FCC Revised R&O Takes Effect Dec 15th 2006

REVISED Nov 22, 2006 11:49 ET
FCC "Omnibus" Amateur Radio R&O Published in Federal Register, Takes Effect December 15
NEWINGTON, CT (November 15, 2006) -- Just a little over a month after the Federal Communications Commission released the Report and Order (R&O) in the so-called "Omnibus" Amateur Radio proceeding, WT Docket 04-140 (FCC 06-149) to the public, a revised version appeared today in the Federal Register. The changes in the R&O will take effect Friday, December 15, at 12:01 AM EST, 30 days after its publication.
As expected, the Report & Order as published this morning clarified two items that had raised some concerns when it was first released last month: That the 80/75 meter band split applies to all three IARU Regions, and that FCC licensees in Region 2, which includes North America, can continue to use RTTY/data emissions in the 7.075-7.100 MHz band.
Some controversial aspects of the proceeding remain unchanged:
Expansion of the 75 meter phone band all the way down to 3600 kHz (thus reducing the privileges of General, Advanced and Amateur Extra class licensees, who had RTTY/data privileges in the 80 meter band, and CW privileges of General and Advanced class licensees)
The elimination of J2D emissions, data sent by modulating an SSB transmitter, of more than 500 Hz bandwidth. This will make PACTOR III at full capability illegal. Other digital modes effectively rendered illegal below 30 MHz include Olivia and MT63 (when operated at bandwidths greater than 500 Hz), 1200-baud packet, Q15X25 and Clover 2000. [Editor's Note: We are happy to report that the FCC is working on an erratum to correct the J2D error. While nothing is certain until the erratum is actually released, it is fair to say that the FCC recognizes the problem and intends to fix it prior to the December 15 effective date of the new rules. We will post further information on the erratum as it becomes available.]
The elimination of access to the automatic control RTTY/data subband at 3620-3635 kHz.
The ARRL Board is discussing the possibility of a petition to reconsider several items in the R&O.
ARRL Regulatory Information Specialist Dan Henderson, N1ND, commented: "The release of the R&O in the Federal Register has started the countdown clock. We are all looking forward to being able to use the refarmed frequencies starting on December 15. We are still anxiously awaiting the release of the Report and Order for 05-235, the Morse Code Proceeding. We are hopeful that the Commission will be able to move on that petition and address the outstanding issues in the Omnibus R&O soon."
For more information, see the band chart [917,715 bytes, PDF] and the Frequently Asked Questions on WT Docket No. 04-140. Both have been updated to reflect the R&O as it was published in the Federal Register.

Credit: ARRL

3 Hams part of the Discovery crew

Credit-ARRL:

Shuttle Discovery crew includes three radio amateurs (Dec 1, 2006) -- NASA has set Thursday, December 7, as the launch date for the next space shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Shuttle Discovery will carry three radio amateurs, one of whom -- US astronaut Sunita Williams, KD5PLB -- will join ISS Expedition 14 in progress. She'll replace European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Reiter, DF4TR, whose duty tour has spanned Expeditions 13 and 14 -- the first time that's happened in the history of the ISS. Williams is said to be eager to do ARISS school group contacts from NA1SS. Also aboard Discovery will be European Space Agency astronaut and mission specialist Christer Fuglesang, KE5CGR/SA0AFS, Sweden's first astronaut, who will be making his first journey into space. Plans are in place for Fuglesang to carry out an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) school contact with students at Thunmanskolan in Knivsta, Sweden. The contact would be the first ARISS school QSO with Scandinavia. On November 20, Fuglesang attended an Amateur Radio training session at Johnson Space Center to prepare him for using the ARISS Phase 2 station for his school contact. Primary payloads on the 12-day mission are the P5 integrated truss segment, SPACEHAB single logistics module and an integrated cargo carrier. Mission specialist Nicholas Patrick, KD5PKY, also is on the seven-member STS-116 mission crew. This will mark the 20th shuttle flight to the ISS. -- NASA; ARISS

