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p. 56

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Vol. 61 No. 1

4 HAM RADIO NEWS6 ZERO BIAS8 ANNOUNCEMENTS

112 CO HAM SHOP114 OUR READERS SAY

p . 52

ANNOUNCING: The 2005 co WN RnY WPX ccotestWORLD OF IDEAS : A remote-linked HF station concept

By Dave /ngram. K4TWJANTENNAS: What happens to your signal whe n an element breaks?

By Kent Bn'rain, WASVJBMATH'S NOTES: Reflect ions By Irwin Matti . WA2NDMMAGIC IN THE SKY: Amateur radio was calling me back

By Guest Columnist Sean Barnes, N3JOHOW IT WORKS: A behind-lhe-dial look at receivers

By Dave Ingram. K4TWJ

PUBLIC SERVICE: Field Day is not enough By Bob Josuweit, WA3PZOWHArS NEW: New products tor the New Year!

By Karl T. ThurbfK. Jr. W8FXVHF PLUS: Recordsetllng aurora By Joe Lynch, N6CLOX: Peculiar" conditions on HF and VHF By carl Smith. N4AAAWARDS: USA-Q&A; W5UGO. USA-eA A" Counties . 1103

By Ted Melinosky. KI BVCONTESTING: Measuring COfltesting's gray line By John Dorr. KJARPROPAGATION: PropHET iOnospheric and propagation probe; Short-SkipCharts tor January & February 2005 By Tomas Hood, NWlUS

93 60 GREAT THINGS ABOUT HAM RADIO

16 WASHINGTON READOUT: FCC approves rules tor BPL details fromthe Report & Order By Frederic*. O. Mai3. W5YI

38 BEGINNER'S CORNER : Useless and needless lesting on the repeaterBy Wayne Yoshida, KH6WZ

11 HAMS ROUGH IT IN STYLE AT a UARTZFEST: January's weeio; in the sunfOf' hams and AVers By Gordon West, WB6NDA

24 RESUL1S OF THE 2004 CO WW WPX SSB CONTESTBy Steve Merchant, K6AW

26 co REVIEWS: The GAP OSP "'Hear It~ Speaker and Inline ModuleBy Gordon West, WB6NQA

30 MY FATHER, HAM RADIO, AND ME: The ham radio connection eerweengenerations By Peler Brandenberg. K2MM T

32 ANNOUNCING : 2005 nominations open for the CO Amateur RadioHall 01 Fame

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On Turning 60 ..

Happy birthday 10 us. With this issue, CO maga-zine is 60 years old, beginning its 61 st year,actua lly. For me, it's a triple anniversary. Thisissue also marks ten years since my firstdirect involve-ment with the productionof this magazine. Yes, I'd writ-ten a few articles for CO in the 19805 and had workedfor CO Communications since 1992, but it wasn't untnI look on the job of coordinating the 50th anniversary,including the 72-page special anniversary insert, thaimy job responsibilities directly involved this magazineitself. Actually, the CQSOth anniversary insert was myintroduction to magazine journalism, since until then,I'd worked only in radio and television.

This is also my fifth anniversary as Editor of Co. Yes,my name was on the masthead as Editor as of theNovember 1999 issue, and I wrote the November andDecember editorials, but the truth is that the Novemberand December issues were largely put together byManaging Editor Gail Schieber, K2RED (thenKC2DHK), and Publisher Dick Ross, K2MGA. while Itried to get my footing and wrap things up with the ini-tial version of CO VHF. I've always considered theJanuary 2000 issue to be "my" first issue.

It's kind of a natural inclination when writing on a sig-nificant anniversary to look back at other milestonesalong the way. One of the first places I looked was thiscolumn in the January 1995 issue, as my predeces-sor, Alan Dcrhofter. K2EEK, looked back over 50 yearsof COS past. What he saw was a two-stranded con-tinuum-twinlead, if you'd like-the technical side ofCO, featuring a half century of reporting on advancesin technology, and the people side of CO, featuringwriting by some of the best and the brightest peopleour hobby has to offer. Among them were some of hispersonal ham radio heroes (a topic K1AAwrote aboutlast year), especially those with whom he'd had theprivilege to work with personally. For Alan, thoseheroes included people such as McMurdo Silver-.name I recall as an old-time radio manufacturer, butwhom he remembered as a person, writing in COandother electronics magazines - as well as others suchas Frank Jones, W6AJF, and Bill Scherer, W2AEF.

Often, you recognize people as heroes only in ret-rospect since, as Alan warned,

...at the time I had the privilege to meet and knowsome ofthese people, they just struck me as quirky and as playingwith a fewcards less than a lull deck. I knew theywere brightand innovative, but to what extent or how unique they were(and some still are) took a bit oftime tosink in ...For 50 years,CO hasconsistently offered the one intangible quality 01ama-teur radio that originally drew me to the hobby. Each editor inturn offered each succeeding generation of amateurs a newor continued series of heroes and legends to look up to andadmire. Yes, some did have feetofclay and were a bit quirky,but they all had the power to inspire us 10 be and do betterwith our amateur radio lives.

In looking back at that 50th anniversary issue, I seesome names who at that point were just people Iworked with, but whom I now recognize as ham radioheroes, for me if not for my generat ion of hams. Thesepeople include Bill Orr, W6SAI (SK) ; Don Stoner,W6TNS (SK) , George Jacobs, W3ASK; l ew McCoy,W1lCP (SK); Owen Garriott, W5LFl, and of course,Alan himself.

a_mail:

A couple of months ago, we moved our offices fromone floor to another in the same building. After I packedup everything in my (and Alan's) old office and movedit out, and after the movers came in and removed thefurniture, I went up to do a final check and saw some-thing on the floor, behind where my desk had been. Itwas a photo, one I'd never seen before, of Alan andme, sitting in the parking lot outside the CO offices nextto the ICOM ' Funmobtle," which was paying us a visit.Where the photo came from, I have no idea. Where itwas for all these years, I have no idea. Why it showedup now ... well, I canonly speculate. But if nothing else,it was a reminder of the continuity that has gone withoccupying the Ed itor's chair at CO over the past 60years. I am the magazine's 11 th editor. I've had theprivilege of knowing and/or talking with five of my tenpredecessors, particularly in the process of preparingthe 50th anniversary issue, and while we all may havehad different styles and different interests, we all haveshared the common goals of trying to bring the bestwriters and the best writing to the amateur radio com-munity. and at trying to promote the advancement andshare the fun and excitement at amateur radio.

On that note, I'd like to close with two more quotes,one from the very first issue of CO back in January1945--0ur guiding light and mission statement for thepast60 years-and the second from K2EEK in his 50thanniversary editorial in 1995:From the January 1945 issue:

This, then, is the raison (1"elre lor CO-a magazine lor theradio amateur, wilh a particular invitalion 10 the newcomer. Itshould not, however, be inferred that we shall confine our-selves to the ABC's01 ham radio. We visualize COas a mag-azine thai will stick with Ihe hamlong after the parts ofhislirstrig are dust-laden in the junk-boX, and as a monthly refresh-er course lor the old timer. While placing some emphasis onthe elementary, we are still under obligalion to carry throughwilh articles on modern techniques and apparatus. Similarly,we shall tonow up tradition (with which every ham must befamiliar) with all the vital news of amateur radio today andtomorrow.From the January 1995 issue:

When you consider all 01 the firsts in technology that COhas published, it isn't too hard to understand why we havebeen in existence for 50 years. CO has always fostered newideas andprovided ahcmebase for creativepeople who eacheditor felt were heroes in some respect. II you put thai muchtalent together, you're bound to come up with lois of goodideas that motivate other people.

