Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Handiham World for 30 December 2009

Welcome to Handiham World!

Pat, WA0TDA, with handiham coffee mug.


As you know, this is your last issue of the Handiham World for 2009. I'm supposed to be on vacation, but I'm sneaking one final e-letter in. The audio for our year-end print edition follows the audio from this short holiday week newsletter. Today's test HTML editing program is Open Office Writer, which saves documents in HTML format. Last week's edition was done with Microsoft Expression Web, and I ran into publishing problems when The list server would not pass the HTML code. Thus far, I have not been able to determine exactly what caused this problem. Although last week's edition was published on time on Wednesday, the listserv never actually sent out the mailing. I had to reformat into plain text and send again on Thursday, which of course meant that you did not receive your weekly e-letter on time unless you read it online or subscribe to the podcast, both of which were available as usual last Wednesday. I have been using Microsoft Expression Web for the final HTML “cleanup” for well over a year, so I'm not sure exactly what the problem is. Clearly, something in the HTML was non-compliant with the Freelists.org system that does our mailings. This may come down to something as simple as a single unacceptable character, but whatever it was turned out to be enough to jam up the system, for which I apologize. There is no evidence that Microsoft Expression Web added any characters that were noncompliant, but in order to get this newsletter out on time, I don't want to take any chances.

In your mailbox this week, if you are on our postal mailing list, you will receive a print edition of our annual year end Handiham World newsletter. Inside the four-page print edition is an annual giving envelope. You may use this envelope to support the Handiham system so that we can continue our good work into the coming year. Sometimes Handiham members will set the envelope aside because it is a postage-paid envelope. Then they will use the envelope to order study materials or pay their membership dues. Unfortunately,, this is not a good idea because instead of saving postage on your membership renewal or study material order, anything in the envelope will be processed as a donation. The reason is that the bar code on the envelope directs it to a processing center for donations, not to the Handiham office. The bar code also assures that donations placed inside the envelope are credited to the Handiham program. If you can support us with a gift, which is tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law, we would really, really appreciate it.

For Handiham World, I'm...

Patrick Tice, wa0tda@arrl.net

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Handiham World for 23 December 2009

Welcome to Handiham World!

A few little changes...

Well, we have made it almost to the end of another year of publishing your weekly e-letter and podcast. Since I am taking a week of vacation between the holidays, this is your last weekly e-letter for the year of 2009. When we meet again in 2010, we are looking toward an exciting new decade in amateur radio. Just think about it -- the next sunspot cycle, Cycle 24, is underway and sunspot activity should begin to climb in earnest in 2010. The 10 m band, which has languished in the seemingly endless solar minimum, will start showing signs of life again. It will be possible to work amazing amounts of DX with low power and small antennas. Even Handiham members living in apartments and condominiums will find that DX is within reach.

Braille book sitting on top of transceiverAs the decade moves forward, we will learn about new technologies. Ham radio is about innovation and experimentation in communications, so I think that's a safe bet! I believe we will see advancements in accessibility for people with disabilities, partly because of software development and partly because of the now-assumed handshaking between amateur radio equipment and computers. Could it also be possible that manufacturers will build accessibility features right in instead of having users buy and install extra modules?

Amateur Radio education is going to be quite different in the next decade. You can see the change coming as we can access more and better online courses, and instructional materials in multimedia formats that are delivered in new and better ways. I feel confident that we are on the right track at Handihams when we stopped reading instruction manuals and instead began offering audio training based on a more practical method of simply teaching our members how to use their radio equipment. In the same way, we have stopped reading licensing manuals and instead teach online in a way that makes sense to our members with disabilities. No one is suggesting that books are going away, but they will be in new digital formats, available as digital downloads on portable electronic devices. The jury is out on whether these digital books will be accessible to readers who are blind or have reading disabilities and require audio readout of the text. Although it is easy to do with today's technology, there is some fear among publishers that users will get a free audio book when they have only paid for a print version. Thus, some of our biggest hurdles remain social and political rather than technological!

Legal disputes over content management rights and patents could also cloud the future of accessibility. If software is found to violate a patent and must be withdrawn or changed, accessibility features within the software might be affected. This is a complicated area where technology and the law intersect and where breaking new ground is more likely to be the norm than the exception. I can only hope that accessibility does not go on the back burner in favor of time being spent to resolve other pressing issues in software design.

