As I ’m writing this I ’m listening to the Merri l lvi l le Marathon some of wouldclub members took the time to coordinate communications betweenstations. I ts important that one helps out in club activities, it improves theenjoyment, fel lowship and bond we have.Last month we had our annual Indiana parks on the air event, but this yearwe decided to add an extra thing to the event A PICNIC. To all that missedthat missed it we had a fun time, it started on a wonderful sunnySeptember morning at around 1 0am as most got to the part early we setup the clubs G5RV into the trees and got the computer and HF radio readyto go, 1 1 am rol led around everything ready and the bands were booming.After figuring out how to tune a band, we started out on 40 and switched to20 from time to time. Shortly after 1 1 the gi l ls were fired up and the picnicwas on, Burnt hot dogs and just right hamburgers were gri l led, a manyvariety of potato and corn chips, non alcohol ic drinks AKA soda, and evencookies and watermelon which none of which I got… too ful l from the tastyburgers Kenny cooked, didn’t eat the hot dogs Jim cooked he forgot towatch them, OH ME! at around 3 the both of the bands we worked startedfading in and out JUST like last year! and the radar looked like rain, soafter 81 contacts we decided to wrap it up and call i t a day. I would l ike tothank all those who attended and those who brought food for the picnic. Iwas also l ike to thank Mike W9DDK for the use of his HF Radio it was abig help my friend.Last month we had a ad in for the clubs second Five Guys fundraiser of theyear, but it looks l ike most of the members forgot about it! (I did also.. .)Well I can say we raised more money at the September meeting than wedid at the first fundraiser, just because everyone felt gui lty for forgetting.J im KF9EX after putting away the recent book a many of times, decided tokeep it out for the whole meeting. I f you want to donate to the club use themembership form on the last page of this newsletter and check“DONATION” box and send it off in the post or see Jim the treasurer man atone of our meetings.Last but not least Elections are open for President, Vice President,Secretary, and Treasurer. J im KF9EX nominated himself as Treasurer. I fyou would l ike to have a position within the club you have ti l l the end of theOctober meeting to think about it and nominate your self. At the Novembermeeting you wil l be able to vote for our officers so come out and vote.With that I ’d l ike to thank everyone for reading this great newsletter.

Benjamin Straw, KC9UNS - LCARC Secretary, Editor Short Skip, and Nut Controler.

From Your EditorBenjamin Straw, KC9UNS

October 201 3, Issue 1 0, Volume 61

UPCOMING EVENTS

In this Issue of Short Skip

Jim KF9EXKen KB9NSDLinda W9YGHMarv WV9O

ARTICLES NEEDED! ! !I f you have anything pertaining toamateur radio that you would l ike tocontribute to, and share with others inShort Skip, we would be happy toinclude your offering in any future

edition. Anything you would l ike. Hintsand kinks, antennas, technical talk,operating tips, publ ic service, classicradio, club activities, etc., would be

hearti ly welcomed! ! ! Al l articles must bein by the 20th of every month. Copyright

rules and permission apply to al lsubmissions. Please send your

submission to:KC9UNS / Short Skip Editor

kc9uns@gmail .com

I hope you enjoy this month’s Short Skipas much as I did putting it together!

2. Meeting Minutes

3 - 4. ARRL News

5. QCWA, K6NY, SK

6. New Contest, FCC Encryption

7. LED Noise

8. Radio Shack, 1 0 Meter

Perceptions

9. N9D Event & Picnic picsI f we missed your birthday orget it wrong, please let us

know

Lake County Amateur Radio ClubLake County Dept. Homeland SecurityBui lding /New Health Dept. Bui ldingOct 1 1 th @ 7:30pm. Board 6:30pm

Program : D-Star

Sunday, October 20, 201 3Kalamazoo Hamfest

Kalamazoo County Fairground2900 Lake St.

Kalamazoo, Michigan49048

November 1 6 - 1 7, 201 3Fort Wayne Hamfest & Computer

ExpoAllen County War Memorial Col iseum

and Exposition Center4000 Parnel l Ave. Fort Wayne, IN

Hamfest

Meeting

NetLCARC Weekly Information NetClubs VHF & UHF Repeaters

Every Thursday @ 8pm

mailto:kc9uns@gmail.com

LCARC May Meeting MinutesBenjamin Straw, KC9UNS

2Short Skip

Meeting called to order at 7:33 PM

Attendance:1 3 members 2 Guests.

