Weekend Edition: Heil................Surprise! ARRL to Close in Observance of Labor Day -- ARRL Headquarters will be closed in observance of Labor Day on Monday, September 1. ARRL Headquarters will reopen Tuesday, September 2 at 8 AM Eastern Daylight Time. We wish everyone a safe and festive holiday weekend......

Nasa has confirmed that laptops carried to the International Space Station in July were infected with a virus known as Gammima.AG.

The worm was first detected on Earth in August 2007 and lurks on infected machines waiting to steal login names for popular online games.

Nasa said it was not the first time computer viruses had travelled into space and it was investigating how the machines were infected.

Ian waters G3KKD has been involved in ATV for 60 years and in this video he reflects on how ATV has changed. . From Call signs that ended in /T, and TV cameras that used Photicon tubes.
This is very much a personal journey into one man and his hobby and covers a 60 year span.

Learn CW Online!

At LCWO you can learn Morse telegraphy (CW) online in your browser. You don't need to install a program on your computer, and you always have your personal settings available, from any computer on the globe with an internet connection. You can also easily track your progress by means of different statistical functions.

Sign up for a free account (or use username "test", password "test" to play around) and start learning or improving your CW today

Features

- Koch Method CW Course
- Highscores -- compare your results with others
- Speed Practice (Code Groups, Plain Text Training, Callsign Training)
- Convert text to CW (does not require a login)
- Forum for user discussions and feedback
- more to come soon...

Microsoft has released the second "beta" or test version of its latest browser Internet Explorer 8 (IE8).

It remains unclear when a final version of the program will be shipped, with the test version currently available for download.

IE8 offers a few surprises compared to the initial beta version released in March.

New features will include improved privacy and search functions, and ways to keep track of portions of web pages.

The release debuts two functions that were not available in the March release. However, many in the blogosphere have noted that several of the improvements in IE8 have been available on other browsers for some time.

One feature new to the release is the "smart address bar". Microsoft senior product manager James Pratt pointed out at that 80% of the time, internet users were visiting sites they had been to before.

To address that, the new release archives visited sites based on their titles as well as their addresses. That means a search in the address bar for words and phrases will find previously visited sites, as well as bookmarks.

Another new set of features makes web searching easier; search terms entered in the search bar at the top of the browser now instantly display potential results in real time as the search term is typed. Results are shown from user-defined search engines and websites, with rich visual content.

For websites with changing content, such as items on eBay or status pages on Facebook, IE8's Web Slices allows users to keep up with the content without going to the webpage directly, accessible through the Favourites bar.

The new release also showcases Groups, which makes tabbed browsing easier. Tabs opened from the same page are colour-coded, making it easier to keep track of different tab groups.

Tabs can also be moved around to different groups, with the tab taking on a new group's colour. Right-clicking tabs allows actions on the entire group, such as closing. Users will also be relieved to find that if they inadvertently close a tab, IE8 offers an option to reopen it.

As with the earlier Beta release, the new version sports inPrivate Browsing mode, which leaves no trace of sites visited on the computer.

Behind the scenes, developers have made the browser more compliant with software standards, so that pages in IE8 will look the same as in any other browser.

While IE8's tab Groups and the way it sorts results in the smart address bar are novel, many have argued that the release is simply catching up to other, existing browsers.

IE8's inPrivate mode performs the same job as the Private Browsing mode available in Apple's Safari Browser, and the Web Slices function echoes Safari's Web Clips.

The "smart address bar" works much like the so-called "Awesome bar" in Mozilla's latest release of its Firefox browser, and Firefox has long had the ability to reopen closed tabs.

However, Microsoft UK's Ian Moulster counters that IE8 was designed by studying what people need and want. Though some functions appear similar, he says, they have been implemented in more user-friendly ways.

"If you look at the way the features work, like visual search and Web Slices, nobody else does them in the same way, and many don't do them at all," he says. "I think if you add up the whole product across the board, it absolutely stands by itself in making the web easier and safer to use."

Thursday Edition: Purdue university professor (and Wayne Green) decides to tell everyone he created cold fusion, effectively solving the world's energy problems.........Nice to know that the AVG web site is down, that's my anti-virus software!....Eight teams fueled only by cooking oil are competing in the 2,500-mile "Grease to Greece" road rally from London to Athens.........Portland "green" gym to generate its own energy from rooftop solar panels, patrons' exercise bikes and treadmills, and their inexhaustible supply of smug.....

The CCAFMA amateur radio club is seeking information and, we hope, a picture of former member John Forest Miller, who lived in Mayville in the 1960s.

Mr. Miller's call sign was K2HE and when he passed away it became the club's station call sign. We have a memorial plaque bearing his call and would like a short bio and a picture to place with it at the repeater site which is at City Hall, Jamestown.

If you know of any family or friends who might be able to help us, please contact me at 569-3257 or write to CCAFMA, PO Box 81, Jamestown, NY 14702.

Contest University UK sponsored by ICOM UK

Are you new to Amateur Radio and want to get involved with the exciting and fast paced action of contesting?

If the answer is yes to any of these questions, then welcome to Contest University UK!

To be held at the HF Convention at the Wyboston Lakes Centre in Bedfordshire, on Saturday 11th October 2008, Contest University UK is the place where you will learn all the skills and secrets to start your journey in becoming a Contester.

Contest University UK is based on the highly successful course first held in Dayton, Ohio last year where 120 students successfully participated and completed a day-long course covering the main topics associated with contesting.

- The joy of Contesting
- The various contest categories
- Antennas
- Propagation
- Station Layout
- Strategy
- Contest Operating Procedures

Classes will be presented by some of the UK’s most experienced contesters, and you will have the opportunity to ask them questions after each module.

The course is free to attend! There will be handouts and certificates available for attending 4 out of the 7 presentations. If you would like to attend, please just turn up on the day.

If further information is required beforehand, please contact course director, Mark Haynes M0DXR (see above picture) by email at: mark.haynes@yahoo.co.uk.

‘Contest University proved a success at Dayton last year,’ said Ian Lockyer Marketing Manager of Icom UK Ltd.
He added, ‘I know that its UK counterpart will be just as successful.’

