[Attachment(s) from James KB7TBT included below]
Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2058 for Friday, April 7, 2017
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2058 with a release date of Friday,
April 7, 2017 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a QST. Hams respond to natural disasters in Australia
and Colombia. The Radio Communication Museum opens in the UK -- and
you're all invited to activate a lighthouse in Atlantic Canada! All this
and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2058 comes your way right now.
**
BILLBOARD CART
**
AUSTRALIA'S TROPICAL CYCLONE DRAWS AMATEUR RESPONSE
NEIL/ANCHOR: Our top story is a special report from Australia, where
Queensland is still repairing massive damage and counting losses from
Tropical Cyclone Debbie, which hammered North and Central Queensland on
Tuesday, March 28th. Amateur Radio Newsline's Graham Kemp VK4BB gives us
the details, which have been provided to us by Gavin VK4ZZ in
Townsville, one of the affected areas.
GRAHAM: Amateur radio responded, despite challenges of its own, as
Tropical Cyclone Debbie battered the tourist and agricultural centers in
North and Central Queensland. The storm knocked out the power
infrastructure, halting mining operations, destroying buildings,
bridges, roadways and crops and wiping out essential amenities in the
resort regions.
Hams along the cyclone track, experienced in storm response, made
preparations -- most especially in the regions of Bowen, Mackay, Central
Highlands and Townsville, according to Gavin VK4ZZ, who lives in
Townsville. They checked radio gear, dismantled fragile antenna systems
and ensured they had enough fuel to run emergency power generators.
Gavin told Newsline that by Sunday the 26th of March, hams with HF
antennas still aloft boosted call-in numbers on the local nets. He said
members of the Townsville Amateur Radio Club who were out providing
communications support for an autosports Hillclimb during the day still
kept an eye out on the predicted storm track updates.
On Monday the 27th of March counter-disaster authorities, which included
some embedded hams, tweaked their pre-deployment plans according to
Gavin. Bowen, one of the affected towns, was able to provide VHF
repeater coverage throughout the Cyclone -- and indeed was on the air
despite lack of power in the town -- thanks to the Bowen Radio Amateur
Group and in particular Geoff/VK4JDW who was powering the repeater off
the emergency generator at his house, where the repeater is situated.
The antenna system survived winds of as much as 125 miles per hour.
Further inland the Central Highlands Linked Repeater System remained
functional but its northern coastal node, the Midge Point Repeater, was
disabled by structural and power system damage.
Gavin said many hams became part of the recovery efforts, embedded with
the Queensland State Emergency Service and other responders. As the
cyclone swept out, hams put their HF antennas back up and have joined
the nets with stories of either dodging the bullet or being on the
recovery trail. He said all eyes are now on the city of Rockhampton,
where there were some evacuations as the city deals with post-cyclone
flooding from the Fitzroy River.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Graham Kemp VK4BB.
(GAVIN CHARLES REIBELT VK4ZZ)
**
COLOMBIAN HAMS AFTER FLOODS, LANDSLIDE
NEIL/ANCHOR: Hams were also on the scene in a Colombian mountain town
threatened by flooding and subsequent landslides. We hear more from
Amateur Radio Newsline's Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.
JIM MEACHEN: An amateur radio emergency response network was activated
on 40 meters in Colombia to assist with recovery efforts there following
flooding and a massive landslide outside the mountain town of Mocoa
(Muck-KO-a), near the border with Ecuador. With more than 200 dead and
many others missing or injured - and all electricity cut off - the
amateurs have been deployed to assist local fire departments and other
emergency responders, according to Roberto Rey HK3CW.
A state of emergency was declared after the Mocoa River and two
tributaries overflowed their banks into the town, where it devastated
residents' homes. The flood is considered one of the worst natural
disasters in Colombia in the last two decades.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF
(IARU REGION 2, ASSOCIATED PRESS, ARRL, NPR)
**
RESTORING RADIO AUSTRALIA'S SHORTWAVE
NEIL/ANCHOR: Radio Australia's shortwave service went off the air in
January but shortwave radio proponents say it's not dead yet. Here's
Amateur Radio Newsline's John Williams VK4JJW.