Reading of Minutes:The minutes of the previous meeting Aug 9 was approvedas read.

Treasure Report:Treasurer Report read by Jim KF9EX.Jim reported we are over budget due to unexpectedexpense with tower inspection, grounding repair, andremote l ink.

Committee Reports:DX: Nick W9UM passed around rare DX cards some fromfel low club members and their old cal lsRepeater: Mark K9MQ reported the repeater committee ismaking progress on the remote power l ink and shouldhave it instal led in the next few monthsRACES/EMA: New parking lot is done with morehandicap parking spots and better l ighting. (We can nowsee where to park! )Contest: Ben KC9UNS reported we had a great turnout atINPOTA/N9D special event and Club Picnic, we made 81contacts.Net: Ben KC9UNS reported we have been averaging 1 4checkins and asked those who checkin to please fol lowPart 97.1 1 9(a) (http://www.arrl .org/part-97-amateur-radio)Fundraiser: J im KF9EX reported the clubs first Five Guysfundraiser raised $25 but due to procrastination they sentus a check for $50

Old Business:None

New Business:AA9XS asked for volunteers for the Merri l lvi l le marathonon Sept 29Jim KF9EX advised the members nominations for clubofficers are in October and elections in November

Program: None

50/50 Raffle:Total was $32 Nick W9UM won $1 6 and donated back toclub.

Meeting adjourned at 8:1 3 PM local.

201 3 Officers

President: .............. WD9EZBBob Wiberg

Vice President: ....... KB9HORuss McComb

Secretary: ............. KC9UNSBenjamin Straw

Treasurer: ................ KF9EXJim Harney

Trustee: ..................... WV9OMarv Boetcher

DirectorsBill Young ................. N9QLSKen Brown ................ KE9TCBob Nelms ............ WD9FNYMark Skowronski .......... K9MQJohn Gianotti ................. W9WY

Editorial StaffEditor-in-Chief ...... KC9UNS

Benjamin Straw(kc9uns@gmail.com)

Club ResourcesW9LJ/R ......................... 1 47.000 + PL 1 31 .8

W9LJ/R (St. John) ..... 1 47.240 + PL 1 31 .8W9LJ/R ......................... 442.075 + PL 1 31 .8

Repeater Nets

Thursday Night @ 8 pm:

LCARC Weekly Infomation Net

MeetingsSept 1 3, 201 3

BOARD MEETING

LCEMA OFFICE,

2900 93rd Ave

Crown Point (41 .449555,-87.36893)

(Across from Gov. Ctr.)

6:30 p.m.

Sept 1 3, 201 3

CLUB MEETING

2900 93rd Ave

Crown Point (41 .449555,-87.36893)

(Across from Gov. Ctr.)

7:30 p.m.

LCARC is an IRS-certified 501 (c)3 charitable organization and donations are deductible pursuant to the IRS rules. If you haveworking radio equipment and anci l lary equipment that you can and wish to donate to the club, please contact one of the boardmembers and we wil l be happy to talk to you about the process. Many companies wil l either grant or match employee’s gifts tononprofit organizations l ike LCARC.Please determine if your company is among these and contact a board member so we mayhelp fund and grow LCARC. We cannot accept certain donations, and have to place some restrictions around them (nohazardous materials, nothing we could not sel l , etc. ) . I f you are interested, look me, or any other board member up at one of themeetings, or contact us via email (our addresses at the end of this newsletter)

Vol. 61 No. 1 0

3Short Skip

Wayne S. Green I I , W2NSD(“Never Say Die”) , of Hancock,New Hampshire, died September1 3. He was 91 . A well-known andoften outspoken figure during whatsome consider Amateur Radio’sgolden years in the 1 950s and1 960s, Green helmed CQMagazine for 5 years beforebecoming the self-proclaimed “ElSupremo and Founder” in 1 960 of73 magazine, which he publishedunti l 2003.

