Handiham World for 26 November 2008

Welcome to Handiham World!

WA0TDA: Why nets are important

Although I grew up in a medium-sized city, at one point in my working life I moved to a small town of under 1500 people. I've lived in the Twin Cities metropolitan area now for over 20 years. In my travels and in my various jobs I have worked and lived or visited cities of all different sizes. One thing that seems to be common no matter where one lives is the need to become part of a community. Sometimes a community can include nearly everyone in town, as it does when you live in a small village. For most of us, however, we self-select our own specific communities built upon some common interest or experience. Thus, you may live in a huge city but be part of a small, dedicated community of people who are devoted to rock collecting. "Rock hounds" have regular meetings that include programs and socializing. And lots of rocks.

This, of course, is how amateur radio works as well, except without the rocks. All of us who are amateur radio operators share a common experience of having passed a licensing examination. Our activity is unique because it is all about communication. Those rock collectors have to go someplace to meet -- a physical address in a real room. Ham radio operators don't have to do that. We can be part of a community by having regular meetings at a school, church, or restaurant, but we have the unique ability to meet together on the air using amateur radio. When we formalize this process, we call the result a net!

“Net” is short for network, and in ham radio it means a collection of stations gathered together on the same frequency in order to exchange information. Within the larger community of amateur radio operators there are many smaller interest groups that coalesce into their own smaller communities. Activities like amateur radio in space attract a cadre of technically minded operators who make friends and exchange information through AMSAT, including AMSAT nets. Nets can be very local in nature as part of a club activity on a 2 m repeater, or they can be global on the HF bands or EchoLink. One advantage of meeting other members of your community on the air in a net is that you don't have to travel or worry about hazardous weather. Heck, you don't even have to make yourself presentable unless your net happens to meet on amateur television! Your radio club, like mine, probably has several different interest groups among the membership. These special interest groups support net activities on specific frequency bands, such as 1.9 MHz or about specific activities like ARES.

Yes, amateur radio nets are important to keeping our various communities strong. That is why I am so concerned about keeping the Handiham HF nets on the air. Even though there may be times when there are fewer net participants because of poor band conditions, the fact that people are making the effort to stay in touch is important in and of itself. Nets depend on people taking the time to check in, even if it is only to get on the roster. The entertainer Woody Allen once said, "80% of success is just showing up". I think there is a lot of truth to that. Just show up to check into the Handiham nets, and we will keep working on that other 20%!

For your Handiham World, I'm...

Patrick Tice, WA0TDA
Courage Center Handiham Manager

Handiham World for 19 November 2008 (2)

Welcome to Handiham World!

"Halt that bad ham radio behavior."

CQ Magazine calls for a new sheriff

CQ Magazine, in the person of editor Rich Moseson, W2VU, a good friend of Handihams, has called for the FCC to stop dragging its feet on amateur radio enforcement. As our readers and listeners know, the FCC's chief enforcer for the Amateur Service, Riley Hollingsworth, has retired and has not been replaced. Rich observes that some pretty dodgy stuff is being heard these days on the HF bands, as the lack of FCC enforcement becomes more and more obvious. Here is the news release from CQ, after which I'll be back for a few comments of my own:

(Hicksville, NY November 18, 2008) -- CQ magazine is calling on FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief Kris Monteith to move swiftly to name a successor to Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, as Special Counsel for Amateur Radio, and to bring FCC enforcement back to the ham bands.

Writing in his "Zero Bias" editorial in the December 2008 issue, CQ Editor Rich Moseson, W2VU, noted that the Commission not only has failed to name a successor to Hollingsworth, but that not a single amateur enforcement action has been taken since his retirement this past July. At that time, the editorial noted, the amateur radio community was assured that the Commission's dedication to enhanced enforcement in the Amateur Service remains strong. However, the FCC's total inaction since July suggests otherwise.

"This is deeply disturbing and of grave concern," wrote Moseson, adding, "It would be a tragedy, and a travesty, if the FCC were to go back on its promise to be there for us and allowed amateur enforcement to once again drop off the radar."

The need for continuing amateur enforcement was reinforced after the issue went to press when CQ was informed of an outburst of racist diatribes on 20 meters, including the transmission of recordings of a Hitler rally and Nazi marching songs. "This type of behavior was all too common before 'Sheriff' Riley came to town a decade ago," noted Moseson, "and it quickly disappeared once it became obvious that someone in authority was paying attention. But now, only a matter of months since Riley handed in his badge, it has become obvious to these hams that they are once again free to do whatever they please without fear of any consequences."