Still, I remain optimistic. In the natural tug-of-war between rapidly evolving technology and the legal system, there is enormous pressure to make content more easily accessible in spite of the efforts of those who simply can't change with the times and learn to work with the new technology.

In the world of amateur radio software, rig control will become an expected feature and manufacturers will have to meet these expectations. If accessibility is built-in from the get go, we will not have a problem. On the other hand, if inaccessible features are placed on the software's front end interface just to create a "pretty" screen, we may be in for an uphill climb. It is not, mind you, that we are insisting that software interfaces need to be bland and uninspiring. It is just that the functions of the software need to be accessible to people who must access computers by voice dictation or through screen readers. Traditional menu bar features really should be retained if at all possible. If a program presents a front-end interface designed for users without disabilities, that is only acceptable if there is an accessible alternative. I would like to hear from some of our readers and listeners who are knowledgeable about software. Specifically, what features must be designed into the software to make it accessible? Frankly, if we do not put our expectations on the table, we should not be surprised when new amateur radio software is designed for users without disabilities only. Yes, I know that this is the 21st century and people should know better, but I have learned that it is best not to assume that everyone really knows what they are doing! It is not that software designers purposely exclude people with disabilities. Rather, design is sometimes driven by a marketing department that is more concerned with the "look and feel" of the software's interface and the engineers work toward that goal, unaware that users with disabilities may have difficulty using the software. In short, there is still plenty of ignorance out there!

In the past few weeks, I was notified that a user could not access all of our links in the newsletter. Even though we are aware of accessibility issues, it does show that problems will still crop up from time to time. In 2010, improving accessibility in the newsletter, website, and podcasts will be on our agenda. In fact, this very newsletter is now being produced using a new, state-of-the-art HTML editor, Microsoft Expression Web. Although Microsoft FrontPage has been a workhorse for us for over a decade, new web standards dictate that we needed to move forward with better editing tools. The Drupal content management system that we now use for Handiham.org also brings us into better accessibility compliance and offers us the opportunity to update web content more frequently and from anywhere, thus better serving our members and the amateur radio community.

One issue that I still struggle with is maintaining backward compliance. A reader informed me that a link would not work in Pine. I was surprised that this would come up, but it does show that there are legacy e-mail systems that are still in use and work perfectly well, provided that newer technologies maintain backward compliance. The question for me is, "how do I know what will be backward compliant?"

The answer is that sometimes I don't, and that means that I depend on our readers and listeners to let me know when something does not work for them. We will do our best to maintain accessibility, though there may come a time that the new technology will become so obviously better and widely accepted that it may no longer pay to support backward compatibility. Believe me, this is a common problem in the world of technology. One obvious change that is certainly coming in the next decade is the retirement of the venerable Library of Congress four-track audio cassette. Maintaining backward compatibility for this old system right now means that we are converting MP3 files to a cassette system that is decades old. Most of us are familiar with a conversion from analog television to digital, a situation where the technology changed so radically that maintaining backward compatibility became somewhat of a political issue. In the world of radio, HD radio is now being promoted by broadcasters, both commercial and public. In amateur radio, you will find some communities that have really embraced D-Star repeaters while others live firmly and confidently in the world of analog repeater systems.

When does the big change get made? There is no firm answer to this. Taking the example of digital repeater systems and radios, there will always be a period of transition with people who are so-called "early adopters" leading the way and plucking down big bucks for the latest digital technology. Most users of repeater systems will take a wait-and-see attitude. After all, new repeater systems are expensive and require a lot of effort to change out. A radio club has to be able to not only pay for the cost of a new repeater system, but they also have to promote the new digital technology to all of the club members and prove that it is so much better that it is worth the money that each member will have to spend for a new digital-compatible radio. This is a huge hurdle to overcome because most of us have perfectly good analog equipment and many of us use their repeater system only occasionally. This makes it hard to justify spending several hundred dollars for new equipment. I think what needs to happen is that there needs to be a "critical mass" of users before everyone jumps on board with new technology. Holdouts who refuse to change at that point will simply be left behind or find it necessary to form a new user group for the old technology.

