Ham Radio Outlet’s Anaheim, California, store was destroyed by fire early Sunday, January 23. The fire—said to be of suspicious origin—apparently first broke out in a dental office at the south end of the strip mall that housed the HRO store on North Euclid Avenue. After spreading into an attic area, the flames raged through the rest of the business center, engulfing the HRO store, the dental office, and two other businesses. Two other shops were damaged.
The Anaheim HRO store’s manager, Janet Margelli, KL7MF, said she was alerted to the fire by the store’s alarm company. She arrived just in time to see flames engulf her store. “Talk about feeling helpless and hopeless—you just watch it burn,” she told the ARRL. Margelli said the store and its contents were a total loss.
The cause of the fire has not been determined, but arson investigators were said to be focusing on the burned-out remains of the dental office where the fire is thought to have originated. Fire investigators also are trying to determine why a car parked in an alley several hundred feet away caught fire and exploded, since it did not appear that the fire in the strip mall caused the car fire.
More than 80 firefighters were called out to battle the four-alarm blaze, and it took them the better part of two hours to bring it under control. Margelli said flames were shooting 200 feet into the air as she arrived on the scene. No injuries were reported. Damage was estimated at $1.5 million.
Operations at the HRO Anaheim store— including telephone and fax—are being handled temporarily by the company’s Burbank store a couple of hours away, using staffers from both stores. Margelli is coordinating the opening of an all-new store in an undamaged store area in the same business center.
The only item recovered from inside the HRO store was a plastic owl decoy that now has become the store’s new mascot. The owl decoys—sold to scare birds away from towers and beams—had been suspended from a display tower in the store. After the fire, Margelli said, one decoy—“Smokey,” as it’s now being called—was found a bit worse for the wear atop a pile of ash and charcoal in the center of the display. Margelli said Smokey will get his own display case in the new store.
HRO operates a dozen stores across the US, including five stores in California. Margelli said she hopes to have the new Anaheim location open for business within two or three weeks.
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After a circuitous land and air journey, AMSAT’s Phase 3D satellite now is at the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. The next-generation Amateur Radio satellite is expected to be launched from Kourou later this year. Meanwhile, it will be stored there while it awaits the next- available Ariane 5 launch that all hope will put it successfully into Earth orbit.
After obtaining the necessary governmental shipping clearances and being trucked from the Phase 3D Integration Lab in Orlando, Florida, to Atlanta, Georgia, Phase 3D took off in the cargo hold of an Air France 767 January 17. To get to the launch site—near the equator on the Atlantic Coast of South America—Phase 3D first stopped over briefly in Paris. From there, it was airlifted successfully to French Guiana’s capital city, Cayenne, then overland to Kourou.
Phase 3D Operations Manager Peter Guelzow, DB2OS, says the tab for the trip ran about $20,000. The reason for the roundabout trek from Orlando to Kourou, he explained, was the lack of direct flights to French Guiana by planes large enough to accommodate the P3D payloads.
AMSAT News Service reported this week that Phase 3D will be stored in its container, housed in an air-conditioned integration building at the launch complex until launch preparations commence.
A launch contract accepting Phase 3D as a payload for the first suitable Ariane 5 launch vehicle was signed last October. Phase 3D is expected to be among the first secondary payloads to hitchhike aboard an Ariane 5 rocket. There’s no word on a specific date for P3D to go into space. Given the success of the last Ariane 5 launch, Guelzow says the chances are “pretty good” for an early launch opportunity, but he has ruled out any chance of a launch aboard Ariane 505 in mid-March. “Arianespace is doing its best to accommodate us soon after AR505 [Ariane 505],” Guelzow said in a posting on the AMSAT-NA Web site (http://www.amsat.org/). “Waiting is all what we can do now.”
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The ARRL will seek partial reconsideration on two points in the Amateur Radio license restructuring plan announced by the FCC December 30. Both points involve the way the plan deals with Technician licensees. The new FCC rules go into effect April 15.
The League will ask the FCC to continue to maintain records that indicate whether a Technician licensee has passed a Morse code exam to earn Novice/Tech Plus HF privileges. Under the current system, the license class of Technicians is designated by a ‘’T’’ in the FCC’s amateur database, and of Tech Plus licensees by a ‘’P.’’ Under the FCC’s restructuring plan, Technician and Tech Plus licensees will all be known simply as ‘’Technician.’’ The ARRL asserts the change will eliminate any easy way to tell which licensees have passed the Morse code exam and which have not.
‘’We’re going to try to persuade the FCC that it made a drastic error in deciding to change all those Ps back to Ts in the database,’’ said ARRL Executive Vice President David Sumner, K1ZZ.
The FCC has said that it would be up to Technician licensees, if asked, to prove that they have successfully passed the 5 WPM code test. The ARRL plans to ask the FCC to stipulate that any amateur who provides proof of having passed an FCC-recognized Morse code exam prior to April 15 would be entitled to receive credit for the Morse code exam element when applying for future upgrades. The FCC has indicated to the ARRL that after April 15, code credit for Technician applicants passing the 5 WPM test would not survive beyond the 365-day term of a Certificate of Successful Completion of Examination—or CSCE.
