Texas Adventist Emergency Communications Newsletter

Volume 2 Issue 3

Dear Members,

     Well, I am happy to report that we had our amateur radio testing session yesterday and am happy to report that we had 7 people got their Technician Class license and two people passed their Novice Written. Along with the “new hams” Carl Westcott passed his Extra class written test and as of April 15^th our club will have 3 Extra Class Operators, maybe four, depending on how fast I can study. I passed my General written and the 13 wpm code test. I hope that our new hams will attend our club meetings and become members. For those of you that are Techs, you still have a little over a month to get your 5 wpm code and your written General, so good luck.

     There is still about two more testing sessions, given at the Lockheed club that are available before the new rules come into effect, so study hard and pass those tests. We all wish you Good Luck!!

Curtis Mohr, KC5PWP
TAEC Newsletter Editor

·        Don’t forget!! All Amateur radio operators must sign up with the ULS before any changes can be made to your license, upgrades, and renewals. You can sign up online at http://www.fcc.gov/wtb/uls/

·        I’m looking for articles that can be put into the newsletters. The monthly newsletter will be mailed out on the Monday preceding the monthly meeting, so please email any articles to me no later than the five days prior to when the newsletter is sent out. I will also be making a paper newsletter to be brought to the monthly meetings for anyone who wants them.

·        The next club meeting is on March 19th

·        The April Newsletter Deadline is April 9^th

·        If you would like information about the license restructureing, goto http://taec.cjb.net and click on “What’s New”

Meeting called to order:

The meeting was called to order by President Gerald Mohr (KC5PWQ), with 12 members present.  January minutes were read.  Rony (KD5FPM) motioned to accept, Ben (KC5PWP) seconded and the motion carried.

Treasurer’s Report:

The club has $77.68 in funds available for use. Carl (N7PVW) motioned to accept as read, Ron (KD5FPM) seconded and motion carried.

New Business:

Joe Watts has shirts that we will use at future events in which we will be the security.  Participants will be issued a shirt before the event and when the event is finished the shirt will be returned to Joe.  Joe will have the shirts drycleaned after being used.  Joe needs names and call signs so that brass badges can be made to wear with the uniform shirt.  Each person will need a pair of black slacks and black shoes to wear as part of the uniform.  The cost of the badges is $6.95.

The Camporee will have representatives of the club attending and they are going to help in whatever capacity is needed.  There will be a food drive the Saturday of the Camporee and everyone is invited to help.  The food drive will take place in Belton. Elizabeth (KD5FPL) motioned for the club to help with the food drive and Ray (KD5DON) seconded, the motion carried.

There was a discussion on where to get the logo done, whether to use a facility in Oklahoma or Katherine Haney.  Ray (KD5DON) motioned to use Ms. Haney, Carl (M7PVW) seconded and the motion carried.  Ben (KD5FBF) motioned to take the set up fee out of the club fund, Ray (KD5DON) seconded, the motion carried.  Everyone needs to bring their orange vests so that Ms. Haney can embroider them.

There was a work day planned for March 5 to set up the tower.

There was an exercise in setting up the van for communications.

Please be sure to sign up on the URL http://www.fccgov/wtb/uls/  Your license cannot be upgraded until you have registered on this site.

Old Business:

There was no old business discussed.

Adjournment:

Motion to adjourn was made by Gerald (KC5PWQ) to adjourn and seconded by Ray (KD5DON).  Meeting was adjourned at 11:10 am.

OLD SATELLITE RETOOLED FOR NEW USE

UO-14 is proving that you can teach an old bird new tricks. The venerable British satellite recently was switched to FM repeater mode, and reports already are coming in from hams who've worked it using pretty modest equipment.

The satellite's controller Chris Jackson, G7UPN/ZL2TPO, says UO-14 was launched in January 1990 and spent its first 18 months in orbit operating as an amateur store-and-forward satellite, prior to the launch of UO-22. It wasthen switched for use by Volunteers In Technical assistance, who used it for messaging into Africa.

"Since the computer which is used for store-and-forward communications is no longer able to perform that task, UO-14 is no longer usable in this mode," Jackson says. "It is, however, possible to use the satellite as a single-channel FM voice repeater, and I have just configured the satellite to do this."

The satellite works as an "FM bent pipe repeater satellite" in full duplex. Operators with full-duplex transceivers will be able to hear their downlink signal as they transmit. Half-duplex operation also will work satisfactorily.

The uplink is 145.975 MHz, and the downlink is 435.070 MHz. Jackson says he plans to leave the satellite in FM mode for the next few weeks. "If it is useful, then I will probably leave it running," he said. "If it isn't used, it will be switched to transmitting telemetry."

Houston AMSAT Coordinator Bruce Paige, KK5DO, says no more than 5 W is required to make a contact with UO-14, and some have made it with as little as 1.5 W. "It should be a very suitable bird for those with an H-T and a rubber duck," he said.

"Cool satellite!" was the reaction of W1AW Station Manager Joe Carcia, NJ1Q, who worked 11 stations during a "very short" near-horizon pass this week. "Some of the stations sounded like they were next door!"

