Ocala.com

Ocala.com

Article published Dec 30, 2005
BITS & PIECES
Go ahead. Ham it up on the radio

EMORY SCHLEY

If you're looking for something different in the New Year, not the same old humdrum rigmarole you find yourself in every January, then I've got something you might be interested in.

Why not a new hobby? Not only can you have a lot of fun, you can be of service to your fellow man at the same time!

Amateur radio can be an open doorway to adventure for you, opening up paths you never believed existed. Not only can you communicate with others all around the world, you can talk to astronauts during their leisure hours aboard the International Space Station. I've read that about 80 percent of all the astronauts (and cosmonauts) are licensed radio amateurs.

I've had a license for 25 years now and talked to hams in Antarctica, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Easter Island, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and to someone in all 50 States. An old ham who had lived in Tasmania for 50 years once regaled me about adventures he experienced in his adopted homeland. I once had a conversation with Tom Christian, a descendant of Fletcher Christian of 'Mutiny on the Bounty' fame. Many of the Christian clan still live on Pitcairn Island in the South Pacific and most of them are hams."



73 fer nw,
Bob AD5VJ

10X# 37210, FP#-1141, SMIRK#-5177
http://www.n5iet.com/
Code may be taking a back seat for now,
but the pioneering spirit that put the code
there in the first place is out front of it all.

DX News -- ARRL DX Bulletin #52:

DX News -- ARRL DX Bulletin #52:

THIS WEEKEND ON THE RADIO.

The ARRL Straight Key Night, SARTG New Year RTTY Contest, AGCW Happy New Year CW Contest, AGCW VHF/UHF Contest, New Year's Snowball Contest, ARS Spartan CW Sprint, HA Happy New Year Contest and the NCCC Thursday CW Sprint will certainly keep contesters busy this holiday weekend. Please see December QST, page 86, January 2006 QST, page 101 and the ARRL and WA7BNM contest websites for details.

Source: W1AW Bulletin via the ARRL. "



73 fer nw,
Bob AD5VJ

10X# 37210, FP#-1141, SMIRK#-5177
http://www.n5iet.com/
Code may be taking a back seat for now,
but the pioneering spirit that put the code
there in the first place is out front of it all.

HOA Guy: State and federal laws regulate associations

HOA Guy: State and federal laws regulate associations

"Federal Communications Act:

The rule is intended to prohibit HOAs from prohibiting Direct Broadcast Satellite dishes less than 1 meter in diameter, multichannel multipoint distribution (wireless cable) and traditional television broadcast antennae.

Any HOA restriction or rule that impairs the installation, maintenance or use of an antenna that it is designed to receive direct broadcast satellite service, including direct-to-home satellite services, that is 1 meter or less in diameter . . .

is prohibited, to the extent it so impairs.

For purposes of the FCC rules, a restriction impairs installation, maintenance or use of any antenna if it (a) unreasonably delays or prevents installation, maintenance or use; (b) unreasonably increases the cost of installation, maintenance or use; or (c) precludes reception of an acceptable quality signal. There are no guidelines as to what constitutes an unreasonable cost increase."



73 fer nw,
Bob AD5VJ

10X# 37210, FP#-1141, SMIRK#-5177
http://www.n5iet.com/
Code may be taking a back seat for now,
but the pioneering spirit that put the code
there in the first place is out front of it all.

United Press International - Hi-Tech - Wireless World: Feds vacate airwaves

United Press International - Hi-Tech - Wireless World: Feds vacate airwaves

"Wireless World: Feds vacate airwaves
By GENE J. KOPROWSKI

WASHINGTON, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- The government is getting out of the way of next-generation mobile broadband services -- a new niche being developed by cell-phone companies -- by preparing to spend $936 million to move its radio communications onto an obscure segment of the spectrum, experts are telling United Press International's Wireless World.

'With 90 megahertz of additional spectrum, today's cellular carriers will be tomorrow's next-generation broadband providers,' Michael D. Gallagher, assistant secretary of commerce for communications and information, said in a statement.
It's something like an eminent-domain case -- except this time, the government is vacating the space in order to further the technology economy, rather than the reverse.

The U.S. Department of Commerce this week issued a report on the costs of the move, under a requirement imposed by Congress in the Commercial Spectrum Enhancement Act.
Passed a year ago this month, the act called for auctioning spectrum in the 1710- to 1755-MHz band used for fixed wireless government communications. The Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration was given the assignment of estimating the cost of reallocating systems already operating in the band. The NTIA said the $936 million figure is much less than the wireless industry had estimated.

