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FCC CREATES THE MEDICAL
IMPLANT COMMUNICATIONS SERVICE ("MICS")
CGC Communicator

By Report & Order, the FCC has establish the Medical Implant Communications Service operating in the 402-405 MHz band.  This will permit the use of ultra-low power radio-controlled devices such as cardiac pacemakers and defibrillators.
Operation of today's medical implant devices requires that they be magnetically coupled to external programmers or readers. This requires very close spacing between the implanted device in the patient and external monitoring/control equipment, often requiring body contact and very slow data rates, sometimes requiring up to fifteen minutes for a data transfer.

APRS at Work
CGC Communicator

When Bill Guthrie, VE6OLD, of Bentley, Alberta, Canada woke up to find his van missing from his driveway, he did one thing before he called the police. Bill ran down to the computer, and had a quick peek. Almost instantly, the APRS beacon in his van told Bill's computer that his vehicle was enjoying a leisurely drive around the town of Red Deer.  Then, calmly, Bill picked up the phone and called the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He reported the stolen van, adding that they could recover it and catch the thieves if they sent some one to the Red Deer location. They did, and the arresting officers got even more than they were looking for.  It seems some young teens needed a vehicle to haul their loot from a recent spate of break and enter robberies. Not only did the alleged thieves get caught red handed for grand theft auto, but the stolen goodies in the van tied them to those other crime scenes as well. But that's not all. Obviously, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police wanted to know how the owner of a stolen vehicle could possibly know where it was located. That was the opening for VE6OLD to begin explaining the magic of Amateur Radio's Automatic Position Reporting System (APRS).He also invited some of the officers to his house to demonstrate how APRS works. The Mounties were impressed. 

A committee has been formed to manage the FARA flea market this year.  Ed(KB1CQI), Bev (N1LOO), Peter (KA1AXY), Spencer (N1JWB), and I make up the committee.  Our plan is to go all out to make this spring's flea market seller friendly as well as buyer friendly.  We are also planning to do serious promotion and make a grand prize available to attendees.  The flea market will be in March.  Watch the Circuit and FARA web site for more information.
FARA board meetings are on the last Monday night of the month.  Any member is welcome to attend a board meeting, which makes you a voting board member.  Meetings start at 7:30 PM and last about an hour.
A special note about this month's meeting.  Peter Cantara, KI1M, from Ham Radio Outlet, will be here to discuss new toys and ham radio in general.  He will be bringing a few radios and accessories with him.  I asked Peter to bring a FT-100 transceiver.  You can also ask Peter to bring down a particular radio or accessory you would like to look at.  Just email or phone me and I'll pass on the request, or you can phone Peter directly.  Peter is definitely not here to do a sales pitch, but I did ask him if he could sell any of the items he brings with him.  He told me he has never done that at a radio club meeting but there is no reason why he can't bring a few sales slips with him.  Peter also mentioned to me that he will hand deliver anything a member might want to order in advance of the meeting.  Just call Peter at HRO before the meeting and he will deliver your order in person.  You can also email him:
[email protected]

[email protected]

The FARA email reflector is working well. It provides us with an easy way to reach all our members who have email. You have to sign up it will reach you, though. See the instructions on the FARA web page, and remember that, once you sign up, anything you send must come from the address you signed up with. If you change email addresses, you won't be able to post until you repeat the signup process from your new address.