Volume 17, Number 46 and 47 (November 20 and 27, 1998)

The ARRL Letter Index
ARRL Audio News

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EDITOR'S NOTE: Because of the Thanksgiving holiday, we're issuing combined editions of both The ARRL Letter and ARRL Audio News. The next editions will be distributed December 4, 1998. Late-breaking news will be available via The ARRLWeb Extra or W1AW bulletins. ARRL Headquarters will be closed Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 26, and Friday, November 27. We wish you and yours a safe and enjoyable holiday! -- Rick Lindquist, N1RL

IN THIS EDITION:

+ Available on ARRL Audio News

BALLOTS COUNTED IN ARRL BOARD RACES

Two incumbent ARRL directors and three incumbent vice directors were among the successful candidates for contested seats on the ARRL Board. In addition, two new vice directors were elected as ballots were tallied November 20 at League Headquarters by the ARRL Committee of Tellers.

Retaining their ARRL Board seats were Central Division Director Edmond A. Metzger, W9PRN, and West Gulf Division Director Jim Haynie, W5JBP.

Metzger tallied 1846 votes to outpoll two other candidates--Henry B. Ruh, KB9FO, who got 1468 votes and Richard David Klatzco Jr, N9TQA, who got 1297 votes. Incumbent Central Division vice director Howard S. Huntington, K9KM, beat back a challenge from Mike Hoshiko, W9CJW, by a vote of 2748 to 1849. Metzger and Huntington will serve two-year terms.

By a 2113 to 1602 vote, Haynie successfully overcame a challenge from Lawrence S. Higgins, W5UQ, but the West Gulf Division will have a new vice director. Oklahoma Section Manager Coy C. Day, N5OK, defeated incumbent vice director Barney J. Boone, KJ5AE, 2330 to 1346. Haynie and Day will serve three-year terms.

In the Rocky Mountain Division, current Director Marshall Quiat, AG0X, outpolled Marvin C. Zitting, W7MR, for vice director, 1391 to 816. Quiat effectively swapped places with current Vice Director Walt Stinson, W0CP, who ran unopposed for the Director's slot. Stinson and Quiat will serve three-year terms.

Incumbent vice directors also won their races in the New England and Northwestern divisions. In the New England Division, Michael Raisbeck, K1TWF, defeated Andrea T. Parker, K1WLX, for a two-year term by a vote of 2469 to 1463. In the Northwestern Division, Greg Milnes, W7AGQ, defeated Mary E. Lewis, W7QGP, for a two-year term by a vote of 2930 to 1609.

Several other candidates for director and vice director faced no opposition, and the Election Committee earlier declared them elected:

  • In the Hudson Division, reelected for two-year terms: Director Frank Fallon, N2FF, of East Williston, New York, and Vice Director J. P. Kleinhaus, W2XX, of Cortlandt Manor, New York.

  • In the New England Division, reelected for a two-year term: Director Tom Frenaye, K1KI, of West Suffield, Connecticut.

  • In the Northwestern Division, reelected for a two-year term: Director Mary Lou Brown, NM7N, of Anacortes, Washington.

  • In the Roanoke Division, reelected for two-year terms: Director John Kanode, N4MM, of Boyce, Virginia, and Vice Director Dennis Bodson, W4PWF, of Arlington, Virginia.

  • In the Southwestern Division, reelected for three-year terms: Director Fried Heyn, WA6WZO, and Vice Director Art Goddard, W6XD, both of Costa Mesa, California.

Terms of office for successful candidates begin at noon on January 1, 1999.

FCC SETS ASIDE FOUR EXTRA CLASS GRANTS

The FCC has notified four individuals that it is setting aside their recent Extra Class license grants and privileges while it investigates alleged irregularities in the volunteer examination process. Letters from the FCC went out November 10 to Elmer J. Smith, N3UNR, of Effort, Pennsylvania; Philip DiGenova, N3UNS, of Bartonsville, Pennsylvania; Wayne S. Bowden, AA3RT, of Millsboro, Delaware; and Kenneth L. Sharp, AA3RU, of Boyertown, Pennsylvania, that the Commission was setting aside their Extra Class grants. All four individuals were requested to return their Extra Class license documents and Certificates of Successful Completion of Examination (CSCEs) to the FCC's Gettysburg office.

