NEWSLINE RADIO - CBBS EDITION #51 - POSTED 04/26/92 **************************************************************** * * * * * ***** * * **** * ***** * * ***** * * ** * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * *** * ** * *** * * * * * *** * * * ** * * ** * * * * * ** * * * * * ***** * * **** ***** ***** * * ***** * * * * **** * **** ***** *** * * * * * * * * * * * * * **** ***** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * **** ***** *** * * * **************************************************************** Check with your local amateur radio club to see if NEWSLINE can be heard weekly on the air in your area. Articles may be reproduced if printed in their entirety and credit is given to AMATEUR RADIO NEWSLINE as being the source. For further information about the AMATEUR RADIO NEWSLINE, please write to us with an SASE at P.O. Box 463, Pasadena, CA 91102. Thank You NEWSLINE **************************************************************** Some of the hams of NEWSLINE RADIO... WA6ITF WB6MQV WB6FDF K6DUE W6RCL N6AHU N6AWE N6TCQ K6PGX N6PNY KU8R N8DTN W9JUV KC9RP K9XI KB5KCH KC5UD KC0HF G8AUU DJ0QN and many others in the United States and around the globe!!! **************************************************************** [767] MICHAELS The next door neighbors of Tuscon radio amateur Joe Michaels, W4DDV, have lost their federal court legal battle to have the ham operator ruled as being a common law nuisance. An Arizona trial court has found that the FCC, and only the FCC has exclusive jurisdiction of Radio Frequency interference matters, and that state courts are precluded from remedying any alleged private nuisance caused by interference from the operation of a nearby ham radio operator. On April 25th, 1991, the neighbors Arthur Still and his wife brought the action against Michaels in the Federal District Court for Arizona. Still's alleged that Michael's ham radio operations were an obstacle to their enjoyment of life, that it decreased their property value and generated health hazards through the generation of electro-magnetic fields. But the court ruled that it has considered the preemption issue and has concluded that the jurisdiction to control interference over the airwaves is the exclusive province of the FCC. The court says that it does not have the authority to review a decision made by the Federal Communications Commission. Judge Richard Bilby who heard the case says that authority lies only in the United States Court of Appeals. ********** FINE The FCC's enforcement bulldozer is chugging right along with yet another heavy fine levied against a private radio user. This time its a CB operator. The commission says that a Notice of apparent Liability in the sum of $10,000 has been issued to David Plourde of Lewiston, Maine. This, for his alleged use of a non approved transmitter and linear amplifier on 27.215 MHz. The Commission says that use of a non type accepted transmitter voided Plourde's authorization to operate a CB station. They add that he has been the subject of several complaints since moving to his present location. The FCC also alleges that Plourde has been less than cooperative in addressing these complaints. ********** TEEN-HACKERS EMBEZZLE MEGABUCKS What authorities are describing as a nationwide network of predominantly teenie-bopper computer hackers is being charged with making possibly millions of dollars of fraudulent credit card purchases and of breaking into numerous confidential credit-rating files. As many as a thousand hackers ranging in age from fourteen to twenty five years have shared this information for at least the past four years according to San Diego Detective Dennis Sadler. Sadler and other law enforcement officials nationwide are now in the process of rounding up the rest of the group. In Kettering, Ohio two teens are facing felony charges for allegedly being a part of the nationwide network. The two youngsters age seventeen and fifteen, were charged earlier this month according to Detective Tom McEwan. A Juvenile court will determine their penalty if they are convicted in an upcoming trial. Some of the information obtained by the hackers came from the Atlanta, Georgia based Equifax Credit Information Service. Equifax, one of the nations three largest credit bureaus, has a database that includes 170 million credit files but it is believed that fewer than twenty five files were compromised. Detective Sadler explained that the teen-hackers had the ability to create credit card accounts and make fraudulent credit card purchases. Officers accidentally stumbled on the nationwide hacker network while investigating a local case of credit card fraud in the San Diego area. An alleged hacker arrested in late March provided the information of the rings existence to both police and to the F.B.I. In addition to the arrests in Ohio and California, seizures of computers and related items have been made in New York City, Philadelphia and Seattle. Its unknown if any of those involved are hams. ********** OBRIAN Two weeks ago we reported on the way an unfounded rumor spread by packet radio had damaged the reputation of MFJ Enterprises. This, after a false message accusing the firm of supplying virus infected disks went out nationwide. Two hams who would not spend the time to check out the source of unfounded