Video Of Professional Tower Climbers Causes Controversy

Some people love radio enough that they make it their life. Professional tower climbers who work in broadcast engineering have very detailed training to perform their tasks, which can sometimes send them to industrial antenna towers as high as 1,800 feet. Tall tower climbing is a specialty in this career field. The rules for awareness and worker safety while in the actual performance of work assignments are stiff, carrying fines for violations and can sometimes call for immediate termination.

Osha regulates this career field as it does many others. Below the text of this article is a YouTube video showing professional tall tower climbers as they make their way up a tower standing higher than the Sears Tower, including antenna height! 1, 768 feet to be precise! A group of professional engineers have a discussion going on the topic of this video, posting this same video at their site and giving good insight on the differences between modern radio towers and older models of towers that do not allow OSHA regs to be followed exactly to the letter due to the construction anomalies of these older towers.

See the discussion at EngineeringRadio.us

This video was originally pulled from YouTube and internet circulation, but then re-posted when the originator of the video decided to allow it back on the net again.

Last year, a family of amateur radio operators were killed while attempting to erect their amateur radio antenna when they were electrocuted by high voltage contact with commercial electric lines. This video is a good reminder that any of us who play with radios, electrical current/voltage, electronic components, feedlines and antennas should always remember that it pays to be cautious!

WARNING!!!! Those who are afraid of heights, have sensitivities / phobias, or serious medical conditions should not watch this video. No one who chooses to watch this video should ever attempt to do any of what is shown in this video. This is not a stunt, and these tower climbers are not actors. Attempting this without proper training and safeguards could result in severe, permanent injury and DEATH. 

The OLE.org / theonlineengineer.org presents a Nuts and Bolts "We Know Radio" production: 
STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN

Who Says Radio Is Dying?

Based on the high, and constantly growing number of people reading this publication on a daily & weekly basis; based on watching the most popular radio forums and the level of participation happening, radio enthusiasts can rest assured that radio is not dying! The demographic of participants in the Licensed Amateur ranks and SWL circles has simply changed with the times.

The Shortwave America links section pertaining to Shortwave Radio websites has grown over the weekend. Before adding any new links, SWA checks the sites to ensure accuracy of information, that the sites are up to date, that it provides something valuable for public use, and that it actually has some sort of acceptable participation. If any of these elements are missing, this publication looks at the site for historical value.

Shortwave America welcomes: On The Shortwaves - with an excellent history of shortwave radio, Hard Core DX, HF Skeds, Shortwave.be with their station listing by type feature, Transmitter Documentation Project, ClandestineRadio.com, Clandestine Radio Watch, and Koshko with an excellent site! In the Popular Discussions links list, Shortwave America welcomes The FRN Vine! More and more pirate broadcasters are asking that reports be sent either to HF Underground or FRN.

Be sure to visit those sites in the SWA links listings, they really appreciate the traffic just the same as Shortwave America enjoys and appreciates the traffic from all of you who read! Before this article comes to an end, please note that Shortwave America wants your comments! The comments sections are wide open without moderation unless the article is more than 14 days old. This is to ensure that old subjects don't get re-hashed unless absolutely needed, but be sure your comments on those articles more than 14 days old will be reviewed and published unless it does not meet with the simple, but few rules posted in the comments section. The comment decorum rules are self explanatory, short, and simple so as to allow for readers to feel comfortable posting.

Shortwave America IS NOT LIKE QRZ or other restrictive interactive message boards! One more thing before closing this article out....SWA was sorry to hear Crystal Ship getting crushed by QRN and bad propagation this past evening! Maybe you need to turn up the juice boys! We love hearing ya out here!

Have a great week everyone!    

Amateur Radio Emergency Service Celebrates 75th Anniversary

The Amateur Radio Emergency Service, an organization of the ARRL (American Radio Relay League) is celebrating seventy five years of service to communities all over the United States in combined, unified relationship with emergency service departments at local, state, and federal levels. Often combined with RACES, and mistaken for the same agency which is separate from the ARRL. ARES has also been known to combine their abilities cooperatively with Skywarn, SET Exercizes, and other emergency response activities focusing dually on preparedness & real life response capability. The Public Safety agencies ARES works with are known as "served agencies".

To see more about ARES and the good ARES has done all over the U.S., please see the ARES E-Letters.

The RACES link above will help the public to understand the differences between ARES & RACES, the level of training RACES requires, and will point out the fact that RACES is a U.S. Government Agency whereas ARES is not. More information defining RACES is available here.

Some ARES members will tend to carry ARES Identification Cards, which are NOT issued by the ARRL, as the ARRL only issues general membership ID Cards. Some ARES volunteers are active with an Emergency Management Agency either as a secondary activity to legitamize their ARES activities while others join because it is a condition for being an ARES member in some jurisdictions.

ARES History:
The Amateur Radio emergency Service has been known in the past as the ARRL Emergency Corps and the War Emergency Radio Service back during World War Two when amateur radio in the U.S. was sidelined by U.S. Congress. During this time, licensed amateurs were ordered to stop amateur radio operations. In 1945, the ARRL was successful in pressuring Congress to re-authorize amateur radio again.

ARES Wikipedia Entry

ARRL Emergency Communications Programs

ARRL Sections

ARES Manual

ARRL Field Organization Structure

ARRL Public Service Programs

Although there are ARES members who are well focused, with big hearts and have the correct concept in mind, never operating outside of their responsibility; others will take it too far and add flashing lights / sirens, and all sorts of other accessories to their vehicles. One company makes "Amateur Radio ID Cards" with a copy of the operator's FCC license on it and a real looking bar code. One other company makes a gold "Amateur Radio Badge" that looks like a real life police shield.

Before clicking on the links provided in this next section of this article, please be advised that you may encounter adult language and suggestive terms that a person could find objectionable.

To keep everything in balanced perspective while providing the public and the amateur radio community with the humorous side of blunders made by ARES volunteers, Hamsexy has created the popular term "Whacker" or "Wacker" which is the popular radio jargon for an amateur operator who goes too far with their emergency volunteer identity. Hamsexy has created the "Whacker Alert Archive". Hamsexy made itself famous again in more recent times when they published a photograph of a pair of white underwear with the RACES and ARES logos on them.

Over the past many years, ARES has for the most part become irrelevant due to better emergency radio systems being purchased by municipal emergency departments. RACES is still in existance, although no more RACES licenses are being issued. ARES also has a cooperative history with the United States Military Auxillary Radio Service (MARS) and SHARES, which is another U.S. Government emergency radio communications service that only MARS members can join.