"This letter is not a finding that you have engaged in misconduct," the letter said, adding that if the FCC's investigation concludes that it should grant the Extra Class license applications, it will reinstate the grants.

An FCC official said the investigation was looking into testing irregularities including allegations that examinees might have been coached or given test answers. "They are bumped back for now while we investigate, since we had enough evidence at the outset to do that," he said.

For the time being at least, Smith and DiGenova have been bumped back to Technician class licensees, while Sharp will revert to Advanced class and his former N3TPN call sign. All three took their examinations October 6 at a W5YI-VEC session in Warminster, Pennsylvania. Bowden apparently never held a ham ticket prior to taking the examination elements for Extra Class at Spring City, Pennsylvania, on October 4 during a W5YI-VEC testing session. The call sign AA3RT no longer appears in the FCC database. The records of the other three amateurs involved were modified November 10.

FBI ARRESTS GEORGIA HAM FOR INTERFERING WITH AIRCRAFT COMMUNICATION

The FCC, the FAA, and the FBI have announced the arrest of a Georgia ham for allegedly interfering with radio communication between aircraft and air traffic controllers in Northern Georgia. An FBI statement issued this week said that Kevin M. Kelly, N2BYE, an Advanced class licensee, was arrested without incident November 6 at his Cumming, Georgia, home by FBI agents accompanied by FAA and FCC agents. The arrest followed a search of Kelly's residence.

Kelly was charged in a criminal complaint with four counts of breaking federal law prohibiting knowingly interfering with the operation of a "true light" or signal used at an air navigation facility. The FBI said its case stemmed from FAA reports of "sporadic and momentary radio frequency interference" between aircraft and air traffic controller communications. The FBI said an extensive investigation showed the RF interference to be coming from the Hyde Park Subdivision in Cumming where Kelly lived.

The FBI described Kelly, 46, as "a highly experienced electronics engineer" who was said to have been "extremely upset" about air traffic noise above his home. Kelly was scheduled to appear November 9 before a US magistrate in Atlanta.

STORM OR SHOWER, LEONIDS PROVIDE THRILL OF A LIFETIME

Hours of lost sleep were a small sacrifice to the many VHF and UHF enthusiasts who got the thrill of a lifetime working meteor scatter during the Leonid shower November 16-18. "For nearly all radio operators, it was spectacular," enthused Shelby Ennis, W8WN, of Elizabethtown, Kentucky. "This was the year of the fireballs."

Leonids get their name from the constellation Leo, which appears to be their source in the sky. The meteors originate from debris and dust in the wake of the comet Tempel-Tuttle, showing up each November. Approximately every 33 years--the length of time it takes for Tempel-Tuttle to orbit the sun--the shower can reach storm proportions.

Ennis and others also seem to agree that this was the year for long-distance contacts, possibly a few record-setting ones. "My biggest thrill was working Vermont on 2 meters, which is over 1400 miles," said Larry Lambert, N0LL, who lives in northern Kansas. He said he encountered one "burn"--or trail--that lasted nine minutes, during which he was able to work 11 stations.

Most, if not all, agree that the Leonids showed up a bit earlier than predicted, and that this year's event was a shower, not a storm. Some predicted that next year will be "the big one" that some had thought might happen this time around. Even so, all reports indicate gratifying results for those who participated. "I came home from work between 1800 and 1900 UTC on the 16th, and things were wild," Lambert said. His skeds at the predicted peak of 1900 UTC on the 17th failed for the most part, he said.

While high-speed CW has been the preferred mode for meteor scatter contacts, Ennis said that as a result of the numerous long-burning fireballs this time, SSB turned out to be "much more effective than HSCW." Ennis said HSCW worked best for times prior to the shower's peak, but SSB was "far more effective" once long bursts begin to appear.