I hope that we have continued to motivate you andyour fellow hams and that we will be able to continuedoing so for at least another 60 years. And while we'renot making the big deal of our 60th anniversary thatwe did a t our 50th, we've still got some special fea-tures and activities in store. The biggest is the "COGang" operating event that runs from January 1 toMarch 1-the first 60 days of 2005 (see details in lastmonth's issue and on our website)-and the specialoperation of COciubstation WW2CQ. In addition, overthe course of the year, we're planning some specialarticles looking back in time-plus we've got somethings on the drawing board to help keep ham radiofun and exciting well into the future. It's what we'vealways been about.

Happy New Year and I'll look for you on the air.73, W2VU

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Every January, over a thousand hams travel to Quartzite, Arizona, for a week inthe sun. They're all "RVers"- people who travel and sometimes live in bigrecreational vehicles . The gathering is actually much bigger, including hundredsof thousands of non-hams, but the hams have their own activities in a sub-eventcalled Quartzfest.

Hams Rough it in St~leat Quartzfest

BY GORDON WEST,' WB6NOA

Q uartzite, in western Arizona, is20 miles east at the ColoradoRiver on Interstate 10. It hasbeen a rock-hound's paradise since theearly sixties, and lately has become theMecca to well over a million visitorseach year who converge on this smalltown in a wave of recreational vehiclesduring January and February.

Start off with 2000 vendors of fossils ,rocks.gems,and minerals in outside dis-plays. Now add eight major gem andmineral shows, and add to it the 21-yearannual running of the Quartzite SportsVacation & RV Show. Next add over1000 ham radio operators with their bigand small RVs showing up at the sametime as the RV show, and then top it offwith a personal ham radio welcome fromQuartzite Mayor Verlyn Michel, W7BUE(photo A) , and his wife, Sue, KC7POP.

Ham groups can be found every-where. Hams who belong to the GoodSam group set up in their traditional spotright in the thick of the outdoor minerald isplays. FMCA (Family Motor CoachAssociation) hams had their own spotamong quarter-mill ion-dollar motor-coaches, and other ham groups like"Escapees" were peppered throughoutthe hundreds of square miles of desertRV parking spots, charging their bat-teries from the sun during the day andbecoming 100% self-sufficient in what-ever type of RV or trailer they came in.

The largest collection of ham opera-tors in one spot calls themselves"Ouartzfest, " parking their over 125

CQ Contributing Editor, 2414 College Dr.,Costa Mesa, CA 92626e-meu:

www.cq-amateur-rad lo.com

Photo A- Quartzite, Arizona MayorVerlyn Michel, known as ~Mayor Mike ~to the 1-milfion-plus RVers who visit theregion each winter, is known to hamsas W7BUE! (All photos by the author)

coaches, rigs, campers, cars, trailers,and motorcoaches five miles down theroad at a turnoff simply called "Mile 99. ~Just look for the antennas! This year, aswell as many years in the past, the hamhosts were Harvey and Margie, K5WMand AB5ZX.

~As you know, Ouartzfest is a simple ,little, informal, week-long campout inthe desert," comments Harvey, adding,

~We started inviting our fr iends out in1997, and it seems mo re want to comeeach year. We had 100 rigs last Jan -uary ." Harvey and his wi fe , Margie,would be our master of ceremonies for

a week-long schedule of ham radioevents, including :

Sunday: Campfire get-together andintroductions

Monday: Seminars and show-and-tell (photo B), all about Air MaillWinlinkby N4SVO (see "Winlink and Airmail : ACloser Look," fo r an introduction to thismethod of sending and receiving per-sonal e-mail via HF amateur radio).Midday, ladies' welcome by Margie,AB5ZX. Four PM ham radio show-and-tell , with bonfire into the evening.

Tuesday : Seminars on noise elimi-nation , BPL, and suppressing transmitinterfe rence to vehicle electronics, byGordo, WB6NOA. Afternoon and eve-ning get-togethers, inc luding hobo stewby Bob, N4YW R, and Nan, K0 4MZI.

Wednesday: VE test sessions byBob, K9WMP. and Laura, K9 BZY.Many informal afternoon show-and-tellsess ions aboard multiple ham radioequipped motorhomes (photo C). Em-phasis on Air MaillWinlink .

Thursday : Full morning of antennashow-and-tell. Learn how other hamsharness the sun for energy and usesatelli te antenna actuators to raise theirpanels and deploy their monster 20-footRV antennas (photo 0 ). WA7HRA con-ducts the individual vehicle tours withp lenty of technica l discussions ongrounds and rad iation patterns.

Friday: "l-hunt morning, hosted byJohn, AE 7P , and his wife . Pre-huntshow-and-tell of antennas, RF sniffers,and HT T-hunt techniques with bodysh ielding . Mid-morning, 4-w heelingcaravan over the mountains and downto the river, and back again. (Gordogoes out in his dune buggy, and while

January 2005 ca 11

Photo B- Quartzfest, a week-long gathering of hams among the annual visitorsto Quartzite, includes morning and afternoon seminars that regularly draw 100

or more avid listeners.

prowling for gold nuggets , nearly stepson a coiled rattlesnake sunning itself ona rock.)

Saturday: Hams from all of the othergatherings descend on the Mile 99Ouartzfest to take part in the daybreak,tailgate yard sale (photo E). This eventgets bigger every year, and hams suchas Don Wilson , N9ZGE, and his wife,Linda, KB90lC, drive halfway acrossthe state to attend and help out , as they

did throughout the week-long activities.Saturday afternoon, show-end-tell ofgood bargains we found and great dealswe had passed on to other hams.Saturday night, farewell bonfire andcookout.

Formula for SuccessThe success of Ouartzfest may be justthe atmosphere of the event. Everyone

is on their own, with no hook-ups otherthan one ham who had a complete-rook-ing hook-up outside of his motor-home--electrical box, sewer line, and awater spigot. Of course, it was a tongue-in-cheek setup that had unsuspectinghams looking around to see where theirdesert hook-up was located !

"Everyone brings firewood for thecommunity fire," comments Harvey. ~Atthe campfire, bring your spou se and lotsof tall tales," he adds. He points out thatthere are regular morning donut runsinto town just 5 miles up the road, andevery few days someone with a big pick-up truck offers to do a trash run backinto town to keep our BlM (Bureau ofl and Management) free campinggrounds clean and tidy.

~We hope everyone this year willcome up with new ideas and continuean evolving and ever-fresh approach tothe activities at our campouts." contin-ues Harvey, K5l JM, who can bereached for comments and suggestionsat .

"But the star attractions to this week-long event are not necessarily the spe-cific seminars, but rather all of the indi-viduals with so much ta lent thatOuartzfest brings to ham radio and hamradio operating," adds Harvey, ment ion-ing that one of this year's drop-in guests

Photo C- Comparing antenna systems is a favorite activityat Quartzfest, including scheduled show-and-teJl sessions

describing different setups.