JOHN: The Australian Parliament is considering a proposal that would
restore Radio Australia's shortwave transmission services to the
Northern Territory as well as international audiences in the Pacific.
The controversial January shutdown sparked a public outcry and an
immediate call for reversal of the decision. In the meantime, Sen. Nick
Xenophon of South Australia has proposed an amendment to the Australian
Broadcasting Corporation Act of 1983 that would require the shortwave
station's return to the air, including its services to areas such as New
Guinea and Vanuatu. The senator has declared the shortwave service vital
to thousands of Australians living in rural areas, most especially in
the bush.
The broadcaster had cut the service, claiming it wanted to focus on its
digital offerings instead and noted that the move would save
$1.9-million annually.
Public comment is being accepted by the Senate Environment and
Communications Legislation Committee which is due to make its report on
the bill on the 10th of May.
One supporter of the senator's measure is former shortwave radio
engineer, Gary Baker, who told the Shepparton News recently that even if
the measure succeeds, it would take time to get back on the air again.
He said shortwave broadcast is a highly specialized field and staffing
is likely to be the biggest challenge if service is restored.
He told the newspaper [QUOTE] "You cant just grab someone off the
street and get them to run Radio Australia." ENDQUOTE
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm John Williams VK4JJW.
AUSTRALIAN PARLIAMENT WEBSITE, ABC.NET.AU, SHEPPARTON NEWS)
**
UPDATE: IN THE UK, RADIO MUSEUM DOORS OPEN
NEIL/ANCHOR: The waiting is over. The newest radio communication museum
in Great Britain has begun receiving visitors, as we hear from Amateur
Radio Newsline's Jeremy Boot G4NJH.
JEREMY: In the central England city of Derby, the new Radio
Communication Museum of Great Britain has been in the midst of two
construction projects. The first is the museum building itself, housing
exhibits that comprise all manner of wireless communication. The other
construction project has been the website, which is growing as its
brick-and-mortar counterpart does too.
The building now contains an operations room with transmitters
connnected to antennas; a mechanical workshop; an ESD electronics
laboratory and a variety of galleries. The museum has at long last been
open to groups by arrangement -- but formal school programs are expected
to get under way very shortly this spring.
The museum exists thanks to longtime radio amateur Steve Haseldine
G8EBM, whose profession is also in radio. In addition to conceiving of
the museum, he donated items from his personal collection to create the
first displays.
Hams like Steve are expected to be especially drawn to the operations
room with its selection of radios dating from the 1930s to the present
day - from Collins and Drake and Eddystone to Hallicrafters and
Flexradio. There are even former military and commercial AM radios from
Labgear and Geloso. The museum, it seems, is now QRV.
For more information visit radiocommunicationmuseum.org
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH.
**
DON'T FORGET OUR YOUNG HAM OF THE YEAR
NEIL/ANCHOR: We remind you once again of Amateur Radio Newsline's
commitment to honoring young talent. Is there a young radio operator who
particularly impresses you? Nominations have opened for the Bill
Pasternak Memorial Young Ham of the Year Award for amateurs 18 or
younger who reside in the United States, its possessions or any Canadian
province. Find application forms on our website arnewsline.org under the
"YHOTY" tab. The award will be presented on August 19th at the
Huntsville Hamfest in Alabama.
Visit our website for details at arnewsline.org. Nominations close May
31, and that's just a few weeks away.
**
**
BREAK HERE
Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio
Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including the EARS
Wide Area Repeater Network W9EAR in Vincennes, Indiana on Mondays at
8:30 p.m.