Under both the present and new rules, anyone who held a Technician license before February 14, 1991, has permanent credit for the Morse code element, but others do not.
The ARRL Board of Directors approved a motion to file the Petition for Partial Reconsideration at its January 22 meeting.
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An Air Force Minotaur rocket lifted off right on schedule January 26 from the new California Commercial Spaceport at Vandenberg Air Force Base. Three Amateur Radio satellite packages were aboard. Two of the satellites already have been deployed and are said to be working. A 3rd amateur picosat package will be deployed.
The primary payload is the US Air Force Academy’s Falconsat. JAWSAT—Joint Air Force-Weber State University Satellite— served as a bus for several deployable payloads and the Plasma Experiment Satellite Test experiment—PEST. The telemetry stream from JAWSAT, including data from PEST, will be transmitted on Amateur Radio frequencies. Amateur Radio operators have been invited to contribute to the program by recording the downlinked data. Data from PEST will require using either a G3RUH modem or a GMSK modem. Data rates should be as high as 38.4 kb/s. Data will be transmitted on 437.175 MHz or 2403.2 MHz. NASA says it will publish instructions for sending in data so the PEST team can use it.
Deployable payloads aboard JAWSAT are Stanford University’s Orbiting Picosat Automatic Launcher—or OPAL: Arizona State University’s ASUSat, and the Air Force Lab’s Optical Calibration Sphere.
Hank Heidt, N4AFL, of the StenSat team said today that both JAWSAT and ASUSat appear to be working perfectly at this time, with telemetry indicating that all systems are reporting nominal performance. StenSat, which is a satellite within another satellite— OPAL—is set to be put into space this weekend, Heidt said.
ASUSat and JAWSAT have Amateur Radio capability, but the tiny, eight-ounce StenSat is strictly a ham satellite—designed by hams, for hams. It was developed by a group of amateurs in the Washington, DC, area as part of Stanford University’s OPAL project.
StenSat will operate as a single-channel Mode J FM voice repeater. The uplink frequency will be 145.84 MHz: the downlink will be 436.625 MHz. StenSat will periodically transmit 1200 baud AX.25 for telemetry. Additionally, amateur radio operators will be able to ‘’ping’’ the satellite by transmitting a six-digit DTMF command to the receiver uplink. More information on StenSat is at http://users.erols.com/hheidt/.
ASUSat will contain amateur packet hardware and a 2-meter/70-cm FM voice repeater. ASUSat1 is an ASU NASA Space Grant project and Arizona State University’s first student-designed satellite. Information on ASUSat is available at http://nasa.asu.edu/asusat/.
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The League says the FCC should deny a request by the Kenwood Communications Corporation to permit operation of its ‘’Sky Command’’ system in the 2-meter band. In December, Kenwood asked the FCC either to declare that Sky Command complies with Commission rules or to waive applicable sections of the rules to make it legal. The ARRL filed comments on Kenwood’s petition, DA 99-2805, on January 31.
Sky Command, which lets the user control a fixed HF station via a pair of dual-band transceivers, has been on the market for more than two years. Sky Command operates in full duplex, using a 70-cm frequency to transmit audio and control commands to a dualband transceiver at the remote station and a 2-meter frequency to transmit received audio via the remote station’s Sky Command transceiver to the operator’s transceiver.
The League maintains that Kenwood’s use of a 2-meter frequency would cause amateurs using the system to violate Section 97.201(b), which limits auxiliary operation to certain frequencies above 222.15 MHz.
In its comments to the FCC, the League said the type of operation employed by the Sky Command System is ‘’clearly auxiliary operation, and as such is not permitted in the 144-148 MHz band.’’ Kenwood had asserted in its petition that the 2-meter link constitutes third-party communications under the immediate monitoring and supervision of a control operator. The League says the rules governing third-party communications in the Amateur Radio Service ‘’relate to the content of messages, not to the technical configuration of the amateur stations.’’
Citing an already densely populated 2-meter band, the ARRL contends that selection of appropriate frequencies for auxiliary operation is essential to efficient use of the frequencies shared by amateur stations. In addition, the ARRL said carving out an exemption by waiving the rules for Kenwood’s product, would amount to ‘’inappropriate favoritism.’’
In 1986, the FCC turned down a petition to remove frequency restrictions on auxiliary operation. In its comments on the Kenwood petition, the ARRL said the FCC’s 1986 rationale for keeping the restriction in effect remains, and nothing has occurred to make 2 meters any more appropriate now.
Comments on the Kenwood petition were due by January 31, 2000. Reply comments are due by February 14, 2000. Commenters should reference DA 99-2805. The full text of the ARRL comments are available off the ARRL site, http://www.arrl.org/announce/regulatory/arrl-da99-2805.pdf in PDF form.
