On the Web : March 2005

If you enjoy reading 'On the Web', your ham radio club can publish this column on an exchange basis with SJRA. Contact Ted, , for the exchange details.		Our contributions to the South Jersey Radio Association club bulletin "Harmonics" includes lengthy Web addresses. As the URL's can be difficult or a nuisance to type into your Web browser, the postings here should make it easier to get to the Web sites SJRA members are interested in. Look for the posting at w2xq.com at the time "Harmonics" is scheduled for delivery in the south Jersey area. Questions, suggestions or contributions are always welcome.
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The 2005 Field Day Rules
The SJRA Field Day Site entrance is on Lower Main Street, Marlton, opposite the Indian Springs Golf Course.
GPS (Global Positioning System) coordinates are N 39° 53.162', W 74° 53.486', or if no GPS, use this map.

ARRL Field Day

You wouldn't know it by judging the amount of ice and snow packed in our Pine Barrens backyard, on the driveway and on the roof, but the 2005 ARRL Field Day will be about 100 days off when you read this column. How do I know? Our handy-dandy countdown clock is running on the Web page version of this column posted at w2xq.com. The clock is set to kick off and tell you that you missed it if you show up at 2:01 p.m. on June 25.

The Field Day site is on Lower Main Street in Marlton, opposite the Indian Springs Golf Course. If you have a GPS unit plug these coordinates in to drive right to the entrance: N 39° 53.162', W 74° 53.486'. I plugged the coordinates into Mapquest, but the URL is much too long to duplicate here. Come to the W2XQ site for the Web version of the column and click on the map link.

I suppose everyone has to play by the rules., so when you can't stand the TV commercials any more study the ARRL Field Day Rules at www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2005/rules-fd-2005.html. You better do your homework. Ken, K2WB, tells me he will be conducting spot quizzes.

BPL

Broadband Over Power Lines is a dirty word among amateur radio operators and shortwave listeners. Most SJRA members are members of the ARRL and no doubt have been reading in QST the League's take on BPL these past years. The problem I have with the ARRL in this matter is that its reports seem narrowly focused and don't necessarily tell the rest of the story, whether it be good or bad. Clearly BPL isn't going to help us, but what are the other repercussions? Are there any good things to be found in BPL services?

I found a number of trade Web sites that seem to be to begin to tell the rest of the story, as Paul Harvey puts it. I do not pretend to be an engineer, but these four Web sites were interesting reading. Your comments are invited. Why not write a piece for Harmonics? Contact Ted for details.

GoBPL — www.gobpl.com — touts itself as the Web site with everything you need to know about BPL, and describes BPL as a wolf in sheepskin covering.

The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners — naruc.org — has a BPL report on its home page on how state regulators are responding to "the challenges of a new technology." Not very well, some would say.

If you haven't read the year-old report from the NTIA yet, the multi-volume BPL Phase I Report — www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/fccfilings/2004/bpl — is available in segmented sections for easier download.

And the pro-BPL United Power Line Council — www.uplc.utc.org — makes a powerful case for BPL and cites the the City of Manassas as turning up the first BPL municipal lines. We may not agree but I find it interesting reading on what the other guys are doing.

Wandering around the 'net

Sometimes one can find some interesting Web sites by chance just by clicking on what appear to be interestingly-titled links. Such was the case when N2GJ asked me to look at his "Famous Hams and ex-hams" — users.tellurian.com/gjurrens/famous_hams.html — pages and suggest an alternate methodology about perhaps using a database to manage the information. The entries make for interesting reading, and Gerry also suggests comparing his site to others found on search engines. Doing so, I found number of ham radio sites with features not seen elsewhere.

How about looking through 10,000 links? That's what Repeater World (www.repeater.org) claims. I won't stop to count the number of links but at first glance there appear to be at least 60% in the radio sections. The famous hams search on Google turned up a list compiled by TA2CNC (www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Campus/4400/) but more interesting to me were the TA zone and call area maps. There are some interesting translator Java applets too.

Being licensed by the FCC, the pieces of paper that grant us authorization to pollute the airwaves looks pretty anemic. We can do better by printing our paperwork. AE7Q, Dean Gibson, has a license generator (amateur.mailpen.net/Generate.phtml) that makes it really easy to print out a marvelous duplicate copy.

Great circle programs are found all over the net. While WM7D — www.wm7d.net/azproj.shtml — is well know for his work, there are others. DJ7BA has a free one — bestdx.de/DJ7BA/prefix-engl.htm — that requires the help of a recent copy of Excel. EI8C — www.mapability.com/ei8ic/ — has no less than 5 maps, plus APRS. Radio Farm — www.rf.org/station/gcmap.html — has a small 76 kb map centered on the US; it would be ideal for someone having an older, less capable, short-on-RAM, computer. And one Terry Busby — www.qsl.net/crosscarc/GreatCircle.html — made a slightly larger finished map that is ready to post; it looks nice.

Shifting gears for a moment, how about listening to the radio? The local radio formats are rather dull after a while. The silly traffic horn beeps on KYW, and it is the same-old "backup on 55 to 42". You'll need certain media players and then you can tune in the world via our new Audiovisual page at trs.com/link_audiovisual.html — comments or questions, catch me on the repeater or e-mail me.

Club Bulletin Exchange

Ted, W2TAG, is interested in doing a club bulletin exchange that would include "On The Web." If you have a friend in a ham radio club elsewhere in the USA, Canada or the world involved in a local radio club, please consider asking that person to read the this column on w2xq.com. Club bulletin exchange details with SJRA can be made by contacting directly. Thanks!

And if you recently wrote Ted about exchanging bulletins and did not get an answer, please write again. A snafu in an XP2 Service Pack upgrade unexpectedly mangled some mail files.

Do you want to ask a question or comment on something in these columns? I'm easy enough to find as mentioned in past months' columns. Don't forget that the current and past columns are posted at w2xq.com for your reading and review. The advantage? The Web links are live. You do not have to type in the URL's.

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Revised 8 March 2005

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