Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1965 May 15 2015
CLOSED CIRCUIT ADVISORY
The following is a closed circuit advisory and not necessarily for air.
Here's our producer Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF:
--
Its been close to a year since we last issued a call for listener support.
At that time you were all so generous that there was no need for us to do so.
That is until now.
The problem is that over the past three or four months donations have
dropped to a trickle. Because of this we find ourselves in the position
where we cannot pay the outstanding bills that came due in April and those
for May will soon be showing up.
Simply said, Amateur Radio Newsline needs your financial support right now
to keep these weekly newscasts coming your way. The easiest way to make a
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on the Pay Pal button. Or you can send your support by paper mail to the
Amateur Radio Newsline, 28197 Robin Avenue , Santa Clarita , California ,
91350 .
Whichever way you choose the all volunteer staff here at Amateur Radio
Newsline say thank you. We also promise to do our very best to keep you
informed of the news that you need to know about our wonderful world of
Amateur Radio.
I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF. Now this weeks newscast.
**
Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1964 with a release date of Friday, May
15th, 2015 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a QST. Amateur radio responds as another killer
earthquake hits Nepal; Radio France International heard splattering on 40
meters; Thailand's military to keep 50 to 54 MHz; Ham radio numbers fall and
rise in Germany and a look back at the history of the Dayton Hamvention. All
this and more on Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1965 coming your way
right now.
(Billboard Cart Here)
**
RESCUE RADIO: HAMS RESPOND TO ANOTHER EARTHQUAKE IN NEPAL
Another major earthquake hit a remote mountain region of Nepal on Tuesday,
May 12th killing at least 76 people while triggering landslides and toppling
buildings less than three weeks after the nation was ravaged by its worst
quake in decades. Ham radio which was winding down its operations has been
reactivated as we hear from Amateur Radio Newsline's Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF:
--
[WA6ITF] The 7.3 magnitude temblor was centered midway between the capital
city of Kathmandu and Mount Everest . Information was slow to reach
Kathmandu after Tuesday's quake, but officials expected the death toll to
rise as reports arrived of people being buried under rubble.
Amateur radio emergency nets are reported to have again been activated on
14.205 and 14.215 MHz. Greg Mossop, G0DUB, of RAYNET in the U-K posted that
the planned response from the American Military Auxiliary Radio System or
MARS service with 9N1SP is now in place should support be required. However
there is still a large international disaster response structure in the
country from the earlier event.
This information was confirmed by Colin Wilson on 9-N-One EMERGENCY who
wrote that 14.215 has been activated as a secondary frequency. Stations
wishing to assist should call net control on 14.215 not on 14.205. 14.205 is
reserved for actual emergency transmissions only.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, in the newsroom
in Los Angeles .
--
Experts say the April 25th quake caused extensive structural damage even in
buildings that did not topple but many could be in danger of future collapse.
(RAYNET, 9N1EMERGENCY, published news reports)
**
INTRUDER WATCH: RADIO FRANCE INTERNATIONAL SPLATTERING ON 40 METERS
The latest Region 1 International Amateur Radio Union Monitoring System
Newsletter carries a report that Radio France International on 7.250 MHz has
been producing strong splatter down to 7.185 every evenings at about 2100
UTC.
Wolfgang Hadel, DK2OM, is the Region 1 coordinator for the service. He says
that he has informed the German department of Post and Telecommunications
which in turn sent an official complaint to France . Peter Jost, HB9CET, the
Vice Coordinator confirmed Hadel's observations.
DK2OM also says that on April 28th at 0900 UTC he found a strong Russian
noise floor centered on 14 dot 120 MHz with an S9 +40 dB. The width of the
signal covered from 13.960 to 14.260 MHz. Its believed to be located in
Moscow and was disturbing Nepali emergency communications on 14.205 MHz USB .