Congradulations to the ARRL on their 75th anniversary of ARES!      

China Radio International Censor Tape

Nothing says censorship like a radio station that gets it's orders from the Chinese Government! SWA has it on good authority that the staff of CRI are great people who are forced to take totalitarian orders from a communist government who can't see daylight from twilight.

China Radio International has an "emergency tape" with several back-up copies in case an on-air personality says something that the Chinese Communist Party doesn't like. This emergency censor tape was released for the first time at PCJ Media. Listen HERE 

Since this tape is missing now, CRI more than likely has another emergency program ready with several back-up copies as usual. Enjoy!

Coming Soon....

This publication is working on a special interview that may lead to a multi-part series focusing on communications within the Islamic Republic of Iran, and what it means to the people of Iran in the context of their human rights to have more than just state approved radio. Shortwave and amateur communications have always centered on the building of goodwill, the free exchange of ideas, information, and overall expression.

In the context of amateur radio communications, exchanges between licensed operators sometimes have to stay free of hot topics because of the possibility that one station could get into some really deep legal trouble due to restrictions on topics of expression. Shortwave and other commercial communications suffer the same fate in countries where free speech and the free exchange of ideas are quashed by extremist government beliefs that leave no room for human rights.

The special guest SWA is working with has taken the liberty of making introductions of this publication and it's author to those "in the know", who have no love for communist regimes and censorship and are active in the pursuit of human rights. One may ask how human rights relates to radio communications. That answer is easy: We all have an everyday need to communicate and to be informed of events, news items, items of interest, and so forth. Without any input, we cannot realistically form any tangible view of the world around us. Enter now the tight control of these items and the absolute right to have access to more than just one limited and narrow option, especially when it's forced and full of propaganda.

Radio has been around for more than one hundred years, and gets the message through when no other form of communications media can. Stay tuned to this blog, because if all goes as expected....you will get a bird's eye view beyond the stories of violent war and dirty politics the major media presents to the public without ever focusing on the everyday people who must live under inhumane control of their lives, and you will find out what communications mean to them! What SWA knows so far will shake you and wake you! Coming soon!  

Numbers Stations: A Comprehensive, Exhaustive List Of Resources

Numbers stations started in the cold-war era, possibly WW1 and continuing into this modern day. SWA has written other articles on these stations. Until now, there was no one-stop comprehensive, exhaustive, resource for learning about these stations. Two important questions arise about these numbers operations today: Are they just distractions with no real world function & aired only for novelty purposes to get SWL's all excited? Are they operating with a real purpose in the world for communicating with intelligence agents known as "spies", or do they operate simply to test their equipment just in case?

To this day, no government agency in the world will admit to running a numbers station. Some people have taken to the road with direction finding equipment.Yet, in a 1998 article published in "The Daily Telegraph", an official spokesperson for the U.K. agency that regulated radio regulations at the time was allegedly quoted as admitting that numbers stations are indeed what the public thinks they are that that no one should be mystified by it because the information is not for public consumption.

Numbers stations have come to be known as OWVL (One Way Voice Links) that could be used to communicate with the desired party so long as the party could justify possession of the shortwave receiver, was not under technical surveillance, and was well trained in the tradecraft.

Let's start with press articles first:  

NPR Article one

NPR Article two

NPR Article three mentioning Akin Fernandez

Espionage Is in The Air: Miami Times


Counting Spies: Salon.com

Dark Side of The Band: Wired.com

Secrets in The Static: Esquire.com

Hold The Front Page: Espionage Story About The Gaul


In NPR article two above, the following people are credited: Simon Mason, David Mussell and Tom Sevart, Chris Smolinski, as well as "The Conet Project". SWA went in search of these individuals on-line, and looked into "The Conet Project".

Washington Times five page article also featuring Mr. Akin Fernandez: "The Shortwave and The Calling"

Conet Project Specific Links:
Conet Project PDF
Conet Project Free, Legal download

Simon Mason: SWA has linked to his site in the links below, see his work there.
David Mussel: Only information found consisted of references to his collaboration on the Conet Project
Tom Sevart: Same as David Mussel
Chris Smolinski: Runs the Spooks List linked to in this article

Criminal arrests / terrorist efforts involving numbers stations:
2001: Cuban Five, Ana Belen Montes (Senior US Defense Intelligence Agency Analyst)
2006: Carlos & Elsa Alvarez
June 2009: Walter Kendall Meyers, who worked with the Cuban Intelligence Service
Oleg Penkovsky

Groups & Information Sources: None of this information is guaranteed to be accurate or up to date, as we know that radio communications practices change constantly. The exception to the rule is the Enigma2000 group who has a rather active group of people who keep everything as up to date as possible.

Enigma2000 Official Website
Enigma 2000 Yahoo Group
CVNI Radio
UK Intelligence Yahoo Group
Secret - Worlds SigInt Group: Site is in German but Google will translate
HF Underground Numbers Station Discussion Forum
SPOOKS List
Welcome To Numbers Stations
Global Frequency Database
If Not For 15 Minutes
The Numbers Game
Numbers Monitoring featuring MP3 recordings
Using Elliptic Curves
Very LARGE library of numbers station information
Numbers Stations by Fitz Nusser
Secret Radio Frequencies
SpyNumbers.com
dxing.com numbers article
dxzone numbers stations
Google search results for Numbers Stations
Mike N Sniffy's Radio Site
MilAirComms Site
Shortwave Underground: Comprehensive Look At Numbers Stations
Ary's Numbers Page: MUST SEE
Mystery Signals

On-Line Numbers Relay Pages: Please be careful how you use these, as they have the potential to be used the wrong way!

Numbers Relay Page

Videos Of Numbers Stations:
Youtube search results: Spy Numbers Stations
KUTV Video About Numbers Stations

PDF Files Concerning Numbers Stations:

Wikipedia Reference Section: Numbers Station. It's a paper on Cuban Agent Communications based on the FBI & court documents. This section also contains the PDF file relating to "United States v. Walter Kendall Myers, United States District Court, District of Columbia, no. xxx."