It will be interesting to see the new ARRL website next month when it comes online. The League has been careful to maintain accessibility on its website and I'm looking forward to using the new website and learning how its accessibility features compare to the current website. Most website developers these days do not provide plain text alternatives. The reason is that common web authoring software and content management systems provide for accessibility as long as they are used correctly. The assumption is that the user with a disability will upgrade his or her software system as the technology advances. This means using a reasonably current voice dictation system or screen reader program to access the new content or new software interfaces. At some point there is a critical mass of users with disabilities who are comfortable with the new technology and at the same time the number of users with old technology who cannot access new software and content falls below a critical mass necessary to continue support for backward compatibility.

I am confident that sometime in the next few years the number of users of the old four track tape system will drop below critical mass. With only a few users left, it will no longer be economically feasible to continue to produce materials for them. They will have to make the choice to move on to the new technology or provide some way themselves to get the new technology converted to the old technology format.

One thing that I would like to see in every amateur radio equipment review is a paragraph on accessibility. I am willing to reach out to our readers and listeners to discuss this topic and to exchange e-mails with anyone who is writing a review of equipment. The only thing is that I am not an expert on accessibility in the same way that our users are. After all, I can use my hands to type or control the knobs and buttons on a radio. I can see the radio's display and I can view the computer screen and use a mouse. That means I'm likely to only be able to give superficial advice on accessibility. If any of our readers and listeners can help, I would certainly appreciate it. We will share your contributions with our audience on the website and credit you with your name and callsign if you wish. As we move into the next decade, let's make sure that accessibility is job one.

For Handiham World, I'm...

Patrick Tice, wa0tda@arrl.net

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Handiham World for 16 December 2009

Welcome to Handiham World!

What's on your wish list for the holidays?

Pat at HRO poses with big Icom rig that he can't possibly afford.

Besides world peace, I mean? If you have asked Santa for some new ham radio gear, I hope your wishes are fulfilled. (I'm not holding my breath about getting one of those most excellent $11,000 Icom transceivers like the one I posed with for a photo op at HRO, but then again, I might rate something more affordable for Santa's budget.)

Yes, I have placed a new HF rig on the wish list at the WA0TDA QTH. The reason is that I'm tying up my Icom IC-706 M2G on 2 meters and 70 cm, sometimes using it as an Echolink node, and that leaves me only an old Yaesu FT-747 for HF. Alas, the Yaesu has seen better days. I had acquired it around 20 years ago as a result of a lightning strike on my tower. My wife and I were at home when the storm moved through the Twin Cities, and we about jumped out of our shoes when the blinding flash of lightning lit up the neighborhood like a million camera flashes. The thunder was instant and loud, and that meant just one thing to me: We had just taken a lightning strike, because the thunder came at the same time as the flash of light. I opened the door to the ham shack and my old FT-101B was smoked. Literally. There was even an outline of the metal louvers on the bottom of the rig burned into the wooden desktop.

So I replaced that rig with the FT-747, which worked like a champ for 10 years. It started flaking out in subtle ways. Once I called CQ on what I thought was a clear frequency, only to be chastised by some guy whose QSO I'd interrupted. A bit of sleuthing with a plastic probe led me to an intermittent on a circuit board that had muted the receiver. After that fix, I had a couple more years of trouble-free operation out of the 747 until the display started to disappear at random, accompanied by a total receiver failure. That was also an intermittent, because you could prod the rig and wiggle connectors to get the display and receiver back to normal. Many tries later, both by me and our shop volunteer CJ, K0CJ, and the problem still crops up at random. But the rig really started to annoy me when it would decide to suddenly shift frequency about 500 Hz or so, also at random. This thing was definitely getting on my nerves!

In the 23 years since the FT-747 came out in 1987, the technology built into ham radio transceivers has evolved - a lot! Although the Icom IC-706M2G is a decade newer, its design is still dated. I would like a better receiver section and more options for signal processing. So a new transceiver in the $1000 class went on my Santa list.

Will Santa deliver? Have I been a good boy? Stay tuned to the Handiham podcast and weekly e-letter news to find out!

For Handiham World, I'm...

Patrick Tice, wa0tda@arrl.net

Wednesday, December 09, 2009

Handiham World for 09 December 2009 - Repost

Welcome to Handiham World!

Ralph Andrea, W0FCO, now a silent key
Photo: Ralph Andrea, W0FCO, became a silent key in 1993. (Thanks to George, N0SBU & the History Project for this photo of Ralph posing with a handheld radio.)