**
**
LIGHTHOUSE SHINES ITS WAY TO A QSO
NEIL/ANCHOR: Imagine what it would be like if your ham shack were a
lighthouse on Canada's Prince Edward Island. This report from Amateur
Radio Newsline's Paul Braun WD9GCO may help.
PAUL: For hundreds of years mariners relied on lighthouses to navigate
and avoid hazards in the dark and in foggy conditions. Today, sonar and
GPS has mostly rendered lighthouses obsolete. But many still exist, and
one ham, George Dewar, VY2GF, has great plans for some of them on Prince
Edward Island. He explains:
GEORGE: They have been taken over by community groups and turned into
tourist attractions. A lot of them have gift shops and museums
associated with them. Even though they're not used for marine navigation
much now they are an integral part of the community here on Prince
Edward Island because tourism here in Prince Edward Island is our
third-biggest industry after farming and fishing.
So, my friend Bernie from Monkton is a bit of an antenna expert so he
brings some verticals over and we set up and have fun for the weekend.
This year is Canada's one hundred and fiftieth birthday, and the idea of
Canada started here in Prince Edward Island in 1864. So they've
designated the lighthouse at East Point as the Confederation Lighthouse
because it's the only lighthouse still standing that was built in 1867.
So basically what I'm doing is extending an invitation to anybody and
everybody to come to Prince Edward Island for activating a lighthouse
for a particular weekend. We'd sure like people to sit in with us and
operate, and there are a lot of lighthouses around so if somebody wanted
to do an individual activation it'd be quite easy to do. As a matter of
fact a gentleman called Bob from Ohio, November 8 Golf Uniform, he's
going to activate a lighthouse at Cape Bear which has the distinction of
being the only radio station in Canada that made a contact with the
Titanic in 1912 while she was sinking.
PAUL: I asked George where people could go to get more information on
the lighthouses and activations:
GEORGE: If you go onto my QRZ page with this callsign, VY2PLH, I've got
our past activations listed there, I've got the upcoming ones, and
there's also a link to a website there for the PEI Lighthouse Society.
On my page there I've got my email address and I would welcome people if
they were to send me an email and I'll help them out all I can.
PAUL: So if you enjoy collecting special activations, or even if youre
interested in activating a lighthouse yourself (according to the society
website, there are 63 of them), look George up and send him an email.
Hell be happy to have you come visit.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, Im Paul Braun, WD9GCO
**
FIRSTNET FOR THOSE FIRST ON THE SCENE
NEIL/ANCHOR: Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has announced a deal for a
nationwide wireless network for first responders. It's called FirstNet,
as we hear from Phil Thomas W8RMJ in this report courtesy of Amateur
News Weekly.
PHIL: The U.S. government has awarded AT&T the FirstNet Project. It is a
$6.5-billion deal with AT&T to build a nationwide wireless network for
first responders, a project that was first proposed after the 911
terrorist attacks. This decision is a major step forward for FirstNet.
This will be a nationwide wireless broadband network that police, fire
and other police responders will use exclusively during a major
emergency. This is one of a dozen of recommendations made by the 911
Commission in 2004. Currently, the first responders share wireless
networks with regular customers, meaning communications get clogged due
to network congestion during a major emergency. Commerce Department
Secretary Wilbur Ross announced a 25-year contract with AT&T and its
partners which include Motorola Solutions. Working with FirstNet, AT&T
will build and manage a network that will strengthen and modernize
public safety communications capabilities enabling them to operate
faster, safer and effectively when lives are on the line. AT&T will work
with FirstNet to deliver a system that will cover all 50 states, five
U.S. territories and the District of Columbia. Work on FirstNet is
expected to generate 10,000 jobs across the company as well as its
contractors over the next two years. The network buildout is scheduled
to begin later this year.