12 CO January 2005

Photo D- Show-and-teIJsessions included one on ways ofusing satelfite TV antenna actuators to raise and lower hamantennas and solar panels, used to recharge RVlcamper

power systems.

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Photo E- Saturday morning at Quartzfest includes a ham radio "yard sale, .. whichlooks suspiciously like a flea market. Since the event is held on federal land, only

personal safes are permitted and commercial activity is prohibited.

Wlnllnk and Airmail: A Closer LookAtthe recent Quartzite ham radio gathering, the capability of sending and receiving free

e-mails over the ham radio Winlink system was jUdged one of the greatest technologicaladvances in ham radio communication lor both AVers and sailors. The Air Mail programis written by Jim Corenman, KE6 AK.

"Sending digital communications over amateur radio is nothing new, but recentadvances in technology and software have made it easier than ever before lor mobilehams to stay in touch via ham radio," commented Corenman. "All that is needed is somemethod to get messages to a fixed station, and from there to the internet. Thanks to theefforts of hundreds 01 dedicated system operator hams. and expert software developers,the pieces are in place," he added, suggesting that all hams should look at .

Air Mail is a 32-bit program that runs under a variety of Windows programs. Manymodems support PACTOA, including:

Kantronics KAM+ and KAM-98AEA PK232. PK900, DSP1232. and 2232MFJ 1276 and 12788Hal DXP-38PTe Pactor modemThanks to the many Quartzite hams for their input, and next year at Quartzlest 2005 we

may offer a full day 01 Air Mail PACTOA discussions and instruction.

was one of the fathers of digital radio,Mike Lamb, K7ML, founder of AEA.

WinlinkiAir Mail a Big TopicMike's attendance at the Monday morn-ing seminar on Air MaillWinlink e-mailon ham frequencies sparked a big dis-cussion on the gradual migration awayfrom PACTOR I to the more robustPACTO R II and III modes. SteveWaterman, K4CJX, presented a ta lkingpaper to the group discussing the sys-tem-wide PACTO R I use amounting toless than 7 percent of all Winlink traffic.Steve points out that PACTOR I usersmay generate more than 35 percent ofall airtime, and that it would take 80 min-utes to pass an 80,000-byte file usingPACTOR I, while the same file trans-mitted using the PACTOR II protocoltakes approximately 18 minutes, andless than 7 minutes using PACTOR II I.

However, many of the QuartzfestWinl ink operators indicated it was nottime just now to toss ou t your olderPACTOR I equipment. In fact, many ofthe operators were continuing to sup-port PACTOR I operation, and applaud-ed those PACTOR I PMBOs (PersonalMail Box Operators) who will continueto offer their specific stations for pass-ing this slower traff ic .

Winlink now supports 4800 users,and with a push for the use of Win link2000 as a tool for emergency pre-paredness, the growth is going to con -tinue at an ever-increasing pace.

"If in the future we find more suitableprotocol, PACTOR Will may make wayfor even newer technology-that is, upto the marketplace. Winlink wi ll con tin-ue to adapt our user population withsuch enabling technologies when theyarrive on the marketplace," commentsWaterman, K4CJX.

Winlink shares spectrum with manyother amateur activities, and they wantto make it as efficient and unobtrusiveas possible.

"Let's leave as small a footprint as wecan." adds Waterman.

"l ess scanning and faster protocolsare both important ways to achieve that .The developers of Winlink 2000 arecommitted to this process," addsWaterman, with two people attendingQuartzfest who have aided the Winlinkdevelopment-Temp, W4HZV, andTad. WA2FQO.

Sharing TechnologyThroughout the week, all of the RV hamoperators were doing somethi ng todemo new and exciting technology intheir RVs. I saw a terrific APRS (Auto-

matic Position Report ing System) track-er from Havacomm, developed by DickJernigan , W7DXJ. The device com-bines a GPS (Global Positioning Sys-tem) receiver and tiny Trak 3 converterinto a single package that gathers GPSdata and converts it to pack ets of post-lion information (see

_ .cq-amateur-rad lo.com

- ----- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Photo F- Ron Nilson, KD6LA, shows off his "Oct-a-Pod"ground-plane base system for fixed use of mobife HFantennas. The eight legs also serve as radials and create a

counterpoise.

questions about products in the ir area of expertise , but notto sell anything .

Planning for 2005The big question for Ouartztest 2005 is exactly how orga-nized the event may want to get. It was pointed out that anyone person doing the major organizing of such an event couldend up with not only the credit for everything that went well ,but also the responsibility of anything that might go wrong . Idon't th ink any single ham would want to take on this pcten-tial Hability. Is there a ham radio club with ARRL insurancethat might want to help sponsor Quartzfest '05, allowingHarvey and Margie to more structure the daily events anddevelop back-to-beck seminars throughout the day?Quartzfest could easil y turn into a fabu lous week-long ama-teur radio RV show-and-te ll by experts who literally live everyday with their mobile ham radio setups.

The Saturday swapmeet alone could be well publicized anddraw hams from hundreds of miles away , just like the thou-sands of rock hounds who come down and make theirexchanges in the field. Take a look at the website and see foryourself all that Quartzite has to offer when it comes to hands-on ham radio education for next year! (go to:

FCC Approves Rules for BPLDetails from the Report & Order

-

cs:eno3

~We recognize the concerns of authorized radioservice users in both theprivate andgovernmentsec-tors for the need to ensure that radio frequency (RF)energy from BPL signals on power lines does notcause harmful interference to licensed radio ser-vices. The record andour investigations indicate thatBPL network systems can generally be configuredandmanaged tominimize and/oreliminate this harm-ful interference potential. ..

FCC in ET Dcx:k.et 04-37

T he FCC's a6-page Report and Order adopt-ing new rules providing for the widespreaddeployment of Broadband over Power Lines(otherwise known as BPL) was released just afterour December issue went to press. Here are thedetails of the FCC's ruling. as well as some back-ground on the proceeding and why amateur radiooperators are concerned.

BPL is a technology that allows high-speedInternet access using the largely untapped com-munications capabilities of the nation's power grid.The FCC, a big supporter of the technology. saidBPL ...offers the potential lor the establishment ofa significant new medium for extending broadbandaccess to American homes and businesses [since]power lines reach...every community and geo-graphicarea....~TheCommission also believes thatBPL .....could serve to introduce additional compe-tition to existing cable, OSLoand other broadbandservices," thereby driving down prices.

Last year. the National Telecommunicationsand Information Administration (NTIA) studiedboth BPL operating characteristics and interfer-ence risks to radio reception in the immediatevicinity of overhead power lines. NTrA. a part 01the Commerce Deptartment. is the White House'sadvisor on telecommunications and spectrummanagement issues (see ewww.ntia.doc.gov).One 01its responsibilities includes advancing theso-called Information Superhighway.

