Amateur Radio NewslineT Report 1698 - February 26, 2010 Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1698 with a release date of Friday, February 26th, 2010 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a Q-S-T. RACES is reborn in Illinois, the FCC puts a rescue radio robot right in the middle of the 70cm ham band, an HT call leads to a rescue in a skiing accident, a ham radio hero from India to meet with the United Kingdom's Royal Family, Iceland gives its hams 4 meters and I-A-R-U Region 3 decides to adopt the Japanese Yen as its only exchange currency. Find out the reason why on Amateur Radio NewslineT report number 1698 coming your way right now. (Billboard Cart Here) ** RESCUE RADIO: RACES IS REBORN IN ILLINOIS Rescue radio using ham operators has been given a new lease on life in Illinois. This, with a compact between the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and amateur radio operators throughout the state for them to provide an additional layer of emergency communications during disasters. Amateur Radio Newsline's Mark Abramowicz, NT3V, has the details: -- Illinois Emergency Management Agency director Andrew Velasquez III is praising the agreement and those who will become part of it. Velasquez, quoted in a news release issued jointly by Governor Patrick Quinn's office and the IEMA, says the state is "very fortunate to have a dedicated group of volunteer amateur radio operators who are willing to donate their time and expertise to help make Illinois safer." Velasquez noted the agreement will further strengthen the state's communications interoperability plan - which includes layers of redundant communications. Brad Pioveson, W9FX, of Benton, has been appointed volunteer state officer for the reconstituted Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services program. According to the IEMA, he'll be serving as a single point of contact between the state office and the state's amateur radio community. In addition to throwing its support behind amateur radio as an integral part of emergency communications in Illinois, the state EMA also agreed to equip a RACES station with equipment and resources needed to maintain both wired and wireless communications with the state emergency operations center in Springfield - this during emergencies. Pioveson says there are some 20-thousand licensed hams in the state, many of whom are part of what he called "a very rich history of providing emergency communications" for Illinois. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mark Abramowicz, NT3V, in Philadelphia. -- Illinois ARRL Section Manager Thomas Ciciora, KA9QPN, gave his personal thanks to W9FX, K9DUE, N9LQF, and the other folks whom he may have inadvertently forgotten but who helped to make this dream into a reality. (KA9QPN) ** RADIO LAW: FCC TO PERMIT RESCUE RADIO ROBOT IN THE 430 TO 450 MHz BAND The FCC has issued a waiver of the Part 90 rules to permit a company called Reconrobotics Incorporated to sell a remote controlled security robot that will operate in the 430 to 448 MHz band. This is spectrum that is primary to the Federal Radiolocation Service but also encompasses the Amateur Service weak signal, satellite and repeater subbands. The waiver permits Reconrobitics to manufacture and sell a device called the Recon Scout. This is described as a device designed for state and local law enforcement and firefighting agencies, and security personnel in critical infrastructure industries. The Recon Scout can be thrown, dropped, or launched into potentially hazardous areas and can provide real-time video to an operator located a safe distance away. Typical applications will include such things as checking a building prior to forced entry, searching vehicle undercarriages for explosives and searching for survivors in a burning structure. The Recon Scout transmits the analog video signal to the operator on one of three six megahertz channels. These are 430 to 436 MHz, 436 to 442 MHz, and 442 to 448 MHz. Reconrobotics says that multiple channels are necessary in order to avoid interference during incidents where multiple Recon Scouts are in use, but that such situations should be rare. The company's now approved proposal is that the first unit sold to a responding organization would operate on 442 to 448 MHz. That happens to be where thousands of ham radio repeaters operate. The 436 to 442 MHz version being sold only to entities that already own the 442 to 448 MHz version, and the 430 to 436 MHz version being sold only to entities that already own both of the others. In approving the waiver, the FCC told Reconrobotics . the Recon Scout will have to operate on a secondary basis where it cannot cause interference and is not protected from interference to all Federal users and licensed non-Federal users including radio amateurs. The FCC also warned prospective users that operation of the Recon Scout in an unauthorized manner will subject licensees to Commission enforcement action and license revocation. It also said that widespread improper use of the device could lead the Commission to stop granting or renewing Recon Scout authorizations. More on this next week. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, in the newsroom in Los Angeles. (FCC, QRZ.com) ** RESCUE RADIO: HT CALL BRINGS HELP TO DOWNED SKIIER A Colorado backcountry skier who injured himself in a fall west of Eldora Mountain Resort was rescued. This, after using a handheld amateur radio transceiver to call for help. Boulder County sheriff's officials say 60-year-old Steve Priem, N0YIV, of Boulder used the radio after falling Friday afternoon, Friday, February 19th. According to the on-line Colorado Connection, another unidentified ham radio operator about 120 miles away heard Priem's request for assistance and called 911. Rescue teams were dispatched with part of the coordination taking place using amateur radio simplex frequencies and area repeaters. N0YIV was able to provide rescuers with GPS coordinates for his position and had with him a rescue whistle. He was treated at a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. Sheriff's officials described Priem as an experienced backcountry skier who was well prepared for almost any emergency. (ColoradoConnection, ARNewslineT) ** RESCUE RADIO: HAM HERO TO MEET WITH ROYAL FAMILY One of the worlds most decorated hams has been invited to meet with the British Royal Family. Steve Herman, W7VOA, is in New Deli, with the details: -- VU2RBI, Bharathi Devulapalli Prasad, announced on her Facebook page (Feb. 22) that she has been invited to speak at the Commonwealth Day Observance in London in March 8th in the presence of HM The Queen, HRH Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall and all Commonwealth High Commissioners. She says she will be talking to the distinguished group about science technology and society, which she says will include her personal experiences on ham radio. Bharati, one of ham radio's most prominent YL's, has won several significant international awards related to her service to society by using amateur radio. She was part of the Andaman DX'pedition team that won the ARRL's 2005 International Humanitarian Award. The December 2004 earthquake and resulting tsunami that devastated South Asia coastal areas swiftly shifted the role of the DX operation into an emergency communication link with India's mainland. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Steve Herman, W7VOA, in New Deli. -- VU2RBI is active on HF CW and SSB from her shack in New Delhi. Her husband and two children are also licensed radio amateurs as well. (W7VOA) ** RESTRUCTURING: ICELAND ON 4 METERS AND 600 METERS Hams in Iceland now have access to both the 4 meter and 600 meter bands. On February 19th the Icelandic Post and Telecom Administration granted a temporary experimental access to the 70.000 to 70.200 MHz through December 31st. Access is on secondary basis with a maximum bandwidth is 16 kHz and power limit is 100 watts. At the same time, the Post and Telecom Administration granted a temporary experimental access to the 600 meter band also valid until December 31st. The allotted frequency span is 493 to 510 kHz. On a secondary basis using CW only at a power limit of 100 watts. In both cases current amateur licensees need to apply to the Post and Telecom Administration for a special experimental permit. This is open to both Icelandic "N" and "G" license classes. (TF2JB) ** BREAK 1 From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including the W9ELK repeater serving Elkhorn, Wisconsin. (5 sec pause here) ** WORLDBEAT: IARU REGION 3 ADOPTS YEN ONLY ACCOUNTING No more US dollars for International Amateur Radio Union Region 3. At the last IARU Region 3 Conference, it was voted that all accounts of the Region would now be maintained only in Japanese Yen and not in the two currency system of US Dollars and Japanese Yen as has been done for many years. The reasoning was that all accounts are maintained in Tokyo and the old system involved a double currency conversion that in many cases resulted in losses before it was credited to the IARU Region 3 banks. All subscriptions to Region 3 from member societies will also now be calculated in Japanese Yen only. (Southgate) ** RADIO LAW: STUDY SAYS MOBILE CELLPHONE BANS WORK BEST IN URBAN AREAS A new study on the effectiveness of banning mobile operation of non hands free cellphone use has concluded that they work best in urban areas. Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, has more: -- A new investigation aimed at analyzing the impact of hand-held cell phone legislation on driving safety concludes that usage ban laws are having more of an impact in densely populated urban areas with a higher number of licensed drivers than in rural areas where there are fewer licensed drivers. The study, conducted by Sheldon Jacobson, a professor of computer science and the director of the simulation and optimization laboratory in Illinois, analyzed the relationship between pre- and post-law automobile accident rates using public data from 62 counties in New York. He and his team found that after banning hand-held cell phone use while driving, 46 counties in New York experienced lower fatal accident rates. 10 of these did so at a statistically significant level, while all 62 counties experienced lower personal injury accident rates. Jacobson and his team of researchers also discovered that the personal injury accident rate decrease was more substantive in counties such as Bronx and Queens New York. These are also boroughs in New York City proper where there was a high density of licensed drivers rather than in sparsely populated areas of upstate New York. Jacobson and co-researchers published their results in an article titled "Evaluating the Impact of Legislation Prohibiting Hand-Held Cell Phone Use While Driving," which will appear in a forthcoming issue of the journal Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, in Los Angeles. -- Now, we do not want to sound like know it all's nor belittle the word of these researchers, but it does seem reasonable to assume that where there are more people using cellphones that banning their hand held use while in motion will result in fewer accidents. Also that the rates of decrease would be greater where there are more cars, more cellphones and more people using both. (Science OnLine) ** RESCUE RADIO: FCC SAYS YES TO 97:113 WAIVER REQUEST FROM SONAMA COUNTY HEALTH SERVICES The waivers to Section 97:113 of the Amateur Service rules to permit paid employees to take part in disaster training exercises continues. This with a February 16th letter from the FCC granting a request from the County of Sonoma Department of Health Services in Santa Rosa, California to utilize about a half dozen hams in its employ to take part in monthly radio-check disaster preparedness drills. Specifically, the FCC says that the County of Sonoma Department of Health Services can use the services of the ham radio volunteers in its employ. This for events slated for on March 10, April 14, May 12, June 9, July 14, August 11, September 8, October 13, November 10, and December 8th of this year. The County of Sonoma Department of Health Services filed the waiver request for these exercises back on November 25th, 2009. In granting the request the Scot Stone, who is the Deputy Chief of the FCC's Mobility Division concluded that the waiver request was appropriate under the circumstances presented. Each drill is scheduled to last two hours. (FCC) ** ENFORCEMENT: COURT TO RE-EXAMINE WARDROBE MALFUNCTION FINE A federal appeals court says that it will re-examine the FCC fine it threw out against CBS over Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia issued a statement on Tuesday, February 23rd saying that it will consider whether the FCC's $550,000 fine against the broadcaster over the breast-baring performance was a punishable violation of the Commissions rules. In 2008 the lower court threw out the penalty saying the FCC acted arbitrarily and capriciously in issuing the fine for the half-second of nudity. However in 2009 the Supreme Court on appeal from the FCC ordered the lower court to consider reinstating the fine, following a ruling in another case that said the FCC could threaten fines even for fleeting profanity. (Published news reports) ** RESTRUCTURING: A SNEAK PEAK AT THE FCC NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN With the FCC scheduled to deliver its long awaited National Broadband Plan to Congress next month, the FCC released a sneak preview of the plan. It reveals what can best be described as a group of sweeping and ambitious proposals it hopes Congress will support. The recommendations released in a 56 page report cover a variety of proposals ranging from efforts to spur job creation and improve energy independence to improving healthcare and controlling its costs. The plan also calls for constructing an interoperable nationwide wireless public safety network. Other proposals seek to improve the delivery of education services and enhance government performance. The preview document provides details of what may be included in the massive report the FCC plans to deliver to Congress on March 17th. (Information Week) ** ELECTRONIC HAPPENINGS: ALL LION BATTERIES MAY BE BANNED FROM CHECKED AIRLINE BAGGAGE Traveling by air with spare Lithium Ion batteries for your H-T could soon become impossible. This as Computer World reports that the United States Department of Transportation may prohibit the transport of all spare batteries in checked luggage, regardless of their physical size or capacity. Lithium-ion cells rated at 100 watt-hours and