Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2128 for Friday, August 10, 2018
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2128 with a release date of Friday,
August 10, 2018 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a QST. Indonesian hams help after a deadly quake. No
new building for next year's Hamvention - and it's time for a QSO with
TV's "Last Man Standing." All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline
Report 2128 comes your way right now.
**
BILLBOARD CART
**
INDONESIAN AMATEURS RESPOND FOLLOWING DEADLY QUAKE
JIM/ANCHOR: We begin this week with breaking news. As an Indonesian
earthquake's death toll climbs, hams deploy to assist communications.
John Williams VK4JJW tells us more.
JOHN: Members of the Indonesian Amateur Radio Organisation, known as
ORARI, were deployed not long after a deadly 6.9 magnitude quake rocked
Indonesia on Sunday August 5th, leaving a death toll that was fast
approaching 100 as Amateur Radio Newsline went to production. Hardest
hit were the resort areas on Lambok where tourists emerged from a
landscape of massive debris and swarmed the beaches. The quake could be
felt as far away as the island of Bali. More than 300 were reported
injured. The hams established counter-disaster communications on 7110kHz
and a call was issued to amateurs worldwide to keep the frequency clear.
Stations within the immediate region were being asked to monitor
emergency traffic and assist where they could. ORARI also established
radio operations on VHF at 145.5 MHz and 147 MHz. The quake came on the
heels of an earlier one, on July 29th, which hit the same area with a
magnitude of 6.4, killing 16 and injuring several hundreds, many of them
hikers who were at the summit of a mountain in Lombok that collapsed
into the mouth of a volcano.
For Amateur Radio Newsline Im John Williams VK4JJW.
(NEWS.COM.AU, CNN, Greg G0DUB and Ewan VK4ERM)
**
NO NEW BUILDING FOR HAMVENTION 2019
JIM/ANCHOR: In the U.S., hopes for a new building in time for next
year's Dayton Hamvention have been dashed. Andy Morrison K9AWM has that
report.
ANDY: There will be no new building after all for Hamvention 2019 when
it opens in Xenia, Ohio next spring. Hamvention General Chairman Jack
Gerbs WB8SCT announced on Aug. 5 that negotiations have failed to reach
an agreement on a contract between Hamvention organizers and the Green
County Fairgrounds and Expo Center. He said the county and the fairs
board still have a good relationship with Hamvention at this point but
there will not be a building in time for the next gathering. Jack made
the announcement jointly with Hamvention assistant chair Rick Allnutt
WS8G, noting that the improvements attendees saw at the 2018 Hamvention
site will continue into next year: tent shelters will be improved, there
will be another forum room and the flea market area will feature
permanent paths.
Both Rick and Jack expressed hope that the amateur radio community would
continue to give Hamvention their full support.
For Amateur Radio Newsline Im Andy Morrison K9AWM
(ARRL)
**
YOUNG LADIES RADIO LEAGUE HOSTS SUCCESSFUL CONVENTION
JIM/ANCHOR: Further west in the U.S., a successful gathering of YLs
wrapped up recently in Oklahoma City. We turn to Heather Embee KB3TZD
for those details.
HEATHER: For attendees at this years Young Ladies Radio League
Convention in downtown Oklahoma City, its all over now but the
memories. YLRL president Marilyn Melhorn AF7BI welcomed the group of 43
YLs and 22 OMs who traveled from 21 states and the Canadian provinces.
The local SCARS club sent five OMs to work as volunteers at the event,
which ran from August 2nd to 5th. There was a forum on digital modes led
by Ria Jairam N2RJ, rovering by Andrea Slack K2EZ and Mission Kosovo led
by Jim Fenstermaker K9FJ. NASA research scientist Nancy Hall KC4IYH
delivered the keynote speech at the convention banquet.
According to one member of the three-person organizing committee,
Michelle Carey W5MQC, the prize table was chock full of goodies from
convention sponsors and Saturday also featured Elmira roundtable
sessions offering help on DMR, antennas, CW, logging, programming rigs
and just about anything else. YLs got to make Morse Code bracelets.
Carol Milazzo KP4MD treated the YLs to a talk on the right way to
organize a DXpedition style holiday.
There were also moments of personal triumph: Pamela Saalbach KC3LCX
became a General class and a new ham, Aria Cunningham, passed her
Technican test. The YLRL convention only happens once every three or
four years so these are memories and moments that are sure to last.