Some stations were able to put several new grid squares, states and even countries into their logbooks, thanks to the Leonids. During the two days he operated, Bill Mitchell, K0WLU, in Minnesota, logged 124 stations in 99 grid squares on 2 meters, using both SSB and CW and running just 90 W into a Cushcraft 17B2 antenna. Not only that but he operated for several hours on emergency power after he lost electricity at his house. He used a marine battery to power his rig and amp, and an inverter to run his rotator!

Arliss Thompson, W7XU, in South Dakota, reported "exceptionally good" conditions on the morning of November 16. "I hope I'm around in another 33 years!" he said. Thompson worked several new grids and states on the bands from 50 MHz to 432 MHz, including his first-ever 432 meteor-scatter QSO with N6RMJ in California--possibly a record at 2036 km (for his part, N6RMJ reported dozens of MS contacts on 6 meters through 70 cm). The 144.200 MHz gathering spot on 2 meters had "so many signals that we couldn't copy anyone," Thompson said, expressing appreciation to those who moved off the calling channel to clear the congestion.

For those whose visibility was not obscured, the view from the ground also was spectacular in some US locations, although the peak viewing was in Asia. Ron Dunbar, W0PN/3, in Maryland, stepped outside to check the sky early on the morning of November 17. "Only five seconds after I stepped onto the deck, a brilliant Leonid streaked by from due east to due west," he said. "As it arched down to the western horizon, it exploded!" Dunbar said the resulting light was so intense it lit up his backyard.

Dunbar concluded that this year's Leonids shower was "definitely not normal, to say the least" because of an apparently greater numbers of larger particles generating more impressive burns. "Every trail I saw during the 15 minutes I was out there was most likely created by pieces of cometary debris of a size between a marble and a chicken's egg," Dunbar said in a posting to the Meteor-Scatter reflector, "and the fireball had to be considerably larger."

An ATV-carrying balloon launched by NASA scientists at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville offered live, real-time viewing of the Leonids shower via the Internet (see http://www.leonidslive.com/). At last report, the balloon was being retrieved from North-Central Georgia.

The Russian Mir space station and apparently all communication satellites came through the Leonid shower unscathed. The two cosmonauts aboard Mir took temporary refuge in the Soyuz escape spacecraft during the peak of the meteor shower. During an earlier spacewalk, they had installed a meteorite trap to possibly catch some of the debris.

NEXT SAREX MISSION, STS-93, DELAYED

The only Space Amateur Radio EXperiment, or SAREX, shuttle mission scheduled for 1999 has been postponed at least until March. Mission STS-93 aboard the space shuttle Columbia had been tentatively scheduled for a January launch. The postponement was blamed on delays in shipping the primary payload. A new launch date from Kennedy Space Center is not yet known, but NASA has said it will not be before March 18. The mission will last four days.

Schools in Florida, Rhode Island, Texas, and Virginia now are on the roster to make Amateur Radio contact with the STS-93 astronauts. A school in Indiana that was on the original SAREX schedule had to drop off because of the change in the launch date.

Hams flying aboard STS-93 will be Commander Eileen Collins, KD5EDS, as well as Michel Tognini, KD5EJZ, and Catherine Coleman, KC5ZTH. Other crew members are Jeffrey Ashby and Steven Hawley.

If all goes as planned, students at each of the schools on the schedule will get a chance to directly interview the astronauts via a ham radio linkup. Typical passes last approximately 10 minutes. Specific times and dates of the school contacts have not yet been arranged.

The SAREX program is a cooperative venture of NASA, AMSAT, and the ARRL. For more information on the SAREX program, contact Jean Wolfgang, WB3IOS, e-mail jwolfgang@arrl.org.

SATERN ENDS EMERGENCY OPERATION

After 19 days in emergency mode, SATERN--the Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network--discontinued its daylong operation on 14.265 MHz on November 16. The net had operated the all-day sessions since late October to support the Hurricane Mitch flood relief effort in Central America.

