Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2087 for Friday, October 27 2017

Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2087 with a release date of Friday, 
October 27 2017 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. Hams in Ireland tackle a historic hurricane - 
yes, hurricane! Jamboree on the Air is in the log books now -- and the 
DX world loses a mainstay who becomes a Silent Key. All this and more as 
Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2087 comes your way right now.

(Billboard Cart Here and Intro)


**
HAMS CHECK IN DURING HISTORIC STORM IN IRELAND

PAUL/ANCHOR: We begin this week's newscast with yet another hurricane 
report. This historic weather didn't hit the Caribbean but landed 
instead in Ireland where ham response was informal but effective. We 
hear those details from Ed Durrant DD5LP.

ED'S REPORT: The names Ophelia and Brian won't be forgotten for quite 
some time in Ireland. The two storms swept over the nation in 
mid-October with Brian coming on the heels of its deadlier counterpart. 
Ophelia's arrival generated Ireland's first severe weather alert in 
history and according to the Irish Independent newspaper, even created 
the biggest wave recorded off the Irish coast during a weather event. It 
also left three dead.

Although the Amateur Radio Emergency Network was not formally called up 
for the storm, members nonetheless took to internet chat and whatever 
repeaters they could find or made use of simplex calling channels, to 
check on the well-being of people in their communities and beyond. John 
Ronan EI7IG told Newsline the hams had earlier tracked the storm and 
advised AREN members to prep for water shortages, outages and to get 
their GO-Kits ready just in case.

He told Newsline in an email that once the storm subsided the hams were 
able to power up their generators and make use of batteries on hand to 
conduct health and welfare checks. He said some Winlink messages were 
also exchanged with Raynet members in the UK. John said extended power 
outages plagued the south and southeast of Ireland. According to Reuters 
news service, Ophelia stranded more than 300,000 businesses and homes in 
Ireland without power. The nation's power regulator called it an 
unprecented situation.

A few days later, when the storm called Brian rolled in, hams and others 
braced for the worst. It was a tough storm -- but it was nothing like 
Ophelia.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Ed Durrant DD5LP.

(REUTERS, JOHN RONAN EI7IG, IRISH INDEPENDENT)

**
PUMPKIN-WATCHERS PUMPED FOR PATROL

PAUL/ANCHOR: One of the horrors of Halloween is the mischief that can do 
real damage in the form of pumpkins tossed on busy highways. That's when 
vigilant hams can help - like this group in Indiana, which Jack Parker 
W8ISH shares with us from the Amateur News Weekly podcast.

JACK'S REPORT: In Johnson County, members of the Mid-State Amateur Radio 
Club are making plans for their annual Pumpkin Patrol. For over 25 years 
the club has provided lookouts on all of Interstate 65's overpasses 
running through Johnson County. The hams agument the sheriff's road 
patrol on Beggars' Night by securing the overpasses from any tricks the 
treaters might have in mind. To date there have not been any reports of 
any debris being thrown on I-65 in Johnson County. Coordinator Dave 
Daily KB9LOT hopes this year will be another non-smashing success! 
Reporting for Amateur News Weekly, this is Jack Parker W8ISH.

PAUL/ANCHOR: A similar effort has been going for years as well in New 
York State where amateurs assist troopers' patrols on the overpasses of 
the New York State Thruway. For more news of the Indiana-Ohio-Kentucky 
area visit the website of Amateur News Weekly at amateurnewsweekly.com

(AMATEUR NEWS WEEKLY, UPSTATEHAM.COM)

**
REPORTING IN FROM SCOUT JAMBOREE

PAUL/ANCHOR: With this year's Jamboree on the Air in the log books now, 
stations have other work to do, as we hear from Bill Stearns NE4RD.

BILL's REPORT: This week in radio scouting we need to turn in our 
station reports for Jamboree on the Air.  This year we had a total of 
over 12,600 registered stations around the world for JOTA and this 
included 1,000 in the US topping last year's number of 500. Now is the 
time to file your report. This simple two-page online web form includes 
your station information, a bit about the numbers at your event, a 
couple comment boxes for feedback on the event and a place to submit 
pictures and videos.  Don't worry if your numbers aren't 100%, as I know 
I had to piece together mine from logs, team members, and some scribbled 
notes.  Just like a cub scout, do your best.

Now that you have submitted your station report, it's a great time to to 
meet your volunteers and debrief the team. How did things go?  Did you 
have the right gear? What was the most valuable piece of gear at the 
operation? Were there any issues with flow through the stations? Did the 
weather present any issues? And the ever important question, did we 
spend enough time planning?

As you answer these questions with your team, take time to visit our 
website and check out our planning guides for Amateur Radio Operators, 
Scout Leaders and our Countdown planner. We'd like to hear your feedback 
on what we can do better to help you plan and execute your radio 
scouting events in the future.

