Ham Radio/Ham Radio CD-ROM (Emerald Software) (1995).ISO/news/ih91200a/ih91203.txt

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Subject: Info-Hams Digest V91 #203
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Info-Hams Digest            Sat,  9 Mar 91       Volume 91 : Issue 203

Today's Topics:
                        Amiga Morse Code Tutor
               ARRL SSB Contest from W3LPL Multi-Multi
                      Info-Hams Digest V91 #199
                            Mailing lables
                  MAJOR SOLAR FLARE ALERT - 07 MARCH
      Re: Data Packet Radio Might be Censored After FCC Citation

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----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 9 Mar 91 00:36:54 GMT
From: hpl-opus!hpspdra![e-mail]  (Paul Zander)
Subject: Amiga Morse Code Tutor
To: [e-mail]

Try the "Fish" disks of Public Domain software.  Somewhere around #200
or 300 there is one which reads a text file and generates Morse code at
a specified speed.  Of course, you need some text files...

Paul AA6PZ

------------------------------

Date: 8 Mar 91 15:19:01 GMT
From: hpfcso![e-mail]  (Jay Kesterson)
Subject: ARRL SSB Contest from W3LPL Multi-Multi
To: [e-mail]

<Total Score: 11.8M, beating our record from last year.

Great score John!

<80     235      80    W3LPL
<40     430      90    N3GB, KC3EK

I am just getting back on the air after about 5 years of inactivity.  In the
past I did several single 40s or operated 40 from K0RF in multi-multi.  It
seems to me that the 40 and 80 SSB QSO total for the east coast multi has
gone way up (in contests were you can't work VEs).  Is there more Europe
to run now, working more JAs, or are you passing lots of non-mult QSOs
down to the low bands?

Hope I can get some kind of station together before all the spots go away!

73,

Jay  K0GU

------------------------------

Date: 06 Mar 91 11:57:44 EDT
From: Larry Jack <[e-mail]>
Subject: Info-Hams Digest V91 #199
To: <[e-mail]>

From: Larry Jack

     ....question concerning having a scanner in a car in Michigan....
         Conditional, General, Extra Class licenses....


Most, if not all of us are acutely interested in the technical side of (ham)
radio.  But how many have paid attention to the historical aspects, the why-we-
are-where-we-are part of this hobby(?)?  Since so little of this history is
recorded, it is the duty of us OF's to pass it along to the rising generations
of new hams.  It is not that I am that old, its just that I've had my license
for +28 years so I have seen a few more things than many.

Call this a Personal History of Ham Radio in the U.S.- Part One
            *The Licenses*

Back in the very early 1950's (when I was very young, by the way) the FCC
restructured the Amateur Servc. to the include the 3 common licenses we
know today:  The Novice, Technican and General.  For history pre '50' consult a
 real OF.  The old (then) Advanced class liceses of the pre 50's era were grand
fathered, and at some point the Extra Class license was introduced.  But
neither of these licenses had any more priv. to them than the (then) new
General class license.  I can imagine the screams and the nashing of teeth that
 this 'cheaping' of the Service must have produced, but it was done and
surpringly the world still revolved.  Point to remember... The Extra Class
license was nothing more than an ego boost, a Government sponsored way to
show you knew more about ham radio than the run of the mill new General.
And the Advance chaps were just Grandfathers. The Extra did have a nice cert-
ificate appearance unlike the other computer cards of the other classes, tho...
The Novice license was much the same them as today- miserable little
slivers of HF spectrum for young kids to chirp out CW contacts to
each other on 75W (input) crystal controlled transmitters.  No VFO
were allowed. The license was good for 1 year and not renewable.  It
was move up or move out.  Surprisingly, by todays standards, they did have
2 meter allocations-  2 meter 'phone- from 145-147MHZ (or Mc's, as we called
them then).  For some     it was glorious year of 2-meter 'phone, and
like the all-too-brief life of a May fly, they expired, never to renew
(translated as this as Upgrade) or be heard from again! Alas...
They had a very distinct callsign, WN, KN or in some rare cases WV
prefixes.  When a novice upgraded, the N or V was dropped.  Depending
on the callsign area and the station licenses issued, they could end up
with 1X3 (K#***) or the N (or V) would be replaced by an A, or B (WB#***).
Everyone knew a Novice and those that chose to treat them as some lesser
life form could readily identify them as inferiors. Time changes few things...
To oper. HF a Tech could hold a Novice license. Many did-with 2 callsigns.
The original Technican      license was, as today, an license of consession.
Neither fish nor fowl, it still remains  the license everyone one tolerates,
modifies, slings mud at and restricts.  The original, like the Novice, was
a "Mail-Order" license- ie, a voluteer examiner.  Allegations of cheating
just went with the license, and no Tech was ever thought totally clean.  But
there were really two types of Techs... the Tech and the Tech(C)...Or Tech
Conditional.  If you went all the way into the big city to take the General-
you had to go to the FCC offices, and if you failed, could only return
after waiting 30 days- and DID fail the Code, they often let you take
the test at a reduced speed for the Technican. The written test was the same,
both the General and Tech were identical. Paper and pencil test- hard little
cusses too, no memorizing guide books for those Hams! Those that passed the
FCC-given exam got a regular license, all the mail-order guys got a " (C) "
beside their license.  This meant you could, at any time, be called into an
FCC office and retested- just in case it was true  and you did cheat on the
volunteer exam.  A license of compromise, the original Techs had "...All
frquencies, power etc. above 220 Mc."  Just great!  Think what 220 is
like today..imagine this in 1955!  It was later modified to include 6
meters, and later 145-147 Mc. (Notice, the same as the Novices....
historically these two have always been connected, even back then.
Remember too, that the only real difference between Tech and General
then was 8 WPM (5 v.s. 13) The license was renewable, every 5 years, and
the call signs were the same as Generals.  Back then, all callsigns
were issued in sequence, no special classes like today, so an Extra
could have a 2X3 call while a Tech could have a 1X3.  You could
tell how long someone was a ham by their callsign, and the 1X2's were
the oldtimers.