SATERN Director and Salvation Army Maj Pat McPherson, WW9E, says the net has gone back to its once-daily nets (1500 UTC weekdays; 1530 UTC Saturdays) on the same frequency. "Any traffic from the affected area will be accepted then," he said. "If the need presents itself, we will go back to the emergency format of the daylong net."

Many stations in the US have been participating in the net to relay health and welfare traffic to and from relatives, to aid in assessing damage and the emergency needs of victims, and to assist other relief agencies in the region. Ham radio continues to be one of the primary means of communication in Honduras.

McPherson said SATERN handled more than 500 pieces of health-and-welfare traffic in the days immediately following the disaster activation, plus an untold amount of emergency, logistical and strategic traffic. "The value of Amateur Radio's use during disasters has again been demonstrated," McPherson said.

The FCC had accommodated the SATERN operation by declaring a communications emergency on 14.265 MHz. The emergency declaration was rescinded November 17 after the net returned to its regular schedule.

SATERN continues to accept health and welfare inquiries via its Web site, http://www.angelfire.com/il/satern411/satframe.html. The Salvation Army is calling Mitch "the worst Atlantic hurricane in two centuries." The death toll has risen above 10,000 people. Damage to the region has been estimated at $4 billion.

AWA TO CELEBRATE FIRST TRANSATLANTIC QSO ON THE AIR

Just two years ago we celebrated the 75th anniversary of the first one-way transmission across the Atlantic ocean with the 1BCG operating event. Now, it's time to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the first amateur transatlantic two-way communication. It was not until the fourth and final transatlantic tests in November 1923 that ARRL Traffic Manager Fred Schnell, 1MO, and--a little later--John Reinartz, 1XAM, (both then living in Connecticut and later W4CF and K6BJ, respectively) would work Leon Deloy, 8AB, in France.

Now, exactly 75 years later to the day, the Antique Wireless Association plans to work other amateurs using early-style apparatus to commemorate this momentous occasion. The transmitter will be a replica of the original 1MO transmitter (four 203A tubes in a shunt-fed Hartley circuit). The receiver will be an authentic period-design Reinartz receiver of the type used at 1XAM. On Friday, November 27, 1998--the day after Thanksgiving--W2AN will operate from the AWA annex on or about 3525 kHz (the original transatlantic QSO took place around 3 MHz), starting at 2300 UTC. Operators will work as many stations as possible. The commemorative operation will resume November 28, if there's enough demand for contacts. A special QSL card will be available.

Send QSLs for W2AN commemorative contacts to AWA, 187 Lighthouse Rd, Hilton, NY 14468. For more information, contact AWA Museum Curator Ed Gable, K2MP, 716-392-3088; k2mp@eznet.net. Visit the AWA Web site at http://www.ggw.org/awa. --thanks to Ed Gable, K2MP, and Bob Raide, W2ZM

Hams North of the Border also will celebrate a transatlantic first this year, specifically, the 75th anniversary of the first recorded transatlantic QSO between A.W. Grieg, c1BQ of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and E.J. Simmonds, g2OD, of Ascot, Berkshire, England. This contact took place on December 16, 1923, a few weeks after the US achievement.

To commemorate this uniquely Canadian event, Industry Canada will permit Canadian Amateurs the use of the following special prefixes during the month of December 1998: CF in place of VA; CG in place of VE; CJ in place of VO; CK in place of VY--thanks to Eddy Swynar, VE3CUI

FCC SEQUENTIAL CALL SIGN UPDATE

The following is a list of FCC sequentially assigned call signs issued as of November 4, 1998. For more information about the sequential call sign system, see Fact Sheet PR5000 #206S or contact the FCC, 1270 Fairfield Rd, Gettysburg, PA 17325-7245; e-mail fccitd@fcc.gov.