O-J Simpson was a bloody mess the other day -- and this time, he was the one who was allegedly attacked by a family member. Simpson's oldest daughter reportedly opened a can of whup-ass on the former football star and his girlfriend, Christie Prody, at their Florida home on Sunday. According to the National Enquirer, Arnelle, Simpson's 39-year-old daughter with his first wife, Marquerite, was angry at her father for not supporting her mom. Police rushed to the home, but Simpson didn't want to file assault charges against his daughter. A source tells the Enquirer that Arnelle shoved O-J into a glass cupboard, leaving him with cuts on his head and face.

Calling All Radio Amateurs

Details of this year’s British Wireless for the Blind Fund’s (BWBF) annual fund raising event for radio amateurs have been revealed.

The 48-hour on-air Transmission 2008 weekend is set to kick-off on 20 September with a brand new category for the under-18s.

The competition invites radio amateurs to make as many sponsored contacts with other radio hams across the globe as possible.

Money raised will help the BWBF, a national charity, which provides specially adapted radio equipment for blind and partially sighted people in need.

Find-out more and watch a Meridian TV News video at:
http://www.southgatearc.org/news/aug...ssion_2008.htm

Tommy was very unpopular among some in the SWL/DXing community, especially those who fancied themselves as being hobby leaders and luminaries, because he refused to take them as seriously as they took themselves. A letter to Tom complaining about something he wrote about them in the pages of Popular Communications (or, before PopComm, in S9 or Electronics Illustrated) would often get a reply from Tom in which he would tell them to, in his immortal words, "go hump a hippo." He never forgot that DXing is nothing more than an enjoyable but silly hobby, and refused to elevate it to the status of Great Undertaking. That was a stance guaranteed to enrage some DXers back in the oh-so-serious 1960s and 1970s.

Tom was highly opinionated, not especially concerned about being loved, and not the easiest editor I've ever worked with. We often butted heads during the decade or so I wrote columns for PopComm under his editorship. But he was never dull, and when I received a phone call or letter from him there was always a rush of anticipation bordering on apprehension: "Oh my god, what does Tommy want now??"

Tommy had a sarcastic, irreverent writing style, especially for his "Uncle Tom's Corner" in the old Electronics Illustrated magazine. I confess I copied a lot of his technique and incorporated it into my own articles and books on DXing and hobby radio.

As a teenager growing up in New York City, Tommy operated an AM pirate station known as "WISP." During a DX test in 1949, he received reception reports as far away as Ohio. Later he became the first, and only, journalist to visit Swan Island and Radio Americas, and his article about the journey appeared in the July, 1968 issue of Electronics Illustrated. The article hit newsstands at almost exactly the same time Radio Americas left the air!

In the 1980s, I filed several Freedom of Information Act requests with various government agencies to see if the U.S. government was keeping tabs on the DX hobby and DXers. I got one memo from the FBI that had been sent to FBI associate director Clyde Tolson (with a copy sent to J. Edgar Hoover) as a result of one of Kneitel's articles in Electronics Illustrated which gave several shortwave frequencies used by the FBI. The memo sternly warned that all FBI personnel should beware of Kneitel because he had shown he would publicize any contacts with the FBI and reveal information. I sent a copy of the memo to Tommy. Instead of being intimidated, he told me he was so delighted and "honored" that he was going to frame the memo and display it on the wall of his office!

Tommy cranked out many articles under pseudonyms. Many people know he was "Alice Brannigan," the prolific radio history writer, but he also was "Harry Caul," the author of several electronics eavesdropping articles.

In a world filled with the walking dead, Tommy was a very live one. I will really miss him.

----------
Harry Helms W5HLH

How To Save the Government (and us) $5 Million. A president's pension currently is $191,300 per year, until he is 80 years old. Assuming the next president lives to age 80. Sen. McCain would receive ZERO pension - as he would reach 80 at the end of two terms as President.
Sen. Obama would be retired for 26 years after two terms, and would receive $4,973,800 in pension.
Therefore, it would certainly make economic sense to elect McCain in November.
How's that for non-partisan thinking???

Wednesday Edition: .Cold War QRP?....Who is the "iPhone Girl"? Pictures of an Asian factory worker found on a new iPhone sold to a British customer have generated keen discussion on the Internet about her identity — and her fate...Trendy dumbasses are going out to restaurants that serve nothing but Cheerios and Fruity Pebbles, hold the whole milk....

EDINBURG, Texas — A nearly half-ton woman could not have beaten her nephew to death as she was charged because the 1,000 pounds she's carrying makes it impossible, her attorney said Tuesday.

Mayra Rosales' defense attorney Sergio Valdez said his 27-year-old client lacks the movement in her arms to have killed the child, calling it an "impossibility."

Rosales was indicted last week in the March 18 death of 2-year-old Eliseo Gonzalez Jr., who prosecutors say was hit twice in the head while being watched by his aunt.

The boy's mother, Jamie Rosales, was charged with injury to a child for leaving her son in the care of his bedridden aunt.

An attorney for Jamie Rosales, Oscar Vega, said his client believes the death was possibly caused by the morbidly obese woman rolling onto the toddler.

A state district judge has agreed not to jail Mayra Rosales, provided she wears a global positioning system tracker until her trial.....gps system, you are shitting me, how can you lose track of a 1000 pound woman???? That is like losing Big Bob-N1WBD at a hamfest....

FCC Vanity Call Sign Fees to Increase September 25

On August 11, the Federal Communications Commission announced that
the cost of an Amateur Radio vanity call sign will increase 60
cents, from $11.70 to $12.30. Now that notice of the increase has
been published in the Federal Register, the increase will take
effect in 30 days, September 25, 2008.

The FCC is authorized by the Communications Act of 1934, As Amended,
to collect vanity call sign fees to recover the costs associated
with that program. The vanity call sign regulatory fee is payable
not only when applying for a new vanity call sign, but also upon
renewing a vanity call sign for a new 10 year term.

The notice in the August 26, 2008 Federal Register, entitled
"Assessment and Collection of Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year 2008,"
includes regulatory fees expected to recover a total of $312,000,000
during FY2008, encompassing all the services the FCC regulates.

More information is available at,
http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2008/08/11/10257/?nc=1.

Cool: Not too long ago, a local hospital was in a dire emergency. It's phones and the phones in the area were not working -- and wouldn't be for a while -- and the hospital needed to contact a hospital in Tampa.

There was a desperately ill child who needed to be flown to Tampa, but without phones, precious minutes would be lost while other means of contact were found.

