorial, Rick Lindquist, KX4V, e-mail rlindquist@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.