“The purpose of [73] at that time was to get more hamsbui lding equipment,” Green recounted in a radio interviewseveral years ago. A hallmark of 73 was Green’s iconic,rambling, and wide-ranging “Never Say Die” editorials, inwhich he rarely missed an opportunity to tweak the ARRLand his magazine competitors for their perceivedshortcomings. In 201 2 Green contributed back issues of 73to Internet Archive.

“Wayne wil l be remembered in many different ways bymany different people, but he wil l be long remembered,”said ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1 ZZ. “He maintained hismembership in the ARRL despite being a persistent critic.In the early days of packet radio he gave me some goodadvice as to how the ARRL should promote the newtechnology: ‘Talk about it as if everybody’s doing it, andeventual ly they wil l be.’”

Indeed, Green often was ahead of the curve in promotingsuch technologies as single-sideband phone, sol id-state,FM, and the marriage of computers and ham radio, and hewent on to found and publish Byte and other computer-oriented publications. “I l ive mostly in the future,” Greenwas quoted as saying.

Former ARRL Contributing Editor Stan Horzepa,WA1 LOU, once wrote in his “Surfin’” web column, “Wetake computers and the Internet for granted today. I firstbecame interested in computers when Wayne Green,W2NSD, started writing about them in 73 magazine in the1 970s. Back then, you had to bui ld your own from scratchor from kits.”

Green maintained a larger-than-l i fe presence, even in theyears after he faded from the Amateur Radio spotl ight, andhe never did real ly retire. “Hey old buddy, I wi l l miss you,”radio talk show host Art Bel l , W6OBB, posted to WayneGreen’s blog. “NEVER SAY DIE is a phrase that wil l bewith me ti l l i t’s my time.” Green was an occasional guest onBell ’s “Coast to Coast AM” overnight talk program. Therehardly was an issue that Green would not confront, and heexpounded a variety of unconventional science, health, andmedical theories — from cold fusion and the moon landingto AIDS and cancer cures. He continued to write and speakfrequently on these topics and others, as well as on publicpol icy, even at hamfests where he was a guest.

The “Final” in his blog sums up Green’s overarchingphi losophy. “Wayne Green passed away September 1 3,201 3 in a peaceful, painless transition from this l i fe onEarth. An eternal optimist, and one who loved to share hisnever-ending zest for l i fe, he was a friend to many and wil lbe missed greatly. Wayne was not afraid of dying and wasvery much ready to embark on his next great adventure tothe afterl i fe.”

Wayne Green, N2NSD, SK

1 922 - 201 3

"Never Say Die"

Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia,September 1 7-1 9, US Army MARSnational leadership approved a studyof HF transmission methods for use inextreme propagation fai lures, and itinvited nominations for an IT special istto coordinate such a project. ProgramOfficer Paul Engl ish, WD8DBY, whopresided, addressed the need for anHF mode capable of high penetrationthrough adverse conditions, such asan extreme solar event or otherpotential ly catastrophic situation inwhich HF reception suddenly blackedout.

A leader, hearing no radio activityanywhere, would need to launch abeacon signal informing anyone whomanages to hear it where anemergency net would be called uponce propagation returned. Somediscussion involved existing weak-signal digital modes such as JT65 and

WSJT and possible l imitations underdisaster conditions with unstablepower sources. The region directorsvoted to pursue a solution.

The Atlanta gathering of regiondirectors and HQ staff adjourned afterthree days that included instal lation ofa new headquarters trainingcoordinator and preparation for amajor national exercise November 3-5with participation by Air Force andNavy-Marine Corps MARS members.

Army MARS Chief Stephen Klinefeltertold attendees told that Army MARS isphasing in direct support of ArmyNational Guard units on a nationwidebasis. Speaking by videoconferencefrom Army MARS Headquarters inArizona, he said headquarters hasbegun setting up contacts with stateNational Guard organizations.Connecting Guard radio transmissions

into the landl ine telephone system isexpected to evolve in every state andeventual ly could involve al l MARSmembers. MARS gained a lot ofvisibi l i ty for its handl ing of thousandsof phone patches that al lowed servicepersonnel overseas during the Korean,Vietnam and Desert Storm operationsto speak with their famil ies stateside.