DistrictGroup A
Extra		Group B
Advanced		Group C
Tech/Gen		Group D
Novice
0AB0ICKI0OM++KC0EJH
1AA1UEKE1KM++KB1DJC
2AB2FVKG2PI++KC2EGH
3AA3RVKF3CE++KB3DDM
4AF4MHKU4VX++KG4AQE
5AC5RRKM5TH++KD5FMT
6AD6HEKQ6YL++KF6TLR
7AB7ZNKK7QN++KD7DDG
8AB8DKKI8GX++KC8LDZ
9AA9WQKG9OS++KB9TPD
N. Mariana IslandNH0GAH0BAKH0HJWH0ABJ
Guam++AH2DIKH2TXWH2ANX
HawaiiNH7RAH6POKH7JZWH6DFA
American SamoaAH8RAH8AHKH8DMWH8ABF
AlaskaAL0NAL7RHKL0QLWL7CUY
Virgin Islands++KP2CPNP2KFWP2AIJ
Puerto RicoNP3YKP3BLNP3ZSWP4NOB

++ All call signs in this group have been issued in this district.

A THANKSGIVING POEM

Many Thanks

By Kim Paquette, N8YWX

I'm thankful for our net controls,
They run the net on time.
I'm thankful for the treasurer,
He watches every dime!

I'm thankful for the new club call,
For Field Day, it's just great!
I'm thankful for the Christmas Dinner,
And I can hardly wait.

I'm thankful for our Secretary,
She's a woman of many words.
I'm thankful for all the 73s,
That I have ever heard.

I'm thankful for second Tuesdays,
When all the hams do gather
I'm thankful for ol' Mickey D's
Where many gather after.

I'm sure thankful for good ol' PL,
It keeps DX away.
I'm thankful for the autopatch,
Some are thankful every day!

I'm thankful for the WB*
He keeps QRM low.
I'm thankful for the hams,
We meet wherever we go.

I'm thankful for my radio,
And I always have it with me.
And though I've never used it,
I'm even thankful for RTTY.

* A cryptic reference to her husband, Jerry, WB8IOW --Ed

Republished with permission from the DeForest ARC News, October 1998

SOLAR UPDATE

Propagation prognosticator Tad Cook, K7VVV, Seattle, Washington, reports: Solar activity was down this week, with average solar flux off by 30 points and sunspot numbers down by over 24 points when compared to the previous week. Average geomagnetic activity was down also, but a week ago we were hit by a major geomagnetic storm that drove the planetary A index to 60, the Boulder A index to 36, and the College A index (from Alaska) to 90 on November 13. This was caused by a major proton flare, and while it had a devastating effect on HF propagation, VHF users enjoyed some interesting conditions.

KL7SIX awoke to find what he described as a wild auroral display, and he mentioned that the one a week previous was the biggest in 10 years. VE6NM in Alberta reported hearing VE7SKA the loudest, along with some VE8 beacons on 6 meters.

Other than auroral propagation, the big VHF news of the week was the Leonid meteor shower. The shower did not turn out to be the hoped for meteor storm, but many hams observed both the meteors and some interesting propagation modes.

For the ARRL November Sweepstakes (SSB) this weekend, look for a solar flux around 110, with planetary A index on Saturday around 10 and then 5 on Sunday. After that look for flux values to rise above 120 after November 28 and peak around 145 on December 5 or 6 (the weekend of the ARRL 160-Meter Contest).

Sunspot numbers for November 12 through November 18 were 85, 97, 129, 110, 76, 92, and 72, with a mean of 94.4. The 10.7-cm flux was 113.9, 118.1, 119, 131.1, 131, 120.8, and 114.8, with a mean of 121.2. The estimated planetary A indices were 4, 60, 38, 10, 7, 4 and 7, with a mean of 18.6.

In Brief:

  • This weekend on the radio: November 21-22, ARRL November Sweepstakes, SSB; North American Collegiate ARC Championship, SSB; IARU Region 1 160-Meter Contest. November 28-29, CQ WW DX Contest, CW.
    Just ahead: December 4-6, ARRL 160-Meter Contest; QRP ARCI Holiday Spirits Homebrew Sprint; TOPS Activity 3.5 MHz CW Contest.