The NTIA's findings. published in an April 2004report. made specific policy recommendations tothe FCC to encourage the rapid introduction 01BPL while protecting licensed radio services fromharmful interference. NTIA's conclusion was thatthe potential public benefitsof BPLwarrant accep-tance of a small and manageable degree of inter-ference. NTrA focused on the need for rules thataddress both interference concernsandBPLoper-ational requirements. Joining the BPL bandwag-on. it urged the Commission to promptly adopteffective new technical and operating rules thatwould ... ..contribute significantly toward fulfillmentof the President's vision for universal affordablebroadband Internet access.~

The FCCagreed. "This newtechnology offers thepotential to give rise to a major new medium forbroadbandservice delivery," it said, adding that thewidespread nature of the electric power network ' 020 Byron Lane, Arlington. TX 76012e-mail:

.....could conceivably offer these services to virtu-ally every element of the broadbandmarket. includ-ing residential. institutional.andcommercial users.~The FCCalso said it believed that BPL could"...pro-vide a means to expedite the availability of broad-band Internet service to consumers and businessin rural and other underserved areas:

In deciding the BPL issue. the Commissionworked closely with NTIA and the final rules incor-porate many of its recommendations. The FCCsaid that the NTIA's response was particularlyhelpful in suggesting ways that would lead to anorderly and timely deployment of BPL devices ina manner that reduces harmful interference tolicensed radio services. According to the FCC. thenew BPL rules embody:

1. new operational requirements to promoteavoidance and resolution of harmful interference;

2_new administrative requirements to aid inidentifying BPL installations; and

3. specific measurement guidelines and cernfi-cation requirements to ensure accurate andrepeatable evaluations of BPL emissions and allother carrier current systems.

"We believe these actions will promote thedevelopment of BPL systems by removing regu-latory uncertainties for BPL operators and equip-ment manufacturers while ensuring that licensedradio services are protected from harmful inter-ference." the FCC said in the Report and Order.

The BPL proceeding has been put on the super-fast track. The FCC issued a Notice of Inquiry onBPL technologies in April 2003 and followed it upwith a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM)just a few months later. In late October. theCommission went to the final Report and Orderstage...six months,start to finish. for a process thatnormally takes about two years.

What Did the Comments Say?The FCC said in the NPAM that it wanted publicinput on what the Part 15 radiation limits and mea-surement procedures for BPL systems should beand how best to protect existing authorized ser-vices. The Commission also suggested a data-base of BPL locations.

The comments beganpouring in last spring. andby summer over a thousand were received. As agroup. ham operators by far submitted the mostcomments.

Not unexpectedly. comments from parties witha business interest in broadband service over-whelmingly supported the deployment of BPL.They included communications. manufacturing.government, broadband service providers, ruraltelecommunications providers. public saletyproviders. local municipalities. BPL equipmentmanufacturers. consumer electronics manufac-turers. home security monitoring services. andelectric power utility companies.

AT&T Corp. said that BPL ...can bring an end tothe broadband duopoly of cable modem and DSLservice." The Consumer Electronics Association

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What Is this Proceeding About?And how does it impact amateur radio?

Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) is a new type of "carrier cur-rent" system that uses electric power lines to carry communica-tions by coupling very-low-power RF signals onto the AC (alter-nating current) electric wiring. These systems operate on anunlicensed.non-inter1erence basis under Part 15 of the FCC's rulesand must accept any interference that they receive.

Until recently thesedevicesoperatedon frequencies below 2 MHzwith very limitedcommunications capability. Campuscarrier currentradio systems have been operating for over 50 years in the UnitedStates et many universities as unlicensed broadcast radio stationsin the AM Broadcast band.

In the last few years, however, the availability of faster digitalprocessing and sophisticated modulation schemes have allowedcarrier current devices that can overcome the inherent noise andimpedance mismatch of power lines.

These new designs have led to the development of Broadbandover Power Line (BPL) systems thatusespreadspectrum and othermodulation schemes to effectively counter thenoisein theline.Theconsumer simply plugs a small power-line modem into an electri-cal outlet to receive a broadband connection from the BPL serviceprovider.

BPL systems provide high-speed digital communications capa-bilities by coupling RF energy onto either the power lines inside abuilding (called "In-HouseBPL~) oronto the medium-voltage powerdelivery lines ("Access BPL~) .

(CEA) believes that ...BPL will advance consumer use ofnew technologies and products such as home networks.

Incumbent spectrum users were not so supportive, howev-er. They expressed concern that the potential benefits of BPlwould come at the cost of new interference to existing licensedradio services . Among these were public safety, ambulance,road service, and other assistance parties. They wanted theirfrequencies in the HF (2- 7 MHz), low VHF (30-50 MHz), andVHF (72- 76 MHz) bands protected from harmful interference.

Aeronautical and maritime radio interests said the samething ... that BPl should not be permitted to operate in thefrequency bands that are used by the aeronautical and mar-itime radio users. Shortwave listeners wanted internationalbroadcasting services in the 5.9- 26.1 MHz frequency rangeprotected.

Bell South Corp. and Verizon Communications feared thatBPl could cause harmful interference with telephone networkand DSl services,because power linesare parallel to unshield-ed telephone wires. CBers were concerned that BPL couldcause harmful interference to the 27-MHz Citizens Band.

TV broadcasters urged that the FCC limit BPl to frequen-cies below 50 MHz and avoid operations in the low VHF TVband. The National Academy of Sciences wanted radioastronomy allocations in the HF and low VHF regions pro-tected ...and on and on. like prisons, nobody wanted BPl "intheir back yard."

Hams Echo ARRL CommentsHams were particularly opposed to allowing the operation ofBPL. More than 1500 submitted informa l comments via theFCC's Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS). Their state-ments generally reflected the position of the American RadioRelay l eague.

In summary, the position of the amateur radio communityand the ARRl was: (1) BPL should not be authorized at thistime , (2) if the FCC does proceed with BPL rules, any use ofamateur radio allocations should be precluded, (3) radiatedemission rules that are sufficient to predictabl y protect mobileradio stations from interterence should be adopted, and (4)

18 CO January 2005

In-House BPL systems use the 11a-volt power wiring within abuilding to transfer information between computers and betweenother home electronic devices, eliminating the need to install newwires between devices.

Access BPL systems typically use the meclum-vottaqe exteriorpower hnes (carrying between 1,000 and 40,000 volts) as a trans-mission medium to bring the high-speed Internet and other broad-band services to neighborhood users.

Tests have shown that Access BPL can be an effective meansfor "last-mile" delivery of broadband services and may be a com-petitive alternative to digital subscriber line (DSL), cable modemservices, and other high-speed Internet access technologies.

Ham operatorsareprimarily concerned about Access BPLsinceoverhead power lines are unshielded and can serve as radiatingantennas. This signal leakage can become harmful interterence ifnot carefully managed. That is, radio systems using the same fre-quency bands as those on which local Access BPL signals aretransmitted could possibly receive harmful interference if adequatesafeguards are not in place.

Most BPL systems operate in the range from 2 MHz to 50 MHz,with very low-power signals that are spread over a broad rangeof frequencies. These frequencies are alsoused bymany licensedradio services (including amateur radio) and must be protectedfrom harmful interference under the Commission's Part 15 rulesfor unlicensed devices.

the FCC should require Access BPL operators to implementspec ific interference mitigation measures. The l eague alsorequested that the BPL matter be placed on-hold for one year...in order to work out appropriate interference avoidanceand resolution standards."

Interference "Not a Problem,"Says Utility CompaniesBPl system proponents and several electric utility servicescountered the interference claims with arguments that BPLsystems are designed to avoid interference to radio servicesand that BPL operators have been wi lling to work with pub-lic safety and other radio service users to prevent or elimi-nate interference. They say their experience in trials showslittle record of interlerence and that the few complaints 01interference they did receive were resolved.

