ARRL Hudson Division September 2004 Hudson Division Beacon - e-mail edition - # 42 By Frank Fallon, N2FF, Director, Hudson Division, ARRL 30 East Williston Avenue, East Williston, NY 11596 516) 746-7652 n2ff@arrl.org Hudson Division Home Page - http://www.hudson.arrl.org ARRL Members Please continue to spread the word to others who may wish to receive this information that they will need to access the ARRL members only web site. After becoming a member they must edit their profile and elect to receive bulletins from the Section Manager and Director. If you are already a member on the ARRL site (http://www.arrl.org) from the "Members Only" box click on "members data page" and then under email notification options set "Division/Section notices" to YES. You will receive the next bulletin sent. Past Bulletins are available at http://www.hudson.arrl.org It's time for antenna work before the leaves drop and the snow begins to fly. Take a look at this site for an ambitious project. The antennas belong to 7J4AAL in Japan. http://www.netaro.net/~ja4xgc/75m/monster.htm * SOME SAD NEWS.... At the LIMARC hamfest I learned that Lew Reinberg, W2BIE, had suffered a stroke and was in intensive care. Lew is a good friend and a long time DXer and member of LIDXA. Lew has been very supportive of my efforts as Hudson Director. At last report Lew is recovering and is going to a rehabilitation center. I pray for a speedy recovery. At the WECA meeting in White Plains I was shocked to learn that Sandy Fried, N2SF, had passed away earlier that day. Sandy, a retired Navy Master Chief Petty Officer and Westchester County Communications Officer for many years, was a regular on our 3792 net and I would frequently meet him at the Thursday Briarcliff breakfast events. There are a lot of hams in Westchester who knew Sandy and who will miss him. Sandy ran the WECA VE group for many years and despite poor health in the last few years he moderated an on line license course. Twelve local hams and two ARRL directors were on hand at the graveside services in Elmont, Long Island. On Friday I learned that former Owl, LIMARC and PARC member Karl Johnson, K2KM (ex-W2YJD), passed away peacefully Thursday, 16 September. Karl, a resident of Cutchogue, NY, had not been well for the last few years. Cards of condolence may be sent to Karl's wife and family at: Mrs. Paula Johnson 2375 Harbor Lane Cutchogue, NY 11935-1431 That was not a good week for good news. * HUDSON DIVISION AWARDS DINNER NOVEMBER 13th We have had to make some last minute changes here as a result of number of dropped balls. Our three choices for the event in NNJ were not available. Please note none of the balls were dropped by NJDXA. None of the three sites we had selected were available for the date we needed. We were about to call it off for 2004 when a few LI people stepped in to offer help this year. NJDXA President, Rich Gelber, K2WR has agreed that NJDXA will host the event in 2005. We needed to keep that November 13th date. So, the 2004 Hudson Division Awards Dinner will this year be hosted by the Long Island Mobile Amateur Radio Club on November 13 at the Maine Maid Inn in Jericho, NY at 7 PM at $38 per person. This was the site of our first Awards Dinner in 1998. Make checks to LIMARC and mail to Awards Dinner, % LIMARC, Box 392, Levittown, NY 11756-0392. Seating is limited to the first 90 people. Don't be left out. The food will be good, the camaraderie is great and there are plenty of door prizes for all. Please consider taking an ad in the awards journal. We expect that attendance will again have be limited on a first come first served basis, so please reserve early. ARRL President Jim Haynie has promised to be on hand for the event. * HUDSON DIVISION AWRDS WINNERS SELECTED The 2004 Hudson Division Nominations Committee, chaired by Vice Director, Joyce Birmingham, KA2ANF met via ARRL Conference Bridge in late August to select awardees for this year. The committee selected for Grand OIe Ham George "Hank" Cooke, W2LOP, of Morris Plains, NJ. Amateur of the Year was awarded to Mike Lisenco, N2YBB of Brooklyn, NY. The 2004 Technical Achievement Award was given to Jerry Sevick, W2FMI, of Basking Ridge, NJ. The committee chaired by KA2ANF consisted of K2ZO, Jim Joyce - Assistant Director in NNJ, W2GLA, Jerry Agliata - Assistant Director in ENY, K2YM, Dan Moses - Assistant Director in ENY, K2DO, Diane Ortiz - Assistant Director in NLI, K2YEW, Norm Wessler - Assistant Director in NLI, N2PVP, Mario Selletti in NNJ. Thanks to all who made a