"The FCC must get back into the amateur enforcement business, and it must do so quickly," says Moseson, "before the situation once again gets out of control. Enforcement Bureau Chief Monteith must act promptly to name a successor to Riley Hollingsworth and assure amateurs that they have not once again been abandoned by the Commission."

You can read the entire W2VU article in accessible PDF on the CQ website.

So what do you think? Have you heard outrageous conduct on the air? What bothers me is that newcomers to short-wave listening will hear this stuff and be turned off - or that word will get around to the general public and lawmakers! This is the sort of thing that can bring down the entire Amateur Radio Service, chipping away at civil discourse and dedication to public service bit by bit. In a moment, we'll hear from Avery, K0HLA, on his memories of short-wave listening. What, I wonder, would have happened if he had heard some of the awful stuff Rich is pointing out on the air back then? Would little kid Avery had even decided to continue listening?

For your Handiham World, I'm...

Patrick Tice, WA0TDA
Courage Center Handiham Manager
patt@couragecenter.org

Handiham World for 19 November 2008

Welcome to Handiham World!

"Halt that bad ham radio behavior."

CQ Magazine calls for a new sheriff

CQ Magazine, in the person of editor Rich Moseson, W2VU, a good friend of Handihams, has called for the FCC to stop dragging its feet on amateur radio enforcement. As our readers and listeners know, the FCC's chief enforcer for the Amateur Service, Riley Hollingsworth, has retired and has not been replaced. Rich observes that some pretty dodgy stuff is being heard these days on the HF bands, as the lack of FCC enforcement becomes more and more obvious. Here is the news release from CQ, after which I'll be back for a few comments of my own:

(Hicksville, NY November 18, 2008) -- CQ magazine is calling on FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief Kris Monteith to move swiftly to name a successor to Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, as Special Counsel for Amateur Radio, and to bring FCC enforcement back to the ham bands.

Writing in his "Zero Bias" editorial in the December 2008 issue, CQ Editor Rich Moseson, W2VU, noted that the Commission not only has failed to name a successor to Hollingsworth, but that not a single amateur enforcement action has been taken since his retirement this past July. At that time, the editorial noted, the amateur radio community was assured that the Commission's dedication to enhanced enforcement in the Amateur Service remains strong. However, the FCC's total inaction since July suggests otherwise.

"This is deeply disturbing and of grave concern," wrote Moseson, adding, "It would be a tragedy, and a travesty, if the FCC were to go back on its promise to be there for us and allowed amateur enforcement to once again drop off the radar."

The need for continuing amateur enforcement was reinforced after the issue went to press when CQ was informed of an outburst of racist diatribes on 20 meters, including the transmission of recordings of a Hitler rally and Nazi marching songs. "This type of behavior was all too common before 'Sheriff' Riley came to town a decade ago," noted Moseson, "and it quickly disappeared once it became obvious that someone in authority was paying attention. But now, only a matter of months since Riley handed in his badge, it has become obvious to these hams that they are once again free to do whatever they please without fear of any consequences."

"The FCC must get back into the amateur enforcement business, and it must do so quickly," says Moseson, "before the situation once again gets out of control. Enforcement Bureau Chief Monteith must act promptly to name a successor to Riley Hollingsworth and assure amateurs that they have not once again been abandoned by the Commission."

You can read the entire W2VU article in accessible PDF on the CQ website.

So what do you think? Have you heard outrageous conduct on the air? What bothers me is that newcomers to short-wave listening will hear this stuff and be turned off - or that word will get around to the general public and lawmakers! This is the sort of thing that can bring down the entire Amateur Radio Service, chipping away at civil discourse and dedication to public service bit by bit. In a moment, we'll hear from Avery, K0HLA, on his memories of short-wave listening. What, I wonder, would have happened if he had heard some of the awful stuff Rich is pointing out on the air back then? Would little kid Avery had even decided to continue listening?

For your Handiham World, I'm...

Patrick Tice, WA0TDA
Courage Center Handiham Manager
patt@couragecenter.org

Handiham World for 12 November 2008

Welcome to Handiham World!

Short-wave is still a big deal... Maybe

I could be listening to the repeater, reading a newspaper, checking out a story online... Sometimes something just pops out at me. This morning, for example, I was checking through my email, and reading through the FCC's daily summary bulletin. One item caught my attention:

"INTERNATIONAL HIGH FREQUENCY Actions Taken Public Notice".