That's where the HAM radio operator who works with the hospital came in. The HAM radio operator contacted another operator in Tampa. That operator, in turn, called the Tampa hospital and connected the two hospitals over the radio waves.

Often, people think of HAM radio operators as only being key figures at major disasters, such as earthquakes and hurricanes. But HAM radio operators, including those of the Charlotte Amateur Radio Society, are often working behind the scenes at many local events.

The Charlotte County group is usually at the county's major parades, stationed along the route, ready to contact medical personnel at the first sign of somebody in trouble. And they can be found at many other community events, offering their help.

In addition, the group puts on a show of it's own for the community when it and other amateur radio groups participate in the annual American Radio Relay League Field Day. Field Day is a two day event when hams all over the United States set up and operate under field conditions. Field conditions basicly means no commercial electricity and no fixed antennas. The object is to contact as many other hams as possible and each group is classified by the type of equipment used and is awarded points for each contact.

Tuesday Edition: Congrats to Betty for passing her extra exam at Boxboro and winning a Heil headphone set......How about this for a twist, a local school district has temporarily lost their carpentry instructor due to a heart attack and has asked me to fill in for a month or so while he recuperates..........I am going in tomorrow to speak to the Sup't and see if it is worth my while .....

Jon, I got this off the AMFone forum site.
Very scary, just wait until they do this all over.

73, Ron w4ron
------------------------------------------------

Look at this idiotic new law:

I can't squeeze the mike but I can fiddle with the mobile radio's many
buttons while changing CD's in the car stereo, smoking, and rolling the
window up and down, but for goodness sake, don't touch that mike!

It's about what i expect from irving, TX. They are so strapped for cash
they have their cops arrest people for stopping "over the line" at
traffic lights. I think this will be a new income source for them. I
have already written the ARRL for an opinion.

FYI-- Inquiry on Irving .TX code --Use of hand-held communications
devices prohibited in school zones. Code info below.

I spoke to Lt. Ray with the police department ( today 8/25/08). He
talked to the prosecuting attorney Ms. Chaple. She said even though it
does not mention ham radio operators , she would not have any problem
with prosecuting , if a hand held mic is used.

So to be safe do not use your radio while in the school zone or use a
hand free device.

This is what I found on the Irving City site.
http://www.ci.irving.tx.us/news-articles/cell-phone-ban.html

It does not say anything about Ham radio. Although it does say :

Those who violate the ordinance could receive a Class C misdemeanor,
which carries a maximum fine of up to $500.
Motorists will be able to talk legally on their cell phones if they use
hands-free devices. Drivers also may use their cell phones in certain
emergency situations including conversing with emergency response
personnel, fire and police, and health care entities.

For more information, call the Police Department at (972) 721-2518.

Sec. 21-61.1. Use of hand-held communications devices prohibited in
school zones.

(a) For purposes of this section the following definitions apply:
Engaging in a call shall mean talking into, dialing, or listening on a
hand-held mobile telephone, and entering or reading text messages.
Hands-free mobile telephone shall mean a mobile telephone that has an
internal feature or function, or that is equipped with an attachment or
addition, whether or not permanently part of such mobile telephone, by
which a user engages in a call without the use of either hand (or
prosthetic device or aid in the case of a physically disabled person),
whether or not the use of either hand (or prosthetic device) is
necessary to activate, deactivate, or initiate a function of such
telephone.
Hand-held communications device means a mobile telephone, personal
digital assistant (PDA), pager, or other device by which the user
communicates to another, or receives communications from another, by
means of aural (voice) communications, text entry, text receipt, or any
other means of electronically transferred data.
Hand-held mobile telephone shall mean a mobile telephone with which a
user engages in a call using at least one hand (or prosthetic device or
aid in the case of a physically disabled person).
Mobile telephone shall mean the device used by subscribers and other
users of wireless telephone service to access such service and shall
include personal digital assistants.
Personal digital assistant shall mean a device operated using a
wireless telecommunications service that provides for data communication
other than by voice.
Wireless telephone service shall mean two-way real time voice
telecommunications service that is interconnected to a public switched
telephone network and commonly referred to as cellular service or
personal communication service.
(b) Except as otherwise provided below, it shall be unlawful for a
person to drive or operate a motor vehicle in a school zone on days when
school is in session, during the hours when school zones are in effect,
and when school zone signs and signs prohibiting hand-held
communications device use are posted, while using a hand-held
communications device to engage in a call or to create, send or read
messages.
(c) An operator of a motor vehicle who holds a hand-held
communications device to, or in the immediate proximity of his or her
ear while such vehicle is in motion is presumed to be engaging in a call
within the meaning of this section. "Immediate proximity" shall mean
that distance as permits the operator of a mobile telephone to hear
telecommunications transmitted over such mobile telephone, but shall not
require physical contact with such operator's ear.
(d) Subsection (b) shall not apply to:
(1) The use of any communications device for the sole purpose of
communicating with any of the following regarding an emergency
situation: an emergency response operator; a hospital, a physician's
office or health clinic; the city's police or fire department;
(2) Any law enforcement, public safety or police officers, emergency
services officials, first aid, emergency medical technicians and
personnel, or any fire safety officials in the performance of duties
arising out of and in the course of their employment as such; or
(3) The use of a hands-free mobile telephone when being used in a
hands-free manner.
(Ord. No. 8918, § 1, 2-21-08)

ARRL and Citizen Corps are teaming up to assist local school districts (if they need the help) to set up and register their NOAA Weather All Hazard Public Alert Radio.

An August 19 news release says: "Federal agencies have begun distributing more than 182,000 Public Alert Radios to preschools, Head Start programs, K-12 nonpublic schools and nonpublic school central offices, K-12 school district offices and post-secondary schools. In two earlier phases, the federal government distributed radios to all 97,000 K-12 public schools across the country, bringing the program to a close this September with a life-saving radio in every school in the nation."

Two years ago, in the fall of 2006, some ARRL members, affiliated clubs and Field Organization appointees were called upon to help when this project was in its pilot phase.

"The radios are distributed by the US Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, with funding from the Department of Homeland Security and assistance from the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services," according to the news release.

The radios are designed to signal different types of alerts ranging from weather emergencies to child abductions, and from chemical accidents to acts of terrorism. The radio acts as a sentry, standing guard 24/7, to sound an alarm when danger threatens.