Kleinfelter said great progress hasbeen made during the past 2 years tofamil iarize the defense establ ishmentwith MARS mission and capabil i tiesbut “we’re not there yet.” The 1 1region directors also learned that thattheir management body is being madepermanent, but with a sl ightly differentname —MARS Governance ExecutiveGroup. — US Army MARS via Bil lSexton, N1 IN

MARS Okays HF Transmission Methods Study for Propagation Failures

Vol. 61 No. 1 0

4Short Skip

Watch Out for Pirates!

The Daily DX reports that some piratestations have been on the bandsclaiming to be in Vietnam. Apparentlybogus cal l signs are 3WØIUR and3WØPQE. Also questionable areXV8LNS on 20 meters (JT65), XV2PCon 1 5 meters (PSK31 ), XV2PTEOTLon 1 5 meters (PSK31 ), and XV2M on20 meters (JT65 and SSB). The DailyDX says other cal l signs believed to bepirates are XV3DCM, 3W2LGY, and3W4RJF. In addition someone hasbeen using the cal l sign XV2T on 1 5meters CW, but the real XV2T doesnot operate CW.

QSL via Bureau? Check First!

Fred Laun, K3ZO, who manages theNCDXA/ARRL Third Call AreaIncoming QSL Bureau, advisesoperators who routinely send cards“via the bureau” to first check the DXstation’s QRZ.com or personalwebsites first to find out if the DXstation repl ies to cards sent via thebureau.

“Each month our bureau receiveshundreds of cards for rare DX stationsand DXpeditions who…state that theywil l not answer bureau cards,” hesays. “We recognize that one reasonpeople use the bureau is that theydon’t have to check QRZ.com oranother onl ine lookup service beforesending off the card.” Laun says hisbureau spends many hours eachmonth redirecting such cards to QSLmanagers or to the station’s ownbureau, “and even after our efforts,”he adds, “almost al l of these cards wil lnot be answered anyway.”

The bottom line: “I f an operator sayshe/she wil l not answer bureau cards,he/she in al l l ikel ihood means it, ” Launsays. “That means that there is nocheap way to get around the [DXstation’s QSLing] instructions.

He further notes that some operatorshave informed the bureau that theydon’t want to get bureau QSL cards.His bureau sends most of thoseunwanted cards to Tom Roscoe,K8CX, for use on his Ham Gallerywebsite, whi le it provides others toschools for classroom use. — Thanksto The Daily DX

Special Event to Commemorate90th Anniversary of ZL DX

Special event station ZM9ØDX wil l beon the air from New Zealand for 1 3months, from October 1 , 201 3, unti lOctober 31 , 201 4, to mark the 90thanniversary of that country's first DXactivities on the amateur bands and tocommemorate the DX pioneers whomade them happen.

The first New Zealand-to-Austral iacontact took place in Apri l 1 923,fol lowed by then-world record contactsbetween New Zealand and Argentinathe fol lowing May, and between NewZealand and California the fol lowingSeptember. The first contact betweenNew Zealand and California happenedin September 1 924, and just a fewweeks later came the first contactbetween New Zealand and the USEast Coast (Connecticut) .

Organizers say “the ultimate” contactbetween Frank Bell , Z4AA, and Ceci lGoyder, G2SZ, happened in October1 924.

Activated by the Kiwi DX Group,ZM9ØDX wil l operate from locationsaround New Zealand on all bands andmodes from 1 .8 MHz to 1 .2 GHz andbeyond.

A commemorative QSL card wil l beavai lable, and there is an awardprogram for contacts with NewZealand during the event period aswell . Event organizers say that in thespirit of the early pioneers, theZM9ØDX operators wil l cal l CQ onbands and in directions one may notnecessari ly expect “with the intentionof exploring the boundaries of radiopropagation.”