selection. The committee pointed out that no nominations were received from the ENY Section this year. * BBC RADIO 9/11 Documentary Please check out a touching radio documentary produced by BBC called "Unsung Heroes" which is about the Amateur Radio response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks on NYC. I promise you will know and recognize at least half of the voices and names in this documentary. The link will be good for a short time. You will need an audio program capable of playing the .RAM stream such as Real Audio. http://www.bbc.co.uk./radio4/factual/rams/sat1030.ram * Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Course registration (Sep 17, 2004) -- Registration for the ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level III on-line course (EC-003) opens Monday, September 20, at 1201 AM EDT and will remain open through the September 25-26 weekend or until all available seats have been filled. Seniors (age 55 and older) are strongly encouraged to participate. Class begins Friday, October 8. Thanks to our grant sponsors--the Corporation for National and Community Service and the United Technologies Corporation--the $45 registration fee paid upon enrollment will be reimbursed after successful completion of the course. During this registration period, seats are being offered to ARRL members on a first-come, first-served basis. To learn more, visit the ARRL Certification and Continuing Education Web page. For more information, contact Emergency Communications Course Manager Dan Miller, K3UFG, dmiller@arrl.org; 860-594-0340. * Industry Canada soliciting comments on Morse requirement, other issues (Sep 1, 2004) -- Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) says Industry Canada (IC) is seeking comments from Canada's amateur community on recent RAC proposals dealing with Morse code as a qualification for Amateur Radio HF operation. RAC has proposed that IC delete the mandatory requirement for Morse testing but leave it as a voluntary qualification, since some countries retaining a Morse requirement may require Morse credit for reciprocal operation. The RAC recommends that Canadian amateurs endorse the proposal, Gazette Notice DGRB-003-04, Consultation on "Recommendations from Radio Amateurs of Canada to Industry Canada Concerning Morse Code and Related Matters," released August 28. Canadian amateurs have 60 days to comment. > ARDF TEAM USA GOES TO THE 2004 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS If your looking for a new Amateur Radio activity and one that will keep you in good shape at the same time, you will be interested in this information: A 21-member delegation is returning from the Czech Republic after representing USA and ARRL at the Twelfth World Championships of Amateur Radio Direction Finding (ARDF). This year's championships attracted 327 competitors from 28 countries to Brno, a town about 110 miles southeast of Prague. In ARDF championships, each entrant competes on two meters and on 80 meters, on separate days. The two competition days were Thursday, September 9 and Saturday, September 11. There are five age categories for males and four age categories for females, in accordance with ARDF rules of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU). Each country may to have up to three persons per category on its team. Medals are awarded to best individuals and best teams in each age/gender division and on each band. The World Championships of ARDF take place in even-numbered years. This was USA's fourth trip to the World Campionships. Our team members ranged in age from 19 to 62 and came from nine states. This year's Team Captain was Harley Leach KI7XF of Bozeman, MT. Also in the delegation were Dale Hunt WB6BYU of Portland, OR and Marvin Johnston KE6HTS of Santa Barbara, CA, representing USA and IARU Region 2 on the International Jury overseeing the competitions. Each was assigned to be a Course Marshall at one of the radio foxes. The competition areas were very large (about 4800 acres) and forested, with occasional thickets, slopes, and cliffs. One Team USA member described the Saturday course as the toughest he has ever done. A shallow river ran through the middle of that site. It was in a deep ravine that had to be scaled to cross it. ARDF is sometimes called fox-tailing or radio-orienteering. A course consists of 3, 4, or 5 radio foxes (depending on category) that must be located with portable radio direction finding equipment as the foxhunter travels between the starting point and the finish