smaller were previously exempt, but new proposed rules would eliminate the exception. The tighter rules would affect smaller professional video cameras along with a host of consumer electronics devices, from the P-D-A's to audio players and even some hearing aides. Basically any device that uses Lithium Ion cells as a power source. Computer World dug further into incidents of Lithium Ion battery- related accidents reported on aircraft. It found that based on the number of batteries shipped, injuries during a flight due to battery- related accidents were about one in 28 million in 2008. While not very many in number, still enough percentage wise to concern the Department of Transportation and likely prompt the proposed ban. (Computer World, TV Business, others) ** NAMES IN THE NEWS: KURDISTAN DXPEDITION NEEDS MORSE OPS Some names in the news. First up is Paul Ewing, N6PSE, who says that he has several open positions for C-W operators on the DXpedition team headed to Kurdistan in April. Ewing says that costs for this DXpedition are quite reasonable and they will be operating from a very safe and secure facility. Anyone interested in joining the DXpedition team may contact Ewing directly by e-mail to paul (at) n6pse (dot) com or check out the website at www.yi9pse.com. (GB2RS) ** NAMES IN THE NEWS: W1RFI TO SPEAK IN MASSACHUSETTS Ed Hare, W1RFI, will be making a trip to Massachusetts on March 24th to do a special presentation before the Minute Man Repeater Association. Hare, who heads up the ARRL lab will do a presentation on the work performed there. The gathering will take place at the Massachusetts Emergency Management headquarters building on route 9 in the city of Framingham. (K1IW) ** NAMES IN THE NEWS: RANT HOPPER, KB7WSD, APPOINTED NORTHWESTERN DIVISION VICE DIRECTOR And ARRL President, Kay Craigie, N3KN, has appointed Grant Hopper, KB7WSD, as the new Northwestern Division Vice Director. Hopper of Everett, Washington, is an attorney and serves as an ARRL Volunteer Counsel. He and his father both received their licenses as the result of attending a license class put on by the Boeing Employees Amateur Radio Operators North. Society. The Vice Directors position became vacant when no one submitted the necessary election materials needed to run for that position. (ARRL) ** THE SOCIAL SCENE: RADIO EXPO 10 IN NEEW ZEALAND And turning to the ham radio social scene, this for our listeners down- under. The annual Wellington Region EXPO-10 is to be held on Saturday March 27th at the Knox Church Hall, in Lower Hutt. Top line exhibitors include Icom along with Signals New Zealand which represents Yaesu Vertex Standard. Doors open to the public at 10am. Admission is $4 New Zealand and includes a free drink and entry into the various raffle draws. The major prize is a dual band handheld supplied by by Foxtrot Communications. This years emcee is none other than Amateur Radio Newsline's own Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF. Reservation information is on-line at www.nzart.org. (NZART) ** BREAK 2 This is ham radio news for today's radio amateur. From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline with links to the world from our only official website at www.arnewsline.org and being relayed by the volunteer services of the following radio amateur: (5 sec pause here) ** THE CHANGING OF THE GUARD: BILL GORDON -DESIGNER OF ARECIBO RADIO TELESCOPE - SK The designer of the giant radio-telescope at Arecibo, Puerto Rico, has passed away. This with word that astronomer and engineer who Bill Gordon, who designed the array that spotted the first planets beyond our solar system and lakes on one of Saturn's moons died February 16th in Ithica, New York, at age 92. Gordon designed the Arecibo Observatory's radio telescope in the 1950's as a 1,000-foot-wide dish set in a sinkhole surrounded by forested hills. Within a year of opening, it was used to determine the planet Mercury's period of rotation. After radio pulsars were discovered in 1967 the observatory played a prominent role in studying their properties Astronomers Joseph Taylor, K1JT, and Russell Hulse used the Arecibo telescope to discover the first binary pulsar in 1974 and leading to their 1993 Nobel Prize in physics. In 1990, Polish astronomer Aleksander Wolszczan used the telescope in the discovery of a pulsar in the constellation Virgo that was shown to be orbited by the first known planets beyond Earth's solar system. Bill Gordon was born in Paterson, New Jersey. He earned a bachelor's degree from Montclair State Teacher's College, a master's degree from New York University and his doctorate at Cornell. He was a professor and administrator at Rice University in Texas from 1966 until his retirement in 1985. (Southgate, others) ** EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: HIGH EFFICIENCY ORGANIC SOLAR CELLS DEVELOPED Scientists at the Department of