
The ARRL Letter
Vol. 16, No. 47
November 28, 1997
__________________________________
Address Changes: Kathy Capodicasa, N1GZO, e-mail kcapodicasa@arrl.org
Editorial: Rick Lindquist, N1RL, e-mail elindquist@arrl.org
ARRL Audio News now is available at http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/
__________________________________

[NOTE: This edition is being distributed early because of Thanksgiving, so 
the Solar Update is not available. It will be available via W1AW and on the 
ARRLWeb site on Friday, November 28, as usual. We wish you and yours a safe 
and enjoyable holiday!]

IN THIS EDITION:
* +Mir to begin crossband experiment
* +Hams track mini-Sputnik temperature
* +Latest AX.25 protocol available from TAPR
*  Busted broadcast pirate also a ham
* +Larry Ferrari, WA2MKI, SK
*  IN BRIEF: This weekend on the radio;
   STS-83/84 QSLs; TARA Sprint;
   Ham brochures on the road; FCC to
   review regs

+Available on ARRL Audio News
__________________________________

MIR TO BEGIN CROSSBAND EXPERIMENT

Ham radio aboard the Russian Mir space station will go crossband on an 
experimental basis starting December 1. The crossband test is part of an 
ongoing "two-phase frequency experiment" aimed at improving Amateur Radio 
operations aboard Mir and at better understanding which frequencies or 
combinations of frequencies will work for the International Space Station. 
Phase 1, a 70 cm-2 meter "crosslink" experiment, will run until March 1, 
1998. The uplink frequency will be 437.850 MHz, and the downlink frequency 
will be 145.800 MHz.

Phase 2 of this experiment, starting March 1, 1998, will use a 2 meter-only 
set of uplink and downlink frequencies. It will continue until June 1, 1998. 


This experiment was developed by the international partners in Manned Space 
discussions at the recent Toronto AMSAT-NA Space Symposium. It was endorsed 
by SAFEX; SAREX; AMSAT-UK; the IARU Region 2 President; the IARU Satellite 
Advisor, ZS5AKV; ARI (Italy); and RAC (Canada). While not present at the 
Toronto meeting, the US MIREX team also was consulted and has agreed with 
the spirit of this experiment.

US astronaut Dave Wolf, KC5VPF, has been reported too busy to get on the air 
from Mir in recent weeks. MIREX officials have been told that the feedline 
for the Mir packet station was damaged during the November 6 space walk. 
Current problems with the attitude control computer aboard Mir might delay 
the next space walk that could repair the antenna until January. Until the 
Mir computer problems are resolved, it's expected
that the SAFEX II repeater may be shut down for a while.--AMSAT News 
Service; MIREX

HAMS TRACK SPUTNIK PS2 INTERNAL TEMPERATURE

AMSAT reports that two hams, Richard Goode, W8RVH, of New Carlisle, Ohio, 
and Clayton Winder, W8ZCF, of Cincinnati, Ohio, have been observing the 
temperature readings on the Sputnik PS2 satellite since its launch early 
this month. The audio pitch of the Sputnik model's beacon varies according 
to temperature. The pair used an audio generator and a frequency counter to 
come up with their readings.

UTC Date/Time             Freq (Hz)       Temp (Deg C)

06 Nov. 1997 1426          1269.3          27.0
07 Nov. 1997 1327          1257.4          23.0
08 Nov. 1997 1406          1255.9          22.0
09 Nov. 1997 1308          1248.4          19.5
11 Nov. 1997 1249          1248.3          19.5
12 Nov. 1997 1149          1244.3          19.0
13 Nov. 1997 0912          1257.0          21.8
13 Nov. 1997 1403          1241.0          18.0
14 Nov. 1997 1205          1244.5          19.0
14 Nov. 1997 1617          1245.0          19.0
16 Nov. 1997 1419          1246.0          19.0
17 Nov. 1997 1320          1243.0          18.5

W8RVH and W8ZCF have noted the downward drift in temperature during several 
passes and plan to take a closer look at their data. The current downward 
trend in unexplained. The Sputnik satellite, a one-third scale model of the 
original Sputnik 1 launched in 1957 by the USSR, was a joint project of 
schools in Russia and Reunion Island, with technical assistance from 
AMSAT-France. The model--also known as RS-17 and Sputnik 40--is expected to 
continue operating for several more weeks. Reports continue to be received 
from all over the world, and the news media have picked up on the story.