line. Total course length in a championship hunt is 5 to 10 kilometers. Orienteering maps are provided and a beacon transmitter on a separate frequency near the finish assists hunters who get lost. This year's course time limit was 2-1/2 hours. The gold medal winner in the five-fox prime age category for men completed the 80-meter course in less than 53 minutes. Two Team USA members had top-ten individual finishes in their categories. Nadia Scharlau of Cary, NC placed 6th out of 22 on Thursday, despite losing ten minutes when the battery fell out of her receiver and she had to backtrack to retrieve it. Her Saturday time was much better, only 10 minutes above the first place finisher in her category. But other D35 hunters also did better on that day, putting Nadia into 11th place. Bob Cooley KF6VSE, age 62, of Pleasanton, CA placed 9th out of 34 on his two-meter run. European and former Soviet countries have been holding ARDF events for over 30 years, so it is no surprise that they dominated in the standings. Nine of these nations garnered all of the individual and team medals. The total medal count was led by Czech, Russia, and Ukraine with 34, 28 and 26 respectively. USA, Australia, and Great Britain were among the 19 nations that won no medals. Nevertheless, the teams of these three English-heritage countries enjoyed a friendly rivalry as they shared living quarters in the same corridor of the host facility. Each is relatively new to the sport and is building a national ARDF program. The ARRL Foundation and the Colvin Award Fund provided a portion of the entry fees and in-country expenses of the USA team. The remainder of these fees, along with training expenses and domestic/international airfares, were paid by the individual team members. More about ARDF, the Championships and Team USA, including a member roster and team category standings, are online at www.homingin.com. Photos will be added when available. Team members greatly appreciate the efforts of stateside supporters who have organized practice sessions for them and others. Joe Moell K0OV, ARRL ARDF Coordinator > ARRL Gets Federal Grant to Tell Amateur Radio's Story to Communities (Sep 8, 2004) -- The ARRL has received new funding of nearly $90,000 from the Corporation for National & Community Service (CNCS) to execute a pilot program that will enlighten localities about the value of Amateur Radio to community safety and security. The one-year grant will enable ARRL to develop the Community Education Project (CEP) and carry ham radio's message to a dozen communities across the US. The CNCS also has renewed ARRL's Amateur Radio Emergency Communications course tuition reimbursement grant for a third--and final--year. The emergency training grant totals $179,600. ARRL Chief Development Officer Mary Hobart, K1MMH, says the CEP will work with Citizen Corps--the League is a Citizen Corps affiliate--and ARRL personnel. See http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2004/09/08/100/?nc=1 for more details. * HAMS AGAIN INVOLVED IN MIDDLETOWN DAY The Middletown Amateur Radio Club--W2MAR--in New Jersey will take part in Middletown Day activities September 18 with a public ham radio display, information table, traffic handling and ARES/RACES displays. The club expects some 3000 visitors in town, including state and local officials. > AMSAT Lab building is Hurricane Charley victim Structural damage to the airport hangar housing the AMSAT Laboratory in Orlando--caused when Hurricane Charley made its way across Florida August 13--has led authorities to condemn the building. The storm, with winds of 100 MPH or greater, passed directly over the Orlando Executive Airport, which is home to the Lab. AMSAT now must begin a search for a new facility to support development of the Eagle satellite project. On the plus side, the Lab's equipment and inventory are in good shape, and AMSAT members in the vicinity weathered the storm with relatively minor damage. On the minus side, AMSAT has little time to move out and find temporary storage for its belongings so the building can be razed, and its insurance does not cover the costs of temporary storage or moving to another facility. AMSAT-a 501(c)(3) organization--invites tax-deductible donations to its "Hurricane Fund" to get the AMSAT Lab back in operation as soon as possible <http://www.amsat.org>. Photos by Lou McFadin, W5DID, are on the AMSAT Web site <.--Rick"http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/lab/>.