Microsystems Engineering and the Freiburg Materials Research Center have succeeded in developing a method for treating the surface of nanoparticles which greatly improves the efficiency of organic solar cells. The researchers were able to attain an efficiency of 2 percent higher than previously expected by using so-called quantum dots composed of cadmium selenide. Organic solar cells belong to the so-called third generation of solar cells and are still in the developmental stage. The world record for purely organic solar cells in which both components of the photoactive layer consist of organic materials is currently at 7 percent through wet chemical methods. Organic solar cells have many advantages over the conventional silicon cells typically used for large-scale energy production. Not only are they are considerably thinner and more flexible but are also less expensive and quicker to produce. As such, they are well suited for powering everyday devices which are not in constant use such as sensors or electrical appliances. The procedure to produce these new cells has been patented and the results were published in a recent issue of the journal Applied Physics Letters. (ScienceDaily ) ** WORLDBEAT - USA: W1AW ANNOUNCES NEW SCHEDULE FOR DIGITAL BULLETIN TRANSMISSIONS The ARRL says that beginning Monday, March 15th tat its W1AW digital bulletin transmissions will alternate the modes used. While Baudot, PSK31 and MFSK16 still make up the digital mode complement, Station Manager Joe Carcia, NJ1Q, says that the schedule will be altered to give more exposure to PSK31 and MFSK16. The digital bulletin times remain at 6 and 9 p.m. daily Eastern Time. More on this change is on-line at www.arrl.org/news/stories/2010/02/16/11343/?nc=1 (ARRL) ** HAM RADIO IN SPACE: ARRISAT DESIGN MEETING HELD IN ORLANDO Turning to ham radio space related news, word that an ARISSat Design Review meeting was held in Orlando, Florida on February 15th and 16th. The gathering was reportedly successful in identifying areas that need additional work and definition. The major items are the Max Power Point Tracker, the interconnect board, finding ways of creating a warmer environment for the battery and power management software and internal housekeeping software. Thirteen members attended the meeting and gave 23 presentations concerning the status of ARISSat-1. Links to the presentations will be posted soon. See: http://www.amsat.org/amsat- new/index.php (ARISS) ** HAM RADIO IN SPACE: COLLEGE SATELLITE NIGHT Something new on the ham sats for those in institutions of higher learning. College Satellite Night is planned for all available satellites on the first Thursday of each month. College club stations should consider on being on AO51, SO50, AO7, VO52, HO-68 and FO-29 to welcome student operators and enjoy QSO's with them. It's a great way to introduce newcomers to the fun of working the ham radio birds. (ANS) ** HAM RADIO IN SPACE: SCOTLAND ON ALL THE HAMSATS Scotland is going to the birds, at least figuratively speaking. This as 2E1EUB will once again be active as 2M1EUB from March 20th to the 27th operating every ham radio satellite that he can reach from the Cairngorms National Park. Also, look for him on 160 and 80 meters. Checkout QRZ.com under 2M1EUB for more information on this high in the sky operating event. (OPDX) ** HAM RADIO IN SPACE: SATELLITE OPERATION FROM THE DRY TORTUGAS And still with our eyes to the sky, word that the upcoming K4T DXpedtion to the Dry Tortugas web page says the team plans to include satellite operations. Team leader Mike Forsythe, AC2V says that one of the primary stations will be dedicated to satellite operations on a 24 hour basis. Mark Hammond, N8MH will be heading up K4T satellite operations. The The DXpedition is slated for March 11th to the 15th. More information and QSL routing is at aroadventures.org. (via e- mail) ** ON THE AIR: THE REVERSE BEACON NETWORK More down to Earth, a new amateur radio reverse beacon network has been established as a new way to observe and report on propagation conditions world-wide. Unlike the most DX alerting beacons that transmit at set time intervals the reverse beacon network relies on volunteer stations to monitor various bands and report what they hear over the groups website. Currently, there are a few dozen stations involved. Some monitor around the clock while others up only occasionally. More on the network, how it operates and how you can become a part of it is on line at www dot reversebeacon dot net. (Southgate) ** ON THE AIR: A FERRY GOOD IDEA And you might also want to listen out for special event call GB2EI standing for Great Britain to Ireland. Its on the air to celebrate the reintroduction of the Swansea to Cork Ferry service. The original service commenced in 1896. A similar station, EI2GBW, will also be operating from Cork. Both special event callsigns will be operational until