For example, one power utility company, PPL Telcom. stat-ed that it had received only four complaints of "suspected"interference in nearly 30 months of BPl operation, all fromamateur radio operators who were located a few hundred feetor less from BPl devices. Another power company, ProgressEnergy, similarly said that in its most recent tests ~...no BPLsite had any signal levels above S-Oin any amateur band witha single exception in one subdivis ion at approximately 25meters from the extractor and that the level of emissions atthat site would cause no interference unless an amateur werelocated practically on top of the BPL extractor."

The Envelope Please .. The FCC DecisionAfter considering all of the comments , research, analyses,and practical experience, the FCC said it continues to believethat the interference concerns of licensed radio users can beadequately addressed. That position was not unexpected .

"Access BPL systems will be able to operate successfully onan unlicensed, non-harmful interference basis under the Part15 model." FCC flatly ruled. ...(W)e find that the harmful inter-ference potential from Access BPl systems operating in com-pliance with the existing Part 15 emission limits for carrier cur-rent systems is low in connection with the additional rules we

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are adopting. ...(and) we observe that thepotential lor any harmful interference islimited to areas within a short distance ofthe power lines used by this technology.~

The Commission disagreed with theARRL's position that there is no reasonto act now. The agency's position is thatBPL offers ...an important opportunityfor establishing a new medium for high-speed Internet access and for introduc-ing new competition in the broadbandmarket:

The FCC said the rules it adopted aremore than sufficient to protect licensedservices from harmful interference.~Whi le some cases of harmful interfer-ence may be possible from Access BPLemissions at levels up to the Part 151im-its. we agree with NTIA that the bene-fits of Access BPL service warrantacceptance of a small and manageabledegree of interference risk.~

The Commission believes that addi-ticnal regulatory measures" can beimplemented in cases where interfer-ence occurs or impacts critical services.These additional measures will general-ly require BPL operators to reduce emis-sions or avoid operation on certain fre-quencies in order to protect licensedservices, to use equipment that can alterits operation by changing operating fre-quencies to eliminate interference, tomake available information that willassist the public in identifying locationswhere BPL operations are present. andto provide notice to radio users beforebeginning local BPL operations.

"In this way, the new rules provideeffective means for preventing anyinterfe rence and will ensure that anyinstances of interference that may occurcan be quickly identified and resolved.We emphasize that Access BPL sys-tems will continue to be treated as unli-censed Part 15 devices and as such willbe subject to the conditions that they notcause harmful interference and thatthey cease operation if they do causesuch interference, as required by ourrule s: the FCC restated in the Reportand Order.

Except for a few speci fic frequenciesthat are reserved for internat ional aero-nautical safety operat ions, the FCCdecl ined to exclude BPL operationsfrom frequencies used by any specificservice including the Amateur Rad ioService. "Rather. we bel ieve requiringBPL equipment to have the capabili ty toavoid any locally used frequency is themost effect ive approach to ensuringthat harmful interference to licensedoperat ions is avoided."

The Part 15 rules were amended, butwith minimum changes ...intended tofacilitate the earty deployment of BPL

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technology while protecting licensedusers of thespectrum."Thebenefits andadvantages of BPL are just beginning tobe recognized," FCC Chairman MichaelPowell said. "That is why it is importantfor regulators to exercise restraint andavoid heavy-handed regulations ... Wemust allow the marketplace to developthe full potential of this technology."

The New Rules:1. Define Access BPLin Section 15.3as: ~A carrier current system installedandoperated onanelectric utility serviceas an unintentional radiator that sendsradio frequency energy on frequenciesbetween 1.705 MHz and 80 MHz overmedium-voltage lines or low-voltagelines to provide broadband communica-tions and is located on the supply sideof the utility service's points of intercon-nection with customer premises."

2. Maintain the existing Part 15emi ssion limits for carrier currentsystems for Access BPL. "We contin-ue to believe that it is appropriate toapplythe existing Part 15radiatedemis-sion limits to Access BPL systems," theFCC said. "We arenot persuadedby thearguments of ARRL and others repre-senting licensed spectrum users thatthe current emission limits are insuffi -cient to limit the general interferencepotential of these systems."

3. Requirethat Access BPL devicesemploy "adapti ve interference mltt-galion techn iques" to remotely reducepower and adjust operating frequencies:

"(In) most cases the level of emissionsfrom Access BPL systems will be at orclose to the noise floor at distancesbeyond a hundred meters of an installedpower line.We recognizethat some radiooperations in the bands being used forAccess BPL, such as those of amateurradio licensees, may occur at distancessufficiently close to power lines as tomake harmful interference a possibility.

"We believe that those situations canbe addressed through interferenceavoidance techniques by the AccessBPL provider such as frequency bandselection, notching, or judicious deviceplacement. In addition, because powerlines inherently can radiate significantnoise emissions, good engineeringpractice is to locate sensitive receiverantennas as far as practicable frompower lines."Notchesare required to beat least 20 dB below the applicable Part15 limits on HF and at least 10dB belowon VHF.

4. Excludecertain public satety tre-quency bands from BPL operationincluding ~...national defense, maritimedistress and safety, aeronautical navi-gation and communications, emer-

gency response, and other frequenciesthat provide important safety andresearch services.."

The excluded frequency bandsamount only to a total of 1731 kHz, or2% of the spectrum within the 1.7-80MHz band. Also established are "exclu-sion zones" in locations close to sensi-tive operations, such as Coast Guard orradio astronomy stations.

"Fer all other radio communicationoperations not addressed in these spe-cial provisions, radio operators have theopportunity to inform local BPL opera-tors of the pertinent details of their oper-ations and BPL operators have theopportun ity to apply that information asappropriate to prevent interfe rence,"the FCC said.

"We do not see a need to establishAccess BPL-free zones around air-ports, military bases, hospitals, policestations, and fire stations.:" And noamateur radio bandswere among thoseexcluded from BPL operation. ~We donot find that amateur radio frequencieswarrant the special protection affordedfrequencies reserved for internationalaeronautical and maritime safety oper-ations," the FCC said, noting that, "...inmany instances amateur frequenciesare used for routine communicationsand hobby activities."

5. Adopt requirements that BPLsystems incorporate a "deactivationcapability" if they are found to causeharmful interference to licensed radioservices. "Our approach is to provideAccess BPL equipment manufacturersand operators with flexibility to designand implement a broad range of prod-ucts and system designs to meet partic-ular service and operational needs whileensuring that systems have the capabil-ities to make operational changes toavoid any interference that may arise.

"Parties who believe they are experi-encing interference from an unlicenseddevice are first expected to bring thematter to the attention of the operator ofthe unlicensed device. If that actiondoes not resolve the interference, theparty may then seek intervention by theCommission.

"The Commission will instruct theBPL operator to take immediate reme-dial actions, such as 'notching' or avoid-ing specific frequencies, or ceasingoperations." BPL providers must havethe capability to remotely adjust or shutdown any unit. FCC-ordered shut downwill be the last resort if other mitigationtechniques are ineffective in resolvingthe interference.

