THE REPEATER

NEWS OF THE NORTH SHORE EMERGENCY ASSOCIATION

February 1997

Snaider Named Celebration Manager

Meeting Date Scheduled

.675 Repeater Returning to Service

New Members Join

N.D.C. Offers Support Line

Sears Tower Repeater Users Needed

FCC Orders Wireless Phone Carrier to Interface with 911

LAMARSfest '97 on the Horizon

ITEMS OF INTEREST FOR THE REPEATER MAY BE SUBMITTED TO:

N.S.E.A

918 YALE STREET

WILMETTE, 60091-1429

Home Page Up and Running

In the traditioin of being on the leading edge of technology, NSEA now has its own home page on the Internet. [nsea.com] is the group's new "high-tech" "address", known as a URL (Universal Resource Locator). It was just a few years ago that having our own TeletypeWriter eXchange (TWX) address for the organization was "state of the art". Thanks to the generosity and technical expertise of Avrey Hara, our home page is ready for publishing club information and upcoming events. Any member interested in assisting with the home page should contact Randy Knowles or Avrey.

Snaider Named Celebration Manager

The Evanston 4th of July Association has named David Snaider to be the 1997 Celebration Manager as a trustee of the Association. NSEA member T.J. Andrew will again serve as fireworks chairman. Although NSEA has been assisting with the parade and fireworks for over twenty years, this is the first time that a member has been asked to serve in this capacity! Because of David's new responsibilities, more manpower than ever will be needed this year. All members, associates, and friends are welcome. Please mark your calander now, for this important 4th of July project.

Meeting Date Scheduled

A dinner meeting will be held on Thursday, February 27th 1997, at Hackney's on Lake, 1401 East Lake Avenue, Glenview. The meeting will start at 7:30 p.m. Regular members are reminded to tender a written proxy if they are unable to attend.

.675 Repeater Returning to Service

Repeater operator Randy Knowles has advised that repairs to the General Electric repeater have been almost completed. Discussion at the January meeting centered on interference complaints from members and other users of the frequency. Once the repeater has been returned to service, a one month trial period will be conducted. An attempt will be made to identify any possible "offending" CTCSS tone(s) that could be locked out. If the trial period results are unsatisfactory, a method of tone encoding will be pursued.

New Members Join

Two new members joined NSEA during the month of January. Brian Drake (574) has been accepted as a probationary member. He assisted with last year's 4th of July project, and has become active with the Red Cross and the U.S. Coast Guard Auxilary. Brian is a full time student at Oakton Community College.

Chuck Saunders (551), long time REACT volunteer and personal radio user, has become an associate and applicant member. He teaches math and computer science in Berwyn. Operating as "Unit 11", Chuck is well known in radio circles and will be a valuable addition to NSEA.

NDC Offers Support Line

The contractor that handles manual alpha-messaging for Ameritech, Inc.: the National Dispatch Center, Inc. (NDC), has a toll-free number to reach them in the event a user needs technical assistance. They can be reached at (800) NDC-USER (800-632-8737).

Sears Tower Repeater Users Needed

On one of the clearest General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) channels in Chicagoland, 462.650 MHz, NSEA operates a repeater. For almost four years this system has provided phenominal wide area coverage and unbelievable reliability. Both individual and family users are welcome. Several different CTCSS tones are active for group or personal use. Please refer interested parties to System Coordinator T.J. Andrew.

FCC Orders Wireless Phone Carrier to Interface with 911

Effective October 1st 1997, every 911 call from a wirelesss telephone that has been assigned a telephone number must be forwarded to the local Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP). Calling 911 from a wireless phone may presently result in the reception of a recorded message advising that 911 is unavailable, or the call may be forwarded to a distant PSAP.

By April 1st 1998, all Cellular telephones, as well as the Personal Communications Service (PCS), and certain Specialized Mobile Radio (SMR) operators "must relay the telephone number ofthe originator of a 911 call and the location of the cell site or base station receiving the call".

By October 1st 2001, the operator must provide Automatic Location Information (ALI). The standard for location information varies from the base station receiving the call for calls made via an SMR station, to as specific as either a cell site for Cellular phones, or a PCS cell site, which is a radius of 125 meters (roughly 410 feet) around the caller.

LAMARSfest '97 on the Horizon

The Libertyville and Mundelien Amateur Radio Society will hold their annual hamfest on Sunday, March 23rd, at the Lake County Fairgrounds, located in Grayslake. The doors open at 8:00 A.M., with those selling items allowed in at 6:00 a.m. Although this hamfest is not nearly as large as Radio EXPO, held each year in September, it is an all indoor event, so plan on attending "rain or shine"! Further information is available by calling (847) 234-4124.