See the entire Wikipedia entry for "Numbers Station" HERE

Electronic Analysis & Related Items:
Electronics-Lab.com
Spectrogram version 5.0 is a freeware dual channel audio spectrum analyzer for Windows 95/98/NT which can provide either a scrolling time-frequency display or a spectrum analyzer scope display in real time for any sound source connected to your sound card. (License: Free)

1. Analysis and identification of biological sounds
2. Analysis and identification of human speech
3. Analysis of musical performances
4. Tuning of musical instruments
5. Evaluation and calibration of home audio systems
6. Ham Radio audio reception and tuning
7. Analysis of radio interference including atmospheric electromagnetic effects

Intelligence News & Educational References:
Eye Spy Magazine
Eye Spy List Of Intelligence Services World-Wide
Eye Spy De-classified Intelligence Information
Eye Spy Intelligence Links
History Of Polish Intelligence Service
Worldwide Intelligence Service Listing Wiki
GCHQ: Britain's Most Secret Intelligence Agency

List Of Numbers Stations Heard Over Time As Reported By Various SWL's along with Wikipedia / other links if available:

Russian Morse Number Station M12
The MOSSAD Voice Number Station E10
Cynthia
Magnetic Fields
Edna Sednitzer
Swedish Rhapsody
Tyrolian Music
E13 Lincolnshire Poacher 
UVB-76 known as "The Buzzer" 
Yosemite Sam 
Cherry Ripe

Understanding numbers stations classifications
You'll notice each numbers station has an alpha-numerical identifier assigned to it. Here's what they mean:  

E = English speaking station
G=German speaking station
S=Slavic speaking station
T=Station in unknown language
M=Morse Code station (CW in today's popular terms although it is technically incorrect)
V=any language not noted in this list elsewhere
X=all other transmissions including digital modes, polytones, etc

Cryotography Links:

Cryptography Wiki

Enigma Machine Wiki

Cryptanalysis Of The Enigma

Cypher Bureau

One Time Pad

One Time Pad Detailed Guide

Cypher Machines & Cryptology

Cryptologic Museum Article: U.S. NSA / Central Security Service

Codebreaking & Secret Weapons In World War 2

Enigma & Intelligence

Cipher Wiki

Voice & Data Ciphering

Code & Cryptography Wiki

Japanese Naval Codes: JN25

Bletchley Park

This from Wikipedia under the creative commons license :

Classical cryptography Ciphers: ADFGVX · Affine · Alberti · Atbash · Autokey · Bifid · Book · Caesar · Dvorak · Four-square · Great · Hill · Keyword · Nihilist · One-time pad · Permutation · Pigpen · Playfair · Polyalphabetic · Polybius · Rail Fence · Reihenschieber · Reservehandverfahren · ROT13 · Running key · Scytale · Smithy code · Solitaire · Straddling checkerboard · Substitution · Tap Code · Transposition · Trifid · Two-square · VIC cipher · Vigenère Cryptanalysis: Frequency analysis · Index of coincidence · Kasiski examination Misc: Cryptogram · Bacon · Scytale · Straddling checkerboard · Tabula recta

v • d • e Cryptography History of cryptography · Cryptanalysis · Cryptography portal · Outline of cryptography Symmetric-key algorithm · Block cipher · Stream cipher · Public-key cryptography · Cryptographic hash function · Message authentication code · Random numbers · Steganography

Two true stories from Shortwave America:
While listening some long time ago, this author witnessed V2 (Cuban Numbers Lady) use the same pad a second time! Around September 12th, 2010, Shortwave America posted a signal report on V2 as heard on 5885Khz, and within SECONDS after the post was published at HFUnderground, V2's signal was full strength commercial quality! Be careful posting what you hear, they just might be watching the message boards ladies & gents!

In the modern day, encrypted communications are said to be absolutely impossible to crack although the reality is that every type of communications including encryption has it's shortcomings. These numbers stations are not using encryption however, because we can hear their voices and encryption means the listener hears a signal but with the difference that there exists "digital hash" on top of the voice, thus making the voice or data transmission unintelligible. This type of encryption is mostly encountered with Motorola(tm) systems that use 128 bit type encryption or better. Although this encryption can be used on the HF bands, it isn't used because it's more of a pain than anything else and it costs major amounts of cash to obtain and maintain. With these systems, there is always the threat of the loss of the digital encryption key under certain circumstances.
Even the U.S. Military uses a system of ciphering that allows them to send EAM's in the clear because no one will ever figure out what the message is about...they use a one time pad, one time key, etc.
Common knowledge is that a member of the Enigma2000 group broke a numbers station pad!
 
What you now know is that these numbers stations are not a novelty, not a distraction, not some pirate playing games, but real communications directing intelligence agents of the world to carry out their orders. The conspiracy theories end here, and real learning has begun. Enjoy this article, refer to it as often as you need, pass it along to other people, it was a pleasure to put this piece together for all of the readers and participants of the radio world!

Today's SW Log

Starting at 6145Khz and ending at 6110 via VFO travel through 9870Khz

6145Khz AM  2350UTC China Radio International - Sig was S9 + 60

6754Khz USB  2352UTC Trenton Military, Aviation WX - Sig was S9 + 20

6985Khz AM 2356UTC French program - Sig was S9 + 40

7375Khz AM 0000UTC Carribean Beacon: News show with female broadcaster

7415Khz AM 0002UTC Conspiracy show focusing on UFO abductions, Nov. 5, 1975 mentioned by the guest being interviewed in Murfreesboro, TN. Guest told a story about being in a car with a total of seven people including himself during deer hunting season, seeing a light just above where the ground met the horizon. They got to an opening, looked to their right and saw an unidentified aircraft described as a "metallic disc". Sig was S9 + 35

7440Khz AM 0007UTC Radio Ukraine International: News show with female broadcaster talking about economic state of the Ukraine. Short few words in audio clip featuring the Ukraine president. Ukraine wants cooperation to forge economic ties between Ukraine & Khazakstan. Reporter quoted the Khazak President as saying something about their products & the country of Russia.  Sig was fading enough to miss a few words, but stable for the most part. Sig was S9 + 40

7475Khz AM 0015UTC Voice Of Greece Sig was S9 +20

8503.30Khz USB 0021UTC beeping that switched from a simple series of beeps into faster digital type transmission that sounded like fast beeps mixed with crunching.  Sig was S9 +20