For Amateur Radio Newsline Im Heather Embee KB3TZD.
(MICHELLE CAREY, W5MQC)
**
LAND MOBILE RADIOS GET NEW BAND IN NEW ZEALAND
JIM/ANCHOR: There's nothing like getting a new part of the spectrum and
that's good news to land mobile radio users in New Zealand where Jim
Meachen ZL2BHF has this report.
JIM: Almost everyone welcomes the approval of new radio bands to use and
in New Zealand, a new band has been created for use by land mobile
radios. Its known as the G band and it allows transmissions between 174
MHz and 184 MHz. Users wanting to operate must possess licenses
certified by an Approved Radio Engineer. Although the band became
available for licencing effective the 2nd of August, licencees will not
be able to begin transmissions until the 1st of September. According to
RSM, the band is being made available following a technical consultation
that took place in 2017. Use of the band is covered under Crown Spectrum
Management Rights and a band plan is available on the website of Radio
Spectrum Management, a business unit of the Ministry of Business. Learn
more about the band plan by navigating from the home page at rsm dot
govt dot nz (rsm.govt.nz).
For Amateur Radio Newsline Im Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.
.
(SOUTHGATE)
**
HAM IN IRELAND GOES RECORD DISTANCE ON VHF
JIM/ANCHOR: A recent contact between a ham in Ireland and a ham off
Africa's coast is being called a record. Ed Durrant DD5LP tells us how
it happened.
ED: World records arent easy to come by so when Mark EI3KD made contact
from his QTH in Ireland with D4Z on the Cape Verde Islands off Africas
coast on the 5th of August, it was a big deal. For one thing, it was on
CW at 144.300 MHz, and for another this was a distance of 4163
kilometres, or not quite 2600 miles. As reported on Southgate Amateur
Radio News, this constitutes a new record for tropo in IARU Region 1,
besting a record set in July 2015 of 4130 kilometres, or roughly 2560
miles. The news was first reported on the blog written by John EI7GL on
Monday the 6th of August. The blog speculates that marine ducting most
likely helped propagation. With marine ducting, the waters surface and
a layer in the lower atmosphere trap the VHF and UHF signals enabling
them to travel a greater distance than normal.
August 5th was apparently a good day as well for D4Z, the Monteverde
Contest Team, based in Cape Verde. The team also worked G7RAU and G4LOH
on 2m SSB in the southwest of England.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, Im Ed Durrant DD5LP.
(SOUTHGATE)
**
'LAST MAN STANDING' CALLING QRZ
JIM/ANCHOR: If you are a fan of TVs Last Man Standing but never got a
QSL card from KA6LMS the amateur radio station on the set be near
your shack on Tuesday the 14th of August. The Facebook page of the newly
revived show has announced that even as the popular sitcom returns to
the air this season this time on Fox - its ham radio station is doing
the same on HF. Be listening around 4 p.m. Pacific Time for KA6LMS club
member Rob AA6RA. Rob is not only an original member of the club but was
a VE who took part in the exam that gave the shows star Tim Allen his
license. Watch the shows Facebook page and spotting sites for details.
(FACEBOOK)
**
BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur
Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including
the WW8GM repeater of the General Motors Amateur Radio Club in Detroit,
Michigan on Saturdays at 9 p.m. local time.
**
HAMS SCORE HOME RUN HELPING BASEBALL HALL OF FAME INDUCTIONS
JIM/ANCHOR: When the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York
inducted six new membrs, hams helped keep things safe and orderly for
tens of thousands of fans, as we hear from Neil Rapp WB9VPG.
NEIL: A crowd of about 53,000 turned out in Cooperstown New York to see
six athletes inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame but looking out
for these tens of thousands was a much smaller crowd: ham radio
operators whod been activated under RACES to provide communications
support at the event on behalf of the countys office of emergency
services.
Brian Webster N2KGC, the Otsego County Amateur Radio Officer and an ARRL
District Emergency Coordinator, said about 15 amateurs were directly
involved at stations on the air. He said another half dozen or so were
assigned directly to various agencies where they also worked as
communications technicians. Volunteers came from Otsego and three
surrounding counties as members of the Oneonta Amateur Radio Club. They
operated primarily on a 2 meter analogue repeater using two 440 analogue
repeaters for backup near area hospitals.