If you, as an individual Amateur Radio operator, as part of an Amateur Radio club or as an ARRL Field Organization appointee, would like to help Citizen Corps in this project, please contact your local Citizen Corps Council to offer assistance. Where there isn't a Council, please contact local emergency management.

Contacts should not be made directly to local schools but, instead, should be made by Citizen Corps and Emergency Management to local school district superintendents' offices to ensure a coordinated plan. Assistance to schools will be provided at the request of, and in coordination with, the school district.

For additional information on the Public Alert Radios for Schools program, see the Web site at public-alert-radio.nws.noaa.gov. The general public can learn about these radios at www.weather.gov/nwr.

Prolific Author Tom Kneitel, W4XAA SK -- Tom Kneitel, W4XAA, better known to hams by his previous call sign K2AES, died August 22 at age 75. He lived in DeLand, Florida, where he and his wife Judy had moved in 2004.
Full Story

Ohio State Parks on the Air -- POTA — a new contest for the radiosport fan.
Full Story

Monday Edition: And if you believe this, I will sell you another one.... Solar Cycle 24 Canceled - Ham Radio Operators Furious...Russian beauties welcome nation's sailors home from Georgia after ... OH MY GOD. No wonder these guys are always leaving Russia to invade other countries (pics)..New book suggests Southerners were responsible for the defeat of the Confederacy. Wait...what?.....My sources tell me Boxboro was alive and well! Great attendance and lots of action in the flea market....that is a change from the last one I went to........... Korea's Kim died in 2003; replaced by lookalike, says Waseda professor..Is Kim Jong Il dead? Yes, North Korea’s “Dear Leader” is no more, having passed away in the fall of 2003, writes Waseda University professor Toshimitsu Shigemura in Shukan Gendai (Aug 23-30)......Interesting
Technology- tnxWB2FBC.......

Boxboro - I was not impressed by the flea market - there were 3 or 4 of those guys with a huge spread of connectors, cables, switches, knobs, fuses, dental picks, tywraps, and trinkets. One guy had about 7 tables covered with meters.

If you eliminated them, you had K1JEK, a guy with a bazillion military masts, and maybe 30 tailgaters. The lot to the left of the building was only about 50% flea market - the rest was parking - against the woods were trailers and RV's -not selling.

I remember when they had 2 or 3 big tents and you could hardly move through them.

I thought the exhibit hall had far less exhibitors than I have seen there in the past, and you could actually walk around without getting claustrophobia. 3 booths were unmanned - just literature on the tables.

$1.50 for a bottle of water - $6.00 for a beer. I opted for a $1.00 coffee that was luke warm.

$15.00 for a ticket ( now required at the outside flea market) - I was told a burger was $5.00 - I passed on the food.

Band conditions can't be all badf: Aki JQ2UOZ has been awarded the QRP DXCC by the ARRL for working 100 DXCC entities using just 500 milliwatts and a dipole antenna on the bands above 18 MHz in sunspot minimum year.

It shows what can be achieved using QRP on the higher HF bands regardless of the state of the sunspot cycle.

Private Dancer

Most of us recall the vicious Bush-sponsored smear attacks in South Carolina that quickly smashed the 2000 presidential aspirations of Republican Senator John McCain. At the time, the visibly outraged candidate refused to shake Bush's hand and publicly denounced the politics of personal destruction. McCain also took an oath to never use such deplorable tactics himself.

Now, eight years later, we learn McCain is deploying the very same GOP hatchet men who savaged his family and political fortunes to beat up and sully the persona of Barack Obama. For a candidate running on the strength of his candor and personal honor, this act is irreconcilable.

Sadly, the one constant in John McCain's long political career is his unbridled willingness to betray core principles he once claimed to hold. In the face of such malleability, Christian Conservatives and Independents alike might well ask the question, If we couldn't believe in John McCain in 2000, how can we possibly believe him now?

Ranger Rick

Drinking on public street allowed for the first time during Shelby Hamfest - The Gaston (North Carolina) Gazette says drinking beer on a public street in downtown Dallas, NC, will be legal during an outdoor concert on Aug. 29, following a controversial vote by the town Board of Aldermen. That's a first for the town, which legalized the sale of liquor by the drink at permitted establishments only three years ago.

If crowds don't behave, the town-sponsored bluegrass concert could be the last time the town allows drinking on public property, said Town Planning Director David Kahler. The concert, scheduled for 6 to 10 p.m., will kick off a busy Labor Day weekend in Dallas, where 10,000 to 15,000 people are expected for Shelby Hamfest at Gaston County Park. The Shelby Amateur Radio Club moved the annual event this year from the Cleveland County Fairgrounds to Dallas.

Travel Route 66 on the amateur air waves - The Citrus Belt Amateur Radio Club of San Bernardino, California will host the 9th Annual 'Route 66 On The Air' Special Event.

The operation includes 18 stations and two rovers operating in and around major cities along the old Route 66 from Santa Monica, California to Chicago, Illinois. Official 1-by-1 special event station call signs begin with W6A in Santa Monica and end with the W6S assigned to the final operator in Chicago.

The rover stations will be on September 13th from 0001 UTC to 2400 UTC on September 21st. Frequencies will all be on or near those ending in the number 66 using all available modes. A special QSL card (photo) is available.

QSL information is on the web at www.w6jbt.org. Just click on the words “Route 66 Event.” All you need to do is to answer their CQ to “Get your kicks along Route 66.” And if only it were legal to play the music that goes along with those words.

Arizona Hams Lend a Hand when Dam Fails -- On Saturday August 16, a freak storm pounded the watershed above the remote village of Supai, Arizona in Coconino County with 3-6 inches of. This dramatic rainfall overwhelmed when the Redlands Dam -- an earthen dam on Cataract Canyon -- that failed late Saturday night sending a torrent of water down the canyon. ARRL Arizona Section Emergency Coordinator Rick Aldom, W7STS, said, "Area officials asked the American Red Cross Sunday to provide a shelter atop the canyon in the town of Peach Springs in Mohave County; Peach Springs is about 70 miles from Supai."
Full Story

Weekend Edition: PETA wants to buy SeaWorld, release all animals and show virtual ones instead...Arrested for not returning a book..........Man uses a 2 1/2-foot Barbie Doll rod-and-reel combo to land a record-breaking 21 pounds, 1 ounce catfish. Drinking buddies are still going to laugh at him for using a Barbie Doll fishing pole..