9420Khz AM 0023UTC Voice Of Greece Sig was S9 +20

9430Khz AM 0029UTC  Deutsche Welle Sig was S9 +20

9525Khz AM 0030UTC Radio Romania International: Music Sig was S9 +20

9535Khz AM 0032UTC Radio Exterior de Espana: Mystery show? Sig was S9 +20

9570Khz AM 0036UTC China Radio International?: Female broadcaster talking about olympic sailing center & Beijing Sailing Competition with reference to Xing Dao; Xing Dao official spoke briefly with a male translator. Sig was S9 +40

9580Khz AM 0040UTC Radio Bucharest on Romainia Radio International: Female broadcster translating Romainian into English about an event featuring photography and poetry followed about a male broadcaster talking about baking a traditional bread dish. Sig was S9 +20

9665Khz AM 0046UTC Voice of Russia? Male broadcaster talking about archaeologists and respect for culture during archaeological digs followed by a Female broadcaster who introduced music.Fading was present, so female broadcaster couldn't be heard completely. Sig was S9 +20

9675Khz AM 0100UTC several stations competing for the frequency

9700Khz AM 0102UTC Radio Bulgaria French Broadcast Sig was S9 +20

9711Khz AM 0104UTC Radio Televisione Italiana?? Sig was S9 +15

9750Khz AM 0106UTC Spanish programming, Female broadcaster talking with reference to Chile. Sig was S9 +20

9790Khz AM 0107UTC  China Radio International: topics included Khomeni asking for the U.S. to help free Iranians, sailing in Xing Dao, and Australia relations with China. Sig was S9 +35

9830Khz AM 0118UTC Music, classical style with piano, strings, violin? followed by a male voice in what was either an African dialect or French. Sig was S9 +20

9845Khz AM 0122UTC Radio Nederland Wereldomroep Sig was S9 +40

9870Khz AM 0124UTC Oesterreichischer Rundfunk featuring middle eastern music and other short music clips. Sig was S9 even. Lots of  fading with QRN.

6010Khz AM 0130UTC Radio Sweden International broadcast to North America started with dead carrier. Talk followed about election talk and included a guide about first time voting in Sweden.

6925Khz

Over the course of 2010, the following stations have been heard by many listeners monitoring 6925Khz:

Weak Radio, KIPM, Outhouse Radio, WTCR, WPON, Captain Morgan, Radio Free Euphoria, Barnyard Radio, OHR, Wolverine Radio, Radio Gaga, WBNY, WKND Relay, Radio Garbanzo, Ann Hoffer, Voice of KAOS, WLDJ, UNID's (UNID means unidentified station) and there have been many of these reports!

What is it about 6925 that these pirate broadcasters love so much? Some of these stations are in USB and others in AM. There seems to be a pattern happening and a person can't help but wonder if some of these stations are one in the same or at least have some sort of tie to each other. Maybe they don't, maybe they just keep the frequency warm for each other in the same way we may ask a neighbor to hold a parking spot for us.

Listen to 6925 as the evening fades into nighttime, log it for a bit, see if you observe a pattern in the operating times, modes (USB/AM), and which stations broadcast in which order.

Sept. 18 2010:
0130UTC through 0150UTC Hearing Sycko Radio "Area51" 6925USB

SWA Retroblast: The Laughing Policeman Wireless Society

SWA was going to post about a badly written article from Beijing, China about the Beijing Government cracking down on radio use by forcing registration of transmitters using power higher than 0.5 watts, but found something more worthwhile.

Today, a feature SWA calls "Retroblast", focusing on the old Laughing Policeman Wireless Society. This club is now defunct, but back in time it was a significant group that took on the challenge of having fun on the amateur bands with a focus on bring into the light, contradictory policy making and enforcement of contradictory policy involving radio amateurs in the U.K.

Bad behavior should never be condoned on the amateur bands, but sometimes bad behavior and law breaking carries with it the value of humor. This by no means excuses such law breaking, but we all know that funny is funny!

LPWS got into some pretty hilarious hijinks. ShortwaveAmerica recently spoke with the webmaster for The Laughing Policeman Wireless Society SWA was interested in the history of this organization, it's culture, and how it found itself involved with a certain former U.K. Police SGT they call "The Looney", as well as hearing about some of their funniest / most entertaining moments. SWA wanted to know the how and why of the demise of this club in addition to all of this.

G8ASO kindly honored a request for information, and it turns out the joke was on two whole entities using sharp tact & expert manipulation in nothing other than a spirit of humorous monkey business mixed with a desire to teach a specific group of intimidating U.K amateurs a lesson!

"The club doesn't really exist any more, as amateur radio is nearly dead in the UK now. The licence is free now and the examination so easy a monkey that can use a pen can pass it.

The website remains to basically upset the original opponents and campaigners etc.

No one can really give an interview, the club was always thought to be larger than it was, like a play on radio, the pictures are better than TV, so we were able to manipulate the "hard of thinking" into believing there was more to it than there was, even the authorities were impressed with our "Intelligence Network" which didn't exist!

The club name comes from an early song by Charles Penrose, which becomes extremely annoying on repeaters, here it is : Laughing Policeman MP3

Basically, the club came about because several of us were fooling about on a repeater, and we got threatening telephone calls from other radio amateurs who had no business becoming involved and no authority to even voice an opinion. What do you do? Take notice and let them think you have been intimidated, or prove, beyond a shadow of doubt, that you couldn't care less? Well, we managed that alright."

If this isn't funny, ladies & gents...what IS? This whole LPWS endeavor involved genius level thinking & execution.

Some events from LPWS history One LPWS member who played a tune on the amateur bands that is now famous because of the media coverage pointed out that while he was in court, someone who committed a physical assault involving injury to another person was fined less money than he was ordered to pay by the court in his case and he had injured no one, nor had he even threatened violence.

Who's Afraid of The DTI?



ShortwaveAmerica will now direct you to Spot The Looney which is NSFW (Not Safe For Work or School) just adding that as a courtesy for the readers although it's a true story which is so funny that even Howard Stern could never surpass it with all of his stunts! Known as "Golf Zero Mike Alpha Looney", Sgt. Bowden went and got himself into the mix and ended up getting exposed for his efforts.

According to the page, Bowden even got in hot water with his Department for wearing his uniform while he was suspended from the force, and faced police impersonation charges. The Department had to write an apology for Bowden's conduct which is featured at the site. There is even a couple of MP3 links that allegedly contain Bowden speaking as if he were off his rocker.

No information was made available to SWA about how and why LPWS folded.

Thank you, G8ASO, for allowing ShortwaveAmerica to feature LPWS here and provide some comic relief for all who read!