For JOTA station reports and information on radio scouting, please visit 
our website at www.k2bsa.net.

For Amateur Radio Newsline and the K2BSA Amateur Radio Association, this 
is Bill Stearns, NE4RD

(K2BSA)


**

AMSAT PREPS FOR NOVEMBER LAUNCH

PAUL/ANCHOR: The launch of a new satellite is almost here. Geri Goodrich 
KF5KRN tells us about the plans to send the Fox-1 satellite into orbit 
in California.

GERI's REPORT: They're counting down the weeks at AMSAT until the next 
Fox-1 satellite goes up. It's called RadFxSat and its date with Earth's 
orbit is the 10th of November. The satellite will be carrying a 435/145 
MHz FM transponder when it takes off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in 
California as one of four CubeSats riding as secondary payloads on board 
the Joint Polar Satellite System.

The satellite features a Fox-1 style FM U/V repeater with an uplink on 
435.250 MHz and a CTCSS of 67 Hertz. The downlink is on 145.960.  The 
"DUV" subaudible telemetry stream will be used for downlinking satellite 
telemetry as well as telemetry from its study on radiation effects on 
commercial components. FoxTelem software can be used for decoding.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Geri Goodrich KF5KRN.

**
TROPHY AWARDED TO ARISS INTERNATIONAL CHAIRMAN

PAUL/ANCHOR: There's more satellite news - this time from the UK - and 
it's all about honors being given to one key amateur radio operator 
involved in the program. Here's Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

JEREMY'S REPORT: The AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium had a full 
agenda when it took place earlier this month in Milton Keynes, England. 
There was one item on its otherwise well-planned agenda however that 
took one amateur by surprise: Frank Bauer KA3HDO, international chair of 
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station, was presented with the 
Ron Broadbent G3AAJ Trophy which honors amateurs for their contributions 
to satellite communications.

ARISS itself had received the Ron Broadbent Trophy last year noting the 
work of its UK team during the Principia Mission of astronaut Tim Peake 
KG5BVI.

The trophy is named for its donor who became a Silent Key in 2005 at the 
age of 80.

Earlier this year, Frank Bauer was chosen to receive the 2017 Amateur of 
the Year Award at the Dayton Hamvention.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(ARRL, AMSAT-UK)


**

SILENT KEY: PUBLISHER CARL SMITH N4AA

PAUL/ANCHOR: DXers and readers of two publications about DXing are 
marking the loss of a Silent Key who as a publisher provided guidance to 
many. Heather Embee KB3TZD has that story.

HEATHER's REPORT: The publisher of DX Magazine and QRZ DX has become a 
Silent Key. Carl Smith N4AA, who was a noted DXer as well, had been a 
licensed amateur since his earliest days in 1954 in Kansas City, 
beginning with the call sign WN0YFT. An Air Force veteran, Carl became 
W4NQA when he first moved to North Carolina. In 1997, Carl and his wife 
Miriam KB4C took their love of DXing one step further by purchasing DX 
Publishing, the parent company of both publications.

Having made it to the top of the DXCC Honor Roll, Carl was inducted into 
the CQ DX Hall of Fame in 2012.

After Miriam Smith became a Silent Key, he established the KB4C Miriam 
Smith Award to honor western North Carolina hams who demonstrate a 
commitment to public service and emergency communications.

Carl helped found the Western Carolina Amateur Radio Society and 
established the annual Asheville Hamfest. He had also owned and managed 
an amateur radio store in Asheville and was a founder of the 
SouthEastern DX and Contesting Organization's W4DXCC Convention, which 
uses Miriam's call sign on the air for special occasions.

Carl Smith was 77 when he died on October 20.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Heather Embee KB3TZD.

(ARRL)


**

BREAK HERE:
Time for you to identify your station.
We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the 
world, including the W0EF repeater in St. Louis Park, Minnesota on 
Saturdays at 9:30 a.m.

**
THERE GOES THE TELEGRAPH, AFTER ALL THESE YEARS

PAUL/ANCHOR: The FCC has just stopped enforcing some of its rules. Can 
you guess why? Skeeter Nash N5ASH fills us in.

SKEETER'S REPORT: When you think of an older, outmoded form of 
communication that may well have been rendered useless by telephone and, 
of course, email, texting and the web, what comes to mind?

If you answered "the telegraph," consider yourself in the same mindset 
on the issue as FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and the rest of the commissioners 
in Washington. The last Western Union telegram was sent in 2006 in the 
U.S., and barely four years ago - in 2013 - the commission stopped 
enforcing rules relative to the telegraph.

Now those regulations are scrapped altogether. This is the commission's 
way of removing what it considers unnecessary rules and giving the 
agency greater efficiency. Or in the words of the chairman
himself, it was [quote] "just a matter of good housekeeping." [endquote]

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Skeeter Nash N5ASH

(SOUTHGATE ARC)

**
HAM TV PROJECT CONNECTS WITH AUSTRALIA

PAUL/ANCHOR: In Australia, one amateur got a bit of a surprise when he 
caught up with a live HAM-TV transmission from the International Space 
Station. John Williams VK4JJW tells us more.

