Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2114 for Friday, May 4, 2018
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2114 with a release date of Friday,
May 4, 2018 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a QST. Hams respond to massive fires in Arizona. Get
ready for a test of cross-band operations - and yes, you can be part of
Britain's Royal Wedding later this month. All this and more as Amateur
Radio Newsline Report 2114 comes your way right now.
**
BILLBOARD CART
***
BREAKING NEWS: AMATEUR KILLED IN GEORGIA PLANE CRASH
JIM/ANCHOR: We begin this week with breaking news. The May 2nd crash of
an Air National Guard cargo plane has claimed the life of a ham radio
operator who had been involved in the recent storm recovery in Puerto
Rico. The ARRL's Southeastern Division confirmed the identity of Silent
Key Eric Circuns WP4OXB of Rio Grande Puerto Rico. Eric was one of the 9
crew members killed shortly after the Hercules C-130 aircraft took off
from Georgia enroute to Arizona. Media reports indicated the plane,
which was 60 years old, had recently been in for repairs and was
scheduled to be decommissioned when it reached Arizona.
**
HAMS STEP UP TO AID WITH ARIZONA'S 'TINDER FIRE'
JIM/ANCHOR: We also have an update on the massive fire sweeping through
northern Arizona - and, of course, the amateur response. Here's Paul
Braun WD9GCO.
PAUL'S REPORT: Its been argued that in this world of the Internet and
cell phones that amateur radio is more or less obsolete. But when lives
are at stake, and conditions render all modern communication systems
unusable, amateur radio operators prove time and time again that our
obsolete system works.
That is definitely the case in Flagstaff, Arizona where the Tinder Fire,
started by an illegal campfire that was abandoned, burned more than
11,000 acres and damaged or destroyed more than 40 homes during the last
days of April and the first days of May. As many as 700 firefighters are
currently on site.
As reported by 12 News in Phoenix, the local ARES chapter, led by
district coordinator Joe Hobart, was ready to take to the airwaves when
cell service at the fire line began to fail. Hobart, along with
husband-and-wife team Bill and Mary Lou Hagan were setting up at the
Coconino County Emergency Operations Center on Sunday the 29th of April
when traffic started to flow through ARES instead of the cell network.
Hams in the field are helping to relay traffic to and from the front
lines and working with authorities to coordinate evacuations if necessary.
Mary Lou Hagan told the TV station Thats what youre here for. Youre
here to help your neighbors and theyre our neighbors and the firemen -
you have to support them.
As Newsline goes to production, the fire is still burning and has only
been approximately seven percent contained. Arizona Governor Doug Ducey
declared a state of emergency on Monday, April 30th.??If youre in the
area and need more information, please call the EOC at 928-679-8393.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, Im Paul Braun, WD9GCO
**
SILENT KEY: SANDRA HEYN WA6WZN OF COSTA MESA, CALIF.
JIM/ANCHOR: The amateur radio community is grieving the loss of an
influential and well-known amateur radio operator. Christian Cudnik
K0STH has that report.
CHRISTIAN: Sandra Heyn WA6WZN of Costa Mesa, California has become a
Silent Key. Sandi died at home on April 28th after a long illness.
Sandi was a longtime fixture at the National Association of Broadcasters
conventions held in Las Vegas, where she would be seen at the ARRL booth
and the reception held for amateur radio operators. When the ARRL held
its national convention in 1992 in Los Angeles, she had a major hand as
an organizer. Her activities with the ARRL included her generosity
through the league's Maxim Society. She was also a Life Member of the ARRL.
Sandi was a member of the Quarter Century Wireless Association, a past
officer of the Young Ladies Radio League and a number of other local
clubs, including the Orange County and the Palomar amateur radio clubs.
She was the wife of Fried Heyn WA6WZO, ARRL honorary vice president and
past ARRL Southwestern Division director.
They were married for 57 years. Sandra Heyn was 75.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Christian Cudnik K0STH.