I mentioned a Conditional class of the Technican; there was a Conditional Class
for the General- called just that- Conditional.  Orginally this was for anyone
living more than 75 miles from an FCC office (those pre-Interstate days
travelling was harder, I guess)  Later this was tightened up to 175 miles,
which pretty well excluded anyone in the lower 48 States.  Same as the
General license, but subject to recall and retesting. When the VEC programs
were begun this license was grandfathered to the regular General class
(as were the Tech's- to a regular Tech's)

In the mid 1960's the American Radio Relay League lobby'd the FCC to
clean up ham radio.  They proposed and got what was to become known
as Incentive Licensing. Ask any of your ARRL officers just what a
great deal this was...Incentive license with a vengence!  It took
away major privels. from all license classes, and "gave them back
when you up graded."  Now you know where the Advanced (remember, these grand-
fathers) and the Extra's (those Super hams- all dressed up but no where to
go) come in.  And hence the present day license structure.  The higher your
qualifications, the better the frequencies you got.  Keep in mind, though,
that unlike grandfathering, this took away and made you re-earn.  A BIG
difference.  Ham radio is just now recovering from the "Incentive Licensing"
flop  of the '60's.  For many it was a gross insult, to have to be retested.
Many hams dropped out, fewer new ones joined, thing stagnated for years.
While commerical interests eyed the ham frequencies, the ranks were thinning.
The status of ham radio would be much different today if there were 2.5 million
hams instead of the 0.5.  Many still think this is due to the ARRL Incentive
Plan.  Look in the 25 Years Ago Sections in QST, and you won't find much even
mentioned about this dark period in American Hamdom.
An aside to the ARRL-  they did not recognize Techs and Novices as "Real" ham
back into the good old days.  Full membership was reserved for General Class
and above.  No Mail-Order Space Cadets need apply.
I think this history has gone on long enough.

This hasn't had much to do with operating mobile in Michigan, but I had
fun recalling (and calming my blood pressure) those Halcyon days.  Things
are so much better today.

                           Larry Jack  KL7GLK  /  V77LJ

Of course this history is seen thru may own eyes, and as an OF, you
younger squirts will just have put up with its interpretation.  I welcome
anyone elses...

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 8 Mar 91 08:45:34 EST
From: [e-mail] (M. Squicciarini)
Subject: Mailing lables
To: [e-mail]

    Does anyone know of a program to print lables on a HP laser jet
    printer.  I would like to print several different address at one
    time.

    73 -- marty -- nr3z         [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 9 Mar 1991 03:47:42 -0500
From: [e-mail] (CARY OLER)
Subject: MAJOR SOLAR FLARE ALERT - 07 MARCH
To: [e-mail]

                        --  MAJOR SOLAR FLARE ALERT  --

                                MARCH 08, 1991

                              Flare Event Summary
                           Potential Impact Forecast


                                    --------


MAJOR ENERGETIC EVENT SUMMARY

     Region 6538 continues to be extremely active.  It spawned three M-class
flares on 08 March as well as one major flare.  This region has exhibited
tremendous spot growth over the past 24 hours.  The region, now located at
S25E47 (at 00 UT on 09 March), covers an area of 2,400 million square
kilometers encompassing a total of 63 spots (and increasing).  The region
contains significant shear and high magnetic gradients configured as a type
Beta-Gamma magnetic group.  This region extends 27 angular degrees.