More is on the web in PDF format at tinyurl.com/intruder-watch-spring-2015
(IARUMS-R1)
**
RESTRUCTURING: THAILAND MILITARY ARGUES RIGHT TO KEEP 50-54MHZ
Thailand 's military appears to have successfully defended its right to the
6 meter band for national security purposes. This during a recent public
hearing on the revised telecommunications and broadcasting spectrum master
plan put forth by the Thai National Broadcasting and Telecommunications
Commission or NBTC. Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, has more:
--
[K6PZW] Under the original master plan proposal, the 50 to 54 MHz band was
to be re-designated for radio amateurs. However, the NBTC has not allowed
hams to use the spectrum given continued protest from the
Army.ƒâ‚¬¨ƒâ‚¬¨Jakkree Hantongkom, HS1FVL, is the president of the Radio
Amateur Society of Thailand, He is quoted as saying that the 50 to 54 MHz
band was an international band for amateurs. On the other side were
representatives from defense agencies who said the band should be allocated
to the military for national security purposes. ƒâ‚¬¨ƒâ‚¬¨Currently hams in
Thailand can use the 144 to 146 MHz band, while the army uses 50 to 54 MHz in
actual emergencies or during drills. The revised master plan instead will
give hams in Thailand an additional megahertz by expanding the 2 meter
allocation upward to 147 MHz but 6 meters will remain with the military.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, in Los Angeles .
--
About 500 attended the hearing about half whom were Air Force, Royal Thai
Army, and Royal Thai Navy personnel. A full report is at
www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Military-argues-right-to-50-54MHz-30259457.h
tml (National Media)
**
RADIO STATS: HAM RADIO NUMBERS FALL AND RISE IN GERMANY
The number of German radio amateurs has fallen the 5th successive year.
This according to the country's national society, the Deutscher Amateur Radio
Club.
The DARC reports that as of December 31, 2014 there were a total of 67,468
licenses of which 60,019 were holders of the German Class A. By comparison
as of the end of 2010 there were 72,293 German hams holding this license
class. That's a loss of 4645 hams in just under 5 years.
On a positive note there has been an upswing in Germany 's Class E license
with its D N prefix block. At the end of 2014 there were 7,449 Class E
holders . This license is issued specifically for training young people who
want to enter the hobby. (DARC, Southgate )
**
PROPAGATION: TRANSATLANTIC BEACON RECEPTION ON 144 MHZ OVER 2900 MILE PATH
The 144.436 MHz D4C propagation beacon in the Cape Verde Islands has been
received in the Caribbean . This over what might be a record setting
distance of 2900 miles.
A post on the D4C Facebook page says that on May 6th the new beacon was
heard by David Petersen, PJ4VHF, on the island nation of Bonaire .
Pedersen, who is a broadcast engineer with Trans World Radio station PJB says
that the beacon signal was 5-1-9 on a Kenwood TS-2000 fed by a pair of 13
element yagis.
Bonaire is an island in the Leeward Antilles in the Caribbean Sea .
Together with Aruba and Curacao it forms the group known as the ABC islands,
located off the north coast of South America near the western part of
Venezuela
At the other end of the path Cape Verde officially the Republic of Cabo
Verde is an island country spanning an archipelago of 10 volcanic islands in
the central Atlantic Ocean . Located 350 miles off the coast of Western
Africa they cover a combined area of slightly over 1,500 square miles.
The Cape Verde beacon was installed by the Monteverde Contest Team D4C.
More about it is on line at tinyurl.com/D4C-cape-verde ( Southgate ,
Wikipedia, Monteverde Contest Team)
**
BREAK 1
Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline,
heard on bulletin stations around the world including the including the W8BI
repeater serving the Hamvention city of Dayton Ohio .
(5 second pause)
**
RESCUE RADIO: HAM RADIO HELPS IN RESCUE OF FIVE NEAR TAOS NEW MEXICO
Amateur radio aided in the rescue of a family of five on Sunday morning, May
10th. This after being stranded overnight in the Carson National Forest
south of Taos, New Mexico. Amateur Radio Newslines Heather Embee, KB3TZD has
the details:
--
[KB3TZD] According to a report in the Taos News, the familyƒâ‚¬(tm)s truck
got stuck Saturday evening May 9th after sliding off a forest road
approximately 10 miles east of New Mexico State Road 518.