(ARRL)
**
HAMS JOIN THE MILITARY - AT LEAST ON AIR
JIM/ANCHOR: The Military Auxiliary Radio System is all about
communicating - so hams are marking Armed Forces Day with an exercise
that arms them with cross-band operations. Stephen Kinford N8WB has more
of those details.
STEPHEN'S REPORT: Are you ready for the big test? May 19th is the 67th
annual Armed Forces Day in the U.S. and that sets the stage for an
important exercise just a few days earlier that will engage radio
amateurs and military stations in a test of cross-band operations. The
test is scheduled for Saturday the 12th of May. It allows hams and
military stations to communicate on various frequencies using SSB, voice
and CW as well as modern military modes such as MIL-STD Serial PSK and
Automatic Link Establishment, or ALE. There will certainly be some 60
meter activity on the interoperability channels where hams and military
stations can communicate directly.
From the Barrow Army Reserve Center in Kentucky to the U.S. Military
Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, to the Pentagon itself, military
stations will monitor amateur frequencies and announce which ones they
are on military frequencies. Participating amateurs who would like a QSL
card should visit the MARS website and complete the request form. The
website is triple w dot usarmymars dot org (www.usarmymars.org). That
site also has a list of the military stations participating in the
exercise, which has been held for the past 50 years. MARS involves ham
radio operators in supporting military communication under a program
sponsored by the Department of Defense.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Stephen Kinford N8WB.
(DEPT OF DEFENSE)
**
SPECIAL EVENT STATION CELEBRATES ROYAL WEDDING
JIM/ANCHOR: Great Britain's Prince Harry and American actress Megan
Markle aren't radio amateurs - but perhaps they will want to rethink
that option after hearing this story from Jeremy Boot G4NJH.
JEREMY: What, you may ask, does amateur radio have in common with
weddings? Both almost always count on some great reception. So for the
Royal Wedding between Great Britain's Price Harry and American actress
Meghan Markle, the world's ham radio community is changing the HF bands
into wedding bands.
The special event call sign GR9RW the first time 9 has been used
its thought - will be active on 19th May, the day of the wedding, all
the way through to the 23rd. While the couple exchange vows at Windsor
Castles St Georges chapel, the Cray Valley Radio Society will be
exchanging signal reports as hams operate from the club station in
Eltham. The club will be using primarily SSB and CW with some activity
on VHF and UHF.
Two HF stations and one VHF station will cover all bands from 80 metres
to 70 centimetres. A commemorative QSL card is available upon
request.....but you'll have to provide your own wedding cake.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH.
**
GERMAN AMATEUR HONORED FOR HIS INVENTIONS
JIM/ANCHOR: For one amateur radio operator in Germany, being clever and
inventive is all in a day's work, as we hear from Ed Durrant DD5LP.
ED'S REPORT: Markus Vester, DF6NM, who is considered a specialist in
high-frequency technology and MRI systems at Siemens in Erlangen,
Germany, received an "Inventor of the Year" award from the company for
his years of work. The radio amateur from Nuernberg holds more than 300
patents related to the receiving and transmitting units in MRI scanners.
In a statement on the company website, Markus noted that his work
brought with it the steady presence of ham radio. [quote] "Like many
engineers who are also radio amateurs, work and play have never been
completely separate aspects of my life. Inspiration tends to flow both
ways between the two." [endquote]
We here at Amateur Radio Newsline congratulate DF6NM. This is Ed Durrant
DD5LP.
(SIEMENS, SOUTHGATE)
**
TIME RUNNING OUT FOR YOUNG HAM OF THE YEAR NOMINATIONS
JIM/ANCHOR: It's May - and that doesn't just mean Hamvention -- it means
that we're coming up on the deadline for nominations for the Bill
Pasternak/Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year award. This is an
honor for radio operators 18 and younger who hold licenses in the U.S.
or Canada. We are accepting nominations only until May 31. So if you
know of a deserving candidate, don't wait any longer: submit his or her
name for consideration. You can find the nomination forms on our website
at arnewsline dot org (arnewsline.org) under the YHOTY tab.