MARS to Assist with Republican, Democratic National Conventions -- The US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has requested Army MARS support for the Democratic National Convention in Denver and the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis. "I find it hard to imagine a more challenging security operation than the upcoming Democratic and Republican National Conventions," said Army MARS Chief Stu Carter. "These climactic events, the first in Denver next week and the other a week later in Minneapolis, will gather hundreds of America's top leaders who will be exposed continuously to milling crowds of thousands. Just the thought of protecting all the converging aircraft and congested terminals is daunting enough for public safety planners."

NASA and ATK investigate failed launch of hypersonic experiments

An Alliant Tech Systems suborbital rocket carrying two NASA hypersonic experiments was destroyed shortly after liftoff from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia Friday.
No injuries or property damage were immediately reported.

Most debris from the rocket is thought to have fallen in the Atlantic Ocean. However, there are conflicting reports of debris being sighted on land. This debris could be hazardous. People who think they may have encountered rocket debris are advised not to touch it and to report it to the Wallops Emergency Operations Center at 757-824-1300.

NASA is very disappointed in this failure but has directed its focus on protecting public safety and conducting a comprehensive investigation to identify the root cause.

NASA is assembling a multidiscipline team, along with the rocket's maker Alliant Tech Systems, or ATK, of Salt Lake City, to begin the investigation promptly.

The exact launch time was 5:10 a.m. EDT. The anomaly that caused the failure occurred approximately 27 seconds into flight and is not known.

The white-space industry could either become the next WiFi market success or the next broadband over power line (BPL) debacle. And how the FCC handles its testing of white-space devices could make the determination.

Next month, the FCC is expected to release its findings from field and lab tests it conducted on white-space devices, and commissioners themselves are expected to take up any rule making thereafter.

The desire of the FCC and high-tech giants such as Google and Microsoft is to employ white-space spectrum or those unused TV channels to provide cheap, high-speed wireless Internet networks and open up the market to more broadband competition. But to approve the use of white space, the commission will have to base its decision on mixed testing results as well as determined opposition from major stakeholders--mainly TV broadcasters that fear interference with television signals.

The FCC's gamble on unlicensed spectrum worked in 1985, when the agency set aside unlicensed spectrum for devices that hadn't been invented yet. It did so despite fear that using those airwaves would interfere severely with microwave ovens and baby monitors. A few years later, WiFi was born and proliferated.

But then there's the BPL debacle. BPL, which in general involves broadband signals being carried by either fiber-optic or telephone lines and injected into the power grid onto medium-voltage wires, was heavily championed by the FCC back in 2003. Then FCC Commissioner Katherine Abernathy had heralded the technology as "broadband Nirvana" as it held promise to reach virtually every business and home in the United States with transport speeds as much as four times that of cable and DSL. (Interestingly, Google made a major investment in a BPL company called Current Communications Group, which recently sold off its BPL project in Dallas. Google is still searching for that third broadband pipe.)

At that time there was concern from amateur radio users along with governmental stakeholders and broadcasters about interference since the technology was anticipated to take up a large chunk of spectrum-from the 1.7 MHz band to the 80 MHz band. The enthusiastic FCC moved ahead after testing and was sued by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), which represents amateur radio users, for not fully disclosing for public comment the studies the FCC used in its BPL rule making. Earlier this year, a D.C. district court agreed with ARRL, effectively halting the expansion of BPL until the FCC can come up with more facts supporting its conclusion that the technology doesn't cause interference.

Today, the FCC once again is faced with a technology that has the potential to become "the great broadband hope." And if the commission isn't careful, white space could become another BPL flop if it tries to ram the technology through without solid testing results. Though companies like Google may not like it, the white-space market may be one that has to evolve much slower.--

Ten-Tec have announced that they plan to increase the price of their tranceivers from the beginning of next month.

The retail price of Ten-Tec HF transceivers will increase on September 1. Place your order now to avoid the retail price increase!

ORION II:
Without autotuner, old $4195, new $4295.
With autotuner, old $4495, new $4595.

OMNI-VII:
Without autotuner, old $2650, new $2695.
With autotuner, old $2950, new $2995.

JUPITER:
Without autotuner, old $1549, new $1595.
With autotuner, old $1849, new $1895

ARGONAUT V:
In lieu of raising the retail price, the Argonaut V is now discontinued. No new stock remains available for sale. Demo or used units may be available, contact Ten-Tec sales at (800) 833-7373.

With the Democratic National Convention about to descend on Denver Colorado, ARES District 22 Operations Officer Dan Meyer, N0PUF, has some advice for hams in the area. In a posting to the World Wide Web Meyer says that after reading on some of the web sites set up by protesters coming to the convention, he finds that some say that ham radio is the best way to communicate instead of using FRS or GMRS radios.

Meyer says that Denver area hams need to be ready to T-hunt down any illegal transmissions. He also notes that just about every usable repeater channel pair in the Denver metro area is assigned on some basis. Most as secondary or tertiary frequencies. But if illegal transmissions do appear on Denver area repeaters, the trustees need to be prepared to shut them down.

Meyer also has some advice to T-Hunt teams. He says that if the transmissions are tracked to the Denver downtown area, he would suggest that the T-Hunters do not go there. And if by chance the T-Hunters do spot someone who is operating illegally that they not confront that person, He says that the protesters are likely better prepared for more than you are.

The bottom line. Meyer believes that as soon as the Democratic National Convention is over and everyone leaves town, the rouge operators will go away as well.

The Federal Communications Commission has launched a Speakers Bureau. This, for groups throughout the country to request speakers to discuss the upcoming transition to Digital Television at their meetings.

The Commission will provide speakers, without cost, to any group requesting one. To request a speaker, go to the FCC’s DTV website, www.dtv.gov, and simply click on the words "Request a Speaker." Or contact Rosemary Kimball from 9 a.m. to 5 p..m. Eastern time at area code (202) 418-0511. You can also e-mail her a request to Rosemary dot kimball at fcc dot gov.

The FCC says that this new Speakers Bureau is the latest addition to the its Digital Television conversion outreach effort. The big switch to all digital broadcasting is still scheduled to take place on February 17^th, 2009. (FCC)

The Citrus Belt Amateur Radio Club of San Bernardino, California will host the 9th Annual "Route 66 On The Air" Special Event. The operation includes 18 stations and two rovers operating in and around major cities along the old Route 66 from Santa Monica, California to Chicago, Illinois.