Recently I had a phone call from the elderly mother of a long-time Handiham member. She explained to me that her son needed some help with his radio. Of course we visited on the phone for awhile so that I could learn a bit more about the radio and what it was and wasn't doing, but then we got to talking about how her son had gotten help from a Handiham volunteer in past years.

"Ralph Andrea used to come over to the house and help us with the station", she said. Ralph had passed away long ago, and now her son needed help again.

I remember when I first started with the Handiham program myself. It was 1991, and one of the first people Sister Alverna, WA0SGJ, told me about was Ralph, W0FCO. "Ralph", she explained, "will never miss an opportunity to tell someone about the Handiham System - even complete strangers."

It was true. If Ralph saw someone who used a wheelchair or a white cane, he would introduce himself and start his sales pitch about how much fun ham radio was and how the Handiham System could help them get started. He was an awesome volunteer, and I was privileged to meet him and work with him in the Handiham System for two years, until his death in 1993. There was almost no volunteer job that Ralph wouldn't handle. He would pay calls to members who needed antenna work or station setup help. He kept a massive collection of electronics parts in his basement, which was jammed with floor to ceiling shelves like a commercial repair shop. If someone needed a left-handed resistively-coupled doofrazzle, Ralph was going to find one in that collection, because everything was neatly stacked, organized, and labeled.

When Ralph got sick and spent his final days in the V.A. Medical Center in Minneapolis, I got the feeling that he was still very much the Handiham volunteer. During one of my visits to his hospital room shortly before his death, he wanted to make sure that I would take good care of the Handiham System. That was the kind of guy Ralph was. Other people, especially Handiham members, came first.

It was a sad day when we had to say goodbye to such a kind and dedicated friend of Courage Center. After Ralph became a silent key, Doris, his XYL, got help from the local ham community to sell the parts collection and radios, donating the proceeds to help us and even setting up a special fund to help Handihams into the future. The parts sale was so big that it filled the garage and the wide driveway. Hams from the 3M Amateur Radio Club and the St. Paul Radio Club as well as others pitched in to help.

That gift of support still helps us offer services today, and I know that some of you, our readers and listeners, will step up to the plate and help keep the Handiham System healthy. Maybe you can give your time to help someone else. Perhaps you can teach a ham radio licensing class at your local radio club or school. Some of you will be able to help with gifts of financial support. Ralph did all of that stuff, but I sometimes wonder where he found the time. The thing is, if you truly want something in life, you are more likely to make it happen. He liked ham radio and made the special mission of the Handihams his priority.

I want you to think about Ralph Andrea when someone asks you to help set up a rig or teach a class. Or yes, write a check to support us. Working together, we are sure to succeed when we have something as exciting as amateur radio to share.

For Handiham World, I'm...

Patrick Tice, wa0tda@arrl.net

Handiham World for 09 December 2009

Welcome to Handiham World!

Ralph Andrea, W0FCO, now a silent key
Photo: Ralph Andrea, W0FCO, became a silent key in 1993. (Thanks to George, N0SBU & the History Project for this photo of Ralph posing with a handheld radio.)

Recently I had a phone call from the elderly mother of a long-time Handiham member. She explained to me that her son needed some help with his radio. Of course we visited on the phone for awhile so that I could learn a bit more about the radio and what it was and wasn't doing, but then we got to talking about how her son had gotten help from a Handiham volunteer in past years.

"Ralph Andrea used to come over to the house and help us with the station", she said. Ralph had passed away long ago, and now her son needed help again.

I remember when I first started with the Handiham program myself. It was 1991, and one of the first people Sister Alverna, WA0SGJ, told me about was Ralph, W0FCO. "Ralph", she explained, "will never miss an opportunity to tell someone about the Handiham System - even complete strangers."

It was true. If Ralph saw someone who used a wheelchair or a white cane, he would introduce himself and start his sales pitch about how much fun ham radio was and how the Handiham System could help them get started. He was an awesome volunteer, and I was privileged to meet him and work with him in the Handiham System for two years, until his death in 1993. There was almost no volunteer job that Ralph wouldn't handle. He would pay calls to members who needed antenna work or station setup help. He kept a massive collection of electronics parts in his basement, which was jammed with floor to ceiling shelves like a commercial repair shop. If someone needed a left-handed resistively-coupled doofrazzle, Ralph was going to find one in that collection, because everything was neatly stacked, organized, and labeled.