Today's Station Loggings

15.220.00Khz AM Voice: Chinese Opera / theater, female vocalist. Program went into speaking parts involving other characters. 1430UTC Sig was 5 by 9 +20

15.285.00Khz AM Voice: Chinese News Programming 14:46UTC Sig was 5 by 9 +20

15.436.00Khz AM Voice: Chinese News Programming lots of noise with this signal, fading. Most likely propagation related. 14:47UTC Sig was 5 by 9

15.510.00Khz AM Voice: Weak signal station, news reporting in unknown foreign language. lots of noise and fading, propagation related. 14:51UTC Sig was 5 by 7 swinging to 9

15.770.00Khz AM Voice: Foreign male choir singing followed by a male speaking, sounds possibly like Portuguese. 1453UTC Sig was 5 by 9 +20

17.104.52Khz - 17.113.00Khz AM: OTHR? Loud and wide banded! 14:57UTC Sig was 5 by 7 to 5 by 9

17.555.00Khz AM Voice: Spanish programming. 1500UTC Sig was 5 by 9 +15

17.680.00Khz AM Voice: Spanish programming with music. 15:06UTC Sig was 5 by 9

17.795.00Khz AM Voice: English religious programming with music and scripture reading. 15:10UTC Sig was 5 by 9 +20

11.550.00Khz AM Voice: Spanish programming 15:28UTC Sig was 5 by 9 +15

11.713.00Khz AM Voice: People chanting, as if reading from something. Bad audio but signal was 5 by 9 +15 15:31UTC

11.772.00Khz AM Voice: English religious programming giving the following info, but no station ID 1-800-338-3030 P.O. Box 1 Los Angeles, Ca. 90053-0001 15:34UTC Sig was 5 by 9 followed by Pastor Melissa Scott. Even in her Pastor's garb she's HOT! How does a woman go from being a porn star to being a Pastor and why does the church even allow it?

11.845.00Khz AM Voice: Spanish programming host with phone caller. Great sig at 15:37UTC with 5 by 9 +20 and up to +40! Same program heard on 11.930.00Khz

12.050.00Khz AM Voice: Spanish Programming host with phone callers 15:39UTC sig was 5 by 9 +15

12.787.92Khz USB Voice: Marine Weather Forecast 15:42UTC sig was 5 by 9 +15 and nice audio!

13.089.00Khz USB Voice: Marine Weather Forecast 15:43UTC Sig was 5 by 9 +15 Good audio!

13.682.00Khz AM Voice: China Radio International 15:46UTC Sig was 5 by 9 with fading

Who Reads ShortwaveAmerica?

People in Germany, China, Russia, Netherlands, Canada, South Korea, United Kingdom, Denmark, and Finland, that's who! The first five countries are SWA's top international readers. Thank you to everyone who reads!

Those of you in China who read SWA should be ready to defend your right to read this publication after the recent piece about Firedrake. There may be a time when China officials see the criticism there and likely ban this publication. Should this happen, please feel free to e-mail the blogmaster and we'll find a way around that!

It would appear that either no one from the middle east has viewed this site or SWA may have been banned in those troubled regions. ShortwaveAmerica wants to issue a challenge to the international readers:

1. Although you guys and gals give this site traffic, the U.S. readership outranks international interest in this site. Do you international readers really want to be beat out by Americans? According to the stats, you international readers love this site and this site loves you right back, so pass this blog on to your friends, your family, whoever you know! Post the link to this site everywhere, give it to strangers too!

2. SWA wants the readership of people in Iran, Iraq, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Spain, Puerto Rico, Italy, Central America, South America, North Korea, Australia, Japan, and anywhere else. If you international readers have friends, family, business associates, or aquaintances in any of these countries; tell them about this site!

SWA loves it's American readers just the same as it's international readership, so those in the U.S. should know that you are highly appreciated! ShortwaveAmerica has seen a rise in traffic approaching numbers in the dramatic range for a publication of this type. Thank you to all of the readers out here!

Other stats for ShortwaveAmerica:

The most volume of traffic comes from readers using Internet Explorer with Windows followed by those using Firefox & Windows. A small percentage of the readers use Linux, yet others are a small percentage of people using Chrome, Opera, and lesser well known systems.

ShortwaveAmerica gets it's highest amount of referrals from Google. The other sites will remain a secret, because the top two referring sites you wouldn't believe even if a screen shot were published here, and SWA wants the users of those top sites to enjoy their privacy. Likewise, this publication doesn't want to start a war with the top referring sites & their users.

Keep visiting everyone! Thanks so much for the time you spend here!

Firedrake - The Great Firewall Of China

HF Underground has an excellent thread running touching on the subject of what is known to be the greatest and most powerful use of censorship in the world, the Firedrake. Finding the Firedrake Jammer has become a worldwide fascination for those who hate censorship, especially when it masks something truthful.

China has long been known to be one of the last remaining communist places on earth, and they guard the airwaves with every bit of resources they have. Firedrake is said to be operational aboard Chinasat 6B.
To know what Firedrake is, where it is, and how it works you should first follow the next two links to what appear to be the best written articles on the subject:  Satdirectory ends it's report with very specific information about where Chinasat 6B is. Wikipedia's report on Chinasat goes on to tell everyone in the second section describing Chinasat, that the satellite was to be used for "improved radio and television reception"; something we all have come to know as an outright lie and makes ya wonder just who wrote that entry!

The Chinese Jammer - Keith Perron & Mark Fahey Interview takes place over on Youtube. Two interesting things from this interview are that Fahey was able to distinguish which channels each portion of audio come from, and he was able to make a CD quality copy of the music that makes Firedrake what it is. 


Some essential questions that need to be asked about Firedrake & Chinasat:


Why 38 transponders? You don't need 38 transponders to jam, so what are the other transponders being used for? 


Why the games with renaming or re-numerating all the sats in the Chinasat program? Did China really think this was going to confuse anyone with brains?


Why can't China let go of their communist regime, and what is it in the critical material presented by various stations that China is so afraid of? What does China have to hide? One day, whether it be through radio, TV, or the passage of time and the changing of society; skeletons will rattle, pointing their bony fingers at the responsible parties. 


As technology evolves & advances, doesn't China know that sooner or later they will be subject to the same embarrassing attacks they once had to deal with before Sat6B? Someone, somewhere will get fed up enough to outsmart whatever security is in place and no amount of Government intelligence work will detect it. 