NEIL: That report was from Phil Thomas W8RMJ of Amateur News Weekly. For
more of Amateur News Weekly, visit their website at amateurnewsweekly.com
**
THE WORLD OF DX
In the world of DX, Jean-Marc, F5SGI, is active as EA6/F5SGI between
April 9th and 15th from Minorque Island. He will be on the HF bands
using CW only. Send QSL cards to his home callsign, direct or via the
Bureau.
Listen for Jean, 5T0JL, who will operate from Mauritania using the
special callsign 5T3MM
between April 12th and April 18th. Jean will participate in the CQ
Manchester Mineira DX Contest, which is taking place April 15th and
16th. Send QSL cards via PY4KL.
Helmut, DJ7CF, is active from Jamaica until April 28th as 6Y5/DJ7CF.
Although his preference is to operate on 20 meters and 17 meters, listen
for him on various HF bands operating in CW, SSB and the Digital modes.
Send QSL cards to his home callsign via the Bureau.
**
KICKER: A NET IN THE NAME OF FRIENDSHIP
NEIL/ANCHOR: Finally, we've already told you about World Amateur Radio
Day on Tuesday, April 18. It's an on-air celebration of the day the
International Amateur Radio Union was created in Paris. But even if you
can't join everyone on the HF bands, you don't have to feel left out.
Amateur Radio Newsline's Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT explains.
CARYN'S REPORT: Hams won't necessarily have to find themselves somewhere
between 160 and 10 meters to mark World Amateur Radio Day. Find them
instead on the World Friendship Net, which operates on VOIP/EchoLink on
the Western Reflector using IRLP node 9251 of the Nevada Amateur Radio
Repeaters group. Organizer John DeRycke W2JLD of Rochester, New York
says he expects things to get busy.
JOHN: We first started this net three years ago. I was the only person
doing it and we were doing it on the World Conference Server. The
following year I got a hold of the conference server owners and system
administrators and told them what I wanted to do and they were all on
board. Now, in the third year, we have eight conference servers that are
going to be hooked up. There will be multiple repeaters and links. I
have contaced several ham radio media outlets to promote World Amateur
Radio Day. So this event is our flagship event over on the World
Conference Server.
CARYN: John believes ham radio's spirit of friendship translates into
giving access to amateurs who ordinarily might be left out. This effort
is inclusive: Hams who aren't on HF - or can't be on HF - can still get
in on the action.
JOHN: We get a wide variety of connections but EchoLink certainly
provides a platform as an introductory platform, especially for those
who can't afford an HF rig or dont have the money to have an antenna. We
have had people that checked in that are in health care facilities that
can't bring in an HF rig or an HT, so for them to use EchoLink, it
really provides an ability for them to get out there and hit that Push
to Talk Key.
CARYN: He said last year there were more than 300 check-ins from 33
international stations during its 10 hours on the air for World Amateur
Radio Day.
JOHN: It's just been so successful, I don't know what I'm going to do
next year.
CARYN: The spirit of global friendship is alive and well, especially on
April 18 -- and especially on Echolink World Conference Server 479886 or
IRLP Node 9251. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT.
**
NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Alan Labs; Amateur News Weekly; the ARRL;
CQ Magazine; Gavin Reibelt VK4ZZ; Hap Holly and the RAIN Report; Irish
Radio Transmitters Society; Ohio-Penn DX Bulletin; QRZ.COM; Radio
Communication Museum of Great Britain; Southgate Amateur Radio News; Ted
Randall's QSO Radio Show; the Wireless Institute of Australia; WTWW
Shortwave; the YL Beam Newsletter; and you our listeners, that's all
from the Amateur Radio Newsline. Please send emails to our address at
newsline@arnewsline.org. More information is available at Amateur Radio
Newsline's only official website located at arnewsline.org.
For now, with Caryn Eve Murray, KD2GUT, at the news desk in New York,
and our news team worldwide, I'm Neil Rapp WB9VPG in Bloomington,
Indiana saying 73 and as always we thank you for listening.
Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2017. All rights reserved.
***
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