KY Flooding

Taken from ARRL.org

Amateur Radio Fills Communication Gap During Weekend Flooding

NEWINGTON, CT, Sep 27, 2006 -- When telephone and Internet service in Kentucky fell victim to flooding over the September 22-24 weekend, Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) teams took over to bridge the communication gap. Kentucky ARRL Section Emergency Coordinator Ron Dodson, KA4MAP, says the deluge, the product of up to nearly 10 inches of rain in Kentucky and Southern Indiana, resulted in states of emergency in 19 Kentucky counties and 12 cities, including Frankfort, the capital. Dodson says the high water, which evoked memories of severe flooding in March 1997, left at least 10 dead and many others homeless.
"All phone communications to the state emergency operations center (EOC) went down as early as 2 AM Saturday, returned and then went out a second time around 5 AM," Dodson reports. Emergency managers contacted Dodson to activate the Kentucky Emergency Net on 3.993.5 MHz to provide support communication between the EOC and Kentucky's 120 counties.
Dodson says telephone service in the EOC came back around mid-morning on September 23, although the Kentucky Emergency Net remained in operation as heavy rainfall began in western Kentucky.
"Within minutes, Shelby Ennis, W8WN, in Hardin County reported via the K4ULW 146.625 repeater that all telephone service, including the Hardin County E-911 facility, had gone down," Dodson said. "Cell phones soon overloaded and also shut down, basically stranding the whole county without outside contact except via Amateur Radio." He explained that conventional telephone systems failed in Hardin County because the provider had installed all its systems in a basement area that flooded.
For the next several hours, Dodson said, communication between the state EOC and Hardin County took place via the Bullitt Amateur Radio Society's KY4KY 146.700 repeater in Brooks. "The American Red Cross headquarters in Louisville also used this machine to communicate with their shelter and Hardin County emergency management," Dodson said. While the KY4KY repeater supported command-and-control communication, other operations took place via the W4BEJ 146.98 repeater in Elizabethtown and the neighboring K4ULW 146.625 repeater in Meade County.
Dodson said repeaters in Lawrenceburg, Lexington, Louisville, Louisa, Mammoth Cave and Madisonville ultimately were pressed into emergency service during the flooding event.
Communications Supervisor Bob Stephens, WA4CMO, of the Kentucky Department of Military Affairs said the Kentucky Emergency Management command vehicle was positioned adjacent to the state EOC to provide communication on both Amateur Radio and MARS frequencies. Pat Compton, KF4FMZ, and Bull Uschan, K4MIS, staffed the Amateur Radio side, while Richard Howe, KB5WCH, represented the Civil Air Patrol during the Saturday operation, which continued for several hours.
"We operated all systems during the afternoon and provided critical communication between the EOC and Hardin and Meade counties," Stephens reported.
The American Red Cross summoned members of ARES District 6 -- the Louisville/Jefferson County Metro area -- to assist with damage assessments and to maintain communication with the Hardin County shelter operation. According to Jefferson County Emergency Coordinator John Hesse, KF4IZS, those operations continued on Sunday as additional damage assessment details deployed in Louisville and in Fisherville in Spencer County.
The Franklin County Chapter of the American Red Cross also contacted Woodford County EC Jerry Mueller, KC4WZO, Sunday morning seeking Amateur Radio volunteers to support communication in the flooded Millville area. "The Red Cross had three disaster relief teams in the Millville area, and cell phone communication was not reliable," Dodson said.
Paul Harrington, KB4ENQ, Rob Hutchinson, KI4ODT, and Mueller responded, joined by Compton from the Capitol Amateur Radio Society. Hutchinson and Compton went to Millville for several hours to provide communication for the Red Cross and to help deliver meals, drinks, ice and supplies. Harrington and Mueller remained at the Red Cross Chapter to handle net duties in case communication assistance was needed in another area.
Dodson said Stephens told him afterward that Kentucky Adjutant General Lt Gen Donald Storm and Kentucky Division of Emergency Management Director Maj Gen Maxwell Bailey "were pleased with the way Amateur Radio functioned in providing communication when all else failed. They extend their thanks to those amateurs who gave of themselves in this effort."

