Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1977 September 18 2015

Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1977 with a release date of Friday, 
September 18, 2015 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. Ham radio joins the world in welcoming Pope 
Francis on a historic first U.S. visit. Radio amateurs return home from 
their orbiting shack aboard the International Space Station. It's 
bumper-to-bumper rush hour for the special event honoring Route 66. And, 
in a developing story, hams are on the scene of the California 
wildfires. All this and more in Amateur Radio Newsline report 1977 
coming your way right now.

(Billboard Cart Here and Intro)

**
BREAKING NEWS: HAMS HELP AT CALIFORNIA WILDFIRE

Breaking news: As California continues to struggle with emergency 
conditions from the Butte Wildfire, ARES and RACES volunteers were 
called out this past week to establish communications in support of 
Amador County's Red Cross shelter. The hams operated a station there 
around the clock for 120 hours through Sept. 14, until roads reopened. 
ARES/RACES volunteers were also providing support for shelter 
communications in Calaveras County, in ARRL's San Joaquin Valley 
Section. The Butte Fire, affecting more than 71,000 acres, was only 30 
percent contained as of the middle of the week.

ARRL Sacramento Valley Section Manager Ron Murdock, W6KJ, told the ARRL 
that radio amateurs were also standing ready to assist in the Lake and 
Napa County areas affected by the Valley Fire, west of Sacramento. 
Murdock told the ARRL that Charlie Porter, N6JOA, has been coordinating 
amateurs at the University of California-Davis, to gather up veterinary 
supplies for livestock and domestic animals being evacuated.

Amateur Radio Newsline has been following this story and will provide 
updates as the situation develops.

**

WELCOMING POPE FRANCIS

[ANCHOR] It's a big week on the East Coast, as Pope Francis prepares for 
his historic first visit to the United States. Amateur Radio will play a 
big part in celebrating the occasion. Amateur Radio Newsline's Mark 
Abramowicz NT3V has the story.


[MARK] Members of the Frankford Radio Club here in the Philadelphia area 
and the Potomac Valley Radio Club in the Virginia-Maryland-DC area - 
fierce competitors when it comes to contesting - have joined forces to 
organize a series of special event stations to mark the visit of the pope.

And, they've invited members of the Great South Bay Amateur Radio Club 
on Long Island in New York to help as well.

Pope Francis will visit Washington D.C., New York, and Philadelphia.

Special call signs will hit the ham bands beginning Sept. 22 through 
Sept. 27 - the time Pope Francis is in the country.

Ron Sigismonti, N3RS, is coordinating for FRC. Jim Nitzberg, WX3B, for 
PVRC and John Melfi, W2HCB for Great South Bay.

Jim Nitzberg WX3B says the event has generated quite a bit of attention...

"Most of us have been involved in other special events that weren't 
nearly as significant or as special," Nitzberg says. "There's been an 
unprecedented amount of attention that this event has drawn in the 
non-radio world. And, there's been a lot of attention before it gets 
going in the radio world."

And, Nitzberg says, expectations for the special event operations are high.

"We're expecting to make probably somewhere between 20,000 and 50,000 
contacts among us in the period of time that we're active among about 40 
different amateur radio operators," Nitzberg says.

Ron Sigismonti, N3RS, has the rundown of call signs that will be used.

"In the D.C. area, there'll be K3P," Sigismonti says. "That's going to 
be used by the D.C. and Maryland operators down in that area. N4P by 
those that are in northern Virginia.

"Up in the New York City area, K2P will be used. It will also be used 
for southern New Jersey. And, the Frankford Radio Club has a call sign - 
W3FRC and we'll be working W3FRC portable WMF which is standing for the 
World Meeting of Families."

And, Sigismonti says one more group will be on from Philadelphia during 
the pope's visit on the weekend - the Holmesburg Amateur Radio Club.

"In the Holmesburg area, WM3PEN will be on and they will be on just the 
last two days of the event," Sigismonti says.

Special QSL cards and a certificate will be offered. You can find out 
more by going to our website, arnewsline.org and scrolling down and 
clicking on the script for this week's program.

http://www.silverfishdevelopment.com/papalEvent/

http://www.qrz.com/db/k3p

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mark Abramowicz, NT3V, in 
Philadelphia. [END MARK'S REPORT]


**

CREW BACK HOME ON EARTH

Now here's a real example of two hams being safely grounded: The two 
radio amateurs and a third crew member from the International Space 
Station have arrived home on Earth again. European Space Agency (ESA) 
astronaut Andreas Mogensen, KG5GCZ, Denmark's first astronaut, and 
Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, RN3DT, the Soyuz commander, are back 
on terra firma along with Aidyn Aimbetov, Kazakhstan's first cosmonaut, 
as of Saturday, Sept. 12.