6. Requirethat Access BPL systemoperators provide informa1ion on theareas where their systems are in-stalled and other technical parameters

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Results of the 2004 CQWW WPX SSB Contest

Conditions were not the greatest for the46th running of the CO WPX SSBContest. However, despite much mut-taring and grumbling about decl ining propa-galion conditions. participation was equal tothe prioryear.and seven new world and con-nnentat records were set.

OXFrom Cape Verde, D4B took the top SingleOp All Band (SOAB) spot. AI, 4l5A, paid noattention 10 the poor conditions and set vetanother world record with 25.955,444points, surpassing his nearest competitor byover eight million points . Al also set anothercontinental record for Africa. Second placewentto Didier, FY5FY, loliowed by 9Y4ZC.operated by Jarostav. OM3TZZ. Fourthplace honors went to CT9A, operated byJusai-Pekka. OH6RX. and in fifth positionwas P40Y, operated by Andy , AE6Y. Sixthplace went to Daniel at FMfT93M ,and in sev-enth place was low power entry P40A (oper-ated by John, KK9A). Eighth place wasoccupied by VC3E (Ron, VE3AT oo): John,VE3EJ, was number nine ;and WK4 R (oper-ated by Bill, K4XS) completed the top ten.

The t o-meter category was again domi-nated by South American stations as l U1 HF,l 0 2F (l U1FAM op), and LU4FM (l U4FPZ)took the lirst three spots, respectively . Fourthplace went 10 NP3X, and low power entryl U3HIP rounded out the top five. On 15meters it was PX5E (Sergio , PPSJR) by overtwo million points over ED8EW (operated byOll i, OHOXX),while PJ2T operated by Marty,W1 MD, look third place.lT1F (l W9EOC op)was in fourth place and Mike, KH6ND, tookfifth. Twenty meters was dominated by4l6AM, followed by 9A8A in second, andIU9S (Giuseppe, IT9Bl B op) moved up tothird place. VK1AA14 was fourth and lV5E(PP5KE op) was filth . On 40 meters AN8AH(Pekka, OH1RY op) won, edging out YTOA(YU1EU op) who was second and T99W inthird place. Fourth was SN7Q and T90A(YT6A op) took filth place. Eighty meters sawS02R (SP2FAX op) setting a new Europerecord for the band over second-place Tine,S50A. 9A80AAA (9A5K op) was right behindin third, l X71 (l X2AJ op) was fourth, andYU7AV took filth place. Top band was wonby S57M, followed by OZ1HXO second,HA8BE Ihird,lY2BW fourth,and a low powerfifth place score from l Y5A (l Y2PAJ op.)

World low power SOAB honors aga inwent to John, KK9A operating P40A, whodominated the category. Second place wentto ZX2B (PY2MNl op), and third was CS6T(CT1 1l T op). Moving up to fourth place wasl V7H (l U7HF op), 4l2M was fifth , NF4A' e-msn:

22 CO January 2005

BY STEVE MERCHANT,' K6AW

D4B (AI, 4LSA op) was top SOAB highpower and set a new world record.

was in sixth place, HK3JJH seventh, LYON(LU2Nl op) eighth, VP8DGA (GOWJN op) inninth place, and UA4FER tenth.

Cesar , lU3HIP, won the low power 10-meter category by a slight margin , followedby PY2SBY in second place and PU2WDXthird. l T7Y (l U7YZ op) was fourth andlU6HPF was fifth. On 15 meters low powerAN8AG took first place, followed by KP4AHin second and l 37M (Z32PT op) th ird .AM7FTR was fourth and filth place went toFM5FJ . The 20-meter low power categorywas a close race: HCt AJO edged his sec-ond-place rival, AK2P (KC2 l l M op), by lessthan 100k points. Third place went to 9A7D(9A3HX op) and fourth was SP3Sl0.YUOHST (YT1BX op) was in fifth place. Thean-meter low power winner was NT1 E(K3BU op) , with T94DO second and YR5A(Y05TE op) third. HA6Nl took fourth placeand 113l was filth . Eighty meters was won by9A7DM, with SP4Z0 in second and S09UMthird. OM7AB took fourth place and S52Wwas fifth. The challenging ten-meter lowpower category was won by l Y5A (l Y2PAJop), with SP6LUV in second. Ol3SK wasthird, VE3MGY fourth, and fifth was 9A3RE.

The TribanderlSingle-Element categoryremains very popular. Emily at P43E wasfirst, 9M2RPN (GM4YXI op) was second,and V0 1AU was third . Low power entrantZX2B (PY2MNL op) took fourth place and9J2KC (JL1NKC op) was fifth . ZP 1C(l P5AZL op) took sixth place, AY8A(LU8ADX op) was in seventh place, HG8Rwas number eight, KG6DX nine, and PY7ZYwas number ten. The t o-meter winner in theTS category was W7UPF, with K80 Z in sec -ond place. K81A moved up to first on 15meters, followed by JA1 BPA in second andKBOENE in th ird place. Twenty meters waswon by G3PJV, with PC2T in second andW4l C in third. Forty meters was taken byOE5CWL. On 80 meters EU t AZ won, withPAOMIR second. Top band TS honors wentto OZ3SK, with N0 80X second.

The 2004 Rookie category winner was alow power entry from CS6T (operated byCT1 1LT) with just under 5 million points, fol-lowed by KG4NEP, and W1AJTNE3 in thirdplace . U0 6P (UN7PBY) took fourth andYT1 LT's low power entry won him filth place.

EC8ABT was the Band Restricted cate-gory winner.

Sing le Op Assisted was won by C4M(RW30 C op), followed closely by PS2T(Oms, PY5EG op), PJ4P (DF7ZS), RG9A(UA9AM op), and l U t NDC. The to-meterAssisted winner was PPSJD (low power),with K04MR second. On 15 meters LS70(l U7DW op) won , followed by JI30PA,9At P 9A6NDX op) , and OMOM (OM7ZZop). On 20 meters first-place OE6Z turnedin a very nice score, followed by YT7A(YU7GMN op). The au-meter top spot inSOIA) Assisted went to 4N600A (YZt ZVop), with low power SV5RDS (SV5DKL op)in second place. Low power entrant S06A(SP6IHE op) won 160.

The top ORP spot went to YT7TY, fol-lowed by UA38L in second place. Chas,K3WW, was third, with LU1 VK fourth andN81E filth. LW3DX was the top 10-meter op,EA8TX was the winner on 15 meters,AW9AB won 20 meters, ES6PZ was the 40meter champion, and ES8SW won 80meters. YU1 RA took the Top band honors .

USAThe top three spots in SOAB USA were hotlycontested this year. Bill , K4XS, took firstplace as WK4R, followed very closely by fre-quent winner Bob, K02M, and KN10X(K4ZW op) , with only a bit over 5,000 pointsseparating the second- and third -place win-ners. The West Coast was well representedby Dan , N6MJ, who operated W6KP as

Ghis, ONSNT, one of the ops at A6 1AJ,the top world Multi-Operator.Two Trans-

mitter station.

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KM7W for a nice fourth-place finish . KC3R(LZ4AX op) was fifth , with K7RL sixth andGeorg e, K5TR, again making the top ten inseventh place. WB 9Z was eigh th, NZ80(W8MJ op) was ninth, and low power entrantNF4A look the tenth spot.