-- Excerpts from Vol 19, No 8

FCC AFFIRMS $20,000 FINE; UNLICENSED OPERATION CONTINUES

The FCC has affirmed a $20,000 fine levied on a Florida man last summer for unlicensed operation, willful and malicious interference with Amateur Radio communications, and failure to let the FCC inspect his radio equipment. The FCC's January 28 Forfeiture Order gives William Flippo of Jupiter 30 days to pay up or the matter will be referred to the US Attorney.

Following an FCC Warning Notice, Flippo initially was notified of the fine last July in an FCC Notice of Apparent Liability. Hams in Florida say Flippo has thumbed his nose at the FCC and has continued to flout the law by interfering with local HF and repeater nets. FCC personnel from the FCC's Tampa District Office have followed up on complaints from amateurs that Flippo--also known by his CB handle of "Rabbit Ears"--has regularly interfered with hams on 10 meters, 2 meters and elsewhere. The Order acknowledges that the Commission has received information on "at least five occasions" since the fine was levied last July indicating that Flippo continues to violate federal law.

Flippo's only response to last year's Notice of Apparent Liability was to send the FCC a copy of a one-page bankruptcy filing. The FCC was not impressed, however. "In a case where an NAL has been issued and the recipient continues to engage in the same conduct, we are not inclined to adjust the forfeiture amount, even where the recipient has filed for bankruptcy protection," the Commission said.

One Jupiter-area ham who has cooperated with the FCC investigation says Flippo has been causing problems for the amateur community in his area since late 1997. He and fellow members of the Jupiter-Tequesta Repeater Group want to see the FCC take a stronger stand in the case.

"I want to see the guy in jail--plain and simple--and his equipment confiscated," said the amateur, who did not want to be identified by name fearing retaliation. "The problem is, we're all playing by the rules here, and this guy goes out and buys a radio and he gets on there and does whatever he wants and brags about it."

FCC personnel from the Tampa office have visited the Jupiter area at least twice last year as a result of amateur complaints alleging malicious interference from Flippo, primarily on VHF but also on some HF amateur bands.

K1LNC NAMED AS INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN AWARD WINNER

The ARRL has named Edwin Petzolt, K1LNC, of Hobe Sound, Florida, as the winner of its 1999 International Humanitarian Award. A presentation was made earlier this month at the Miami Tropical Hamboree by ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, and ARRL Southeastern Division Director Frank Butler, W4RH.

On June 29, 1998, Petzolt responded to an on-the-air emergency call on 20 meters and found himself on the other end of a life-threatening situation in Central America where heavily armed gunmen had kidnapped four missionaries in northern Guatemala and held them for ransom. Desperate to save his family, missionary Elam Stolfus, TG7XQS, turned to ham radio--his only connection to the outside world. On the other end he found Ed Petzolt, K1LNC.

Upon learning of the family's plight, Petzolt, phone-patched Stolfus to the US Embassy in Guatemala City to arrange for military and police assistance. He then remained at the radio for much of the next seven hours to provide communications and relay information that would contribute to the successful rescue of the hostages and the capture of the terrorists.

The ARRL International Humanitarian Award recognizes extraordinary service through Amateur Radio skills for the benefit of others in times of crisis or disaster. The award recipient is selected by a committee appointed by the League's President. Petzolt's award was confirmed by the ARRL Board of Directors during its meeting last month in Memphis.

An ARRL Life Member, Petzolt credited Bud Palmer, KC4LCD, Tim Reeves, WB4WUK, and "everyone else who helped keep the frequency clear," with making the rescue mission possible.

The story of Petzolt's efforts is detailed in "Guatemala Rescue!" in The ARRLWeb Extra for September 1, 1998, on the ARRLWeb Members Only site, http://www.arrl.org/members-only/extra/features/1998/0901/1/index.html

A footnote: Petzolt this week became involved in another Amateur Radio rescue mission: "I patched a doctor from Honduras to a doctor in Pennsylvania this morning regarding a nine-month-old little girl with a life-threatening, congenital heart condition," he reported February 17.Petzolt said the US doctor agreed to perform the surgery in Pennsylvania for free. He then patched the ham--Ronaldo Roll, HR3RON, a Catholic priest--into the US Embassy in Tegucigalpa to arrange to expedite the necessary paperwork for the infant and her mother to get a medical visa. Petzolt said Roll has agreed to pay their airfare to and from the US. "I think I found my calling in life," Petzolt remarked.

-- Excerpts from Vol 19 No 7

TAEC Web site
   http://taec.cjb.net

The KC5PWQ Web Site
   http://vip.hpnc.com/~geraldm/

The KC5PWP Web Site
   http://kc5pwp2.cjb.net/

Official Austin Ham Home on the web (ARO & AARC)
   http://www.repeater.org

ARES information can be found at:
   http://www.sss.org/~ares  (soon to be www.TCARES.org)

Newsline, PO Box 660937, Arcadia, California 91066
 The webpage address is:
   http://www.arnewsline.org
 The e-mail address is:
   [email protected]

The Texas VHF-FM Society
   http://www.txvhffm.org

Take practice ham tests on the web.  A few locations are:
   http://www.hamtest.com

FCC's Universal License System 
   http://www.fcc.gov/wtb/uls

This page is hosted by QSL.NET

This page is maintained by Curtis Mohr, KC5PWP