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July 2004

MINUTES OF GENERAL MEMBERSHIP

MEETING OF SILVER SPRINGS

RADIO CLUB, INC.

June 21, 2004

The meeting was called to order by President Bill Britt, KQ4UJ, at 7:30 p.m. Present at the meeting were Officers, President Bill Britt, KQ4UJ, Vice President Tony Blalock, K4OCF, Secretary Jeanette Frantz, KG4DJA, Treasurer Johnny Williams, K4ANJ, and Board Members, Richard Cardinali, KG4TLE, Bill Miller, N6WGM, and Ernie O'Berry, K4OSM. There were 32 members in attendance. A quorum was present.

The invocation was given by Gene Layerd.

The membership recited the pledge of allegiance, led by the Board..

The membership introduced themselves.

Upon motion made, seconded and adopted, the Minutes of the May General Membership Meeting were approved as published in The Oracle.

Upon motion made, seconded and adopted, the Treasurer's report was approved as published in The Oracle.

MEMBERSHIP: There were no new membership applications this month.

MARS: Bill Britt, KQ4UJ, asked Johnny Williams to report on MARS, and Johnny reported that a few phone patches are being run. Board Member Bill Miller inquired if Jack Scott would be willing to conduct MARS Training Classes again. Anyone having any interest should contact Bill or Jack Scott.

FIELD DAY: The Annual Field Day event will utilize the MARS Station. Plans for the event have been finalized.

CHRISTMAS PARTY: Barbara Million reported that she had contacted the Shriners Club. She advised that there would be a room charge, and the Shriners have established a minimum of 60 persons. Therefore, it is not possible to have the Christmas Party at the Shriners. Investigation will be made regarding other locations. Barbara will make further inquiry.

TAIL GATE/HAMFEST: Silver Springs Radio Club will conduct a Tail Gate/Hamfest event the second Saturday in December (December 11, 2004). Plans will be finalized in the coming months.

TECHNICAL COMMITTEE: Ernie O'Berry advised that he had nothing to report.

ARISS UPDATE: Larry Phelps gave an updated report on the ARISS Program.

MERT: A general meeting of MERT Members will be held on Saturday, July 10, 2004. This will be a general training session. All MERT Members are urged to attend.

There being no further business to come before the meeting, the meeting was adjourned at 8:20 p.m.

Jeanette Frantz, KG4DJA, Secretary

**********************

THERE WAS NO BOARD MEETING IN JULY SINCE MONDAY, JULY 5, 2004, WAS THE HOLIDAY OBSERVED FOR INDEPENDENCE DAY!

July 2004

Compiled by Bill Britton KB4VOL/AAM4AFL

July 23/24
(NEW DATE) Milton, at Santa Rosa Auditorium, On 191A, Old Bagdad Hwy., Talk-in on 145.490, INFO: Walt, WA4TFR (850) 994-7335

Aug 21
Ft. Pierce, INDOORS at Indian River Community College, on Route 70, Talk-in on 147.345 (PL 107.2), INFO: Bill, N4XEO (772) 461-7275

Aug 28
Tampa at TAMPA ARC Clubhouse, 7801 North 22^nd Street, INFO: Biff, K4LAW (813) 265-4812

Sept 11/12
Melbourne, at Melbourne Auditorium, 625 Hibicus Road, Talk-in on 146.850m INFO: Tim, KI4TG (321) 724-9339

Sept 11
> Largo, at Chester's Electronic Supply, 311 Missouri Avenue North, INFO: Len, K4BDP, len@ij.net

Sept 25
> (NEW DATE) New Port Richie, at Recreational Center, 6630 Van Buren Road; INFO: Ron, N9EE (727) 365-6575

Sept 25
> Orlando, at Bahia Shrine Center, 2300 Pembrook Drive, Talk-in on 147.39 (PL 103.5), INFO: Warren, W4WHH (407) 365-6682

Oct 2
Jacksonville! FREE! At Jax Raceway, I-95 & Pecan Park Road, Talk-in on 146.700, INFO: Billy, N4UF (904) 765-3230

Oct 9
> Plantation. FREE! At Motorola NE lot, Sunrise Boulevard & University Drive, Talk-in on 146.790, INFO: Richard, KG4CHW, (954) 275-0652

Oct 16
Jacksonville, At the Morocco Auditorium, 3800 St. Johns Bluff Road, Talk-in on 146.700, INFO: Larry, W1LR (904) 272-1472

Oct 23
Titusville. FREE! At DAV 109 (NEW LOCATION) 435 Singleton Avenue, Talk-in on 145.490, INFO: Bob, N6USP (321) 264-2622

For a complete listing of Hamfests in Florida, please visit the Florida Ham Website at its new location, bellsouthpwp.net/k/b/kb4vol

NEEDED: RADIO OPERATORS

Amateur operators are urgently needed to serve as net control stations for the Silver Springs Radio Club radio net held each Tuesday evening at 7:30 p.m. At the current time, the only net operator, is your Net Manager. Therefore, operators are needed to make the weekly radio club net possible.