NA4W was the 1O-meter champ, followedby W7EB. Bob, N4BP, was th ird as NU4BP,and low power entrants K90M and W7UPFtook fourth and fifth place, res pectively. On15 meters John, N3HBX, moved up to num-ber one. Second place went to K9ES, fol-lowed by K7RI and K5Z0 . W6AFA was fifth.Twenty meters was won by low powerentrant AK2P (KC2LLM opt, with WOAIH(K9MU op) in second place. W5FO wasth ird ; Joe, WA7AR (W7FP op) fou rth ; andlow power entry W91GJ fifth. On 40 metersBrad , K7ZSD, again was the clear winner,with NT1E (K3BU) in second and W8JWNthird. l ow power entries by KU6T for fourthand NR8U for fifth completed this band. The80 -meter winner was a repeat performanceby AA1BU with a big lead ove r second-placeKEl Y. W3BGN was third , with NE5D (K5RXop) fou rth and NT6K fifth. On 160 metersLeo , AA4MM , moved up to number one, withND8DX second, low power K4WI th ird, andKOCS fourth.

NF4A captured the US SOAB low powertitle, followed by Bill, AC0W, in second, withWB8TlI thi rd , Tom, N6NF, fourth, and N4lGfifth. K90 M was the 10-meter winner, withW7UPF second and KaOZ third. Fifteenmeters was aga in won by KalA, with Dick,W7ZA, again second as WZ7ZR, andW4SVO th ird. AK2P (KC2l LM op) was thetop 20 -meter low power entry , follow ed byW91GJ and WPX regular Ken, K6HNZ. Fortymeters was won by NT1 E (K3BU ooj. withPaul, KU6T, again in second place. K4WIagain won 160 meters in this category.

NF4A won the US TIS category, followedby KG1 E in second place. Jonathon,W 1CU, repeated last year and came in inthi rd place, N2GC was fourth , and Dick,W6TK, repeated as fifth. NF4A and WBaTlIwere the top two low power winners in TISca tegory, followed by Paul, WN6K, W7UPF,and K80Z. KG4NEP handily won theRook ie top spot, with W5TIX in secondplace and N4GAN in thi rd.

Single Op Assisted top honors went toW2AE, with second place going to W1US(K1LZ op). W0 8CC (Steve, N8BJO op) wasthi rd this time, followed by N0 2A and Glenn,WOGJ. K04MA had the top 1a-meter score ,as did K7ZS on 15 meters and W81HBB(W4W A) on 20 (low power).

The USA OAP winners were Chas ,K3WW, in first place, with N81E second , fol-lowed by WA 0VBW, KA1 ST, and KB0YH.Single band winners were W60U (W80 ZAop) on 10 meters, WB7A CV/2 on 15, andW6YJ on 20.

Multl-OpsThe Multi-Single category was won this timeby VP51 V, operated by K5CM, N5KW, andW5AO. WP2Z, operated by K9TM, KBCC,and WZ8P, came in second. CWOB was thirdand UA9AYA was fourth. IR4T moved up tofifth place, with OM7M in sixth. AZ90 Z0 was

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seventh, T07Twas eighth, l U2FA ninth ,andLY9Y finished in the tenth spot.

This year W4PA won the top USA multi-sin gle award with ops K0 EJ, KD4HIK,K4JNY, K4RO, and W4 PA. Second placewent to KODU with ops K0 DU, NOZA. KOCl,WA4HND, and KCODKX. Th ird place wascla imed by NN4N, staffed by GM3POI ,MMOEAX, and N4TD. Fourth place went toAJ9C and in fifth place was NW1 E.

In the Multi-Two category the competitionbetween first- and second-place entrantswas ferocious , with A61AJ (A61AJ, K2GM,N2AA, ON5NT, S53A, and SM7PKK) set-ting a new Asia M2 record and narrowlydefeating COOK (CT3BD, CT3 DL, CT3DZ,CT3EE, CT3 EN, CT3 HK, CT3 IA, CT310 ,CT3KU, and CT3 KY). ZW5B set a newSouth America record and was operated byPY2KC, PY1NX, PY l KX, PY5KD, andPY5CC. AU1A set a new Europe M2 recordfor fourth place, and KM4M took fifth.

The US M2 winner was KM4M, setnnq anew USA M2 record with ops K4JA, AJ3M,K9GY, KD4D, NW4V, AA3CO, W3BP, andWK4Y.Second place honors went to WX5S,with K6UFO, K6IF, W6RO, WX5S, N7MH,KT6YL, KG6D, and W6lD operating fromW6YX. Th ird place went to WA3Z, withWE3C in fourth and NM50 fifth .

First-place world Multi -Multi went toYW4M, operated by YV4BOU, YV5AMH,YV5EED, YV510J, YV5LMW, YV5 l MX,YV5M HX, YV5M SG, YV5NWG, YV50 HW,YY5AFD, YV5COA, and YY5HBO. In sec-ond place was 3B9C (ops DK7YV, EI5DI,F5VHN , G3BJ , G3RAU, G3SED, G3Xn ,G4IUF, G4KIU, G4TSH, GU4YOX,JH4AHF, K3N A, KF7E, and N7COO). Thethird-place spot went to OT4A, operated byYV4 BOU, YV5AMH, YV5EE D, YV510J,YV5l MW, YV5LMX, YV5MHX, YV5M SG,YV5NWG, YV50 HW, YY5AFD, YV5COA,and YY5HBO. Fourth place was won byUP5G and N041 was fifth.

N0 41 (N0 41, WI 4R, K4PK, W4DD, K9JS,OH7KD, K4BAI , WB4S0 , N4EVR, WW4lL,K4ZJ , KT4ZB, KU8E , and W4BD cps) tookfirst place US Multi-Mult i w ith a substantialmargin over second-place NX5M, ope rat-ed by NX5M , N5XJ, W5SB, KK5l 0 , W5PF,N1lN, KE4NT, KM5ET, KA5BKG, K5NZ,W5MN, W5MJ, N5XT, KG5U , K5GN,NT5TU, KC5YKX, and N5XZ. Third placewent to NRGO, with WX3B fourth andNE 1C fifth .

The Rest of the Storyl og submissions were about on a par with2003. Most logs were sent in Cabrillo format,which is the default requirement. We con -tinue to ref ine our log preparation instruc-tions on the WPX contest website (http://www .cqwpx .com) so contestants will nothave difficulties submining their logs. Pleasedo not rely on your logging program to getthe Cabrillo header filled out correctly , espe-cially if you are entering one of the categoriesthat requires a Category Overlay line in theheader. If you make any changes to yourCabrillo file , please use a simple text editor,not a word processor . There are two sig-nificant log submission changes for next

Dima, UA3AGW, participated in the conteston 40 meters.

year . See the 2005 rules or the website formore information.

Special thanks go to the many operatorswho travel to remote locations all over theworld so the rest of us have interesting andexciting prefixes to work. Also, we thank themany operators who arrange for special pre-fixes solely for use in this contest.

Thanks to WT41 for his log-checking soft-ware, and to EA3DU and OH5DX for helphandling logs from their respective coun-tries. Many thanks also to members of theCO WW Contest Committee for helping withvarious log -handling issues in local lan -guages. Thanks as well to N5KO and hisrobots;they are a huge help in the log-check-ing process.