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The National Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators Question Pool Committee has released revised Amateur Radio examination question pools into the public domain. The revised questions, covering the new Elements 2, 3 and 4 that become effective April 15, 2000, now are available on the ARRL web site.
The QPC anticipates that the Element 4 question pool will remain valid until June 30, 2002, the Element 3 question pool until June 30, 2003, and the Element 3 question pool until June 30, 2004.
QPC Chairman Ray Adams, W4CPA, says the five-digit numbering system used in past question pools continues to be used in the new question pools. Graphics have been integrated. Minor revisions still are possible.
Current Novice, Technician, Advanced and Amateur Extra graphic sheets remain available and valid. Exams for the new Elements 2 and 3 contain 35 questions; the new Element 4 contains 50 questions.
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Little to nothing has been heard from the StenSat Amateur Radio picosat, raising fears that the tiny picosat has malfunctioned. Stensat was released February 10 by the OPAL ‘’mother ship,’’ according to James Cutler of Stanford University.
StenSat was one of two picosats released by OPAL—Stanford University’s Orbiting Picosat Automatic Launcher.
Since the deployment, stations monitoring StenSat’s 436.625 MHz downlink have heard only very weak signals, or nothing at all. According to StenSat coordinator Hank Heidt, N4AFL, StenSat may be operating in an ‘’abnormal mode.’’ The picosat was supposed to transmit a CW identifier and packet telemetry after deployment, but neither have been heard. Heidt speculated that it might be in FM transponder mode.
Clifford Buttschardt, K7RR, reported hearing his transmissions repeated through StenSat on February 12 and 13, but signals were weak and the audio distorted. Weak StenSat signals also were reported by Johann Lochner, ZR1CBC, at the SunSat ground station in South Africa.
The StenSat group asks amateurs to monitor the downlink and send reports to hheidt@erols.com.
StenSat has a crossband repeater aboard that is designed to operate much like the popular AO-27 satellite. Hank Heidt, N4AFL, of the StenSat team has more information on the StenSat Web site at http://users.erols.com/hheidt/.
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The ARRL Board of Directors has approved the development and implementation of an initiative to promote self-education by radio amateurs. The new ARRL Certification Program will aim to inspire amateurs to continue acquiring technical knowledge and operating expertise beyond that required to become licensed and give them a chance to test their own limits. Following up on the “2010 Vision” discussions at last July’s Board meeting, ARRL Executive Vice President David Sumner, K1ZZ, presented the broad strokes of the Certification Program during the Board’s January 21-22 meeting in Memphis.
At this point, the Certification Program only exists as a concept, with the details to be worked out, but plans call for having the program in place by later this year. The first step in putting the program in place will be to solicit the ideas of ARRL members, via a Web-based message board, on appropriate topics to be included in the initial rollout. “The idea is to make this program what members want it to be, and not something imposed from ‘on high,’” Sumner said.
“Many ARRL members believe there is a widening gap between what the FCC requires amateur licensees to know and what it takes to be truly knowledgeable about Amateur Radio,” he continued. “Whether or not you agree, it’s certainly true that those of us who took our FCC exams years ago have never had to demonstrate an understanding of current technology. We could use a new challenge.”
The new Certification Program will offer participants an opportunity to earn credentials at various levels of depth and difficulty in different courses of study— perhaps in such areas as ionospheric propagation, receiver design, and Morse code proficiency. Sumner said the ARRL should and will continue to encourage the development of Morse code proficiency beyond the basic HF licensing requirements. He observed that the standards for ARRL certification could be more stringent and more uniform than those in FCC exams.
Sumner said he sees the certification program not only as a welcome opportunity for individual self-development but a response to the perceived “dumbing down” of Amateur Radio qualifications—especially in the aftermath of the FCC’s recently announced license restructuring plan. While the plan was not developed directly in response to restructuring, its timing could not be better, Sumner said, conceding that the restructuring debate “has moved it up the agenda.”
As envisioned, the program would be largely self-supporting, but startup costs would be funded from the Exceptional Merit Stipend established by the late Ethel Smith, K4LMB. The Certification Program will be dedicated to her memory. Smith—who helped found the Young Ladies Radio League and served as its first president—died in 1997, leaving the bulk of her estate to the ARRL.
Sumner says a Web-based message board will be set up in a few weeks to gather input from members in terms of specific programs and areas of study or skills development they would like to see become part of the voluntary certification program. The League plans to seek outside expert input to assist in setting the knowledge or performance threshold at the optimal level.
The program likely will include some professional development aspects and could include the granting of Continuing Education Units—CEUs. The League also is seeking cooperative arrangements with related professional organizations. It already has a memorandum of understanding with the National Association of Radio- Television Engineers and has approached the Society of Broadcast Engineers for a similar agreement.
The voluntary certification program dovetails neatly with goals expressed by the League’s new President Jim Haynie, W5JBP. Following his election January 21 in Memphis, Haynie said he favors even greater promotion of Amateur Radio, especially among youth and in schools, as well as programs to rekindle interest and activity among current licensees.
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