Further detai ls are on the ZM9ØDXwebsite. Note that this is a ZL-basedactivity, not ZL9, Campbell andAuckland Islands, so participants maywish to update the country fi le for theirlogging software. — Thanks to Bil l ,ZL3NB/Kiwi DX Group

FCC Dismisses “Encryption”Petition

The FCC has dismissed a Petition forRulemaking (RM-1 1 699) from aMassachusetts ham, that sought toamend the Part 97 Amateur Servicerules to permit the encryption of certainamateur communications duringemergency operations or relatedtraining exercises. The FCC put thepetition fi led by Don Rolph, AB1 PH, ofEast Walpole on public notice in June.Rolph requested an additionalexception to §97.1 1 3, which currentlyprohibits “messages encoded for thepurpose of obscuring their meaning,”but the FCC said in a September 1 8Order that it’s not persuaded hispetition provides sufficient reasons tosupport the change.

“[W]e conclude that the record doesnot support Mr Rolph’s assertion thatthe prohibition on encrypted amateurcommunications is impairing the abi l i tyof the Amateur Radio community toprovide effective support to public

safety agencies during emergencies,”the FCC said.

The FCC said it received more than300 comments on Rolph’s petition,and those opposing the changeoutnumbered supporters two to one.

In his petition Rolph suggestedexcepting “intercommunications whenparticipating in emergency servicesoperations or related training exerciseswhich may involve information coveredby HIPAA [medical privacyrequirements — Ed] or other sensitivedata, such as logistical informationconcerning medical supplies,personnel movement, other rel iefsupplies or any other data designatedby Federal authorities managing rel iefor training efforts.”

The ARRL had called on the FCC todeny Rolph’s petition. “While Mr Rolphhas concisely stated his argument, i t isARRL’s considered view that there isno factual or legal basis for theassumption that encryption oftransmissions…is necessary in order tocontinue and enhance the uti l i ty ofAmateur Radio emergency anddisaster rel ief communications,” theLeague said in its comments fi led July8 with the FCC.

The ARRL also turned away Rolph’sassertion that the current prohibition in§97.1 1 3 “has impacted therelationship of Amateur Radiovolunteers and served agencies andsignificantly l imited the effectivenessof amateurs in supporting emergencycommunications.”

In denying the petition, the FCCconcluded, “Thus, whi le the proposalcould advance one purpose of theAmateur Radio Service — value to thepublic as a voluntary noncommercialcommunication service, particularlywith respect to providing emergencycommunications — it would undermineother characteristics and purposes ofthe service. Therefore, we agree withthe comments that say, in variousways, that amending the rules to al lowencryption to obscure the meaning ofmessages transmitted duringemergency services operations andrelated training exercises would notimprove or enhance the operation ofAmateur Service stations or otherwisebe in the public interest.”

In its comments in the proceeding, theARRL also said that should it becomenecessary in the future for radioamateurs to protect the privacy ofindividuals whose medical data maybe transmitted by Amateur Radioduring or after an emergency ordisaster, “the Commission may beasked to revisit this matter.”

Vol. 61 No. 1 0

http://www.dailydx.com/http://www.ncdxa.org/qsl.shtmlhttp://www.qrz.com/http://www.hamgallery.com/http://www.dailydx.com/http://www.zm90dx.com/http://www.country-files.com/http://www.zm90dx.com/http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7022424684http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7022424684http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2013/db0918/DA-13-1918A1.pdfhttp://www.arrl.org/files/file/FCC%20Documents/Comments20FINAL202.pdf

5Short Skip

I t was amazing.. . i t didn't rain on our August meeting! And it didn't snow either! And we had a great turnout of 28members and guests for a del icious dinner at Hacienda for the conclusion of our Membership Drive Contest.

Although the awarding of prizes isn't unti l our September meeting (or they wil l be mailed), we are sti l l able to declarethe winners. In 1 st Place: Don Smith WA9KRT, in 2nd Place: Dennis Gilbey K9JZZ, and in 3rd Place: Carlos SantiniKA9JYO. Congratulations guys! And thanks to everyone who participated in the contest! We signed up 5 brand newmembers in the 6-month contest period and had about a dozen renewals. Ful l detai ls are on the Contest Page.