rumors may have damaged the reputation of a pair of amateur radio software suppliers. At least one says that he has considered litigation but has decided that its probably not worth the bother. He is Jay O'Brian, W6GO. O'Brian is the co-publisher of the W6GO/K6HHD QSL Manager List and also supplies DX oriented software. According to W6GO, a packet SYSOP in Florida sent him some pre-formatted disks to copy files onto. O'Brian obliged and then mailed the disks back. Later, an associate of the SYSOP found that the disks were infected with the Michaelangelo virus. It was the SYSOP that had infected the disks, but in a panic he instead sent out a message on packet to another SYSOP with the header stating "VIRUS ON GO-LIST DISK." The text of the message read that the infected disk had been received from W6GO and contained the Michaelangelo virus! Now, as if this were not enough damage,the message was then taken put out on a major corporations internal communications network where it was delivered to hundreds of employees worldwide. Many of them were amateur radio operators. Several of those who read the erroneous message immediately called everyone they could think of, telling them that any disks that they had from W6GO may contain a virus. No verification was done, and the false information was just blindly distributed to possibly hundreds of readers. Only after all of this damage had been done to W6GO's personal and business reputation did the SYSOP bother to call O'Brian to discuss the problem. W6GO immediately ran various viral scan programs on all of his disks. He found no viruses. And, no other sysop reported finding any viruses on their disks. In the end, it was determined that the source of the virus on the infected disks was the complaining SYSOP himself. That he had wantonly spread false and misleading information concerning the quality of merchandise delivered by W6GO making the manufacturer into the victim! The bottom line? Well in the past few weeks packet radio has proven that it is the best back-yard fence ever devised for story telling. We've had the MFJ rumor, the phony HTX 202 radio modification and this problem for W6GO. But that's not what Packet radio is meant to do. Maybe everyone had better keep in mind the legal side of the issue. When you post anything on packet you are not just a writer. You are also a publisher and are governed by libel and slander laws. We hope that it won't take a court battle to quiet down the gossips that seem to be permeating the packet radio networks nationwide. ********** SAREX vs PACKET EXPERIMENT The recent STS-45 SAREX mission was also the test bed for an important experiment to try and determine if any interference exists between terrestrial packet and shuttle amateur radio operations. On Match 24th, the ARRL used its W1AW facility to issue Special Bulletin requesting that hams document any such mutual interference and report it to them. These reports go directly to Rosalie White, WA1STO, Educational Director, ARRL, 225 Main Street, Newington Connecticut, 06111. ********** LAST VOICE The Television documentary titled the Last Voice from Kuwait has been selected as recipient of journalisms prestigious National Headliner Award. Last Voice from Kuwait is the story of amateur radio's important role in operation Desert Storm. Communications were mainly through a brave and daring Kuwaiti amateur named; Abduljabbar Marafie 9K2DZ. For seven months Marafie radioed valuable information out of Kuwait. Through a small APLINK network of world-wide amateurs, the information was gathered and then relayed to various United States governmental and military departments for its informative content into Iraqi activities inside Kuwait. The 25 minute video is available from the ARRL and makes an excellent program for club meetings. ********** SUMMER CES The 1992 Summer Consumer Electronics Show will be the first open to the public in its twenty-five year history. The Electronic Industries Association which sponsors C.E.S. twice annually says that it will open the show to general admission on May 30 and 31. The Summer C.E.S. is held at the McCormack Place Exhibition Center in Chicago, Illinois. Admission will be $10 at the door or $8 for advance registration. This show normally pulls about 50,000 attendees even though access to has always been strictly limited to those involved in the manufacture, importation, wholesale and/or retail of consumer electronics and allied items. The Winter C.E.S. which is held in Las Vegas Nevada traditionally pulls at least 65,000 industry attendees annually. ********** FR. MORAN We are sad to report that one of the worlds most beloved DXers has passed from the scene. Father Marshal Moran, 9N1MM is reported to have died the evening of April 13 in a Delhi, India hospital. According to a posting by Bob Burns, K1RB on Prodigy, Father Moran's death came shortly after he had been hospitalized with what was believed to have been congestive heart failure. Known to many as the ham radio voice of Nepal, Father Moran was a Jesuit Priest who had many friends worldwide as a result of amateur radio. Until his resent illness, 9N1MM could regularly be found on the 256 DX net. ********** * * * Newsline Copyright 1992 all rights are reserved. * * * From AV-Sync (404) 320-6202 1200/2400/9600+ HST/v.32/v.42