March 31st of 2010. QSL details are available at qrz.com. (Southgate) ** DX In DX, word that UA3DJY, who was has been operating as 5I3A from the DIT Communications Club station in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, has finally received his own callsign. He is now active as 5H3ACR and will be there until March 1st and says that he will try to be active on all bands. QSL via RK3AOL. A DXpedition is being planned to operate from the Laguna Grande de la Sierra, Columbia. The callsign will be 5K7SNC. Announced dates are April 1st and 2nd on 7140 kHz only. QSL via HK3OCH. For more details and possible updates please visit QRZ.com under the callsign 5K7SNC. IK5ZUI, will be active as 5R8UI from Nosy Be Madagascar starting early March. He will be there up to a year. No QSL information as we go to air. DJ7RJ will be active portable SV5 from the island of Kos through March 17th, He is operating 160 through 6 meters using CW and SSB, QSL direct to his home call. HA5AO, will once again be active as 7P8AO from Lesotho between March 8th and the 22nd. His operation will be on 80 through 10 meters using CW, SSB and RTTY. QSL electronically via Logbook of the World or via HA5AO direct or through the bureau. UX4UL will be active as 8Q7IA from the Maldives through May 18th. Activity is mostly CW and PSK.. QSL via UY5ZZ. A German team of operators will be active from Burundi through March 6th. Operations will be on CW, SSB and RTTY. QSL as directed on the air. Lastly, members of the Malaysia Amateur Radio Transmitters Society will activate the "Southern Most Tip of the Asia Mainland" between February 26th and the 28th using the call 9M4STE. Activity will be on 40 through 6 meters using CW and SSB. For more details and updates, visit their Web page at dxpeditionmalaysia.blogspot.com. (Above from various DX news sources) ** THE SOCIAL SCENE: A HAM RADIO FAS-DO-DO IN LOUISIANA IN MARCH And speaking of true ham radio social events, there's one coming soon to Louisiana that you will not want to miss. Newsline's Don Wilbanks, AE5DW, lives near-by and tells us why: -- It's party time down the bayou! The combined ARRL Louisiana State Convention and 50th Acadiana Amateur Radio Association Hamfest is slated for Friday and Saturday, March 12th and 13th at the Rayne Civic Center in Rayne, LA.. This years special guest is ARRL Headquarters Club Coordinator Norm Fusaro, W3IZ. And as always this event will host the annual Friday Crawfish Boil with the popular Fais-Do-Do and dancing afterwards. For those who've never been to South Louisiana, a Fais-Do-Do is a party held in the evening after the kids go to bed. "Do do" is Cajun French slang for sleep, as in telling the kids to "go do do" and "fais" is a negative in Cajun French, so Fais-Do-Do literally means "no sleep". As the locals say, "you'll pass a good time, cher!" More on this Louisiana style fun ham radio event is on-line at www dot w5ddl dot org slash hamfest. From bayou country I'm Don Wilbanks, AE5DW for the Amateur Radio Newsline. -- Now this sounds like the kind of ham radio gathering that should be fun all day and all night long. (NA5Q, AE5DW) ** NEWSCAST CLOSE With thanks to Alan Labs, AMSAT, the ARRL, the CGC Communicator, CQ Magazine, the FCC, the Ohio Penn DX Bulletin, Radio Netherlands, Rain, the RSGB, the Southgate News and Australia's W-I-A News, that's all from the Amateur Radio NewslineT. Our e-mail address is [email protected]. More information is available at Amateur Radio Newsline'sT only official website located at www.arnewsline.org. You can also write to us or support us at Amateur Radio NewslineT, 28197 Robin Avenue, Santa Clarita California, 91350 Before we go, a reminder that the nominating period for the 2010 Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year Award is now open. Each year, we here at the Amateur Radio Newsline in association with Vertex Standard Corporation -- the makers of Yaesu brand ham radio gear -- and CQ Magazine combine to honor a ham radio operator age 18 or younger for his or her contributions to ham radio or to society itself through ham radio. All nominations and materials required by the official rules must be received by Amateur Radio Newsline no later than midnight on May 30th. Both "mail-in" and electronic submissions are being accepted this year. Full rules and a downloadable nominating form are now on our website at www dot arnewsline dot org. Just scroll down until you see "2010 Young Ham of the Year Awards Now Being Accepted" and click on the word "here" to download the directions and the form. You can also leave questions and comments on the official Young Ham of the Year Award page on Facebook dot com. For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors desk, I'm Don Carlson, KQ6FM, saying 73 and we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio NewslineT is Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.