Taos Amateur Radio Club President Brian Williams, NB5R, who was helping
coordinate rescue efforts said that no one was injured but a man left the
truck to find help and grew dehydrated after several hours walking in the
wet, freezing weather. The man returned to his family but was reportedly
displaying symptoms of hypothermia.
The family had called for help around midnight and remained in contact with
authorities. They were found shortly before 10:30 a.m. the following
morning.
I'm Heather Embee, KB3TZD, reporting.
--
Taos County Sheriffs deputies coordinated the rescue. They were joined by
New Mexico State Police, Taos County Emergency Medical Services and members
of Taos Search and Rescue as well as Taos Amateur Radio Emergency Services.
( Taos News)
**
RECUE RADIO: HAM RADIO RESPONDS TO OKLAHOMA STORMS
As storms swept into the central Oklahoma on Wednesday May 6th radio
amateurs acting as SKYWARN storms spotters were busy confirming observations
and reporting the effects of the damaging storms.
The severe weather made a direct hit on the community of Bridge Creek just
30 miles south west of Oklahoma City . Along with damaging homes, the power
grid was also impacted by the storms. The Bridge Creek Volunteer Fire
Department lost power and the back-up system did switch on. Matt Garcia, N5
PTV was able to use a portable generator and restore the radio communications.
Mike Rockey, KE5EQC, is the Vice President of the Aeronautical Center
Amateur Radio Club. He said that hams were requested by the Southern Baptist
Convention Disaster Relief to assist in the communications effort in Bridge
Creek area. Oklahoma Section Emergency Coordinator Mark Conklin, N7XYO, said
that notification went out to all of the ARES-OK registered radio operators
to help fill this need.
Amateurs were operating from a re-purposed travel trailer which is a
partnership between and the Grady County Sheriff's department and
Aeronautical Center Amateur Radio Club. The trailer is equipped with a pair
of VHF/UHF mobiles, a High Frequency multi-band radio and emergency power. It
can also be configured with public safety radios for the sheriff's department
use.
Bridge Creek was one of several communities hardest hit by an F5 twister in
the deadly May 3, 1999 , tornado outbreak.
(KC5FM, N7XYO)
**
RADIO LAW: RIVERSIDE CALIFORNIA TO REVISIT HAM RADIO TOWER DECISION
Planning officials in Riverside , California , say that are taking a second
look at an amateur radio tower and antenna that has stirred up a bit of
controversy. This after being installed in a backyard a historic neighborhood
home.
The tower and antenna belong to Paul Braiman, W2 PIR . After getting a city
permit, Braiman installed the tower to replace a 42 foot pole on his garage
about two years after he moved to Riverside from Lake Arrowhead . The
motorized tower can extend up to 57 feet, 6 inches.ƒâ‚¬¨
Since then residents have spoken out for or against the tower. At least
half a dozen lodged complaints with city officials and with Councilman Mike
Gardner, who represents the area. They complained that the tower and the
antenna on top of it detracted from the neighborhoodƒâ‚¬(tm)s historic
character.
On April 28th came word that the city Historic Preservation Office staff
were to go in person to see the tower. They will also were to talk with W2
PIR about what the equipment is and if thereƒâ‚¬(tm)s a way to reduce its
impact on the protected historic district. (Press-Enterprize)
**
HAM APPS: MAC LOGGER DX HD VR. 1.21 FOR IPAD HAS BEEN RELEASED
Dog Park Software has announced that version 1.21 of Mac Logger DX HD for
the iPad has been released.
Mac Logger DX HD is an amateur radio application that monitors the spots
from your favorite DX Cluster for DXing, contesting or casual rag-chewing.
It also alerts you to rare contacts or band openings by looking up and
displaying real time propagation paths on a zoomable map. And it can log
your contacts to a super fast s-q-l database.
Mac Logger DX HD is available from the iTunes store. More about it is on
the web at dogparksoftware.com (Dogparksoftware release)
**
NAMES IN THE NEWS: W7 ACK NAMED NEW COMMANDER OF OKLAHOMA CAP
Some names in the news. First up is Civil Air Patrol Colonel Dale E.