'We found a way to open up a 'beach front' spectrum for key economic activity without jeopardizing our national security,' Gallagher added. "



73 fer nw,
Bob AD5VJ

10X# 37210, FP#-1141, SMIRK#-5177
http://www.n5iet.com/
Code may be taking a back seat for now,
but the pioneering spirit that put the code
there in the first place is out front of it all.

CBC Arts: US group protests inaction on TV decency violations

CBC Arts: US group protests inaction on TV decency violations

US group protests inaction on TV decency violations
Last Updated Fri, 30 Dec 2005 13:05:47 EST
CBC Arts

A major parents group in the U.S. says it is disappointed regulators did not issue any fines for on-air indecency in 2005 after a record number of penalties the previous year.

'Here 2005 is going to end � and nothing has been done all year,' says Melissa Caldwell, director of research at the Parents Television Council. The council has spearheaded a crusade against coarse language and sexual content on television and files many complaints with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The FCC can levy fines, often after an investigation and a vote by its five-member commission. It has not proposed a single fine for 2005.

Caldwell says she fears the lack of fines would encourage broadcasters to push the envelope with racier content in the coming year.

The council's primary targets include an episode of CBS's CSI: Crime Scene Investigation in which there were references to the abuse of a man's private parts as well as the use of profanity during ABC's broadcast of the Live 8 concert in July.

The FCC imposed a record $7.9 million US in fines in 2004, including $550,000 against 20 CBS stations that aired Janet Jackson's nipple exposure during the Super Bowl halftime show."



73 fer nw,
Bob AD5VJ

10X# 37210, FP#-1141, SMIRK#-5177
http://www.n5iet.com/
Code may be taking a back seat for now,
but the pioneering spirit that put the code
there in the first place is out front of it all.

ARRLWeb: ARRL In Action

ARRLWeb: ARRL In Action

ARRL In Action: What Have We Been Up To Lately?
Compiled by Joel Kleinman, N1BKE
Managing Editor
jkleinman@arrl.org
December 30, 2005



This feature--including convenient Web links to useful information--is a quick monthly update of some of the things ARRL is doing on behalf of its members. This installment covers the month of December.



The ARRL is cautiously optimistic about the recent announcement of a commercial Broadband over Power Line (BPL) deployment by the largest electric power utility in Texas.
Elsewhere on the BPL front, the ARRL once again asked the FCC to shut down the Manassas, Virginia, BPL system because it's still causing harmful interference to Amateur Radio and otherwise does not comply with FCC Part 15 rules.
Thanks to the generosity of Icom, MFJ and NCG (Comet), the ARRL is assessing the capabilities of D-Star digital technology in a real-world Amateur Radio environment. "



73 fer nw,
Bob AD5VJ

10X# 37210, FP#-1141, SMIRK#-5177
http://www.n5iet.com/
Code may be taking a back seat for now,
but the pioneering spirit that put the code
there in the first place is out front of it all.

The Morning News :: News Page

The Morning News :: News Page

"Emergency Center Taking Shape
Command Post Planned in Fayetteville
By Dan Craft
The Morning News


John Luther, emergency management director for Washington County, explains Dec. 21 how a former courtroom will become a media briefing center at the new county emergency operations center. The center, slated to open next month, will provide a command facility in the event of a major disaster.
Zac Lehr, The Morning News

FAYETTEVILLE -- Emergency response personnel soon will occupy a new command center that formerly housed juvenile delinquents.

Washington County officials, working in conjunction with the University of Arkansas and city leaders from Fayetteville and Springdale, have begun renovating the former juvenile detention center. The goal is to create an emergency operations center capable of serving as a command post in the event of a local or regional disaster.

The new center will open in early January.

The concept of a centralized command center has existed for years, and a small post already exists at Central EMS headquarters in south Fayetteville, said John Luther, emergency management director for the county.


'Honestly, we've way outgrown that facility,' Luther said. 'It worked when we needed it, but we can do so much more with the bigger space.'"



73 fer nw,
Bob AD5VJ

10X# 37210, FP#-1141, SMIRK#-5177
http://www.n5iet.com/
Code may be taking a back seat for now,
but the pioneering spirit that put the code
there in the first place is out front of it all.