We are checking serial numbers. If wereceive a log without sent or received serialnumbers it will reclassified as a check log. Ifyou encounter problems with serial numbersin your log, please take up the matter withyour logging program author. With close to5,000 logs to process each year it's impos-sible for us to fix everyone's log .

Biggest thanks go to SIeve Bona.NBBJQ.He has been tireless and is always ready tostep in to help with the contest.

The 2005 WP X sse Contest will be heldon March 26 and 27. Please plan to partici-pate. Rules can be found on both the CQmagazine site (www.cq-amateur-radio.com)and the WPX web site (www.cqwpx.com).Also please submit all logs e-maned logs inthe Cabrillo format. Send SSB logs to ,orsnail-maillogs toCOWPX Contest, 25 Newbndqe Road,Hicksville, NY 11801.

See you in the 2005 contest.73 , Steve, K6AW

(Continued on page 102)Expanded Results

The list of multi statio n operators andexpandedQRM canbe found on the CO web-site, www.cq-arnateur-raorc.ccm. in thecontests section under "Expanded Results2004 CO WW WPX SSB Contest:

January 2005 CO 23

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All models supllied with hinged t-beee,anchor bolts. load-actuated hand winch,8' steer mast. top plate, and rotor plate.

HDXS72MDPL 7'1: 22"8" \600 $8,281 $7,S49HDX-569MDPL 69' 23'8" 2440 $10,84 1 $9.899HDX-669MDPL 69' 23'S" 3450 $20, 943 $19,129

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Handles 20 square feet of antenna load at 50 MPH,asquare feet at 70 MPH.

55" 22' 670 $2.101 S1.a9938' 21'$" 355 $1 ,523 $1,3711

7'2: 22"S" 1210 $5.571 $5.04972' 22"S" 1040 $3.462 $3 ,139

89' 23'. " 1800 $9.034 sa.239

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TX-438

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If you have an older rig without digital signal processing (OSP), or alimited range of OSP options, consider two OSP solutions from GAPAntenna Products: the "Hear It" line of OSP speaker and inline module.Contributing Editor WB6NOA has our review.

CQ Reviews:

The GAP DSP "Hear It" Speaker.and Inline Module

BY GORDON WEST,' WB6NOA

G AP Antenna Products is well-known for its major-size,vertical HF antennas, such as the Challenger. Eagle,Voyager. and an antenna J happen to own, the TitanOX. These exceptional antennas have been nicknamed 'theultimate verticals,~ and the dramatic increase in receive capa-bilities they provide has led GAP to introduce two digital sig-nal processing (DSP) noise-elimination ' black boxes" (liter-ally) which we recently tested: the "Hear It" speaker and inlinemodule. Designed by and imported from BHI in England,each product incorporates some exclusive GAP engineeringthat perfectly suits each DSP box to literally anytypeof receiv-er, including my Kenwood TS-570, which already has twolevels of audio DSP built in. The multi-level GAP DSP unitsoffered more variations in specific DSP levels.

Digital signal processing subtracts unwanted noise thatroutinely surrounds incoming high-frequency signals. Firstthe analog audio is converted into digital logic. Then the DSPchips magically enhance the desired voice syllables and datasignals while subtracting the rush of high-frequency noisethat is riding along with the desired modulation you areattempting to decode in your brain or via computer. The DSPcircuit is actually a powerful computer that has been presetto lower that high-frequency noise floor.

However, the DSP circuits are not completely magic; formobile applications you should do everything you can to min-imize ignition static as well as other vehicle noise that maycreep in with the desired high-frequency signal. For maritime-mobile operation, DSP noise-canceling circuits work well, butonly after you have shut down the Morse-Code-soundingDanfoss refrigeration system controller, as well as invertersand battery chargers. DSP noise-elimination circuits workbest on atmospheric noise, not with mobile noise associat-ed with your vehicle or boat. It's the same thing with homeinstallations: The frying-eggs power-line noise and pendingheterodynes of BPL won't magically disappear with even thebest digital signal processing circuit, whether in the audio

"Co Contributing Editor, 2414 College Dr., Costa Mesa, CA 92626a-mail:

26 CO January 2005

Photo A- The "Hear It"speaker from GAPAntenna Productsincludes a built-in digital signal processing (DSP) fifter and

audio amplifier.

chain ordownin the intermediate-frequency (IF)stage of yourmodern HF transceiver. Certainly, IF DSP noise eliminationhas advantages over audio DSP circuits, but as you willsee from our tests, the GAP audio DSP black boxes workedvery well!

" Hear It" SpeakerThis GAP "black box" builds everything into a common rec-tangular external speaker box. The DSP circuitry and built-in audio amplifier require 12 volts from a common 2.1-mmpower connector , center-pin positive and fused. Typicalpower consumption is a half amp. You must have 12 voltsfeeding the box for the built-in quality speaker to work, andbe careful when you plug in the power cord. If you have thespeaker grounded to the top of your transceiver, plugging ina "hot" power connector requires precise alignment so youdon't accidentally touch the center of the connector to thegrounded metal nut surrounding the jack. Plug the cord intothe speaker first, and then into the 12-volt source! You will

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specifically designed to drive your exist-jng mobile or base speaker system. The"Hear lt" module runs with the commont z-volt plug, center-tip positive. It has aplastic ring around the entire jack, so youwon't need to worry about accidentallyblowing a fuse if you should fumble thepower-plug connection .

Unplug your speaker from your mainHF transceiver, and plug a patch cable

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However, since mobile installation ofthis speaker is most typ ical , you proba-bly only need to work the switches onceor twice.

" Hear II" Inllne ModuleHere is where the GAP "Hear It" inlinemodule (photo C) comes into play - thesame DSP chip-engine on the inside ,but

be greeted with a red indicator light thatshows the GAP "Hear W speaker ispowered up.

GAP also supplies the 3.5-mm monojumper plug cable that goes betweenthe radio speaker output and the speak-er input. The supplied cord is nearly 7feet long , so you should have plenty toreach between the speaker and yourhigh-frequency rig.Of course , the "HearW speaker will work with any type atreceiver , including scanner, shortwave,multi-mode VHF/UHF satellite , andeven a common CB radio.

The Hear-It speaker with DSP noiseelimination offers you eight discrete lev-els of DSP, set by a group of DIP switch -es on the back (see photo B). It co mesfrom the factory preset to level 6, a mod-erate amount of DSP noise eliminationthat tends to make voice signals sounda bit rolling and metallic, as would anyDSP noise-elimination system set toabove-medium level. Level 6 would begood for pulling out a digital signal suchas PSK31 or CW from a high atmos-pheric noise level on 80 meters. But forworking voice on 20 meters or 15meters, level 4 sounds much better .

For initial adjustment of the DSPspeaker, start out at level 1 (the mini-mum level) w ith the DIP switches on therear all in the "on" position . Run yourradio volume at normal level for a nor-mal sound out of the speaker, and thenswitch the top DSP switch to "en.~ Nowadjust the se nsitivity control (marked"v olume") to about three-quarters full,wh ich is a counter-clockwise turn of thelittle pot on the top at the speaker.

Next tune into a weak transmittingstation on HF and listen to the difterencein background noise as you turn noisecancellation off and on. Even level 1should give you some relief tram theatmospheric noise that rides along withthe desired signal. Level 4 providedremarkable noise suppression, withou