Newell, W7 ACK , who has assumed command of the Oklahoma Wing of the Civil
Air Patrol.
Newell joined the Civil Air Patrol following his retirement from the
Washington Army National Guard in 1992. He holds numerous emergency services
qualifications and has served in CAP search and rescue and homeland security
missions. In addition Newell also serves as the Amateur Radio Emergency
Services Carter County Emergency Coordinator and as a Skywarn Storm Spotter
in Carter County .
The change of command ceremony was held at April 25th during the Oklahoma
Wing Annual Conference. Newell replaces CAP Colonel Joe Cavett, who had
commanded the wing since 2011. (ardmorette.com)
**
NAMES IN THE NEWS: K5NLM NAMED NORTH TEXAS SM
The ARRL North Texas Section has a new Section Manager. Nancy McCain,
K5NLM, of Fort Worth took over the position on May 1st. She succeeds
incumbent Chris Brewer, N5GMJ, who resigned due to increased work and family
commitments.
McCain has been active in ARES, RACES, and in Army and Navy MARS. She is a
retired emergency management specialist and will complete the current term of
office as North Texas Section Manager which runs until March 31, 2017 .
(ARRL)
**
HAM HAPPENINGS: 2015 AMSAT-NA BOARD OF DIRECTORS NOMINATIONS NOTICE
AMSAT North America is seeking nominations for its Board of Directors
election to fill the seats of four director's terms expire this year. In
addition, up to two alternates may be elected for one year terms.
A valid nomination requires either one Member Society or five current
individual members in good standing to nominate an AMSAT-NA member for
Director.
Written nominations, consisting of the nominee's name and call, and the
nominating individual's names, calls and individual signatures should be
mailed to AMSAT-NA, 10605 Concord St, #304 Kensington , MD 20895-2526 .
Electronic nominations date go by FAX to 301-822-4371 or e-mail to Martha
(at) amsat (dot) org. The cutoff is June 15th. (AMSAT-NA)
**
HAM HAPPENINGS: RSGB NAMES 2014 CLUBS OF THE YEAR
The Radio Society of Great Britain has named its Club of The Year Award
winners for 2014. The Small Club category with 25 members or less was won by
St. George's Academy . The Large Club with 25 members or more was given to
London Hackspace. Separate prizes were given to each.
The RSGB Club of The Year Award is sponsored by Essex , England based
amateur radio dealer Waters and Stanton. The winners were announced at the
organizations recent Annual General Meeting in London . A documentary video
about London Hackspace is at tinyurl.com/ngp3l9d (RSGB)
**
HAM HAPPENINGS: CENTRAL STATES VHF SOCIETY ANNUAL CONFERENCE JULY 23 - 26
The Central States VHF Society Annual Conference for 2015 will be held in
the Denver Colorado Metro area between Thursday July 23rd and Sunday July
26th. The local sponsor this year is Rocky Mountain Ham Radio with the
convention venue being the Denver Marriott Westminster Hotel.
This years conference will feature technical programs, noise figure
measurements, rover vehicles and more, The featured speaker for the Saturday
evening banquet is Rick Roderick K5UR. Roderick is the First Vice President
of ARRL and an avid VHF'er.
Conference registration, as well as a link to the conference venue for
bookings is now available at 2015.csvhfs.org. (AMSAT News Service via K2AD)
**
BREAK 2
This is ham radio news for today's radio amateur. We are the Amateur Radio
Newsline with links to the world from our only official website at
www.arnewsline.org and being relayed by the volunteer services of the
following radio amateur:
(5 sec pause here)
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: FUNCUBE TRANSPONDER FOR NAYIF-1 CUBE SAT
AMSAT-UK and AMSAT Netherlands have announced that a FUNcube communications
package has been selected as a major payload for the Nayif-1 CubeSat. This
mission is intended to provide Emirati students with a tool to design and
test systems in space. Amateur Radio Newslines Ralph Squillace, KK6ITB,
reports:
--
[KK6ITB] Nayif-1 is being developed by the Emirates Institution for
Advanced Science and Technology in partnership with American University of
Sharjah. It is expected that this payload will provide a large amount of
valuable environmental data from space together with a new UHF to VHF linear
transponder for amateur SSB and CW communications. AMSAT will be working
closely with the Emirati students, in collaboration with support partner
Innovative Solutions In Space B.V. from the Netherlands , to develop this new
system in time for the launch which is scheduled to take place towards the
end of 2015.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Ralph Squillace, KK6ITB.
