On the Web : November 2007

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.

Amateur Radio News

Everyone reading this column knows of the American Radio Relay League and the membership magazine QST. Those persons using computers may get the ARRL Letter via e-mail (it is also available on the ARRL Web site). Perhaps it is time for a reality check and point out there are a number of other sources of amateur radio news available via the Internet.

One long-running source, dating back to the 1980's, is the RAIN (Radio Amateur Information Network) Report. I don't hear too many people mentioning it when I scan the repeaters or the HF bands, but I think it deserves more attention then it seems to get. It is a weekly 10-to-15-minute audio program produced by Hap Holly, KC9RP, of Des Plaines, IL (near Chicago). Hap was born in 1951 and has been totally blind since the age of 7. The RAIN Report was first distributed via a dial-up telephone network and aired on WA0RCR's 160m Gateway Radio Newsletter AM bulletin service from Wentzville, Missouri, on 1.860 Mhz, Saturday afternoon/evenings. The show is free to repeater owners and clubs for airing. The Web site has more than a year's worth of shows in its archive. Additionally, the monthly FCC enforcement report is broadcast and distributed via the Web site, and that can make for interesting listening. Both files can be subscribed to as podcasts, automatically downloading when new editions are posted. With the help of friends the Web site has been overhauled and it is quick to display page contents. Have a read — Hap's bio is quite inspiring — and listen at www.therainreport.com.

The Amateur Radio Newsline™ has been around for 30 years! Available as a newsletter or a downloadable audio file, the weekly newscast is usually available late Friday mornings. There is often an "extra" edition for the given week, but no archives of past shows. A podcast subscription is available. Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, is the Executive Producer. Dial up www.arnewsline.org for details. The telephone feed has additional prompts and advisories to enable repeater and net operators to integrate the show into the rebroadcaster's activity.

I have mentioned This Week in Amateur Radio before. Actually there is a second "international" version that airs on WBCQ-7415 (Maine). This show has been around for 14 years and is also available via the W0KIE Satellite Radio Network; the satellite arrangements are changing so you must check the Web site for details. Depending upon the version of the show you listen to, the show runs either 60 or 120 minutes and contains a number of features in addition to news. In addition to the two shows available as podcasts, there are three additional podcasts on topics of DX, "this week in tech", and the RSGB. Get all the details at www.twiar.org.

It's not exactly ham radio, but The Space Report — www.thespacereport.com/ — is news of space updated every weekday. Available as a podcast, the show is interesting, brief and to the point. Do you want radio in space? Then listen to Chris's Radio Therapy, "a 3-hour-long weekly live radio show focusing on space, science fiction, ham radio, computers, and anything else geeky. In addition to an hour of sci-fi radio drama, you'll hear The Handi-Ham Weekly E-letter, news stories from Science at NASA, The Space Report, The Universe Today Podcast, and much much more. You might also hear what projects I'm currently working on, what's being said in the IRC, what might be on next, or what ever else might fill the time. What ever happens, though, you're guaranteed to have a good time or the next listen is free." The show airs at 5 p.m. Eastern on www.thespacereport.com/crt.

If you chose to explore these Web sites, look through the recommended links for additional Web sites that may be of interest to you. Tell me about what you find that intrigues you.

The State of Our Hobby

The November 2007 Gloucester County Amateur Radio Club newsletter (page 3) contains an interesting article with statistics supplied by N2HX, Bob Schroeder, the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management Communications and Warning Officer. It details the growth of the USA population, the number of amateurs, and the impact of the 2004 no-code licensing changes. While there has been a boom in upgrading, the number of new people to the amateur radio hobby is at a declining rate. Total licensees have dropped 19,000 between 2000 and 2007. You can read the GCARC newsletter by going to users.tellurian.com/freddie/w2mmd/. You'll need software that reads a PDF file (Adobe Acrobat, Preview on a Mac, or shareware). If you have trouble finding the November newsletter drop a note to W2RM (w2rm at arrl.net — written out to avoid mail sweeper programs).

Quickies

Ray Martin, W2RM, recommends you watch this 1939 film on "Radio Hams". I agree; it is in very good condition. Tune in www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBGIdf0VjQ4 and see two examples of public service in the amateur radio service. Look through the related videos on the page and you'll find a funny 2-minute extract from "The Twilight Zone" that labels hams as "threatening". And there are a quite a number of other amateur radio-related videos to watch, including a commentary from night owl Art Bell.

In closing, this last item has nothing to do with amateur radio but if you like football — especially college — you must watch this video. I heard about it on the Michael A. Smerconish show on WPHT-1210. It was an interview with the Trinity team's coach. With 2 seconds to go in the Trinity versus Millsaps game, the "miracle in Mississippi" was a comeback play with 15 laterals! Watch it at www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbblLniZbdk; there are links to other clips with other announcers as aired on various sports networks.

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Revised 11 November 2007

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