The Livewire Editor is Dr. Carl Rogers, WA4ULE and this webpage is maintained by Jonathan Nalley, KE4ZVU who is a member of the
A Publication of the Blue Ridge Amateur Radio Society, Inc.
President: William (Buddy) Rodgers-KA4END, 19 Wintergreen Ln., Taylors, SC 29687
Notice: The next meeting of BRARS Inc. will be Monday evening,
November 2, 1998 at Greenville Technical College, Room CE-350 ( Auditorium ). The
coffee will be ready at 7:00 pm and the meeting will start at 7:30 pm.
MEMBERS ONLY
Would you like to keep up with worldwide amateur radio activity on a
day-to-day basis? You can move in that direction by signing up for ARRL’s
“Members Only” on the ARRL website. Go to www.arrl.org
and click “Members Only”. The
application form will ask for your membership
number which can be found on your QST mailing label, select a password ( but don’t
forget it like I did!) and add your E-mail address. You can have them send you all weekly
messages or you can limit to just those that you want. Weekly messages on DX activity,
radio propagation, and general news are among the offerings. Some recent examples are
reproduced below:
QST de W1AW
Propagation Forecast Bulletin 42 de K7VVV /OCT. 16
Solar activity was up a little last week, with the average sunspot
number increasing 42 points to 95, and the average solar flux rising conditions should be
great this weekend for the RSGB 21/28 MHz CW Contest. Predicted solar flux for Friday
through Sunday is 135, 140 and 140, and the predicted planetary A index is 5, 5, and 8.
With the rising solar flux, low geomagnetic activity and the Fall season upon us, 10 and
12 meters are good right now, particularly at lower latitudes.
Solar flux should begin to fall after next Tuesday, going below 130
again around October 24 and below 120 a few days later. The geomagnetic field is expected
to remain quiet to unsettled.
VE9AA in New Brunswick reported that he and other hams in VE2 and VE3
reported hearing weak 48.25 MHz video signals from Europe around 1330 to 1430z on October
11. On October 14 WP4O in Puerto Rico worked LW5EJU in Argentina on both 6 and 2 meters.
Great news from the SOHO spacecraft. The mission is continuing to
recover, and SOHO is even sending solar images again. Check the latest news and pictures
on the web at http://sohowww.nascom.gov/ and also
http://umbra.gsfc.nasa.gov/.
Sunspot Numbers for October 8 through 14 were 146, 125, 94, 68, 76, 70
and 86 with a mean of 95.
DX Report, Oct. 8
This week's bulletin was made possible with information provided by
Tedd, KB8NW, the OPDX Bulletin, The 599Rpt, The Daily DX, DXNL, QRZ DX and Contest Corral
from QST. Thanks to all.
TUNISIA, 3V. Albert, F2KN, is QRV as 3V8BB until the end of October.
QSL to home call.
TANZANIA, 5H. Dave, K8MN, is QRV as 5H3US on 160 to 6 meters. He will
be here for the next three years. QSL via WA8JOC.
NEPAL, 9N. David, G4ERW, is QRV until November 7 as 9N7RW from Patan,
which is nearby Kathmandu. QSL to home call.
ANGOLA, D2. Fernando, D2BB, has been QRV on 28480 khz from 1700 to
1730z. QSL via W3HNK.
GLORIOSO ISLAND, FR/G. Jacques, FR5ZU, will be QRV until October 30 as
FR5ZU/G, using SSB and RTTY on all bands. QSL via JA8FCG.
NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS, KH0. Members of the Mariana Islands DX
Association will be QRV in the VK/ZL/Oceania CW Contest. Activity is expected on 80 to 10
meters. QSL via operator's instructions.
GUAM, KH2. Mariana Islands DX Association members will also be QRV in
the VK/ZL/Oceania CW contest. Activity is expected on 80 to 10 meters. QSL via operator's
instructions.
BRAZIL, PY. Look for PU5U and PW5L to be QRV using SSB and CW
respectively, from Sao Francisco Island, IOTA SA-027, from October 10 to 14. QSL both
calls via PP5LL.
POLAND, SP. Special Event Station SN20JP will be QRV from Krakow to
celebrate the 20th anniversary of the pontification of Pope John Paul II. The station will
be QRV until October 31 on 160 to 6 meters using all modes. QSL via SP9PKZ.