Padalka's stay in space this time around was 168 days, bringing his 
total tenure during five flights to 879 days - a new record, beating the 
previous record holder, cosmonaut and fellow radio amateur, Sergei 
Krikalev, U5MIR, by more than two months. Now that their feet are back 
on the ground, Padalka and Mogensen can look forward to getting on the 
air again - this time without being IN the air.
(NASA, ESA, ARRL)

**

MARATHON MINUTE MEN

In keeping with their historic namesakes, the Minute Man Repeater 
Association plans to be at the ready: In this case, it's to mobilize for 
the annual Ashland Half Marathon/5K/1 mile run and walk in Ashland, 
Massachusetts on October 31. And they're looking for more hams to join 
them along the route. The event is taking place in cooperation with the 
Metrowest YMCA and will benefit Marathon Park and a number of the Y's 
youth programs. It kicks off at 8 a.m., continuing until 1 p.m. If 
you're interested in helping out, send an email to David Wolfe, KG1H, 
dkwolfe@comcast.net

(David Wolfe, KG1H)

**
POW-MIA EVENT WRAPS UP

QSOs with K4MIA this month have been QSOs with a purpose. Each exchange 
honors and remembers men and women in the military who were prisoners of 
war or are still missing in action. That call sign, representing the 
National POW MIA Recognition Day Special Event Station, wraps up its 
September operation on Sunday the 20th. The official recognition day is 
Friday, Sept. 18. Sister stations have also been operating: K4MIA/5, at 
the Museum of the American GI in Texas and K4MIA/7 in Utah. For QSL 
information, search K4MIA on QRZed.com - and remember to send a stamped, 
self-addressed envelope for a returned QSL card.

**


SOUTH AFRICAN HALL OF FAME

The South African Radio League wants to broadcast the names of some 
notable amateurs to the world and has created the SARL Hall of Fame to 
make that happen. The hall of fame's purpose, according to the SARL 
website is to QUOTE "recognize lasting contributions to the development 
of amateur radio and to preserve its history in South Africa."

From now through the end of February 2016, the league is accepting 
nominations in the form of essays of between 200 and 500 words. The 
essays should describe how the nominee has contributed to the growth and 
strength of amateur radio at large. The nominee should have a proven 
record of such contributions for at least five years, with the potential 
benefit to last far longer. Photographs may accompany the essay as 
further documentation.

There will be 10 inductees in 2016, and in later years, a maximum of two 
inductees - one living and one Silent Key.

For additional details visit the league website, http://www.sarl.org.za/

(SOUTH AFRICAN RADIO LEAGUE)

**

PARTY WITH NO RULES

Time to throw away the rules and turn on the rigs. Here's a QSO party 
with no guidelines - just what the organizers are calling 
"recommendations." It's the European Radio Amateurs Organization's radio 
meeting on the air, as they're calling it, a meeting place of radios and 
mountaintops and what they hope are good QSOs. The party runs Saturday, 
Sept. 19 and Sunday Sept 20, and welcomes short-wave listening as well. 
The association says participants can talk for as long as they like, in 
whatever language they prefer. Just get on the air and do it.
As for the rules, or rather, the recommendations, you don't even have to 
send a QSL card unless you want to. The organizers say if you're not 
sure,  just ask. The event is not expected to generate any results or 
tables, just statistics about the numbers of QSOs and the countries, 
call signs and clubs taking part. So the party hosts have one request: 
Help with the statistics-gathering by submitting a log in ADIF format to 
party@eurao.org, with the filename containing your call sign.

**

BREAK HERE:

Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio 
Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including WC8VOA, 
the West Chester Amateur Radio Association's repeater, in West Chester, 
Ohio on Monday nights.

**
BACK TO A ROUTE'S ROOTS

During the past few days, America's Route 66 has returned to its former 
glory as a well-traveled thoroughfare - at least on the air. For those 
ham radio operators participating in the special event, Route 66 on the 
Air, it's the only way to travel. But like any popular, scenic and 
historic byway, Route 66 has been having its share of traffic jams. 
Amateur Radio Newsline's Christian Cudnik, K0STH drove his rig on that 
radio road and comes back with this report:

[CHRISTIAN'S REPORT]


** **

TWO COLLEGE SHACKS DO THEIR HOMEWORK

The big class assignment for many students at the Technical University 
of Pristina in the Republic of Kosovo will likely be to do as much DXing 
as possible this semester. And now that organizers have achieved what 
they're calling a milestone - an on-campus station with a faculty 
adviser - about 40 amateur  radio licensees will be able to operate 
there as Zed-6-ZERO-A (Z60A). The station was inaugurated in early 
September and already the Kosovo radio association, known as SHRAK, has 
helped organize the hams' first big DXing activity, QSOs with 
neighboring Albania, set for Friday, Sept. 18 through Monday the 21st.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., undergraduate hams at the Worcester Polytechnic 
Institute in Massachusetts are welcoming a new antenna tower. The tower, 
installed with the help of graduates and the campus WPI Wireless 
Association, serves the station with the call sign W1YK, inside the 
four-story Salisbury labs building. It covers 40 and 10 meters. Wireless 
association president Andrew Mahn, N-S-ONE-A (NS1A), an undergraduate 
majoring in management information systems, said one graduate in 
particular, Gregory Karp-Neufeld, W6GKN, helped get things up and running.