Contests this week

CQ Worldwide DX Contest, RTTY: 0000Z, Sep 23 to 2400Z, Sep 24

Mode:
RTTY

Bands:
80, 40, 20, 15, 10m

Classes:
Single Op All Band (High/Low)Single Op Single BandSingle Op Assisted All BandMulti-Single (High/Low)Multi-TwoMulti-Multi

Max power:
HP: 1500 wattsLP: 150 watts

Exchange:
48 States/Canada: RST + (state/VE area) + CQ ZoneAll Others: RST + CQ Zone

Work stations:
Once per band

QSO Points:
1 point per QSO with same country2 points per QSO with same continent3 points per QSO with different continent

Multipliers:
Each US state/VE area once per bandEach DXCC/WAE country once per bandEach CQ zone once per band

Score Calculation:
Total score = total QSO points x total mults

Submit logs by:
October 29, 2006

E-mail logs to:
rtty[at]cqww[dot]com

Mail logs to:
(none)

Find rules at:
http://www.cq-amateur-radio.com/RTTY%20Rules%20200653106.pdf

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Texas QSO Party: 1400Z, Sep 23 to 0200Z, Sep 24 and 1400Z-2000Z, Sep 24

Mode:
All

Bands:
All, except WARC

Classes:
Fixed Single OpFixed Multi-OpFixed QRP Single OpFixed Single Op CWTX Mobile Single OpTX Mobile Multi-OpTX Mobile Single Op CW

Max power:
HP: >5 watts CW/digital, >10 watts phoneQRP: 5 watts CW/digital, 10 watts phone

Exchange:
TX: RS(T) + Countynon-TX: RS(T) + (state/province/country/MM region)

Work stations:
Once per band per mode per county

QSO Points:
2 points per phone QSO3 points per CW/digital QSOTX Stations: 500 bonus points for each TX mobile worked in 5 different countiesTX Mobiles: 1000 bonus points for each TX county covered with at least 5 QSOsnon-TX Stations: 500 bonus points for each TX mobile worked in 5 different counties + another 500 bonus points for working the same TX mobile in an additional 5 counties

Multipliers:
TX Stations: Each TX county, state, province, DXCC country oncenon-TX Stations: Each TX county once

Score Calculation:
Total score = (total QSO points x total mults) + bonus points

Submit logs by:
October 31, 2006

E-mail logs to:
k5cx[at]arrl[dot]net

Mail logs to:
Texas QSO Party Committee 16880 East Maglitto Circle Tomball, TX 77377-8414 USA

Find rules at:
http://www.txqp.org/rules.htm

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ARISS Plans Triple Header of Ham Radio School Contacts

Reposted from ARRL:

NEWINGTON, CT, Sep 21, 2006 -- Friday, September 22, will be a sort of "triple witching day" for the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program. For the first time since the inaugural ARISS school contact in December 2000, students at three schools will have the opportunity in the same day to speak with three of the six space travelers now aboard the ISS. All three QSOs will be direct on VHF.
The Expedition 13 crew, set to return to Earth later this month, consists of Commander Pavel Vinogradov, RV3BS, and NASA ISS Science Officer Jeff Williams, KD5TVQ. The just-arrived Expedition1 4 crew includes Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria, KE5GTK, and cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin, RZ3FT, who'll be on his second ISS duty tour. Bridging Expedition 13 and 14 is European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Reiter, DF4TR. Aboard for the next week is civilian space traveler Anousheh Ansari, a 39-year-old American businesswoman who contracted with the Russian space agency to visit the space station. She arrived aboard the ISS this week and will return to Earth with Vinogradov and Williams.
Reiter is scheduled to kick off the triple-header when he speaks with students at the Gymnase Intercantonal de la Broye, in Payerne, Switzerland, starting at about 1044 UTC. He'll use the German DP0ISS call sign. Ansari is next in the queue. She'll visit via ham radio with students at her alma mater, George Washington University in Washington, DC, beginning at about 1649 UTC.
Since Ansari's accelerated training schedule did not allow time for her to obtain an Amateur Radio license before going into space, she'll use NA1SS with Williams as the US-licensed control operator. Ansari, who left for the ISS September 18 as part of the Russian Soyuz TMA-9 "taxi mission," also hopes to speak via ham radio with US-licensed students, and plans call for her to be on the air at various times from now until Tuesday, September 26, using RS0ISS.
A last-minute stand-in for Daisuke "Dice-K" Enomoto as the fourth private citizen and the first female civilian to fly to the ISS -- Ansari trained on the ARISS gear in Russia. She's indicated she'd like to get her Amateur Radio license when she returns to Earth.
On the next orbit at about 1825 UTC, Williams will answer questions put to him by students at Crete-Monee Middle School in Crete, Illinois. Williams has logged 14 school contacts so far during his ISS duty tour.
HB4FR will be the Earth station for the contact with Reiter at DP0ISS, while KE4GDU will handle ground-station duties for the second event. ARISS mentor Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, will serve as the Earth station for the Illinois QSO. Downlink signals on 145.800 MHz should be audible to anyone in portions of Europe for the first pass, and in Eastern Canada and the Eastern US for the last two events.
Located some 25 miles southwest of Bern in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, the Gymnase Intercantonal de la Broye opened only a year ago with 300 students. The class taking part in that ARISS QSO -- 17 girls and 6 boys -- are between 15 and 17 years old. The school will set up for the contact in the museum Clin d'Ailes, located on the Payerne Swiss Air Force Base. Museum Foundation President Claude Nicollier, the first Swiss astronaut, will be on hand for the event, after which the students will take part in "Swiss Space Days" activities organized by the Swiss Astronautics Association.
After undocking from the ISS earlier this week, the crew of the space shuttle Atlantis participated in the first-ever three-way call with the Expedition 13 crew aboard the ISS and the Expedition 14 crew and Ansari aboard the Soyuz on its way to the station. All 12 in space at that time were able to take part in the conversation, made possible by NASA communication facilities.
NASA ISS Ham Radio Project Engineer Kenneth Ransom, N5VHO, notes that the ARISS equipment has not been functioning properly in automatic modes, and -- outside of any school contacts -- "may be silent more than usual." More information about these scheduled ARISS school contacts, including proposed questions, is available on the ARISS Web site.
ARISS is an international educational outreach with US participation from ARRL, AMSAT and NASA.