  • Vanity update: The FCC in Gettysburg reports it has processed vanity call sign applications received through October. In the latest run November 18, the FCC granted 152 new call signs. Another 183 applications landed in the work in process (WIPs) stack and have been processed.

  • New satellite book: Long time AMSAT-NA Journal author, John Hackett, LA2QAA, has a new book entitled A Beginner's Guide to Amateur Radio Satellites. It's available through coauthor A. I. Copland, GM1SXX. For details contact LA2QAA by e-mail at la2qaa@amsat.org.--AMSAT News Service

  • They're baaack! US-made 3-500Z and 4-400A/C tubes: Triton Services of Easton, Pennsylvania--which acquired the EIMAC Glass Tube Division (and the original equipment and technology) a couple of years ago--now is producing 3-500Z and 4-400A/C tubes to the original EIMAC specs. These are available exclusively through D&C Electronics, 3089 Deltona Blvd, Spring Hill, FL 34606; tel 800-881-2374; 352-688-2374; fax 352-683-9595; e-mail tube@gate.net; http://www.dandcelectronics.com. (D&C also can supply 811A, 572B and other tubes, made in China and Russia.)

  • AMSAT-NA promotions: As we've already reported, Keith Baker, KB1SF, has been named to replace Bill Tynan, W3XO, as the president of AMSAT-NA. The Board also named Robin Haighton, VE3FRH, to replace Baker as executive vice president; Stan Wood, WA4NFY as vice president-engineering; Keith Pugh, W5IU, as vice-president-operations; Martha Saragovitz as corporate secretary; and Art Feller, W4ART, as treasurer. In addition, the Board appointed Russ Tillman, K5NRK, publisher of the AMSAT-NA Journal, as vice president-publications, and Dan James, NN0DJ, as vice president-public affairs. The selections were made at the AMSAT-NA annual Board of Directors meeting October 25 in Vicksburg, Mississippi.--AMSAT News Service

  • First day covers: If you're interested in Amateur Radio stamps, check out the Web page of Gary G. Flechtner Sr, WJ8C, at http://www.bright.net/~wj8c/. Gary's interested in additional color photos of first-day covers. Send pictures in .jpg or .gif format via e-mail to wj8c@bright.net or hard-copy photos to Gary G. Flechtner Sr, 188 N State Rte 101, Tiffin, OH 44883-9656.

  • ECFS replaces RIPS: As of October 26, the FCC's Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) has replaced the Record Imaging Processing System (RIPS) as the main source for copies of documents filed in docketed and rulemaking proceedings. The public can view all ECFS documents at http://www.fcc.gov/e-file/ecfs.html. The public also can file comments electronically in unrestricted rulemaking and docketed proceedings. The ECFS is designed for use with Netscape ver 3 or higher or Internet Explorer ver 3 or higher. The FCC plans to add an FAQ page to ECFS to make the system more user-friendly. For more information about using this system, contact Patricia Rawlings, prawling@fcc.gov; 202-418-0294. For more information about filing comments, contact Magalie Salas, msalas@fcc.gov or Bill Caton, wcaton@fcc.gov, 202-418-0300.

  • AMSAT 16th Space Symposium Proceedings: The Proceedings of the AMSAT-NA 16th Space Symposium October 16-18, 1998, in Vicksburg, Mississippi, are available from the ARRL. Order item 7024. Proceedings are $15. Call toll-free 888-277-5289 or visit ARRLWeb, http://www.arrl.org.

  • ZS75SIG special event: Special event station ZS75SIG continues through November 30 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the South African Corps Of Signals. Look for operation on 80, 40, 20, 15, and 10 meters SSB and occasionally on CW. A special QSL card will be available only to those who QSL direct (no QSLs via the bureau). Enclose $1 or two IRCs for postage to Edwin Musto, ZS5BBO, PO Box 211032 Bluff, 4036, South Africa.