Lastly, didn't China ever figure out that someone with skills in Direction Finding was going to find their relay stations? Afterall, they are emitting RF! Pay particular attention to SW-J's post at HF Underground.

Firedrake Quicklinks: 

ARRL: Firedrake On The Loose Again


IARU Firedrake Article Including Chronology

Here is the CD Quality sample of Firedrake for all of you.

New York Ham Aquitted Of Cellular Use While Driving

The ARRL has recently released a statement regarding the New York Ham who was parked while using his mobile amateur transceiver. This individual was aquitted in city court after failing to win his case in traffic court.

The city court ruled along the lines of differentiating between a cell phone and a citizen's band radio. Amateur Radio is not citizen's band, but under this court ruling, the legal statement and legal effect is the same in the end: an amateur radio set is not a cellular telephone according to New York Law!

Commenters at a popular radio communications forum have asked good questions about the FCC rules difference between amateur and citizen's band, due to CB being covered under Part 95 rules and Amateur Service Radios falling under Part 97 rules. It seems that they may be worried about amateur radio and CB being mixed up with each other. After all, this is a common public image problem because the public usually has zero technical knowledge and no knowledge of what separates CB and Amateur Radio.

SWA encourages mobile hams to always carry a copy of their FCC License, a copy of PR91-36, and a copy of FCC Part 97 rules, as well as a copy of your state's laws on distracted driving or cell use while driving. Always respond to police in a professional manner when pulled over, and remember you can write in to their department later and complain or hire an attorney to do that for you. The police cannot remember everything and are just as human as we are.

Congrats to our fellow ham in New York on a well fought case!

ShortwaveAmerica Readers Ask Questions, Give Praise

Tom, AB9NZ asks: "When are you going to add some content to this cool site?"

SWA Answers:

Thanks for reading, Tom! As you are probably well aware, shortwave stations are disappearing due to several problems on part of the station management having largely to do with wanting to focus more on local listenership, and the rest has to do with funding, as well as a lack of knowledge about the wide range of listeners the shortwave broadcasts provide for the station.

It seems that only a handful of stations are still on the air. Thankfully, we can still hear Germany, Radio Taiwan International, China Radio International, Radio Habana Cuba and some pirate stations such as The Crystal Ship, Outhouse Radio, Radio Rin Tin Tin (yes, lovingly named after the old story of that friendly K-9 by the same name.)

Finding shortwave or amateur radio related news that is worthy of posting, is original, and not already hyped by sites / publications such as QRZ, ARRL, PopComm,World Radio, etc. is kinda hard to come by. SWA likes to find and post the stuff that no one else cares to print, neglects to review or refuses to consider.

The radio listening audience is still out here, but have become silent about their activities for good reason. The major players in radio news don't always know what everyone wants to see in print on the web so they just print along the same old revolving door of subject matter. SWA is not afraid to experiment with content, and is always on the look out for new material not covered elsewhere, or only sparsely covered.  

An Anonymous reader says:
"I love your blog! Your writing is quite professional, and even my wife thinks so; she's a professional writer herself and says it's a well done publication. Keep writing & publishing!"

Thanks for the feedback, everyone! It's nice to see people are paying attention out here!

N3U/FLT93 - 9/11/01 Memorial Station

N3U Pa Memorial Station For Sept 11, 2001 Attacks , USA Lookups:   2190 QSL: W3PN Biography Detail Special events station N3U / United Flight 93 will be activated  Sept 09 - 13, 2010 to remind "Amateur Radio Operators World-Wide"  of the tragic events that happened near "Shanksville, Pa,  New York City and Washington DC on  September 11, 2001."  This operation (along with the prior "P41USA" operations from Aruba Island)  will be sponsored by the "Blair Amateur Radio Society"  (W3PN) along with various local,  state & government agencies  (City of Altoona, Blair County Pa, Red Cross, EMA/911,  LEPC, PEMA, DHS) N3U / United Flt 93 operators will include:  Bob W3BTX / P49T, Roy W3TEF  and various other W3PN club members.  We also intend to include different bands &  modes during this "1st" ever initial upcoming operation  in September 2010. Operating Freq (+ -) Phone               CW 1.850              1.810 3.820              3.530 7.195              7.030  -------              10.120 14.240           14.030  18.130           18.090 21.300           21.030 24.930           24.895 28.485           28.030 50.130           50.090        N3U/ Flt 93....... QSL INSTRUCTIONS Note: Everyone worked will get a QSL card  "Direct or via Buro" DIRECT QSL: Please send to W3PN & include SASE &  enough return postage. If additional postage is needed...your QSL will  be returned via the BURO.   *Special note: USA postage rates will increase in 2011 BURO QSL: Starting in December all remaining QSO's  (not counting any DIRECT QSL's rcvd) will be sent via the buro.  **If you need your buro card sent to another ham,  please email w3btx@arrl.net with information /request. ***Please DONOT send your QSL via the BURO.    It saves everyone time & money.  Please no E-QSL or LOTW at this time] --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- September 11, 2001.............Sequence of Events............. . Photos on back of QSL card At 8:47AM, American Flight 11 crashes into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City killing all on board. This tower collapsed at 10:28AM. At 9:03AM, United Flight 175 crashes into the South Tower (2nd tower on left) killing all on board. This tower collapsed at 10:05AM. At 9:45AM, American Flight 71 crashes into The Pentagon Building near Washington, DC killing all on board. At 10:10AM, a large side section of the building (at the point of impact) finally collapses. At 10:10AM, United Flight 93 crashes (into an open field) in SW Pennsylvania. Earlier at 8:01AM, (4) terrorists hijacked United Flight 93 and was diverting the plane towards their intended target (the Capital) in Washington DC. The passengers and crew made a decision to stop this from happening and at 10:10AM, the plane crashed in an open field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The N3U/Flt 93 Memorial Operation is  dedicated to United Flight 93 Thanks to everyone who has worked  N3U/Flt93 or P41USA Last modified: Fri Aug 13 05:52:30 2010

Radio Hamseda

Shabnam Assadolahi is a human rights advocate who uses her show, Hamseda, to highlight violations of human rights in order to bring these acts to public knowledge in an effort to pressure the Iranian government to stop it's tortuous acts. Hamseda  ( means a United voice) Persian show is only two hours Live on Sundays from Ottawa on 97.9 FM ( and from www.Chinradioottawa.com).  www.radiohamseda.net You can hear this show live if you are in a local receiving area or by going to the site and downloading from the archives. English translation is provided by a translation assistant. Shabnam has a Facebook page where she posts news about the show, and keeps other updates for listeners. As of right now, there is no shortwave availability. SWA is going to try to change that by working with Shabnam and her show supporters to help find a station that is interested in carrying the show beyond the local Canadian FM dial.