EASTERN KIRIBATI, T32. Tuck, T32BI, has been QRV on 14260 khz from 0130
to 0300z and then on 14200 khz from 0630 to 0830z. QSL via KH6DFW.
CANADA, VE. In recognition of the 100th Anniversary of the Yukon
Territory Gold Rush, Special Event Callsign VY1A will be QRV during October and November
on all bands, using CW, SSB and RTTY. VE stations QSL via VY1JA, all others QSL via
KB5IPQ.
NORFOLK ISLAND, VK9N. Jim, VK9NS, has been QRV on 24901 at 0915z. He
can also be found on 14222 khz from 0300 to 0400z. QSL to J. Smith, PO Box 90, Norfolk
Island, NSW, Australia.
PRINCE EDWARD AND MARION ISLAND, ZS8. Barry, ZS2H, has been QRV
on 10 meters around 1300z. QSL to home call.
Amateurs Help Police ( from General News )
A Connecticut Amateur Radio tracking team called Capitol Region
Malicious Interference Tracking (CRMIT--pronounced "Kermit") helped lead
authorities to a man they believe was interfering with local public safety communications.
Wethersfield, Connecticut, police arrested Joel Langdo, who was charged with interfering
with police and breach of peace. Langdo also could face similar charges in other
communities as well as federal charges.
Langdo, a security guard who does not hold an amateur license,
allegedly used a modified ham radio hand-held to transmit on police and fire frequencies
used by as many as three dozen Connecticut public safety agencies. At one point, he is
said to have jammed the Manchester, Connecticut, police system for 15 minutes.
Tracking down Langdo took several months of often grueling detective
work and careful documentation of offending transmissions, according to CRMIT spokesman
Bruce Marcus, WA1NXG, an ARRL Life Member who's in the land-mobile business. Last April,
Manchester Police solicited help from CRMIT, which, in turn notified the FCC. CRMIT helped
Manchester authorities solve another malicious interference case several years ago.
Marcus said the jammer used a modified Yaesu FT-50R dualband hand-held
for all of his escapades, which included playing music, airing sound from TV sitcoms,
making moaning sounds, and recording and playing back police transmissions. Because the
complaints were widespread, Marcus said it was not clear at first that the jamming
incidents were related. "We put the puzzle together," he said. The CRMIT team
used sophisticated transmitter fingerprinting equipment, and the offender helped to
capture himself, Marcus said. "Its unique signature nailed it." The offender
also had a habit of broadcasting Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite and certain DTMF strings.
The CRMIT team eventually was able to track transmissions to the
building where Langdo lived. Marcus said federal authorities are looking into how Langdo
got the radio illegally modified to transmit outside the amateur bands.
This and other news of interest to all amateur radio operators are
available on a weekly basis from ARRL’s new Members
Only service.
Hope to see all of you at the next BRARS, Inc. meeting..
Editor: Carlisle Rogers WA4ULE
Minutes of the 10/05/98 Club Meeting
Les Shattuck, K4NK,
Carroll Smith, WA4WYE
Ed Grooms, K4KK
If you are interested in serving as an officer or director of the club for 1999, contact one of the committee. Their roll is to find at least one member for each of the officer and open director positions who would be willing to serve. Nominations will be presented at the November 2 Club meeting. Nominations from the floor will also be accepted at the November meeting. Voting will take place at the December 7 Club Meeting, again with nominations from the floor being accepted.
| KG4AAV | B.B. | (Ben) | Cooper | 9 Tassel Trail | Greenville | SC | 29609 |
Submit any comments on above applications in writing to:
Attention: Board of Directors, BRARS,Inc, P.O. Box 6751, Greenville, SC 29606-6751
John E. Chism, ND4N
Secretary, BRARS Inc.
Any comments, suggestions, articles, etc. regarding the newsletter
should be sent to livewire@brars.org
The Livewire Editor is Dr. Carl Rogers, WA4ULE and this
webpage is maintained by Jonathan Nalley, KE4ZVU
who is a member of the
Send your comments or inquiries to: brars@brars.org
©1998 Blue Ridge Amateur Radio Society, Inc.