     The most noteworthy event of 08 March was the impressive class X1.7/2B
major Tenflare which began at 20:25 UT, peaked at 20:30 UT and ended at 20:34
UT.  Although this flare was not of long duration, it produced a very
significant 91,000 s.f.u. radio burst at 245 MHz and was also accompanied by a
strong 2,700 s.f.u. Tenflare which lasted 14 minutes.  This flare is suspected
of having produced a SID/SWF for approximately 30 minutes, but this has not yet
been confirmed.  No sweeps were observed from this event.  The location of this
flare was S24E43.


POTENTIAL TERRESTRIAL IMPACT FORECAST

     No significant terrestrial impacts are expected from todays major class
X1.7/2B flare.  However, Region 6538 is now within range to produce moderate
geophysical impacts.  By 10 March, major flaring will be capable of inflicting
potentially high terrestrial impacts such as major geomagnetic and auroral
storming (depending on the flare characteristics).  The potential for proton
activity and PCA activity will increase beginning on 11 March.

     Major flaring is expected to continue.  Major M-class flares are likely.
Isolated X-class flares may also be expected.  Numerous minor M-class flares
can also be expected.  Flare sizes could reach an optical category 3B with
accompanying major SID's/SWF's of long duration (exceeding 40 to 60 minutes).

     Geomagnetic storming may occur over the next 24 to 48 hours over the high
latitudes in response to the major flaring which took place on 07 March.
Storming could become sustained at minor storm levels with possible isolated
bursts of major storming.  Middle latitudes should remain mostly active,
although there is a slight risk for some brief periods of minor geomagnetic
storming over the middle and low latitudes.

     Polar and auroral radio paths will become more disturbed over the next 48
hours if the higher latitudes do become affected by the flare events of 07
March.  Signals passing through the polar and/or auroral zones will likely
suffer from moderate to strong fading and absorption.

     As a side note, another Stratospheric Warming Alert has been issued.
Stratospheric warming has occurred over eastern Siberia.  Stratospheric
temperatures over that area have increased by more than 30 degrees over the
past week.

     Watch for future major flare alerts and possible geomagnetic storm
warnings for middle latitudes.


**  End of Alert  **

------------------------------

Date: 8 Mar 91 21:03:50 GMT
From: hpda!hpcupt1![e-mail]  (Jim Hollenback)
Subject: Re: Data Packet Radio Might be Censored After FCC Citation
To: [e-mail]

The point that the FCC was using to bring the fines against the node
operators is that the amateur service is not to be used for commercial
applications.  The message that was post was clearly a commercial message.
It advertised a 900 number.  This is a clear violation of 97.113(a).
Secondly, the distribution was 'ALL', which in effect made it a broadcast.
The message fell outside the limits of 97.3(a)(23) and therefore made
a violatoion of 97.113(c).  97.113(c) states that the amateur service
can not be used for broadcasting.  So the message violated the no
broadcasting rule and violated the no commercial message rule.

The sticky part of the stick is that there is NO exemption in the rules
for the operators of a store-and-forward station.  By agreement in PR-85-105
the FCC agreed that the screening of the messages at the entry point
would prevent the retransmission of inappropiate messages.  Also in this
agreement was the necessary trail of accountability.  The Commision was
clearly concerned about the unsupervised transmissions of third party
traffic in this Memorandum Opinion and Order.

Granted that there were no doubt a number of previous messages that would
fall into this catagory little was done because they did not come to the
attention of the FCC.  The FCC office that initiated the action was the
Virginia Beach office, which is in the Norfork-Portsmouth metropolitian
area.  This is a MAJOR navy town on the east coast.  The fact that the
message was for a anti-war movement probably is what brought it to the
attention of the FCC.

In the case of a person using a telephone to perform illegal activities,
the phone company is NOT responsible because their mission in life is
to provide unlimited, public access to there network FOR PROFIT.  In
short, they provided the service required of them so they can not be
held responsible.

It seems to me that by PR-85-105 the operator of a store and forward
station is REQUIRED to screen all incomming message to insure that the
retransmission of inappropiate third party, messages from non-amateur
stations, or commercial messages can not occur.

I did not say I agree with it, BUT these are the rules by which we
have to play the game.  I have a feeling the incident is far from
over ... film at 11.

73, Jim, WA6SDM
[e-mail]
not occur.

------------------------------

End of Info-Hams Digest
******************************