Official station call designations will begin with W6A in Santa Monica and end with the letter assigned to the final operator taking part. The rover stations will be on September 13^th from 0001 UTC to 2400 UTC on September 21^st. Frequencies will all be on or near those ending in the number 66 using all available modes.

QSL information is on the web at www dot w6jbt dot org. Just click on the words "Route 66 Event." All you need to do is to answer their CQ to get your kicks along Route 66. And if only it were legal to play the music that goes along with those words. (Press release)

GARBER — Dave VonDielingen found a little more than he bargained for when he was cleaning out a shed on his farm near here Tuesday morning.

What he found was some unexploded ordnance, possibly from World War II, his father-in-law brought home during his military service.

“It looked to me it might be something military,” he said, “some type of explosive ordnance.”

So, he “stopped moving stuff around” and called Garfield County Sheriff’s Department at about 9:15 a.m.

VonDielingen’s wife, Joyce, said her late father, Ira Simmering, served in the Army in the Aleutians Islands and the Philippines during World War II. He also served during the Korean War.

“Mom said Dad brought it home in his luggage,” she said. “Mom thought it was from World War II.”

The VonDielingens live on the farm that belonged to her parents.

Deputy George Dillman investigated, and Oklahoma Highway Patrol’s bomb squad was notified. Members came from Oklahoma City to handle the situation, eventually blowing up the items around 1 p.m. in a field near the VonDielingens’ home in the 17700 block of East Wil-low.

Garfield County Under-sheriff Jerry Niles said it wasn’t known if the ordinance was live.

“They don’t take any chances,” he said of the OHP bomb squad.

He said it appeared the items were Japanese, based on some writing on one of them.

Joyce VonDielingen said OHP bomb squad members dug up what was left of the items after they were destroyed, and she and her husband were allowed to keep the fragments.

Dave VonDielingen, who is cleaning out the shed to make it a place for his amateur radio hobby, said he has been through the shed and did not think any more surprises would turn up

Here's a subject not too many folks will admit to, yet it happens every day. Most of the time, people let themselves get took for the sake of friendship, love, or what have you. And that's okay, as long as they realize the consequences. Marriage is a good example, me thinks. It's when people get took, and they haven't a clue that they have been, is when the problems arise. You can't help but feel sorry for some of them (if only occasionally). After all, ignorance is bliss.

There's yet another type, and that's when people get took because they actually believe in the relevance of the data, no matter how preposterous it is to the rest of us. Here's a typical example from these very pages. Anyone believing in CFA radiators is probably one himself!

I'll give you another one, and that's Maxx-Com. The claims on their site make a mockery of the outlandish claims made by Firestik, if that's indeed possible, which I doubt.

Most would agree that the Internet is most of the problem. If you so believe, I'll take exception. In the May 1958 issue of QST, is an article written by E. F. Harris, W9KNK (sk). Because it is copywrited by the ARRL, I can't post the entire article. But here is an excerpt apparently pinned by an editor of QST; in part: The interesting development described in this article may well start a new trend in mobile antennas and small beams. The article explains, albeit in not so many words, that by winding the coils carefully, and in a certain manner, the radiation resistance will be equal to the electrical length of the wire, not the physical length of the antenna. The truth is, the coils are so low in Q, they're not much more than a dummy load on a stick! Helically wound antennas had been available commercially for a couple of years before the article was written, but their advertising hype was just as outrageous. Unfortunately, these false assumptions are still with us, as the aforementioned web sites so illustrate.

If there is a good side to this malevolence, it was presented here. This is a news article written by Gregory Lapin, PhD, PE, N9GL, who happens to be the chairman of the ARRL RF Safety Committee. He stresses the need to have articles peer reviewed. He's very correct, of course, but there is a darker side. Very few companies, organizations, Internet sites, you name it, have the necessary monies to peer review posted articles. Even if they did, who would the peer reviewers be? All to often, the reviewers aren't anymore knowledgeable about the case at hand, than the authors!

The end point is this. Before you critique, criticize, baste, lam blast, vehemently disagree or support, any given hypothesis, you - yourself - should have an adequate foundation to support your side of the story. If you don't, then you been took!

Wednesday Edition: Here is a novel idea.............A 'ham' remembers going to war. Local amateur radio operator enlisted in Army during WWII.

Lawmaker: Electric Cars Are Too Quiet

Here's 14313 Donnie during his Floridian vacation, trying to do a bit of windsurfing during Tropical Storm Faye:

http://www.wjno.com/cc-common/news/sections/newsarticle.html?feed=244038&article=4117332

New Tower, Antenna Modifications for W1HQ -- On August 13, Matt Strelow, KC1XX, and Andrew Toth of XX Towers installed a new 40 foot tower on top of the ARRL Headquarters building for use at W1HQ, the Laird Campbell Memorial HQ Operators Club. This new tower supports the 3 element SteppIR 20-6 meter Yagi antenna that was moved from the old tower; the antenna was placed on the old tower in November 2007. The antenna also received modifications, allowing operations on 30 and 40 meters. Both the antenna and the 30-40 meter modification kit were donated by Mike Mertel, K7IR, of SteppIR.
Full Story

Correction: Hi Jon, I hate to pick nits so to speak, but the Shelby has not
been at the Cleveland County Fairgrounds for over 50 years.
It moved there in 1979, the first Shelby hamfest was held at Brackett's
Cedar Park
just outside the town of Shelby in 1957. After 22 years it had outgrown
that site and had to move to the fairgrounds.
I attended my first Shelby hamfest in 1970 with my high school
electronics teacher Rick Bilbro K4KAV. Since that first one, I think I've missed 3 of them.
I'm looking forward to the upcoming fest and will continue to support
it as long as I'm able to get there.

As an aside attached is a new page I built last night to show a few of
the vintage homebrew transmitters in my Radio Heaven collection.
http://radioheaven.homestead.com/Early_Transmitters.html (Check out all the pages of this website...very neat!)

73, Ron w4ron

Hams Ready for Fay -- While Tropical Storm Fay made landfall over Key West, Florida at 3 PM EDT on August 18, Amateur Radio operators throughout Florida were prepared "just in case." As Fay crossed Key West, Florida Emergency Management officials noted that while "Fay is no Hurricane Charley," it is following the same general path as 2004's Charley, a Category 4 hurricane and one of the most destructive hurricanes in recent history for the area; at least 13 people were killed in that storm. A tropical storm warning is still in effect for the Florida Keys and the majority of Florida's Atlantic coast. All hurricane warnings have been discontinued.