The mini-Sputnik is orbiting behind and below Mir, and the satellite and the 
space station are now approximately one minute apart. Both take just over 92 
minutes to orbit Earth.

TAPR OFFERS LATEST AX.25 PROTOCOL

AX.25 Version 2.2 is up on the Web! You can access both the 1984 and 1997 
versions of this Amateur Radio packet link protocol at 
http://www.tapr.org/tapr/html/ax25.html. This document marks the fourth 
edition of the AX.25 Amateur Packet Radio Link Layer Protocol by the ARRL 
and the Tucson Amateur Packet Radio Corporation (TAPR). The AX.25 Version 
2.2 document is available free of charge.

This document defines a protocol used between two Amateur Radio stations in 
a point-to-point or networked communications environment. The protocol 
specifies only link layer and physical layer functions. It is not intended 
to specify any upper-layer protocol other than certain interface 
requirements to and from other layers. This protocol recognizes and 
accommodates the uniqueness of the Amateur Radio operating environment.

Since the publication of the first edition of the standard, an Amateur Radio 
digital network has evolved. Because this development has negated the need 
for the digipeater mode of operation, the proposed new specification limits 
digipeating to a maximum of two hops or separate radio links.

A big addition in this version has been the addition of the System 
Description Language (SDL) diagrams to help anyone better understand how the 
system works. The  SDL, included in Appendix C, is a much clearer 
description of the protocol than the verbal text.

At the ARRL and TAPR 1997 Digital Communications Conference in October, the 
ARRL Future Systems Committee transferred all responsibility for the AX.25 
document to TAPR. TAPR now maintains the PID assignments and work on any 
future corrections or changes to the document. Three new PID assignments 
have been added to the current version--one for FlexNet and two for Jacobson 
TCP/IP compression.

A major effort toward updating Version 2.0 was published by Eric Scace, K3NA 
in 1988 at the Seventh Computer Networking Conference. This work is included 
in the latest standard version, together with protocol improvements that 
will aid networking and HF users. The latest document began with the work of 
William A. Beech, NJ7P, Douglas E. Nielsen, N7LEM, and Jack Taylor, N7OO, in 
the early 1990s. "Without their work in the initial stages several years 
ago, the document wouldn't have been updated and the diagrams wouldn't be 
available today," said TAPR's Greg Jones, WD5IVD. Jones says Lee Knoper, 
N7CUU, a technical writer, edited the document last year.

Jones and ARRL Technical Relations Manager Paul Rinaldo, W4RI, got the 
Future Systems Committee to look at the resulting document.

BUSTED PIRATE BROADCASTER IS HAM

A well-known ham who thumbed his nose at the FCC was among those caught up 
in a Tampa, Florida, sweep by federal agents to shut down unlicensed 
broadcasting operations there. L. Douglas "Doug" Brewer, KC4HAZ, a General 
licensee of Temple Terrace, Florida, was detained when armed agents moved in 
to close down the pirates and confiscate equipment. Brewer is the trustee of 
several Amateur Radio repeaters in Tampa.

Brewer, 43, operated "The Party Pirate" from his home on 102.1 MHz. He told 
reporters that he was awakened November 19 at 6:30 AM by armed US marshals 
who handcuffed him. According to news reports, federal agents seized 
equipment from his home studio and from a remote broadcasting van that 
carried a "102.1 FM Pirate Radio" logo. They also dismantled a 150-foot 
tower. US marshals trucked away the equipment in a rental vehicle as Brewer 
looked on.

Known on the air as "Craven Moorehead," Brewer is said to have taunted FCC 
officials on and off the air and has refused to pay a $1000 FCC fine. Brewer 
has hinted that he plans to return to the airwaves. The Party Pirate was the 
subject of an article earlier this year in The Wall Street Journal. Brewer's 
Web site includes pictures of FCC agents taking field strength readings 
outside his house.

LARRY FERRARI, WA2MKI, SK

Well-known ham and TV personality Larry Ferrari WA2MKI, of Cinnaminson, New 
Jersey, died November 20. He was 65 and had been suffering from cancer. For 
40 years, Ferrari played the organ on The Larry Ferrari Show on 
Philadelphia's Channel 6 (WPVI) and was a regular in the station's 
Thanksgiving Day Parade, where he performed on a float. He also provided 
music for other Channel 6 programs. In addition, he entertained at various 
ham radio club banquets over the years. From 1985 until earlier this year, 
Ferrari was the organist at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in 
Camden, New Jersey. Channel 6 plans to broadcast Ferrari's last taped show 
Sunday, November 30, at 6:30 AM, preceded by a memorial tribute.--thanks to 
Kay Craigie, WT3P, and many others

__________________________________

IN BRIEF:

* This weekend on the radio: CQ WW! It's the CQ Worldwide DX Contest (CW) 
this weekend. See October QST, page 107, for details or visit 
http://www.arrl.org/contests/.