We didn't have much for show-and-tel l this month. Tom, W8FIB, had a family photo that he was showing off, but Ididn't get a copy of it to post here. And I passed around another example of relative size, showing how big things are inthe steel mil l . You might remember my photo from our June meeting that showed a car parked under a large piece ofmobile equipment. The photo below shows me standing in front of Stonehenge in England, me standing in front of aniron ladle in the mil l (i t holds about 600,000 lbs of molten iron), and me standing at one end of my Cape Cod stylehouse. Which is bigger? To tel l you the truth, I don't real ly know myself for sure. But I think they are in order, with myhouse about 22-24 ft. tal l , the iron ladle about 20-22 ft tal l to the tip of the spout, and Stonehenge about 1 8-20 ft tal l .But it's obviously close between all of them judging by the photos. And you can tel l that I don't get tal ler.. . only wider!

Sorry, no people pictures this month. I took some, but theywere all bad. Really bad.My fault... maybe I shouldn't have beer at these dinners!

II tt ii ss nnoott nneecceessssaarryy ttoo bbee aa QQCCWWAA mmeemmbbeerr ttoo aatttteennddbbrreeaakkffaasstt aanndd dd ii nnnneerr mmeeeettii nnggss.. AAll ll aarree wweell ccoommee..DDeettaaii ll ss ooff oouurr uuppccoommii nngg mmeeeettii nnggss,, aanndd hh ii gghh ll ii gghh ttss ooffppaasstt QQCCWWAA CChhaapptteerr mmeeeettii nnggss ii ss aatt CChhaapptteerr3366.. oorrgg7733,, SSttaann WW44SSVV

Palomar Engineers President John E. 'Jack' Althouse, K6NY, ofSan Diego, California, died September 1 5 after suffering amassive stroke. He was 90. With his death, his alter ego 'Kurt N.Sterba, ' who penned the 'Aerials' columns from 1 999 unti l 201 2and authored books on antennas for WorldRadio, also passes intoAmateur Radio history.

Palomar Engineers, the Escondido company he operated, maybecome a thing of the past as well . A message on the company'swebsite says Palomar Engineers is 'temporari ly closed' and 'nottaking orders at this time.' A regular QST advertiser, Palomarmarketed balun kits, RFI kits, toroids and ferrite cores and beads.I t once offered antennas and other accessories.

Althouse graduated from the University of Nebraska with a BS inelectrical engineering. He held a MSEE degree from the Universityof Iowa. Last summer Althouse announced that he had disposedof most of his product l ine, since he would be 'semi-retired' andentering an independent l iving faci l i ty. He remained active on theair unti l earl ier this year.

Althouse's family has not yet decided the future of PalomarEngineers. The family said outstanding orders either would becanceled and any funds refunded or fulfi l led if the item could belocated.

John E. 'Jack' Althouse, K6NY, SK

Vol. 61 No. 1 0

http://www.chapter36.org/http://chapter36.org/meetings/6-27-13/w4sv9.jpghttp://chapter36.org/meetings/6-27-13/w4sv9.jpghttp://chapter36.org/contest.html

SSTTAAYY UUPP TTOO DDAATTEE WWIITTHH TTHHEE CCUURRRREENNTT HHAAPPPPEENNIINNGGSS OOFF

TTHHEE LLAAKKEE CCOOUUNNTTYY AAMMAATTEEUURR RRAADDIIOO CCLLUUBB OONN FFAACCEEBBOOOOKK..

TTOO FFIINNDD UUSS TTYYPPEE LLCCAARRCC IINN TTHHEE FFAACCEEBBOOOOKK

SSEEAARRCCHH BBOOXX OORR HHTTTTPP::////WWWWWW..FFAACCEEBBOOOOKK..CCOOMM//LLCCAARRCC

._.. _._. ._ ._. _._. ... .... _ _ _ ._. _ ... _._ .. ._ _.

6Short Skip

New ContestBenjamin Straw KC9UNS

I ’m was getting the script ready for our clubs information net and started copying down the upcoming contests for the weekendweekend. As this was before Inpota I thought up another real ly cool event!

“Highway Rest Stops On The Air”

HRSOTA. Nice HUH?