July 29th was a big day for players Chipper Jones, Jim Thome, Trevor
Hoffman, Vladimir Guerrero, Jack Morris and Alan Trammell who drew the
second largest crowd in the history of such inductions. Although a few
medical transports were required, Brian said the big event was largely
uneventful except of course for the inductions. The amateur radio
operators role is significant at this event, Brian said, because you
never know what dignitaries may show up or what kinds of security
concerns there might be.
Baseball fans, if you think this meant a free pass to the event think
again: Brian told Amateur Radio Newsline: [quote] We only had two hams
on the actual site and they were both involved supporting the EMA
activities. The rest of us watched the ceremony on TV like many others.
[endquote]
Still, with a crowd that size, the teamwork scored a home run.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, Im Neil Rapp WB9VPG.
(BRIAN WEBSTER N2KGC)
**
U.S. COAST GUARD HAS HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND GOOD SIGNAL REPORTS
JIM/ANCHOR: Members of two U.S. Coast Guard amateur radio groups kicked
off the month of August by marking the Coast Guard's 228th birthday on
the air. Kevin Trotman N5PRE tells us about the celebration.
KEVIN: What do birthday celebrations call for, other than a cake?
Conversation, of course. There was plenty of conversation happening on
the air Friday August 3rd and Saturday August 4th as two separate Coast
Guard Ham Radio groups helped celebrate the U.S. Coast Guards 228th
birthday.
According to Dick KE7A, president and trustee of the Coast Guard Amateur
Radio Club, the events goal was to make hams more aware of Coast Guard
history and to encourage more meaningful chatter instead of the usual
rapid-fire exchanges found during such events. The Coast Guard CW
Operators Association joined in the celebration on Friday by operating
special event station K1CG on CW at 10 different locations, including
Texas, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Washington state. Members of this
group are all Coast Guard veterans and have stood a CW watch in the
Coast Guard. The Coast Guard stopped using CW in 1995.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Coast Guard Amateur Radio Club special event station
W5CGC operated that Saturday on SSB, FT8, PSK31 and RTTY from 12
different locations including a park in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania, Marine
Mobile moored at Reedville, Virginia and aboard the US Coast Guard
Cutter Ingham Museum Ship in Key West, Florida. Dick said there are 915
members active in the U.S. Coast Guards Amateur Radio Club who are
either active on duty in the Coast Guard or are veterans of the Coast
Guard.
Band conditions were poor on both days but despite that the CW operators
logged 95 QSOs on 4 bands and the Coast Guard ARC logged 512 on five bands.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, Im Kevin Trotman N5PRE.
**
**
SCOUTS BUSY WITH JAMBOREE PLANS AND K2BSA ACTIVATION
JIM/ANCHOR: Radio Scouts continue with their activations as Bill
Stearns NE4RD tells us.
BILL: This week in Radio Scouting we have 1 activation of the K2BSA
Callsign, Jamboree on the Air is just around the corner, and World
Jamboree programs are coming together. Mike Cullen, K1NPT, will be
activating K2BSA/1 at Camp Yawgoog in Rockville, RI from August 19th
through the 26th. BSA Troop 3 out of Newport, RI will be heading to
this camp, the fourth-oldest continuously run scout camp in the United
States. Troop 3 will be operating 20M/40M/80M voice & digital using
battery and solar power. Jamboree on the Air 2018 is the weekend
of October 19th - 21st. The JOTA-JOTI team have established trusted
partnerships for connecting units digitally during the event with JOTI
Radio, JOTI.TV, and Scoutlink. JOTI Radio is the official JOTA-JOTI
radio station with trusted partner status. They will be providing
non-stop, live broadcasts throughout JOTA from their UK studios and are
powered by the wonderful team at Avon Scout Radio. JOTI.tv is another
trusted partner that will gather all the webcams of scout groups all
over the world and build them together in one big mosaic. This will give
you a look inside JOTA-JOTI from the perspective of the participating
stations.
ScoutLink is a global, non-profit organisation that aims to connect
Scouts and Guides from all over the world. They do this in many ways,
but their 3 main services are IRC/Webchat (text chat), TeamSpeak (voice
chat), and Minecraft.