Weird 'n' Wonderful-radio-guy.net is an odd but interesting site. A collection and photographs of all sorts of historic and oddball items. Things like early receivers, valves, light globes, and tools are easily identified.
Others, like the industrial helmets, or the shock therapy mask are truly scary! The photographs are beautifully done and arranged in categories. Click on the items to see views from many angles, with occasional descriptions.
I'm off now to find a Micro-Jazz Perpetual Motion Fitness machine! Visit the radio-guy.net website

Shelby Hamfest to host free bluegrass concert - “With 10,000 to 15,000 people expected at Hamfest Labor Day weekend, the town of Dallas, North Carolina, is hoping to draw a crowd downtown with a free bluegrass concert and other entertainment. This year, the Shelby Amateur Radio Club moved the annual event to Gaston County Park off of U.S. 321 in Dallas, after more than 50 years at the Cleveland County Fairgrounds.

The club recently booked Gaston County Park for the next five years of Shelby Hamfest, which remains connected to the original site in name only. And organizers of the event have said Gaston County could become a permanent home for the event. That's good news for Dallas, said Town Planning Director David Kahler, who is organizing the concert.

"The bands are lined up and ready to go," said Kahler. "We're going to touch base with folks over at Hamfest and welcome them to come on by and enjoy some good music." The concert is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 29, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., kicking off the Hamfest weekend.

Johnny Click, W4LBN, a Dallas resident and ham radio operator who was instrumental in efforts to bring Hamfest to Gaston, said he is excited about the concert. Click said his only fear is that high gas prices combined with a slumping economy will hurt attendance, which has included as many as 20,000 people in the past.

Hong Kong Special Event Station Commemorates 2008 Beijing Olympics - The Hong Kong Amateur Radio DX Association (HARDXA) announced that it has received official permission from their Office Of The Telecommunications Authority to use a special event callsign VR2008O until August 31 2008 to celebrate the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Operation will be primarily HF from 7-MHz through 28-MHz and VHF on 50-MHz, modes: SSB ,RTTY and PSK31. QSL Direct (only) to: Charlie C.M. Ho - VR2XMT, PO Box 900, Fanling Post Office, Hong Kong - (No QSLing via e-qsl , LOTW or Buro.)

Ham radio operator helps rescue stepdaughter trapped from a mountain plunge - The Albany Democrat-Herald (Oregon) reported on August 16 how ham radio saved a family in distress. “If you’re going to be stranded on the side of a Canadian highway, and you happen to find yourself sliding down a 150-foot embankment while you’re there, it’s helpful to have a ham radio operator along. That’s what sixth-grader Sarah Weishaupt of Sodaville, Oregon, found out this summer during a family road trip to Canada with her mother and stepfather, Kaynor and William “Nick” Heineck, WL7K.

The worst part came on June 28, when the transmission on the family’s Ford pickup went out two-thirds of the way up a steep grade. They were on their way to the Canadian Rockies. The area didn’t have any cell phone reception, so Nick, a longtime ham radio operator, fired up the mobile station in the pickup.

He made contact with a ham in Montana, who gave him the frequency of the local repeaters in the area. Then he managed to reach a man in the town of 100 Mile House, (British Columbia, Canada) about 80 miles from where they were stranded.

Sarah, who was then a few weeks shy of her 10th birthday, was outside tossing rocks over the edge of the canyon while Nick talked with the man about finding a tow truck. When she reached for a rock and the ground crumbled away under her feet. Sarah grabbed for the edge but couldn’t stop sliding.

Kaynor directed her to crawl to a nearby log lodged in the gravel, where she could hang on and keep from slipping farther. But by this time, Nick was frantically trying to raise his contact in 100 Mile House again — “to tell him the problem had gone from serious to life threatening,” The man in 100 Mile House radioed back to say a search and rescue team and members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were on their way.

A ham radio operator since the late 1950s, Nick said the Canada call marked the first time he had to use the equipment to help his own family. “Amateur radio really saved us,” he said. “It provided the communication when all else failed.”

’Hams’ track runners in a mountain marathon - Matt Dillon, W7ARD (photo) and his fellow amateur ham radio operators helped a local ultramarathon event, providing the tracking of runners who are competing in the race. This past weekend, more than 100 ultra-marathon runners toed the line at Willamette Pass Ski Area for the Where’s Waldo 100-kilometer trail run.

Amateur radio operators from two local groups -- the Valley Radio Club of Oregon and the Lane County Sherriff’s Amateur Radio Operators, LCSARO -- set up a communications web that covers all 62.5 miles of the mountainous course. Although they won’t be running for hours on end, they will be completing an endurance event of their own. They will lug battery packs and radio transceivers over rough terrain, string homemade antennas from trees and painstakingly record every runner as they pass through all nine of the race’s aid stations, plus the start and finish line. Some of them will work an 18-hour day, covering the race from beginning to end.

It’s all in the name of public service, which is something that’s practically written into the definition of this pastime. Many amateur radio operators, “hams” as they’re often called, describe their interest as both a hobby and a service. “Public service is one of the primary reasons for our (existence),” said Matt Dillon, a member of both groups and a ham radio instructor who helps lead new operators down the path toward FCC certification. (Reported by: “The Register Guard”, Eugene, OR.)

Monday Edition: Iran launches satellite into space, re-entry expected somewhere over Tel Aviv...........Today's Qantas in-flight emergency: Toilets not flushing because crew forgot to empty septic tanks.....Anybody else sick of hearing about Miley Cyrus in the news? ...........

Wayne Green: Still alive and talking up a storm: Now 86, Green lives in a 250-year-old farmhouse on 200 acres along the back roads of Hancock, N.H., from which he runs Wayne Green Books, a cottage business that offers titles such as The Secret Guide to Health and Moondoggle -- Apollo Hoax Expose.

Famous for his outspoken editorials over the years, Green's views have, if anything, become more controversial. A self-proclaimed "conspiracy factist," Green is convinced that man never set foot on the moon, that cell phones cause brain tumors, that the foods we eat are toxic, that the IRS and the Federal Reserve should be abolished, and that big oil has undermined efforts to prevent the development of cold fusion as a cheap and unlimited source of energy for America.