Anyone interested in participating should contact Jeanette Frantz, KG4DJA, at 489-0571 after 6:00 p.m.

Thank you.

The following article was pulled from QRZ.com. Our future is secure as long as we have young people such as this.

Reply Comments to Notice of Proposed Rule Making (04-37).

Reply Comments by to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, by Benjamin S. Gelb

I have been a licensed Amateur Radio operator for eight years, completed multiple physics and electronics courses and have countless hours of hands-on experience experimenting with radio and electronics equipment. I am a graduating senior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia and will be attending MIT in the fall.

The following are reply comments to various comments on the NRPM (04-37) by Current Technologies and Ambient Corporation.

Current Technologies asserts that "Current Technologies implementation of BPL is noninterfering." I dispute Current Technologies' assertion that "Current Technologies implementation of BPL is non-interfering." There seems to be a great division between those who believe BPL will be a source of harmful interference, and those who do not. I contend this division is not a result of "misunderstandings about how BPL works" on the part of amateur radio operators and many other individuals and organizations but rather a misunderstanding of basic physics on the part of both the Commission and Current Technologies.

Current Technologies states on 14 that "Access BPL devices do not use power lines as antennas. They use power lines to conduct data signals, not radiate them." I'm sure that Current Technologies' goal is to conduct signals rather than radiate them. Unfortunately, Current Technologies, no matter how much they wish to deny it, is bound by the same laws of physics as every one else. When an RF current is coupled into a conductor, that conductor will radiate. Period. This is because of the electric and magnetic fields created by the charge and current on the conductor.

In coaxial cable the fields are contained by a shield at ground potential. In balanced line, equal and opposite fields from correctly spaced parallel conductors mathematically cancel. Power lines have RF characteristics that are irregular and variable, and do not resemble either type of feed line. Therefore, BPL systems that couple RF to the power line will cause the power line to radiate. Period.

This has been shown to be true in the real world. A video¹ produced by the American Radio Relay League demonstrates actual received interference in four trial areas, one of which is operated by Current Technologies. Because of the great disagreement between BPL promoters and those who stand to be impacted by the implementations of BPL systems, it seems that the Commission ought to be obligated to, at the very least, conduct some sort of real world testing of its own to determine the radiation characteristics of power lines. To date, no effort to validate the claims of either side has been made by the Commission.

So far, the Commission''s attitude seems to be to accept the word of BPL manufacturers as fact, no questions asked, despite the fact that many statements made by BPL proponents and subsequently parroted by the Commission are embarrassingly nonsensical to someone with even the most rudimentary technical education (e.g. stating that the characteristics of a power line are "'somewhere between a waveguide and an antenna'" in the NPRM). Meanwhile, the Commission has dismissed actual testing and analysis conducted by many technically adept individuals, as well as organizations such as the ARRL, AMRAD, and the NTIA as "'unsupported claims'" that cannot "'stand in the way of such an innovation as BPL.'"²

Current Technologies states that the debate has been "complicated further by the existence of several different technical approaches to BPL, each of which works differently."

Current Technologies seems to say that while some implementations of BPL may cause power line radiation, its own implementation does not. This cannot be for the reason addressed previously - all BPL systems will cause power line radiation - but assuming for a moment that Current has found a way around the laws of physics, it is clear that each of the "different technical approaches" to BPL needs to be addressed individually in the new rules, because even if Current Technologies' implementation may not cause interference, other implementations will. More curiously, no sufficient detail has been provided regarding the operations of ANY of the "different technical approaches" or what technical property gives Current Technolgies' system the ability to prevent power lines from radiating. It boggles the mind to think that the Commission plans to implement effective new rules without evaluating such technical details.

¹ARRL BPL Video.    BPL_Trial-web.mpg

² The statement of Commissioner Adelstein on the NPRM.

Current Technologies' assertion that "BPL bandwidth has no effect on interference" is incorrect. This is not a matter of science, but one merely of common sense. A wider signal bandwidth means that BPL signals will occupy a greater set of frequencies. Therefore there are more frequencies where interference may occur. An isolated interfering signal of narrow bandwidth often does not constitute harmful interference because, while annoying, it can be easily avoided by simply moving to another frequency. A broad band BPL signal, on the other hand, could quite easily consume an entire BAND of operating frequencies, which are normally only a few hundred kHz wide in the HF range. There is a grave difference between a single narrow band signal and a broad band one like BPL.

In its comments, Ambient cites President George W. Bush''s recent speech on broadband technology. "So how is some guy in remote Wyoming going to get any broadband technology? Regulatory policy has got to be wise and smart as we encourage the spread of this important technology. There needs to be technical standards to make possible new broadband technologies, such as the use of high-speed communication directly over power lines. Power lines were for electricity; power lines can be used for broadband technology. So the technical standards need to be changed to encourage that.

Ambient strongly supports the President's conclusion that '' ... technical standards need to be changed to encourage ...'' the use of high-speed communication directly over power lines."