--
News of this joint venture was announced on April 25th during the Dutch
Satellite Interest Day event in the Netherlands . More information, with
details of frequencies and planned operating schedules, will be made
available as soon as it's available. (AMSAT UK )
**
EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: GOOGLE X RESEARCH LAB DEVELOPING SOLID STATE BATTERY
Google X Research Labs is said to be working on several new battery
technologies one of which is a solid-state power cell in the form of a
thin-film.
Solid-state batteries could be a technology that would change our portable
energy consumption with its high energy density. By using solid electrodes,
solid-state batteries are much safer and even human implant application might
be possible.
In the past several years, Google has been venturing out to many other
technologies that utilize batteries. Developing its own in-house battery
technology could shape and mold how the energy source behaved. You can read
more at tinyurl.com/google-battery (slashgear.com)
**
WORLDBEAT: INTERNATIONAL RADIO SERBIA TO CLOSE ON JUNE 30
Another shortwave broadcaster is making ready to shut down. The Bulgarian
DX Blog reports that International Radio Serbia is going to close all
operations on June 30th after 79 years of broadcasting.
Serbian International Radio currently has programming in 12 languages,
including Italian and English. More than 70 employees of the station
recently protested the announced termination of the operation in front of the
Serbian government building in Belgrade . ( Southgate )
**
ON THE AIR : ARPOC AND EURAO SPRING QSO PARTY
On the air, word that Europe's Amateur Radio Portable Operators Club has
announced its first joint QSO party in association with the European Radio
Amateurs' Organization also known by the acronym EURAO.
EURAO hold 4 casual QSO parties a year with each one having a different
theme to encourage a specific area of the hobby. This spring the theme will
be "Have fun, go portable." (EURAO)
**
PROPAGATION: SRI LANKAN 6 METER BEACON BACK ON AIR
The 4S7B Sri Lanka six meter propagation beacon that resides on 50 dot
0h-0h-9 MHz is back on the air. Located near the capitol city of Colombo ,
4S7B runs 25 watts to a ground plane antenna in grid square MJ96xv . It is a
joint project of Radio Society of Sri Lanka and the 6 Meter Beacon Project,
Inc. Reception reports are welcome and should be sent to 4S7JL at his
address or e-mail found on QRZ.com. (4S7JL, Southgate )
**
DX
In DX, word that DL1HRN is currently operational as 3W9HRN from Hanoi in
Vietnam . His length of stay is not known, but activity is mainly CW on the
HF bands. QSL via his home callsign, direct or by the bureau. All QSO's are
uploaded to ClubLog.
PA3FYC will be active as D44 TCA from Cape Verde through May 22nd. Activity
will be holiday style on the HF bands only. QSL via his home callsign,
direct or via the bureau.ƒâ‚¬¨
VE3IKV will be operational as C6AUX from Mayaguana Island in the far
southern Bahamas Islands between June 22nd and July 6th. Activity will be on
6 meters only using CW and SSB. QSL direct via VE3IKV.
Lastly, LA7GIA will tentatively be on the air as 3C7GIA from Malabo Island
between October 10th and the 22nd. Activity will be on 80 through 10 meters.
More details will be made available in the near future.
(This weeks DX news courtesy of the Ohio-Penn DX Newsletter)
**
THAT FINAL ITEM: THE DAYTON HAMVENTION - A TRIP BACK IN TIME
And finally this week, as we go to air the gates at the Hara Arena have
swung open for the start of the Dayton Hamvention which is a show steeped in
the history it has created. So lets take this opportunity to take a trip
back in time.