**
BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur
Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including
KSET AM radio at 1300 kHz on Sunday mornings at 9:45 in Beaumont, Texas.
**
TWO ACTIVATIONS FOR K2BSA
JIM/ANCHOR: The Radio Scouts of K2BSA are back on the air this week.
Bill Stearns NE4RD has the details.
BILL: This week in Radio Scouting we have two activations of the K2BSA
callsign and we're 5 months out from JOTA.
Russ Mickiewicz, N7QR, will be activating K2BSA/7 from the Sunset Trail
District Camporee at Camp Meriwether in Cloverdale, OR on May 4th
through the 6th. Russ will be enjoying an ocean front view from this
Camporee while he shares his experience with Amateur Radio and gets
scouts on the air.
John Baddour, KC8KI, will be activating K2BSA/8 from the Firelands Scout
Reservation in Wakeman, OH on May 5th. John will be having a Radio
Merit Badge Class and Program, along with a Amateur Radio demonstration
station with HTs.
Jamboree on the Air, the world's largest scouting event will be taking
place in October, and we're only 5 months away. If you haven't started
making your plans for putting a station on the air, now would be a good
time to get that kicked off. Field Day is around the corner, and is a
great place to recruit fellow hams to help you in your JOTA effort. You
can find operation and planning guides on our website at www.k2bsa.net.
For Amateur Radio Newsline and the K2BSA Amateur Radio Association, this
is Bill Stearns, NE4RD.
(K2BSA)
**
KEEPING COMMUNICATIONS OPEN ON THE ISS
JIM/ANCHOR: When you're DXing - really DXing - in space, you need a
reliable backup plan. NASA is taking care of that, as Paul Braun WD9GCO
tells us.
PAUL: NASA's VHF backup communications system for the International
Space Station is getting a backup of its own.
The two-frequency VHF system is built from a system of ground stations.
One frequency is used for Soyuz communication when Soyuz is out of the
range of ground stations in Russia. The other frequency is used for
emergency communications. NASA said the improvements will include new
software installations and an upgrade of electronic components as well
as new antennas. These antennas will permit both frequencies to operate
simultaneously.
The Goddard Space Flight Center manages two VHF ground stations in the
U.S. -- one at at Wallops Island in Virginia and another at the
Armstrong Flight Research Center in California.
NASA's Mark Severance said in an agency announcement in late April
[quote]: "The purpose of [the ground station] upgrades is to ensure the
VHF ground stations remain a robust capability for backup and emergency
communications." [endquote]
The space station has two VHF antennas located 180 degrees apart.
The good news is that most of the time, NASA talks with the ISS via its
primary means - the NASA Space Network - which utilizes a group of
tracking and data relay satellites. The Space Network allows for data
transmissions at a much higher rate, accommodating high definition video
and other means of communication. The backup VHF system, while critical
to the mission, permits only audio. Still, when all else fails there is
once again ham radio - even in space.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Paul Braun WD9GCO.
(NASA)
**
A LESSON IN WORKING SATELLITES WITH AN HT
JIM/ANCHOR: Speaking of space and communications, what's it like to work
a satellite with your HT? With this report, we find out - and we welcome
the newest member of the Newsline family: Andy Morrison K9AWM.
ANDY'S REPORT: The Desert Radio Amateur Transmitting Society of Palm
Springs, California is best known by the shorthand "RATS" - its initials
- but on May 15 the club will be more likely known for its association
with SATS - that is, satellites.
The club is hosting ARRL instructor Clint Bradford K6LCS during its
regular monthly meeting and Clint's talk will focus on how to use an HT
to work amateur satellites. Clint is also optimistic that this
presentation won't be all talk: He's anticipating more than a few
satellite passes during the session and they're expected to be workable.
The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. local time at the Palm Springs Fire
Department Training Center and hams in the region can get talk-in via
the 146.940 repeater using a PL tone of 107.2
Meanwhile, hams wanting to program their radios for the scheduled
satellite passes should visit his satellite website for a tutorial and
frequency list. That website is work hyphen sat dot com (work-sat.com).
