Joe Dolliver, owner of Rivendell Electronics of Derry New Hampshire has decided to close the doors on or about April 1, 1997. Joe has decided to retire to Florida where he has recently bought a new home.
This brings to an end 15 years of service to the Amateur Radio Community and more than 5 years to the Radio Controlled aircraft community.
I know I speak for all Amateurs in wishing Joe and his wife Nancy good health and good luck in Florida.
Joe and Nancy wish to thank all their friends they have made through out the years. Pete Cantara, KI1M plans to remain in the area.
To answer the question that I know all of you are thinking.. “No” there will not be any “Special Closeout deals”. However you may want to stop by and check out what might be left... Thanks again, Joe.
The AMSAT-NA Phase 3D fund-raising campaign is at minus 150,000 dollar(s) and counting—and that’s assuming the launch goes off on schedule this summer. At the end of 1996, AMSAT-NA figured it needed another 200,000 dollar(s) to finish the project. The latest AMSAT-NA fund campaign has, so far, netted an additional 50,000, dollar(s) according to AMSAT-NA Executive Vice President Keith Baker, KB1SF. "Barring unforeseen problems from now until launch, and assuming the early July launch date holds, that puts us still short of funds by about 150,000," Baker dollar(s) said this week. "We’re still not out of the woods yet, but we’re getting close."
But the AMSAT-NA shortfall is only part of the total Phase 3D funding picture. Baker also says that AMSAT-DL (Germany)-- which, so far, has invested nearly 2 dollar(s) million in Phase 3D compared to nearly 1 dollar(s).4 million for AMSAT-NA—reports it still needs in the vicinity of 100,000 dollar(s) to complete its share of the Phase 3D effort.
Baker said AMSAT is on target to meet the July 8 or July 9 schedule, which is still the official European Space Agency launch date for the Ariane 502 rocket.
Baker said work on the satellite is moving along swiftly, and most of the remaining electronic modules, antennas and other pieces of the satellite are now at the Phase 3D Integration Lab in Orlando, Florida. "This week, a number of our Japanese and European builders will also be in Orlando, along with several of their American counterparts, to begin the ‘final-final’ installation and test of antennas as well as integration into the satellite and testing of RF and the remaining equipment modules," he said. "They’ll roll up their shirtsleeves to get the work done." That phase of the job will continue through March. Environmental testing of the satellite is slated to begin in mid-April.
The schedule is a tight one, right up until launch time. AMSAT anticipates the satellite will be shipped to Kourou, French Guyana, sometime in early May for final checkout, followed by integration with the Ariane 5 rocket in mid to late June. "Needless to say, it is a very busy (and exciting) time for all of us." Baker said.
A series of pictures of Phase 3D work in progress is available via the AMSAT-NA Web site at http://www.amsat.org. Depending on its workload, the integration team hopes to be able to update these photos as work progresses.
According to sources at AMSAT, a new Russian Amateur Radio satellite, designated RS-16, has been launched from the Svobodny Cosmodrome as part of a Zeya satellite package. RS-16 reportedly has an average orbital altitude of 276 miles, producing a footprint some 2000 miles in diameter on Earth.
On March 4, 1997, 1614 UTC, Jim White, WD0E, reported hearing strong signals from the RS-16 CW beacon on 29.408 MHz. Others in the US and Europe have reported strong signals on 10 meters. The transponders are not yet active. The twice- delayed launch had been expected as early as December. RS-16 is expected to be a Mode A (2 meters up/10 meters down) satellite, like RS-10 and RS-15. It’s the first Russian satellite to have a 70-cm beacon, but the beacon there is not yet operational. Beacon frequencies are 29.408, 29.451, 435.504 and 435.548 MHz.
When the transponders are operational, the RS-16 frequencies are expected to be: uplink, 145.915 to 145.948 MHz, downlink, 29.415 to 29.448 MHz. Orbital elements and additional information will be announced as they become available.
The FCC has designated a new, toll-free (WATS) number for Amateur Radio license inquiries--including inquiries about vanity and new call signs. The new number, 888- 225-5322, will connect callers to the FCC National Call Center, handled by the FCC's Consumer Information Bureau.
Callers to the old consumer information number will get a message referring them to the new number.
Andy Funk, KB7UV, assistant news operations manager at WAGA-TV, in Atlanta, Georgia, has posted some information on his station’s Web site that’s potentially useful to hams. The Microwave ENG Safety and Operations Guidelines are aimed primarily at the station’s newsroom personnel using WAGA’s electronic news gathering (ENG) vehicle, which has an extendible microwave mast and antenna on top. But many of the same rules apply to Amateur Radio antenna erection. The page also includes some new information on lightning safety—based on tips from the National Lightning Safety Institute.
Some basic safety rules worth repeating:
Source: The ARRL Letter, Vol. 16 No. 8
February 21, 1997
Responding to a petition for rulemaking from the ARRL, the FCC has proposed in WT Docket 97-12 to adopt changes in its Amateur Service rules governing spread spectrum. In spread spectrum the energy of the transmitted signal is distributed among several synchronized frequencies within a band and reassembled at the receiving end. This reduces power density and duration of a transmission on a particular frequency and lets spread spectrum almost invisibly share the same spectrum with users of other, narrowband modes. Spread spectrum also provides for improved communication under poor signal-to-noise conditions and in selective fading and multipath environments, and the ability to accommodate more communication channels operating simultaneously in the same spectrum.
The League’s December 1995 petition asked the FCC to relax its rules to give Amateur Radio more opportunities to contribute to the development of spread spectrum techniques. Specifically, the League sought to have the FCC relax restrictions on spreading sequences and asked for greater flexibility in spreading modulation. In response, the FCC now has proposed to drop rules restricting amateur stations to transmitting only frequency-hopping and direct-sequencing spreading techniques. As requested by the League, the FCC also has proposed to require automatic power control for spread spectrum transmitters, to ensure use of the minimum power level needed to carry out communication.
The FCC also went along with the League’s request to permit brief test transmissions using spread spectrum and to allow international spread spectrum communications between amateurs in the US and those in countries that allow hams to use spread spectrum. The current rules allow only domestic communication.
The use of spread spectrum techniques was first approved for Amateur Radio in 1985 for bands above 225 MHz and at power levels up to 100 watts, and there has been some experimental amateur operation since then. The FCC also has authorized Special Temporary Authority (STA) in some instances to allow broader SS experimentation. Since spread spectrum was introduced in the Amateur Radio service, commercial spread spectrum applications have been developed, including personal communication services, remote meter reading and position locating. But, the League had argued that rules limitations held back further spread spectrum experimentation. No changes are proposed in the frequency bands where spread spectrum is permitted.
The FCC said the rule amendments would "increase spectrum efficiency and allow amateur operators to contribute to technological advances." Comments on the NPRM in WT Docket 97-12 are due May 5, with reply comments due June 5.