Chicago FM Club Misleads Elmwood Park Newspaper, Public

The Chicago FM Club states to be an amateur radio club. They boast to be the largest club around, but all a person has to do is listen to their repeater systems, attend a few meetings / club events, look at the CFMC roster, and it suddenly becomes clear that CFMC is a political club disguised as a radio club. Field day is the largest, most active event in the United States for amateur radio operators who usually take their equipment to parks with their clubs and operate on emergency power. Field Day operators also operate from their homes using normal power supplied from their homes and there is an ARRL classification for those operations as well. Those field day stations operating out in the open air usually have a GOTA station, a CW station, a Digital station, some have satellite operations happening, and all sorts of other radio neatness. Recently, CFMC caught the attention of the Elm Leaves for their field day event. All you have to do is read the article to see misrepresentations & exaggerations. The Elm Leaves is a newspaper based out of the Chicago suburbs and is a company of Sun Times Media. ShortWaveAmerica is going to debunk the statements made by CFMC members in the article one at a time, and then follow up with other facts about this organization. Statement One:  "It's always the last weekend in June," said Mike Brost of Norridge, a member of the amateur radio club. "It's a global thing. New Zealand, Australia, China, Germany, Canada -- the entire world is on the radio. Reality of Statement One: Field Day is not intended as a DX event. Never has been, and never will be. The ARRL does not give clubs nor individual operators any point multipliers for DX stations. Field Day is a U.S. event disguised as an emergency operations readiness drill but, is really just a contest similar to the other ARRL sponsored contests. Statement Two: "This is our staging area," said Rick Duel of Chicago about the gazebo at the park. "We've been here six or seven years now." Statement Two Reality: Field Day doe snot involve any staging areas. This is whacker speak to sound and look important. In amateur radio lingo, a whacker is someone who gets involved in emergency communications and uses it to look more important than they really are. Another reality of this is that CFMC has not been at an Elmwood Park site or any site with a gazebo for six or seven years. In fact, CFMC has had up to three field day sites with one site having been in or around Niles, Il on the property of a public works facility.  Statement Three: The radio group uses the event to help stress emergency preparedness. And most of the operations use generators to power ham radios. Statement Three Reality: Anyone who has witnessed a CFMC field day knows for certain that any generator usage gets shut down as soon as the media and the public are gone, and overnight operations begin. This means that CFMC goes to the usage of near-by power sources from a 120VAC plug. Statement Four: "We're simulating a communications exercise among other hams," said Bob Odrowski of Palatine. "In any emergency event where there's a major power outage, the police departments and the fire department may not be able to communicate. During (Hurricane) Katrina, most of the communication was done by ham radio operators." Statement Four Reality: A close examination of our nation's emergency communications plan shows that emergency responders have their own communications equipment that has more advanced technological features that are not very likely to fail, and if they did...hams would not be the ones called into action. There are internal policies about who a public safety department contacts in the event of a communications failure, and it's always going to be a radio tech. Police & Fire Unions forbid anyone not on their approved list of service providers to do anything at all, period! Hams did provide comms during Katrina, that is true. Statement Five:  "A lot of us have (ham) radios in the car," Brost said. "When I was driving through Wyoming and Colorado, I could talk to South America and Spain from my car." Statement Five Reality: Brost admits in this statement that he performs distracted driving, which is against the law in every U.S. State. Keeping an eye on one's driving is more important than talking to someone on a radio, and may even save a life. Don't drive and perform other actions, it just doesn't make sense. Statement Six:  "It's really amazing who you meet," Duel said. "King Hussein of Jordan was a ham radio operator. So was Barry Goldwater, when he was alive. John Bon Jovi and Joe Walsh are, too." Statement Six Reality: King Hussein was a radio operator, this is true. Bon Jovi and Mr. Walsh? Nope! None of those two gentlemen even know what amateur radio is! Conversations were had with Mr. Bon Jovi and Mr. Walsh back in the mid nineteen nineties and both men said they have no time for playing radio due to the realities of their own lives. Both men stated they have never held amateur radio licenses at any time. Today, there is no trace of them in the FCC ULS database where FCC licenses are stored for the public to view. Statement Seven: Operating a ham radio goes hand in hand with storm watching, weather spotting and tornado chasing, said Tina Odrowski.   Statement Seven Reality: No, it doesn't. All of these activities are the same thing. Tina had no clue what she was talking about here. Amateur Radio Operators do not "chase tornadoes", they volunteer their time for the National Weather Service after receiving storm spotter training. The National Weather Service decides when to activate their spotters. Not every spotter is a licensed amateur.  Licensed amateurs are a small portion of the storm spotter communiyt and are usually looked at as a joke. Statement Eight: "Doppler radar is limited," she said. "In some cases, it can't see the storm, where people on the ground can. "And that's really important to know when the (National) Weather Service is trying to determine what type of warning to put out." "Ninety-nine percent of the time, a storm watcher is also an amateur radio operator," Bob Odrowski said. Statement Eight Reality: The NWS can see everything in the sky just fine with their equipment! NWS equipment cannot see from the ground to a certain portion of the lower atmosphere, which is why teh NWS uses spotters. Doppler Radar, Satellite Imaging, and all of the other NWS tools work just fine and the fact needs to be known that Storm Spotters are not trained meterologists, although some of these people think they are. T%he NWS knows quite well what warnings and watches they need to put out and they do it BEFORE activating spotters and without the help of spotters. Again, not all spotters are amateur operators. Ninety Nine percent of the time, a person who spots a true danger isn't even a trained spotter. Other times, severe threats are spotted by municipal public safety personnel. Spotters use a combination of cellular telephone, E-Spotter, 911 calls, but the amateur radio involvement is a rather small portion of the spotter community. Those spotters who are licensed amateurs are outnumbered by other spotters who are not licensed amateurs. Statement Nine: Duel noted Chicago FM was the first club to operate a repeater for a Spanish club. "We're the single biggest, and one of the oldest clubs, in the Chicago area," he said. "We have 250 members. We're like a social club with radios. We like having a good time in our own way." Statement Nine Reality: CFMC created a division among local amateur operators with this spanish group because very few of these guys speak english and the FCC requires them to identify in english which they never do. CFMC is not a radio club although their state charter says they are. An in-depth examination of CFMC shows that the organization is a political / social club made up of older males who all come from municipal public safety departments, broadcast TV / Radio, Transportation such as CTA workers and truck drivers to include tow truck operators / employees and others who are senior or tenured union employees. All of these individuals have far reaching city, state, and federal connections that may possibly be highly inappropriate. CFMC has a history of financial files that disappear but then magically re-appear when consequences loom. CFMC also applied to become a FCC VEC (Volunteer Examination Coordinator) and the FCC flatly refused to have them.CFMC has a stronghold on local amateur radio testing, a questionable practice. Over a period of years, CFMC has built an empire centered around their repeater systems which are almost exclusively used by organization board members, their close friends in the organization who have special permission to operate the system,  and "jammers" who use shocking language and engage in other FCC prohibited activities. This has always posed a problem for members who pay dues to the organization for "membership" but get denied the benefits of their dues per the organization's corporate constitution. CFMC has a past of deciding when and to whom their corporate constitution applies. There is existing documentation to prove this. CFMC has a history of turning away newly licensed hams as members because of the organization's unwritten rule about not letting outsiders in. The organization is made up of older males who have known each other for more than 30 years and they thrive on exclusivity between themselves and their specially approved others. Statement Ten: "And among us, we have a wealth of information," Prize said. Statement Ten Reality: The wealth of information Prize refers to is held in strict confidence among board members and specially approved CFMC "members".  Amateur Radio technical knowledge is not something CFMC helps anyone learn. CFMC's mentality is that you should already be an electronics expert BEFORE you join them or even obtain an amateur license. Something referred to as "elmering" is not going to happen. Statement Eleven: Brost said club members come from different backgrounds and bring different experiences. Statement Eleven Reality: Read Statement Nine Reality. Statement Twelve: "We can communicate with the military," he said. Statement Twelve Reality: No, you can't. Amateur Operators cannot operate outside of the license classes they earn at their testing sessions. The FCC has set aside frequencies for the amateur radio bands and the military does not use them. Amateurs do not conduct military operations or communications. NTIA has frequencies for military operations and communications, used strictly for and by the military. MARS is not an active organization and was recently threatened with "Sunset". A lack of new MARS membership and lack of interest from current membership is placing MARS in grave danger. MARS frequencies are not any secret to anyone, and if you listen, you'll not hear any amount of MARS activity at all. Statement Thirteen: "Amateur radio is not just a hobby, it's a service. We're able to link radios, like we did during Katrina, so we could cover the entire state of Louisiana." "And you can also turn it into a trade, a profession," he said. "There's a huge demand for this niche market for people who have that skill." "A lot of the electronic engineers are getting old and retiring," Duel said. "Companies need people to replace them."    Statement Thirteen Reality: The FCC has stated that amateur radio is NOT a service in the respect that these CFMC members are speaking in. The FCC has made it quite clear that amateur radio is for HOBBY use only! Duel's comment about using an amateur radio license to gain employment is way off the mark. Part 97, section 97.113 and all of it's subsections in all of it's language spells out that no amateur radio licensee may receive payment for station operation, may not receive gifts for station operation, and may not use an amateur radio license for anything other than the operation of an amateur station. Duel implies that technical skills are learned in amateur radio and this just isn't true. The study books have the questions and answers in them for each license class. Those electronics engineers who are retiring are being replaced with computers and other cheap technology that gets thrown away and bought again new when it fails. No techs are used to fix anything anymore due to the cost. Maintenance costs more than buying a new toy to run an operation. This article has laid out the truth of the CFMC organization and how they misled the Elmwood Park Media and therefore, the readers of the public. Update 9/11/2010: since this article was published at SWA, it has been observed that the article SWA linked to at the Elm Leaves on-line publication has been pulled. Attempts to reach the writer for the Elm Leaves have been unsuccessful.  Threatening / slanderous comments on this SWA post have been removed. SWA chooses to keep this publication civil, and moderates comments toward that goal. Unlike certain amateur radio forums, SWA does not allow trolls, slander, defamation, libel, etc.