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Andy Morrison K9AWM.
**
CALL SIGNS SPORTING SPECIAL SUFFIX FOR WORLD CUP
JIM/ANCHOR: Get ready for some athletics - on the air, that is. The
World Cup is little more than a month away. Here's Jeremy Boot G4NJH.
JEREMY: You don't have to be a sports fan to get into the game on this
ham radio event - but it helps.
The International Amateur Radio Union's member society in Russia, the
SRR, is inviting ham radio groups to adopt call signs relating to the
World Cup - perhaps with "FIFA" as a suffix or, toward the end of the
matches, "FWC," signfying the finals. The World Cup football event has
inspired an amateur radio marathon of sorts. The games will be held in
Russia from June 14th through July 15th but the hams are kicking things
off by getting on the air the first of June.
There will be 32 call signs on the air from Russia, each with an R18
prefix and a suffix that honors a location where matches are taking place.
By mid-April, organizers reported that response had been enthusiastic,
with amateurs in 76 FIFA member nations committing to the event.
So be listening for VB18FIFA from Canada, RC18KA from Kaliningrad,
GM18FIFA, from Stirling, Scotland and GB18FWC from England, among many,
many others.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH.
**
WORLD OF DX
In the world of DX, plan ahead now to be lsitening for Arnold, WB6OJB,
who will be active as 7Q7JK from Malawi between July 20-25th. Activity
will be on 40-10 meters SSB only. QSL via WB6OJB
only.
Be listening right now for Jan PA4JJ, who is operating as 9A/PA4JJ until
June 8th. He is on the air holiday style on 40-10 meters using mostly
FT8. QSL via his home callsign, LoTW or ClubLog.
From May first through 19th listen for Rick NE8Z/HC1MD in Poland. He
will use his personal call sign in Poland, which is SP9E and will also
use SP/NE8Z. Send QSL via NE8Z (see SP9E on QRZ.com), direct, by the
W8-Bureau or LoTW after his trip.
(OHIO PENN DX)
**
KICKER: NO INFLATED EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS BALLOON
JIM/ANCHOR: Students are taught to aim high but one group of high school
students took that to a happy extreme in a recent physics class. Don
Wilbanks AE5DW has that story.
DON'S REPORT: What started as a science project at Bunker Hill High
School in Bunker Hill, Illinois turned into a space adventure for nine
chemistry and physics students. On April 24 they sent a high altitude
balloon into near space at 70 thousand feet, equipped with a GoPro
camera, automatic packet reporting system tracking hardware and a
battery pack.
The teacher Jeremiah Goltz said the project was designed to demonstrate
the principles of physics as well as the effects of weather. They
learned about high-tech tracking and rehearsed by fox hunting with
homing beacons.
Their first attempt to launch two months ago was thwarted by winds that
were too strong. But on the 24th, after one false start, the balloon
lifted everything skyward and they watched it soar. Its flight lasted 2
hours and 4 minutes. Students tracked it with its APRS hardware using
their smartphones and ultimately recovered it in Venedy, Illinois, an
hour and 15 minutes away, sometime after lunch.
Speaking of lunch, there was one more bit of cargo aboard that's not
insignificant - a granola bar. Their teacher told the Telegraph
newspaper that the students added that last item so they might be able
to experience some real space food.
For the next launch, however, Goltz said local amateur radio operators
may want to work with the class. They might need to buy some extra
granola bars.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Don Wilbanks AE5DW.
(THE TELEGRAPH NEWSPAPER)
**
NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Alan Labs; the ARRL; CQ Magazine;
Department of Defense; Hap Holly and the Rain Report; K2BSA; NASA;
Ohio-Penn DX Bulletin; Siemens; Southgate Amateur Radio News; Ted
Randall's QSO Radio Show; the Telegraph Newspaper; 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 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 Jim Damron N8TMW in Charleston West
Virginia saying 73 and as always we thank you for listening.
Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2018. All rights reserved.
--
73
James-KB7TBT
www.arnewsline.org
www.ylsystem.org
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