* STS-83/84 QSLs: QSLs for space shuttle missions STS-83 (April 3-8, 1997) 
and STS-84 (July 1-17, 1997) have been forwarded to the Bergen Amateur Radio 
Association (New Jersey). BARA generously offered to pay for the QSLs and 
will be handling QSLing responsibilities for these two missions. Hams aboard 
were KC5RNI, KC5BTK, and KC5FVF.

* TARA Sprint: The date of the TARA RTTY Sprint in QST is incorrect. The 
event, sponsored by the Troy (New York) Amateur Radio Association was moved 
back to avoid holding it the same weekend as the ARRL 10 Meter Contest. The 
correct dates and times are December 6, 1800 UTC, until December 7, 0200 
UTC. Complete details can be found on the TARA web page at 
http://generators.com/tara/index.html. For more information, contact Bill 
Eddy, NY2U, e-mail mrbill1953@aol.com or Tom Remmert, N2TR, e-mail 
tremmert@texoma.net.

* Ham brochures on the road: If you're traveling through Connecticut, don't 
be surprised if you see ham radio brochures at several Interstate rest stops 
or at Bradley International Airport. The Educational Activities Department 
has distributed Ham Radio . . . Today and Into the Future as part of its 
efforts to spread the word about our great hobby. The brochures tell what 
ham radio is all about and refer readers to the ARRL.

* FCC to review regs: The FCC has begun its first comprehensive biennial 
review of telecommunications (common carrier) and broadcast regulations. The 
review is required by the Telecommunications Act of 1996. FCC Chairman 
William Kennard said the first biennial review "is a key time for the 
Commission to take a serious top-to-bottom look at its rules."

===========================================================
The ARRL Letter is published by the American Radio Relay League, 225 Main 
St, Newington, CT 06111; tel 860-594-0200; fax 860-594-0259. Rodney J. 
Stafford, KB6ZV, President; David Sumner, K1ZZ, Executive Vice President.

Circulation, Kathy Capodicasa, N1GZO, e-mail kcapodicasa@arrl.org.
Editorial, Rick Lindquist, N1RL, e-mail elindquist@arrl.org.

Visit the ARRLWeb page at http://www.arrl.org.

The purpose of The ARRL Letter is to provide the essential news of interest 
to active, organizationally minded radio amateurs faster than it can be 
disseminated by our official journal, QST. We strive to be fast, accurate 
and readable in our reporting.

Material from The ARRL Letter may be reproduced in whole or in part, in any 
form, including photoreproduction and electronic databanks, provided that 
credit is given to The ARRL Letter and The American Radio Relay League.

How to Get The ARRL Letter:

The ARRL Letter is distributed directly from ARRL HQ only to elected League 
officials and certain ARRL appointees and to paid subscribers of the 
now-defunct hard-copy edition of The ARRL Letter. For members and nonmembers 
alike, The ARRL Letter  is available free of charge from these sources:

* The ARRLWeb page (http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/). This version of The 
ARRL Letter  includes any photographs. (NOTE: The ARRL Letter will be posted 
as soon as possible after publication. Please be patient.)

* The HIRAM BBS: 860-594-0306. (NOTE: The ARRL Letter should be available 
via the HIRAM BBS no later than the Monday after the date of publication.)

* The ARRL Technical Information Server (InfoServer): Send an e-mail message 
to info@arrl.org. The subject line should be blank. In the message body, 
type "send ltrmmdd.txt", where mm represents two digits for the month and dd 
represents two digits for the day (The ARRL Letter  is published every 
Friday). For example, to request The ARRL Letter file for Friday, January 3, 
1997, you'd type "send ltr0103.txt". Then, on a separate line, type "quit". 
(NOTE: The ARRL Letter should be available via the InfoServer no later than 
the Monday after the date of publication.)

* The Netcom server, run by the Boston Amateur Radio Club and Mike Ardai, 
N1IST: Send e-mail to listserv@netcom.com (no subject needed). The body of 
the message should say "subscribe letter-list".

* CompuServe and America Online subscribers, as a downloadable text file in 
the services' ham radio libraries.