Ambient supports the conclusion that "'technical standards need to be changed,'" but what about that guy out in Wyoming? Ambient seems to have artfully chosen its words so it can later deny promises of rural broadband. This is because, as I explained in my original comments to the NPRM, Access BPL is no more viable in a rural area than cable or DSL service. For the benefit of the Commission, I have reproduced those earlier comments here (paragraph references refer to paragraphs in the NPRM).

Access BPL will not provide service to rural areas for the same reasons that cable and DSL are not available in rural areas. As is stated in paragraph 3, access BPL is a means of "' 'last mile' delivery.'" A BPL signal can only travel a few thousand feet down a power line. Neighborhood distribution lines still must be connected to the Internet via fiber optic cable, as is outlined in paragraph 4. This is viable in an urban or suburban setting, where the number of potential customers can justify the cost of the fiber backhaul, but will not float in a rural environment. The Commission seems to subscribe to a misconception that the national power grid can be magically connected to BPL and turn every outlet in America into an Internet connection. This is not the case. A substantial amount of new infrastructure must be constructed in the area of BPL service, and therefore will not promote BPL in rural areas any more than other broadband technologies.

As the promise of rural service is the sole pretense for the Commission's blind rush to deploy BPL at all costs, perhaps it might behoove the Commission to consider BPL for what it really is and reconsider its motivation for promoting it so relentlessly.

Ambient states that it "believes that such coexistence of BPL with other critical uses of spectrum is a goal which can be achieved."

The coexistence of Access BPL with other critical uses of spectrum is not a goal to be achieved; it is a BEDROCK REQUIREMENT for operation under the non-interferences conditions of the Part 15 rules. Compliance to this condition must be demonstrated PRIOR to operation of Access BPL systems. To apply regulatory power in any other way would simply turn Part 15 on its head.

To quote from the Part 15 label on the back of a small electronic device on my desk, ""this device may not cause harmful interference."" This is a stark contrast from the interpretation of the rules regarding BPL, which goes something like, ""BPL systems may cause interference, as long as some effort is made to correct said interference once it is identified by a party receiving interference."" This is simply backward. The responsibility of identifying and initiating corrective action for interference must not fall on the licensed user of spectrum. Access BPL equipment
must be conclusively proven to be able to operate under non-interference conditions through a thorough, documented technical analysis. To date, no such analysis exists.

MARS TRAINING CLASSES

Anyone interested in attending MARS Training Classes, please contact Bill Miller, N6WGM, or Jack Scott, N4NWT.

Their telephone numbers are:

Bill Miller 873-2017 email n6wgm@cfl.rr.com

Jack Scott 622-4447

CLUB MEETINGS are the third Monday of each month 7:30 PM at Green Clover Hall in the Marion County Government Complex on Southeast 25th Avenue. Coffee & Doughnuts are available.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS meetings are the first Monday of each month, 7:30 PM at Marion County Facilities Management Office.

K4GSO, club station, Green Clover Hall, is available to all members. Phone number is 620-7210. Contact Ken, KF4QID at 489-0571.

MARS, club station located at 161 Oak Circle, Silver Springs Shores. Phone number is 680-1528. Contact Bill KQ4UJ, at 694-1605.

LICENSE TESTING, on the second Monday of each odd number month, except July, 7:30 PM at Green Clover Hall. Call Jack Scott at 622-4447.

RADIO NETS are conducted over the club repeater, K4GSO, on 146.610 MHz (-600).

LADIES AUXILIARY. Sunshine - Provides flowers and get-well cards for members or members' family. Also orders SSRC logo shirts and caps, Barbara Million, KE4ZTW, 694-5744.

NOTE: For change of address or corrections (with SSRC) contact the Membership Chairman.

SSRC NET, every Tuesday at 7:30 (local time). Contact Jeanette at (352) 489-0571.

MERT (Marion County Emergency Radio Communications Team) NET, every Thursday at 7:30 p.m. LOCAL time. Contact Charlie Lord, NR2F at (352) 489-9185.

Repeater Trustee,(146.610)Bill KQ4UJ, at 694-1605;

President Bill Britt, KQ4UJ 694-1605

V. President Tony Blalock, K4OCF 622-4960

Secretary Jeanette Frantz, KG4DJA 489-0571

Treasurer John O. Williams, K4ANJ 685-2038

Trustee Bill Britt, KQ4UJ 694-1605

Board Members:

Richard Cardinali, KG4TLE 690-7500

William Miller, N6WGM 873-2017

Ernie O'Berry, K4OSM 732-0374

Oracle Editor: Jeanette Frantz, KG4DJA 489-0571

Oracleeditor@prodigy.net

Membership Phillip Frantz, KF4QIC 489-0571

Ladies'

Auxiliary Barbara Million, KE4ZTW 694-5744

Email: funyet2@earthlink.net

Silver Springs Radio Club Website:

Silver Springs WebSite

Ocala Radio Amateur's Candid Letter of Enlightenment

SILVER SPRINGS RADIO CLUB

P.O. BOX 787

SILVER SPRINGS, FL 34489

July 2004