For all that, Green is not a pessimist, nor is he wallowing in the past. For him, only what's ahead matters. "I'm always impatient with [the pace of] new technologies. I live mostly in the future," he says.

Ex-convict in custody after Nebraska ham couple slain - A homeless man, who had just been released from jail, was arrested Monday, August 11, in connection with the deaths of a couple - both ham operators. The bodies of Steven Baily, N0US, 61, and Carolyn Baily, N0LAL, 62, were discovered around noon Sunday at their rural home near Lincoln, Nebraska.

The Omaha World-Herald said the story began to unfold early Sunday morning when Lincoln police were called to a robbery in the Northeast area of the city. That’s where an armed man entered a home and demanded the keys to a 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee. An hour later, deputies found the Jeep idling at an area Southwest of town. The residents of the property reported their blue and silver 2005 Toyota Camry was missing.

Later on Sunday, detectives were able to connect the Bailys' deaths to the robbery as well as the two vehicle thefts. A neighbor reported finding the bodies of the Bailys' while trying to return two of their dogs, two boxers, that had wandered away.

Brandon C. Crago, a 34-year-old Colorado ex-convict with a long history of drug dealing was being held on suspicion of murder and robbery. Crago, a transient with no known address, had earlier stabbed himself in the chest in a motel room in central Lincoln - about 20 miles from the Bailys' rural acreage northwest of the city. A Lincoln police report said Crago's injuries were not believed to be life-threatening. Investigators believe that the killer acted alone, selecting the Baily’s residence randomly by chance.

Hams and Trust in Hamfest/eBay Dealings?

Has civility with one another gone the way of taking your hat off in a restaurant or not cursing in front of children?

I have purchased most of my equipment at Hamfest and from eBay. Of the last three transceivers I've purchased only one was accurately described. This has me wondering, do I have to start buying all my gear new as I have no way of knowing the used gear is any good if we can't trust the ham we are doing business with to be honest. Character has been described as what you do when know one is looking. Is that it, you don't know the guy at the Hamfest or on eBay so it's okay to sell defective equipment.

Don't give me the "buyers beware." We all know that and it doesn't hold water if you can't spend a few hours with the gear you are buying to test it out under every conceivable situation. We have to be able to trust each other in our business dealings.

Is it just me or have others noticed the unwritten rule of hams being fair with fellow hams taking the deep six for greed? It would be interesting to hear how you've been cheated but please, no call signs here. I'd also like to hear any social redeeming stories of guys who have gone out of their way to treat you right. Call signs might be nice for this one.

ARRL Lab Manager to Serve as Technical Session Chair at IEEE EMC Conference -- ARRL Lab Manager Ed Hare, W1RFI, will chair a Technical Session at this year's Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International Symposium on Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC). It will be held at the Cobo Center in Detroit, Michigan, August 18-22. Mark Steffka, WW8MS, a member of the ARRL EMC Committee, invited Hare to chair the session due to Hare's involvement with a number of international committees on EMC standards. The session, covering the topic of EMC emissions and immunity, will take place on Thursday afternoon, August 21.

W1GWU-Bob....one of the Hosstraders original organizers, 3936 regular
NE1Z- Bill...what can I say- he has his own website?
W1FSK-Steve....Navy Pilot, HRO Salesman,
K9AEN-John...Easy going ham found at all the hamfests
WB1DVD- Gil....Gilly..Gilmore.....easy going, computer parts selling, New England Ham..
KB1GCK- Junkyard Jack- "Has the license...Further learning not required".. DJ at local FM station
W1OKQ- Jack....3936 Wheeling and Dealing......keeping the boys on there toes....
K1JEK-Joe.........easy going, 3936 channel master...Cobra antenna builder..
K1BXI- John.........Dr. Linux....fine amateur radio op ....
KA1GJU- Kriss- Tower climbing pilot who cooks on the side at Hosstraders...
KB1CJG-"Cobby"- Low key gent can be found on many of the 75 meter nets.........a musician, woodworker, net control!
Silent Key:K1FUB-Bill- Loved ham radio........Ham Radio Ambassador!
N1XW.....Mike- claims to have been abducted by aliens......
W1XER...Scott....easy going guy
K1BQT.....Rick....very talented ham, loves his politics!
W1KQ- Jim- Retired Air Force Controller
N1OOL-Jeff- The 3936 master plumber and ragchewer...
K1BRS-Bruce- Computer Tech of 3936...multi talented kidney stone passing ham...
Silent Key: K1GAR- John- Very colorful character!......claims to an appointed "hambassador" by Gordon West.....
K1PEK-Steve- We might catch Steve on the air one of these years....sells antennas, wire, etc
Silent Key: N1GXW-Frank-Mellow Mainer..........
W1JSH-Mort- Nice fellow to talk to on 3936 on the early afternoon session
W1HHO- Cal, Maine, easy going guy, good HAM op...
WB1AAZ- Mike, Antrim, NH, truck driver, off to bed at 8pm up at 3am, doubling King of 3936....
K1BGH- Arthur, Cape Cod, construction company/ice cream shop, hard working man....
W1VAK- Ed, Cape Cod, lots of experience in all areas, once was Jacques Cousteus body guard....
N1YSU- Bob, easy going, kind of like Mr. Rogers until politics are brought up then watch out...loves Chinese food!
N1WBD- Big Bob- Tallest ham, at 6'10", of the 3936 group and owner of Peanut- 3936 mascot..................
K1BNH- Bill- Works for bottle gas company-we think he has been around nitrous oxide to long .
WA1ZVN- Scott...if you say it's black, Scott will say it's white.....
N1IOM-Paul............Vermont's King of Test on 3910..how do I sound now?
KD1ZY-Warren....one of 3910's colorful and controversial characters....
W1LJW-Lee-Hauled Gas for a living...easy going ham from NH

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Features

Contest University UK sponsored by ICOM UK

NASA and ATK investigate failed launch of hypersonic experiments

Amateur Radio contacts between Georgia and Russia cease : The President of The National Associations Radioamateurs of Georgia (NARG) has said that contacts between Georgian and Russian Amateur Radio stations have ceased.

Lawmaker: Electric Cars Are Too Quiet

Hams and Trust in Hamfest/eBay Dealings?