Since 1952 Hamvention has been sponsored by Dayton Amateur Radio Association
and for many years it has been the worldƒâ‚¬(tm)s largest amateur radio
gathering, nowadays attracting 10's of thousands of hams from around the
globe.
According to historical information provided by the Hamvention website
that's when John Willie, W8ACE, who in the early 1950's asked the Dayton
Amateur Radio Association to sponsor a ham radio themed convention. W8ACE
wanted to have a quality show with speakers and prize but was turned down.
Willie finally found a champion in Frank Schwab, W8YCP later to become W8OK.
Schwab was the newly elected president of the club. A meeting was held and
the DARA Board allocated $100 to get started. The first organizational
meeting was held in January 1952 and the Southwestern Ohio Hamvention was
born.
The first planning committee consisted of W8ACE, with Al Dinsmore, W8AUN, as
General Chairman and several others taking on other leadership roles. The
next year the name became the Dayton Hamvention and was registered as a
trademark.
March 22 was the chosen date, causing a short lead time. Even so, he FCC
agreed to give license exams and Phil Rand, W1BDM, a pioneer in TVI
elimination was on the program. In all, there were 7 exhibitors and 6
forums. The first prize was a Collins 75A2 receiver that was purchased
locally. Hoping for 300 visitors, the committee was amazed that over 600
showed up.
But the story does not end there. In 1955 the Awards Program began with the
creation of the ƒâ‚¬Å“Amateur of the Year. In 1964 the Hamvention moved from
the Dayton Biltmore Hotel to Hara Arena which has been its home ever since.
In the end its likely that the ongoing success of the Dayton Hamvention can
be attributed to a few underlying values. Those being caring group of
energetic people we enjoy being on a winning team. A team that brings the
fun and excitement of the hobby to attendees who come Dayton from around the
globe to be a part of the show of shows in amateur radio.
This years Dayton Hamvention runs from Friday May 15th through midday on
Sunday May 17th. If you made it we hope that you had a great time.
(Hamvention.org)
**
NEWSCAST CLOSE
With thanks to Alan Labs, AMSAT, the ARRL, CQ Magazine, the FCC, the Ohio
Penn DX Bulletin, Rain, the RSGB, the South African Radio League, the
Southgate News, TwiT-TV , Australia 's WIA News and you our listeners, that's
all from the Amateur Radio Newsline. Our e-mail address is newsline (at)
arnewsline (dot) org. More information is available at Amateur Radio
Newsline's only official website located at www.arnewsline.org. You can also
write to us or support us at Amateur Radio Newsline, 28197 Robin Avenue ,
Santa Clarita California , 91350.
Before we go, a reminder that Amateur Radio Newsline is seeking nominations
for its 2015 Young Ham of the Year Award. For consideration, a nominee must
have used amateur radio in some way that has benefited his or her community
or encouraged technological development directly or indirectly related to
communications.
Nominees must be 19 years or younger, and reside in the United States
including Hawaii , Alaska and Puerto Rico , or any of the Canadian Provinces.
The individual must also hold a currently valid United States or Canadian
Amateur Radio license.
The deadline for submitting an application is May 30th 2015 and the decision
of the judging committee is final. To obtain an application, send a self
addressed, stamped envelope to 2015 Young Ham of the Year Award, in care of
Amateur Radio Newsline, 28197 Robin Ave. Santa Clarita , California , 91350 .
You can also download a form in Microsoft Word format at
www.arnewsline.org/yhoty, clicking on the word ƒâ‚¬Å“hereƒâ‚¬Â and saving
the file to print at a later time.
Presentation of the 2015 Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year Award
will take the weekend of August 15 and 16 at the Huntsville Hamfest in
Huntsville Alabama .
For now, with producers Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, in Los Angeles, Skeeter
Nash, N5 ASH , in Topeka, plus our news team world wide, I'm Jim Davis,
W2JKD, in sunny Vero Beach, Florida, saying 73 and as always we thank you
for listening.
Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2015. All rights reserved.
***
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