Requirements to be a HRSOTA

MUST NOT have a Restaurant(s) on propertya) Vendingb) Male and Female Bathroomsc) Car and Simi Parkingd) Picnic Tables

Multipl iers1 ) Permanent Windmil l(s) or Solar Cell(s) on Property (Instal led by State or local Government)2) Being Powered by #13) Contacting Other HRSOTA Stations

Extra Points1 ) 50 Points if gri l l (s) on property2) 50 Points if water pump(s) on property3) 200 Points for each rest stop. A minimum of 60 contacts per stop. May not be used with #24) Add the highway marker at rest stop (I f I90 add 90 points, if US40 add 40 points)

I f you have something to add please let me know.

Should the FCC allow encryption?Dan, KB6NU

One of the most fundamental rules in amateur radio has been the prohibition against the use of codes or ciphers meant to obscurethe meaning of a message [Part 97.1 1 3 (4)]. Recently, that long-standing prohibition was challenged(http://www.arrl .org/news/rules-change-sought-to-permit-encryption-of-sensitive-emergency-communications) to al low encryptionwhen passing emergency health and welfare traffic. The idea was that encrypting these messages would protect the privacy ofindividuals. In his Petition for Rulemaking (http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7022424684), Don Rolph, AB1 PH, pointedout that Austral ian amateur radio rules permit encryption for emergency services operation or related training exercises.

Oddly enough, the pushback against this petition has been loud and swift. The ARRL quickly came out against the petition(http://www.arrl .org/news/arrl-urges-denial-of-petition-to-permit-encryption-of-some-emergency-communications), and when Iblogged about this issue (http://www.kb6nu.com/im-jumping-on-the-anti-encryption-bandwagon/), several hams replied that theydidn’t think al lowing encryption was a good idea.

The main arguments against encryption seem to be that:* I t wi l l make people suspicious of amateur radio operators and bring unwanted scrutiny upon amateur radio.* Make self-pol icing more difficult.

Among the arguments for al lowing encryption are that cryptography is a fundamental element of modern RF communications, andthat not al lowing it, negates one of the purpose of amateur radio. Namely, that one of the purposes of amateur radio is to “advancethe state of the radio art.”

In late September, the FCC dismissed this particular Petition for Rulemaking (http://www.arrl .org/news/fcc-dismisses-encryption-petition). I t stated specifical ly that “the record does not support Mr Rolph’s assertion that the prohibition on encrypted amateurcommunications is impairing the abi l i ty of the Amateur Radio community to provide effective support to public safety agenciesduring emergencies.”

Of course, this discussion isn’t over yet. Encryption is now employed routinely for even the most common types of digitalcommunication, and as a newer generation of amateur radio operators take over, they’ l l want to experiment with these digitalcommunications techniques. One commenter suggested that a portion of the 900 MHz band or maybe the 5 GHz band be set asidefor experimentation with encryption. I think that is an idea worth exploring.

What do you think? Does encryption have a place in amateur radio?

===================================================

When he's not pondering FCC rules, Dan, KB6NU enjoys working CW on the HF bands and teaching ham radio classes. For moreinformation about his operating activities and his "No-Nonsense" series of amateur radio l icense study guides, go to KB6NU.Com ore-mail cwgeek@kb6nu.com.

Vol. 61 No. 1 0

https://www.facebook.com/LCARC

7Short Skip

LED lamps are becoming cheaper by the day – and noisier. A recent study by PF0EMC and others shows the spectrumfrom 3 MHz to 30 MHz.

The first image shows the spectrum with the LED lamp switched off, the second one with the LED lamp switched on. .

3 MHz to 30 MHz, LED lamp switched off

3 MHz to 30 MHz, LED lamp switched on

So it’s getting worse and worse. Now we not only have to deal with PLC technology, but also with something basic l ikel ighting. While I can temporari ly ki l l a PLC device (it’s against Dutch law to discuss how, don’t ask, you won’t get ananswer), I can’t switch off someone’s LED lights.