That link was worth following, so I took a look at the document on the FCC website. It turned out to be approval for several religious broadcasters to operate on the HF bands. Googling the callsign of one of them took me to a Wikipedia article that confirmed that the station would be broadcasting near, but outside, our 40 meter band. Whew!

WRNO Radio Worldwide's website makes the following interesting claim:

"Ten short wave radios exist for every cable and satellite TV, Internet address, and satellite radio. This 10 to 1 ratio allows individuals, as well as families to hear broadcasts around the world." The website goes on to state that short-wave is used by governments around the world for international communication.

Now, I got to thinking about those statements, because I have been around the block a few times in this old world, and I seldom accept the first thing I read as, um, "gospel truth", even when it is on a religious broadcaster's website. I know that the typical USA or European radio listener probably has access to more alternatives than ever. Of course the Internet is quite simply taking over what used to be the short-wave broadcasting schedule. Even the staid, old, reliables like the BBC have retired some HF transmitters in favor of Internet streaming audio. No doubt world governments do maintain some short-wave facilities as backup communications for emergencies. I expect that the State Department here in the United States has an interest in a system that remains independent of cables and Internet problems. Other governments probably do, too. But for day to day communications, you can bet that the emails and encrypted audio connections have taken over!

Then there is that statement about the 10 to 1 ratio of short-wave receivers to every cable and satellite TV, Internet address, and satellite radio. The problem is that even though it is likely true in some places in the world, it is tempting for those of us in the USA to assume that others do not have modern communications amenities. Not so! Yesterday I heard a conversation between a couple of USA stations and a station from India on our favorite local EchoLink repeater, the N0BVE machine. The topic turned to putting up TV antennas, and one of the USA stations wondered if a license was required to do so in India. (It should be noted that a license is required in India to own a short-wave communications receiver and to be an SWL.) The station from India replied that no TV antenna license was necessary, but added that cable and direct satellite TV were really more popular than old-fashioned TV antennas. This is just one example of how new technologies are spreading rapidly around the world. I guess I'd assume that short-wave broadcasting is not nearly as effective as the WRNO website claims that it is. Yes, there are a lot of old radios out there, but I think they probably are gathering dust as new technologies sprout up. I think we can take heart that 40 meter and 75 meter broadcast interference will slowly fade away. At least we hope so!

For your Handiham World, I'm...

Patrick Tice, WA0TDA
Courage Center Handiham Manager
patt@couragecenter.org

Handiham World for 5 November 2008

Welcome to Handiham World!

How about that vote?

Say, how about that vote yesterday? It was something historic, all right!

No, not the USA presidential elections... I'm talking about the vote of the Federal Communications Commission yesterday, Nov. 4, to free up the unused airwaves or “white space” between TV channels for use by wireless broadband services. This didn't come without a fight, because broadcasters, TV networks, and stations oppose the use of white space for wireless, fearing that it would interfere with broadcast signals. The proposal first surfaced about four years ago, and it is pretty telling about how this is a sea change in both thinking and technology when you look at who supports the change and who opposes it. On one side, there is the old technology of traditional broadcasters and on the other the new technology of computer companies, software companies, and Internet companies. Under the FCC's new spectrum plan, put forward by FCC chairman Kevin Martin, white space spectrum will be unlicensed and free to anybody who wants to use it.

I think the broadcasters are wrong on the interference issue - and so does the FCC. Of course time will tell, but the promise of wireless spectrum opening up will mean far more options for high-speed Internet access, and I think in the long run that's a good thing for amateur radio operators. It is the marriage of amateur radio applications like EchoLink and remote base station control that will truly transform ham radio as we have known it. Some amateurs are already embracing this technology, while others, mostly in rural areas, do not have high-speed Internet access and have to put up with dial-up.

You just can't do much with dial-up Internet.

Basically, the FCC would let unlicensed devices use the vacant channels, known as white spaces, as long as these devices include anti-interference technology. The way I read it, higher power wireless could then provide Internet access to far wider service areas, making it much more feasible to deliver high speed to these unserved rural areas, and even provide more competition in cities. Microsoft and Google both plan to take advantage of the new spectrum.

Where this opportunity ultimately takes us, one thing is certain: Ham radio operators will be part of the development and evolution of a new way to communicate, whether they are part of the engineering and technology teams working in industry as many do, or whether they are hobbyists writing software or designing better hardware that will take us places we haven't even thought of yet. This is really cool stuff!

For your Handiham World, I'm...

Patrick Tice, WA0TDA
Courage Center Handiham Manager
patt@couragecenter.org