Apologetic Radio Jammer Jack Gerritsen Gets Seven Years, Fines

Reposted from ARRL:

-- It was a day many radio amateurs in Southern California had been anticipating for a long time. On September 18, US District Court Judge R. Gary Klausner sentenced convicted radio jammer Jack Gerritsen, now 70, to seven years imprisonment and imposed $15,225 in fines on six counts -- one a felony -- that included willful and malicious interference with radio communications and transmitting without a license. Before sentencing, Gerritsen apologized to the federal government, the FCC and the local Amateur Radio community, which had endured the brunt of Gerritsen's on-air tirades and outright jamming. "I'm sorry, and I apologize to everyone here," Gerritsen told those in the courtroom, which included more than a dozen radio amateurs and Gerritsen's family members. Gerritsen's contrition did nothing to convince Klausner toward leniency.

DXCC Announces Accreditation Criteria Rule Change

From: ARRL

DXCC Announces Accreditation Criteria Rule Change
NEWINGTON, CT, Aug 14, 2006 -- ARRL's DXCC program has added language to its Accreditation Criteria to minimize difficulties stemming from online DXpedition logs. The change, recently approved by the ARRL Board of Directors Programs and Services Committee, limits the level of QSO detail that DXpeditions may provide on Web-based log sites, search engines or other public forums and still qualify for DXCC accreditation. ARRL Membership Services Manager Wayne Mills, N7NG, notes that it's become accepted practice for DXpeditions to post QSO information on the Web.
"Although this information is generally limited to call sign, band and mode, it has been useful in reducing the number of duplicate contacts in the DXpedition log," Mills points out. "Publishing complete QSO information or information from which full QSO information can be derived, on the other hand, threatens the integrity of the QSLing process, and is unacceptable."
Mills says at least some key information a station provides when submitting a DXpedition contact for DXCC credit must be obtained solely by actually making the QSO. "If complete contact information can be derived from information based on the DXpedition log, the QSL manager's job can be much more difficult if busted calls are involved," he says.
Section III, Accreditation Criteria, Rule 5, of the DXCC rules states:
"The presentation in any public forum of logs or other representations of station operation showing details of station activity or other information from which all essential QSO elements (time, date, band, mode and call sign) for individual contacts can be derived creates a question as to the integrity of the claimed QSOs with that station during the period encompassed by the log. Presentation of such information in any public forum by the station operator, operators or associated parties is not allowed and may be considered sufficient reason to deny ARRL award credit for contacts with any station for which such presentations have been made. Persistent violation of this provision may result in disqualification from the DXCC program."
"In almost every case, the new accreditation rule will change nothing," said Mills, calling the new rule a "reasonable compromise" in terms of its impact on the program's integrity. "Publishing band and mode information for each call sign -- as is now done -- is perfectly acceptable. It is only the rare case where complete QSO information is published or can be derived from published data that we are concerned about."