State College Chills Licensed Amateur Citing Security Concerns About Amateur Equipment Receiving Frequencies Outside Amateur Bands

N1YS, a disabled ham attending a State college which is obligated to follow all state & federal laws to include PR 91-36 and the ECPA has effectively chilled N1YS and requires him to turn in his amateur HT each time he comes into the building because his equipment receives frequencies outside the amateur spectrum. http://forums.qrz.com/showthread.php?t=253387&page=3 No contact information is posted at QRZ for this ham beyond his address. QRZ used to list e-mail addresses, but it looks like they have stopped that practice. N1YS did not give the name of his college, but did confirm it is a state run operation, which would also fall squarely under the 1st amendment as far as communications are concerned. Security said to him that "we do not want anyone listening to our frequencies". If anyone out here thinks they can lend support to N1YS, please consider stepping up. Tolerance equals consent in this type of matter and can set a dangerous precedent for licensed hams, as well as the public if this is allowed to continue.

New York Radio Amateur Ticketed Under Cell Phone Law For Using Amateur Transceiver

From The Southgate Amateur Radio Club: http://www.southgatearc.org/news/june2010/traffic_ticket_anger.htm This story is also hashed out at QRZ and E-Ham. Video can be found at Youtube. A similar incident has happened before, with the New York Judge convicting the accused ham operator. The judge in that case stated that New York does not recognize amateur radio, nor does it recognize exemptions at the state or federal level for licensed amateurs. This past case will likely pose a burden for our fellow ham in this case in the form of New York Case Law and Court Precedent. All the best, we hope you see this ticket dismissed! If this ham loses his case, PR91-36 will likely not mean anything anymore, neither will any state level exemptions. Maybe the Amateur Radio community should petition the ARRL and the FCC to hold formal training for Law Enforcement Officers on the differences between Amateur Radio and other two way radio communications versus cell phones. They truly do not seem to be able to tell the difference, and this can put Federally Licensed Amateurs on the line quite unfairly, and endanger the amateur radio service altogether. Those rare disaster emergencies in which amateur radio plays a part are just one item that should be on the agenda to discuss, but overall, the issue needs to be brought that if it becomes illegal to operate mobile, how long will it be before hand held portable amateur radio operation becomes illegal while walking down the street?