(ARRL, DX COFFEE, Vjollca Caka, Z61VB, SHRAK PRESIDENT)
**
LIKE FATHER, LIKE DAUGHTER

Rajesh Vagadia, VU2EXP, is a proud father in Gujarat, India. He and his 
15-year-old daughter, Sakshi Vagadia, VU3EXP, were recently honored by 
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station for having received 
Slow Scan TV images sent from cosmonauts via amateur radio this past 
July. The transmissions were sent to commemorate the 40th anniversary of 
the Apollo-Soyuz mission, the first space partnership between the United 
States and what was then the Soviet Union. The father and daughter team 
received a special, limited edition diploma in recognition of their 
effort. Vagadia writes, in a note of acknowledgement to the program, 
QUOTE "My ISS SSTV image was received on July 19 at 5:24:27 UTC. It was 
my fifth successful attempt." ENDQUOTE And it made for a good reason to 
feel pride in being a ham, as well as the father of a ham.

(AMSAT NEWS, QRZNOW)



**

(VERY LOW) POWER TO THE PEOPLE

The gathering this weekend on New Hampshire's Four Tree Island doesn't 
exactly promise a Power Lunch - it's more like a LOW power lunch. The 
10th formal Chowdercon, a three-day celebration of the end of summer, is 
being held in Portsmouth and on the nearby island. Organizers plan it as 
three days of devotion to QRP and cuisine. With all three days revolving 
around food, and on field operations on Four Tree Island, Chowdercon is 
also being held in conjunction with the noted QRP Afield sprint and 
contest on Saturday, organized by the New England QRP Club. Some of the 
events, including the Friday night Meet 'N Greet, will be held nearby on 
the mainland. Amateurs who are traveling a greater distance to attend 
can start participating even while enroute, talking in on the Derry 
repeater, 146.85- PL 85.4Hz, which covers an approximate 50-mile 
radius.  This year a third day was added - Sunday - to allow for more 
casual operating. And, of course, more eating. They  don't call it 
Chowdercon for nothing.
** **
THE WORLD OF DX

The Cape Verde Islands remain activated by two stations through Sept. 
25. Listen for D44TUK and D44TUQ, being operated by DL2MDU and DL3HD, 
respectively. Send QSLs to their home call signs.

Maurizio, IK2GZedU, is reactivating the call sign, 5H3MB, in Tanzania, 
where he will be operating until Oct. 18. His logs will be uploaded to 
Logbook of The World.

Three stations are operating through Sept. 29 on the Island of Niue 
around the clock, thanks to a 7-member team from the UK, operating as 
E6GG. The hams are located on the island's north coast. QSL through 
Clublog OQRS.

Jacek, SQ5BPF, will be operating as JW/SQ5BPF, from the Polish Polar 
Station on Svalbard from Saturday, Sept. 19 through Sunday, Sept. 27. He 
will be operating as time permits.

Carlos, CO8CML, will be a single operator/single band, low-power entry 
on 20 meters, from Las Tunas, Cuba, on Sept. 26 and 27th during the CQ 
Worldwide RTTY contest. Find his QSL information on QRZed.

(OHIO PENN DX NEWSLETTER, IRISH RADIO TRANSMITTERS SOCIETY SOUTH AFRICAN 
RADIO LEAGUE)

***
KICKER: CODE OF CONDUCT

Finaly this week, Arcangelo Ricciardi is not a ham radio operator, but 
he was slapped with a fierce sanction nonetheless, and accused of 
cheating, after it was discovered he was using Morse Code to cheat at 
chess. Ricciardi wasn't copying code from inside a shack but during an 
Italian chess tournament. Using a carefully hidden miniature camera, he 
was transmitting game moves to someone using a chess computer program, 
who would then transmit Morse Code responses back about what his next 
moves should be. So when officials discovered the camera and the 
strategy - tipped off by his unusual eye-blinking -- Ricciardi was 
disgraced and ousted.

Meanwhile, one Belarus radio amateur has shown the world the right and 
proper use of CW. Competing in the 12th International Amateur Radio 
Union World Championship in Macedonia in early September, Siarhei 
Shviadko set a new world record for code by receiving mixed text at a 
speed of 250 CPM. In this case, the cameras here were very visible and 
very focused on the proud ham's triumphant smile after his monumental 
achievement. As for violating anything, well, perhaps the only sanction 
he might have faced, in this case, was a speeding ticket.
***

NEWSCAST CLOSE
With thanks to Alan Labs, the ARRL, AMSAT News Service; CQ Magazine, DX 
Coffee, Hap Holly and the Rain Report; the Ohio-Penn DX Newsletter; 
South African Radio League; Southgate Amateur Radio News, TWiT TV, 
QRZNOW,; and you our listeners, that's all from the Amateur Radio 
Newsline. Our email address is newsline@arnewsline.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, CA 91350.

For now, with Caryn Eve Murray, KD2GUT, at the news desk in New York, 
and our news team worldwide, I'm Don Wilbanks AE5DW in New Orleans, 
saying 73 and as always we thank you for listening.

Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2015. All rights reserved.


***

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