--Rick Hambly, W2GPS, via AMSAT News Service * ARRL Has Role in Maryland Amateur Tower Case Victory (Sep 15, 2004) -- ARRL member John Evans, N3HBX, says he'll go forward with plans to erect four 192-foot towers on a 44-acre farmland tract he owns near Poolesville, Maryland. ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, testified as an expert witness on Evans' behalf September 9 when a Montgomery County Circuit Court judge denied a request for a preliminary injunction brought by Evans' neighbors in an effort to have his building permits for the structures rescinded. See http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2004/09/15/101/?nc=1 for details. > KB2BLX, SK I just received news of the passing of Theodore Wolf, Jr., KB2BLX earlier today. Ted was hospitalized for several weeks after complications from his diabetes, which required a surgical procedure. He was a life member of the ARRL and served as the District Emergency Coordinator for Passaic County ARES for many years. Prior to that, Ted volunteered his time and efforts with the Passaic County Office of Emergency Management. He was a volunteer EMT with the West Milford First Aid Squad, and held office within the organization for several years, as well as being a volunteer with New Jersey Search and Rescue. Many of us hams knew Ted to be the coordinator of ham volunteers for local bike tours, like the MS-150 and MS-100, where many of you probably met him. He was also a ham radio mile captain, and most recently a net control operator for the New York City Marathon. On September 11, 2001, Ted was one of the primary coordinators of the New Jersey emergency medical services response at the Liberty State Park and Hoboken triage areas, treating victims transported to those locations by boats and ferries. I could fill a book listing Ted's public service training and proud, distinguished service accomplishments. Ted is survived by his two sons. 73, Mike K2MPH * DXCC dropping Annual List deadline, adding real-time standings Sep 1, 2004) -- The ARRL DX Century Club Program (DXCC) has announced that, effective immediately, there no longer will be a submission deadline for the DXCC Annual List. "We have been working toward this end for several years," says ARRL DXCC Manager Bill Moore, NC1L. In the past, September 30 has been the traditional cutoff date to compile entity totals for the DXCC Annual List, published in the DXCC Yearbook. Over the years, DXCC participants have tended to collect their cards and submit them once a year in September, to ensure the highest possible total for the listing. A major downside of the deadline system is that DXCC typically has received more than 25 percent of annual credit submissions during September. That, in turn, created a huge increase in workload and lengthened processing time. Under the deadline-free system, complete lists on the ARRL Web site will replace the lists of DXCC standings that customarily have appeared in the DXCC Yearbook. The new Web-based lists should be on-line early in the first quarter of 2005--about the time the DXCC Yearbook typically publishes. After an initial posting, DXCC will regularly update the Web lists. These listings also will include the standings of all DXCC members, not just those who made a submission in the previous year, as had been the practice. ARRL will publish a scaled-down version of the DXCC Yearbook that will contain highlights of the standings, along with other features. For more information on the DXCC program, visit the DXCC Web page. * Pumpkin Patrol 2004 Again, for the 13th year, the Mt. Beacon Amateur Radio Club will be happy to participate in Pumpkin Patrol 2004. I will be the liason to the NY State Police; info below. Andrew D. Schmidt 19 Gerry Road Poughkeepsie, NY 12603-5614 (w) 845-435-6134 (h) 845-462-7539 - Andrew, N2FTR@arrl.net Co-Coordinator, Mt. Beacon Amateur Radio Club Pumpkin Patrol * Significant changes for packet (reprinted from the Chatam RACES newsletter) You may be interested in the following piece from the Chatam, RACES newsletter (NJ): Packet, sending errorless text messages by radio, is an important emergency communications mode. As such Chatham RACES has used packet in virtually all its drills and Simulated Emergency Tests. Three changes in packet over the summer should improve how Chatham RACES uses packet for emergency communications. Retirement of PC PAKRATT. This oddly named packet system has served Chatham RACES well since both the Borough and Township OEM's approved its purchase in the late 1980's. PAKRATT was easy to learn but included a