LED lamps becoming cheaper – and noisierHans Van Rijsse PD0AC hamgear.wordpress.com

Via hamgear.wordpress.com

Vol. 61 No. 1 0

http://hamgear.wordpress.comhttp://hamgear.wordpress.com

8Short Skip

Radio Shack’s FaultsBenjamin Straw KC9UNS

Just recently I read an article about how Radio Shack is going to clean up theirstores and try to shed its reputation as being a store with wires on the wall .I don’t know about you but when I walk into one of the stores, I seem to never findwhat I ’m looking for and with that let me tel l you a story. I walked into theirSchaumburg, IL store on S Roselle Rd. I went in looking for a 1 :1 transformer… Yes Iknow you can’t find any but there is no harm in looking and who knows if they mighthave some or one in stock! Anyway the Sales guy was well kinda nice although hewas paying more attention to the TV more than the sole customer! I asked if theyhad any Weller soldering tips and he said “No, Al l we carry is those tips that don’teven work on the Radio Shack brand irons we sell” I was shocked and appalled that

the Shack would do that to its customers. BTW those tips are for the Chicago electric 8 in 1 kit you get at HarborFreight.In the Scherervi l le, IN store, which is I think the best store around, they have the “Maker” products and one of thosegems is the tv-b-gone kit which is l ike AWESOME, I didn’t buy it at the time because of course I had other things tobuy, so when I did have the extra cash I went over to the Griffi th, IN store and… NO KITS not even a Maker they hadsome old crap that had never sold and sti l l hasn’t, what a waste of gas.I ’m not sorry some people may have not I cal led out these stores, but Radio Shack has no consistency. We don’texpect apple stores where every single store is designed different, we expect to have products IN STOCK and havethe SAME products throughout other stores. You know if you need something you can go to ANY store get it and getout with no problem. I use Radio shack to get things I don’t want to wait when buying onl ine, plus some things are justcheaper! One funny thing made in the article is how they are losing money and near the bottom it shows a chart ofsomething to do with numbers… anyway if you take a look at it around 2003 it shows a major dip that would be 2004.‘03 was the the last year they published a catalog.As a final note bring back your 1 :1 Audio Transformer part # 273-1 374 or if you find them please let me know.

I got my Novice ticket in 1 978 and, although I didn’t real ize it at the time, I ’d never see DX conditions l ike that again. Iwas 1 7 and a senior in high school. Upon waking up at 6am to get ready for school, I would turn on my Ten-TecCentury 21 and work a few Europeans on 1 0 meters.

Each morning; every morning.

Unl ike now, it was a given that Europeans would be coming in on 1 0 meters in the morning with JA’s and VK/ZL’staking their place after each evening’s dinner. The thought of whether or not 1 0 would be “open” never occurred – itwas then a known fact that 1 0m would yield DX for 20 out of 24 hours and the thought that this was not always thecase was foreign to us newbies at the time.

I f I had known then what I know now, perhaps I would have savored each 1 0m DX contact just a bit more.

I wish I could find the words to describe what is was like to be a newly-l icensed ham, able to turn on a simple rigconnected to a simple antenna and have a chat with someone in Paris, Leningrad or Brisbane, mate. To put out a CQat 30 watts into a dipole and have a slew of DX stations with honest 599 signals answering l ittle old me…

To say that it was magical doesn’t even come close.

And, back then, they truly were chats – not the “599 TNX & 73″ wham-bam-thankyouma’am’s that pass for QSO’snowadays.

I thought it would always be that way.

Years later, I migrated down to lower bands to get my DX fix since working DX on 1 0 meters came to mean nothing.CB’ers were doing it next door on 27 MHz, anyone and everyone could (and was) doing it, therefore it was no longer atest of a DXer’s ski l l or tenacity. In my flawed thinking, to be a DXer worth his salt meant the abi l i ty to cross an oceanon Topband or 80 meters.

For years now, 1 0 meters has been on again, off again – mostly off. The past few days have been okay on that bandbut not great, yet the DX forums have DXers celebrating the fact that 1 0m opened to Europe for a few hours on two orthree days.

A part of me says, “Big deal”. Another part has me scanning the band along with many others. Like them, I now think a1 0m band opening is unique, rare and special . I ’ve wil l ingly forgotten the old days, lest I be considered jaded.

A few days ago I worked 3B9EME on 80 meters and, curiously, i t meant l i ttle to me to travel 1 0,000 miles on that band.I t wasn’t a New One – the 80m band has taken me to that part of the world many times.I f I could have worked them on 1 0 meters though…..that would have been something.Visit John's Blog at AE5X.com/blog

Perceptions of the 1 0-meter band over the yearsJohn Harper AE5X

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