JOHN'S REPORT: Now here's a QSO to remember: Picture Tony Hutchison 
VK5ZAI, an Australian ground station for the Ham TV Amateur Television 
Project, in communication with Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli 
IZ-Zero-JPA. The contact was made in mid-October in the first live 
HAM-TV transmission to be received in Australia from the International 
Space Station.

It's not so hard to picture, actually, even though Tony himself didn't 
expect any images to come through He told the Wireless Institute of 
Australia that the video transmission was a total surprise as the ISS 
made its low-elevation pass over Australia. He thought at most he would 
get a black screen - but there was Paolo, rehearsing for an interview he 
was to have later with the Italian Red Cross. Tony immediately grabbed 
some still imagery from the screen and also made a video recording.

The recordings have since beeen sent to other HAM-TV equipped ground 
stations in Australia as well as Europe. That's sure one fancy QSL card.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm John Williams VK4JJW.


(WIA)

**

WORLD OF DX

In the world of DX be listening for Alain/F5OZC and Sebastien/F8DQZ 
operating as 3XY3D from Kassa Island, Los Islands between the 2nd of 
November and the 1st of December. Hear them on 80-10 meters    using 
mainly CW. QSL via F5OZC.

In Micronesia, Shu, JA1FMN, will be active as V63PSK from Weno Island, 
also known as Moen Island, from the 14th to the 18th of November. Shu 
will be working holiday style on 20-10 meters
using JT65, JT9, FT8 and PSK63. Listen mainly between 1700-0200z. QSL 
via JA1FMN, by the Bureau, direct, eQSL or ClubLog's OQRS.

You can hear Saty, JE1JKL, in East Malaysia, active as 9M6NA from Labuan 
Island during the CQWW DX CW Contest November 25th and 26th. QSL via his 
home callsign or LoTW.

John, W2GC, will be active in Aruba as P40W between November 20th and 
28th. John will be active in the CQWW DX SSB Contest on October 28th and 
29th as well as the CQWW DX CW contest November 25th and 26th. Outside 
of the contest, be listening for John on CW on 160/80m and 30/17/12 
meters, with 160 meters on the hour and 80  meters on the half hour. QSL 
via LoTW or direct to his QSL manager N2MM. John does not accept bureau 
cards.

A reminder: It's just a littlel more than 250 days to the World 
Radiosport Team Championship and the organizers would still welcome 
donations. If you feel you can help please go to www.WRTC2018.de for 
details of the event and how you can donate.

**

KICKER: COMMERCIAL STATION GOES BAREFOOT AFTER THE STORM

PAUL/ANCHOR: Finally, here's one more storm story as hurricane season 
starts to wind down. This story, however, isn't about rescue by amateur 
radio - rather, it's about a commercial radio station that stayed alive 
as a Florida hurricane raged, as we hear from Don Wilbanks AE5DW.

DON'S REPORT: As the Atlantic hurricane season enters its final weeks, 
we celebrate a special victory: the power of nature versus the power of 
100 watts. Hurricane Irma may have slammed Florida on September 10 but 
it was no match for the largest commercial shortwave radio transmission 
facility in the United States. Radio Miami International, WRMI, survived 
even though its 100,000-watt operation and its impressive array of 68 
towers and 23 antenna systems got knocked off the air.

That's not the end of the story, though. Ham radio operators who work 
barefoot will appreciate what happened next. According to a report in 
RadioWorld, general manager Jeff White said the station wasn't silent 
for long. Operating around the clock from inside a reinforced concrete 
building, WRMI was able to stay on the air with the use of a 25-kilowatt 
diesel generator, a 100-watt transmitter and a dipole. Yes, one heroic 
dipole.

Equally impressive was the much-lower-power station's continued capacity 
for international reception with reports from as far away as parts of 
California and Canada. Well things are back to normal now, and we wish 
our 100,000-watt friends at WRMI good fortune and of course, good DX.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Don Wilbanks AE5DW.

(RADIOWORLD)

**

NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Alan Labs; Amateur News Weekly; AMSAT-UK; 
the ARRL; CQ Magazine; Hap Holly and the Rain Report; the Irish 
Independent; John Ronan EI7IG; K2BSA; Ohio Penn DX Bulletin; RadioWorld; 
Reuters; Southgate Amateur Radio News; Ted Randall's QSO Radio Show; 
WTWW Shortwave; 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 www.arnewsline.org.

For now, with Caryn Eve Murray, KD2GUT, at the news desk in New York, 
and our news team worldwide, I'm Paul Braun WD9GCO saying 73 and as 
always we thank you for listening.

Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2017. All rights reserved.


***

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