bulky external TNC (roughly equivalent to a modem for the Internet). As a DOS program it is now incompatible with the latest Windows PCs. In addition, two PAKRATT TNCs were recently irreparably damaged. But there are several replacements. Sound-card packet. A Greek ham, George Rossopulos, SV2AGW, developed AGWPE which uses the sound card now found in virtually all PCs as a TNC. Audio output from sound card connects to transceiver microphone input through an in-line 1K/100K resistor voltage divider to reduce audio level. Audio input to sound card connects directly to transceiver audio output. PTT comes from pins 5 and 7 of transceiver's serial port through a transistor switching circuit that fits inside DB9 connector shell. Several terminal programs work with AGWPE to display outgoing and incoming text on a monitor, including: - AGW Term, also developed by George Rossopulos, is the most basic. - WinPack from Roger Barker, G4IDE, an English ham, is user-friendlier. - PacLink by Rick Muething, KN6KB, and Vic Poor, W5SMM, is a vital part of WinLink described later. All are free downloads on the Internet as follows: AGWPE and AGW Term, http://www.raag.org/sv2agw/inst.htm (For now, download the free AGW Packet Engine program for testing; don't download the $49 Packet Engine Professional Edition.) WinPack, http://www.peaksys.co.uk/ PacLink, http://winlink.org/Client.htm#Te-Pac See also Ralph Milnes' web site: www.qsl.net/soundcardpacket/ WinLink links ham packet stations to the Internet using the familiar Microsoft Lookout Express to originate and send email. WinLink was first described in the June 2002 QST. Articles in August and September QST emphasized its emergency communications capabilities. Recently the ARRL Board of Directors adopted a resolution encouraging further enhancement of WinLink as a national emergency communications mode. For more details go to http://winlink.org/Emergency.htm Local tests. Ralph Milnes, KC2RLM and Paul Schreiber, W2UH are already testing all this software, and it works well, after some configuration which can be confusing. Not to worry, Ralph is the expert, and can help with configuration; ralphmilnes@patmedia.net We plan to give a short demonstration of these packet programs at the RACES of the Chathams September 13 meeting. Edited by O. P. Schreiber, W2UH, otmarpaul@cs.com * Locally Funded College Scholarships for Young Hams reported by Dan Whelan N2UD in SARA NEWS, the newsletter of the Schenectady Amateur Radio Association The September 2004 issue of QST on page 88 listed several college Scholarships which were awarded to college bound hams that are of importance to Schenectady Amateur Radio Association and local hams. The Broughton Scholarships were established at the ARRL by SARA with funds from the Broughton Award Funds. These scholarships are available to college bound hams from the region. This year two Henry Prim Broughton K2AE Scholarships were awarded. The first one went to Daniel R. Schwarting KB2ZVM of Ballston Lake NY for $1000. The second went to Andrew Maroney W2AJM of New Windsor, NY for $1000 We believe the young Mr. Schwarting is related to our long time SARA member Bill Schwarting WR2L. Another scholarship named for prominent SARA member and nationally known DXer and antenna expert Dr. Jim Lawson W2PV (sk) was awarded to Andrew Schaefer KB2ZWZ for $500. All SARA members are reminded that these scholarships and others are available through application through the ARRL Scholarship programs. ARRL administers the application and selection of these scholarships. So keep alert to announcements in your QST for next years round and pass the word to prospective college bound licensed hams. HAMFESTS: 9 Oct 2004 + Bergen ARA http://www.bara.org Contact: Jim Joyce, K2ZO 286 Ridgewood Blvd. North Washington Township, NJ 07676 Phone: 201-664-6725 Email: k2zo@arrl.net Washington Township, NJ Sect: Northern New Jersey 10 Oct 2004 + Hall of Science ARC http://www.qsl.net/hosarc Contact: Stephen Greenbaum, WB2KDG 85-10 34th Avenue, Apt. 323 Jackson Heights, NY 11372 Phone: 718-898-5599 Email: wb2kdg@arrl.net Queens, NY Sect: New York City-Long Island 24 Oct 2004 + Town of Babylon AR Emergency Services http://www.tobares.org Contact: Walter Wenzel, KA2RGI 373 15th Street West Babylon, NY 11704 Phone: 631-871-6633 (days) or 631-957-0218 (eves until 10 PM) Email: ka2rgi@arrl.net Lindenhurst, NY Sect: New York City-Long Island -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARRL Hudson Division Director: Frank Fallon, N2FF n2ff@arrl.org