When Ralph got sick and spent his final days in the V.A. Medical Center in Minneapolis, I got the feeling that he was still very much the Handiham volunteer. During one of my visits to his hospital room shortly before his death, he wanted to make sure that I would take good care of the Handiham System. That was the kind of guy Ralph was. Other people, especially Handiham members, came first.

It was a sad day when we had to say goodbye to such a kind and dedicated friend of Courage Center. After Ralph became a silent key, Doris, his XYL, got help from the local ham community to sell the parts collection and radios, donating the proceeds to help us and even setting up a special fund to help Handihams into the future. The parts sale was so big that it filled the garage and the wide driveway. Hams from the 3M Amateur Radio Club and the St. Paul Radio Club as well as others pitched in to help.

That gift of support still helps us offer services today, and I know that some of you, our readers and listeners, will step up to the plate and help keep the Handiham System healthy. Maybe you can give your time to help someone else. Perhaps you can teach a ham radio licensing class at your local radio club or school. Some of you will be able to help with gifts of financial support. Ralph did all of that stuff, but I sometimes wonder where he found the time. The thing is, if you truly want something in life, you are more likely to make it happen. He liked ham radio and made the special mission of the Handihams his priority.

I want you to think about Ralph Andrea when someone asks you to help set up a rig or teach a class. Or yes, write a check to support us. Working together, we are sure to succeed when we have something as exciting as amateur radio to share.

For Handiham World, I'm...

Patrick Tice, wa0tda@arrl.net

Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Handiham World for 02 December 2009

Welcome to Handiham World!

Pat with headset & microphone

I hope you had a wonderful thanksgiving holiday. We certainly had a wonderful time sharing the holiday with extended family. With the new technology, I didn't have to leave my ham radio friends behind, either. At my XYL's sister's house my first job was to repair the broken cable internet, an easy fix that simply required rebooting the cable modem and the wireless router. Now that the internet was back in business, it was easy to check in to the Handiham Echolink net using a tiny netbook computer and a USB microphone. I also managed a couple of check-ins on the 75 meter PICONET during the visit. No one minded, because there always seems to be some "down time" during these multi-day visits, and sometimes I think the best thing for everyone's mental health is to spend some time doing relaxing activities like reading or getting on the air.

One interesting thing I noticed just before we headed out over the river and through the woods for Thanksgiving was the release of an NPRM, or Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, by the FCC. The topic: Amendment of the Amateur Service Rules Governing Vanity and Club Station Call Signs. The notice came to me in an FCC bulletin on the day before Thanksgiving, though the NPRM was actually issued on the day before, which was Tuesday, November 24. I have posted the NPRM on the Handiham website in a format that is more easily read than the original downloads. Because of the timing of the release during a busy, short holiday week, I suspect that many ham radio operators missed the announcement altogether, even though we posted it as soon as it was released, and the ARRL produced a story on ARRLweb that included an excellent explanation of what the NPRM is all about.

Here are the main points. At the end of this story, I will provide links to the ARRL story and the NPRM on the Handiham website.

  • To look up anything on the FCC website or to offer comments on a notice of proposed rulemaking, one needs to know the docket number: WT Docket No. 09-209.

  • The vanity callsign program began in 1996, but the FCC did not set forth all of the procedures governing vanity calls. This NPRM attempts to do a bit of fine-tuning by specifying some procedures.

  • Club station licensing is also due to be addressed in this NPRM, stating: "The Commission also decided in the Vanity Report and Order to resume issuing new club station licenses. We believe that certain rule changes to the club station licensing rules may be appropriate." and "...call signs shown on the license of a deceased licensee generally are unavailable to the vanity call sign system for two years after the license expires or is canceled. Below, we propose to amend our rules to clarify the process by which such call signs become available for reassignment."

  • If the rule changes are made, Novice Class licensees would be able to serve as club station trustees.

The conclusion states: "In summary, we believe that the public interest will be served by amending certain rules in order to make the amateur service’s vanity call sign system more equitable and transparent. We also propose changes in the rules governing club station licensing, to promote equitable and administratively efficient processes. We therefore seek comment on these proposed rule changes. In addition, we invite commenters to propose any other amendments to the rules governing the vanity call sign system and club station licensing."

I urge you to do some further research on this NPRM, even though it is a busy time of year. You will find the appropriate links after my identification.

For Handiham World, I'm...

Patrick Tice, wa0tda@arrl.net