Finally we're looking forward to NA1WJ at the World Jamboree next year
in North America. The team has been busy putting plans together and
organizing the program offerings that will include Amateur Radio demo
stations, ARDF on VHF and HF, multiple balloon launches with VHF APRS
and HF WSPR payloads, and hopefully an ARISS contact. Please stay tuned
to our website for ways you can help the team provide these programs.
For more information on JOTA or Radio Scouting, or to signup for our
JOTA newsletter, please visit our website at k2bsa.net.
For Amateur Radio Newsline and the K2BSA Amateur Radio Association, this
is Bill Stearns, NE4RD.
**
IN MALAYSIA, A PREFIX AND A PARTY
JIM/ANCHOR: Meanwhile, if you happen to hear the prefix 9M61 on the air,
you're hearing the sound of a special Malaysian celebration. Graham Kemp
VK4BB tells us more.
GRAHAM: Its been 61 years since Malaysia declared its independence,
first known as the Federation of Malaya, with a new prime minister. The
new country raised its own flag for the first time and everywhere there
was dancing, bonfires and even fireworks. On the 16th of September 1963
the federation, along with North Borneo or Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore,
formed into a larger federation of Malaysia. This year the ham radio
community is setting off its own fireworks of sorts by calling QRZ under
special event call signs that are regional, but all of them bear the
prefix 9M61. The celebration is already ongoing and will be active
through the 1st of September. Successful contacts can earn you four
different certificates from the Malaysian DX and Contest Group at
bronze, silver, gold and platinum levels. The event is in keeping with
the mission of the contest group which is to promote and raise the
profile for HF contesters and encourage DXing throughout Malaysia.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, Im Graham Kemp VK4BB.
(SOUTHGATE, HISTORY TODAY)
**
KICKER: BRITAIN'S INLAND WATERWAYS GET THEIR OWN EVENT
JIM/ANCHOR: Finally, amateurs who love radio - and radio by the water -
have an event all their own in Britain as we learn from Jeremy Boot G4NJH.
JEREMY: Now here is an all-purpose event that would combine Bicycles on
the Air, Boats on the Air and even Running Shoes on the air if they
existed: Its the British Inland Waterways on the Air event being held
between the 25th and 27th of August which is the August bank holiday
weekend. Amateurs who are making use of reservoirs, rivers, lakes,
canals and tow paths will be activating them either as individuals or as
a club event, some even using Special Event Station call signs. A number
of them may be using their own call signs while they operate portable or
mobile. Stefan Lattimer 2E0VKM, a member of the Nunsfield House Amateur
Radio Club, has been keeping track of which stations will be
participating. Primary bands will be 40 meters and 2 meters but
operators are not being restricted from using any band. The event is as
a way of encouraging hams to use their radios to celebrate the UKs
waterways and of course amateur radio. Organisers are hoping that
everyone will, of course, be inspired by their closeness to the water
and simply go with the flow.
For Amateur Radio Newsline Im Jeremy Boot G4NJH.
(RADIO SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN)
**
NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Alan Labs; Amateur News Weekly; ARISS;
the ARRL; CQ Magazine; Greg G0DUB; Ewan VK4ERM; Hap Holly and the Rain
Report; History Today; Irish Radio Transmitters Society; John Desmond
EI7GL; Michelle Carey W5MQC; News.com.au; Ohio-Penn DX Bulletin; QRZ;
Radio Society of Great Britain; Southgate Amateur Radio News; Ted
Randall's QSO Radio Show; Wireless Institute of Australia; 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
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group.
View/Reply Online (#1042): https://groups.io/g/ARNewsline/message/1042
Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/24247968/929223
Group Owner: ARNewsline+owner@groups.io
Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/ARNewsline/leave/2103143/629458047/xyzzy
[arnewsline@ftn.wpusa.dynip.com]
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
***
As a Service to the HAM Radio Community and HAM Operators all over the world,
this Amateur Radio Newline(tm) message has been gated from the internet and
posted to you by Waldo's Place USA, fidonet node 1:3634/12. We hope you
enjoyed it!
Please address all comments and questions to the ARNewsletter editor as
described in this posting. If you have any specific questions related to the
actual posting of this message, you may address them to
hamfdn(at)wpusa.dynip.com.
Thank you and good day!
-73- ARNTE-0.1.0-OS2 build 42
(text/plain utf-8 quoted-printable)
* Origin: (1:3634/12)
|