Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1978 September 25 2015

Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1978 with a release date of Friday, 
September 25, 2015 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. In separate tragedies, two radio amateurs become 
Silent Keys. Area hams lend support to a Massachusetts cycling event to 
benefit ALS research. A new island gets activated in Connecticut's 
Housatonic River. And pigs fly, transmitting to receivers on the Earth 
below. All this and more in Amateur Radio Newsline report 1978 coming 
your way right now.

(Billboard Cart Here and Intro)

**

TWO SILENT KEYS LOST TO TRAGEDIES

The amateur radio community is grieving the loss of two members - one, a 
victim of California's Butte Wildfire, and the other, killed in the line 
of duty in a Florida shooting. They are Mark McCloud, K6YCV, of 
Mokelumne Hill, California and William Myers, KK4KF, of Shalimar, Florida.

McCloud was confirmed as being among the latest death toll in the 
wildfires that have been sweeping the West Coast state since Sept. 9. 
His body was found outside his house on Sept. 16, one of two fatalities 
in the Butte fire raging east of Sacramento.

The Calaveras County coroner, Kevin Raggio, said the 66-year-old 
McCloud, who lived in Mountain Ranch, died of thermal injury as a result 
of the fire. Raggio told the Los Angeles Times that McCloud had refused 
to leave the scene and ultimately succumbed. Neighbor Donny Moore told 
KCRA-TV that the retiree, who was disabled, could not be convinced to 
abandon his residence despite the risks. The Butte Fire has been 
spreading since it first broke out on Sept. 9, and has burned more than 
70,760 acres. According to McCloud's profile on QRZ, he was an avid 
gardener who devoted the balance of his time to his HF antenna projects.

The death of Myers, a Okaloosa County, Florida, Sheriff's Deputy, came 
in the line of duty on Tuesday, Sept. 22, while he was serving an 
injunction in a domestic violence case. Before he could serve 
33-year-old Joel Smith the document to protect Smith's partner and call 
for removal of firearms, Smith fired a previously concealed weapon at 
him. Myers died of his injuries a short time later at the hospital, 
following surgery. Smith was shot and killed by authorities during a 
standoff at a nearby hotel.

According to Myers' QSL.NET profile, he was an Air Force retiree and the 
father of two sons, one of whom is also a ham. He was an enthusiastic 
QRP operator and a fan of kit-built radios, including some vintage 
Heathkits. Myers became a Silent Key at age 64.

(ARRL, The Los Angeles Times, KCRA-TV)

**

FIGHTING ALS

The Ride to Defeat ALS, taking place Sunday, Sept. 27 in Massachusetts, 
marks the tough journey that begins whenever a person receives a 
diagnosis of ALS -- or Lou Gherig's Disease -- a terminal neuro-muscular 
disease. Perhaps one of the most high-profile people to be diagnosed is 
New Orleans Saints star player Steve Gleason, who created Team Gleason 
as a public-awareness foundation following his own diagnosis in 2011. 
Echoing that same spirit of charity and awareness, the ALS Association 
Massachusetts Chapter and the Worcester Emergency Communications Team 
are counting on amateur radio operators in the region to support 
cyclists participating in the benefit ride. Radio operators are needed 
to provide roving communications for safety and aid as well as staffing 
stations along the courses, which run for 75, 50, 25 and 10 miles. The 
route begins at The Longfellow Club in Wayland and the longest routes 
continue through several towns with rest stops in Hudson, Bolton, Acton, 
Concord, and Sudbury. The event concludes at 3 p.m. Some operators may 
need to bring a mobile radio to their station because of the large area 
being covered. Any ham who would like to be a part of the event should 
email directly to events@wect.org and indicate what type of radio you 
have, frequency, and whether you prefer to be roving communications or a 
station course.

(ALS Association Massachusetts Chapter website, Worchester Emergency 
Communcations Team)

**

NO HAM IS AN ISLAND

There's lots of celebrating going on at the Newport County Radio Club, 
which has just activated Turnip Island, now known as CT036R. The crew on 
the island, in Connecticut's Housatonic River, consisted of Rich, KC1ARO 
and Paul, N1PSX, who logged 30 contacts, ranging from nearby New York 
and Virginia to farther-away Oklahoma and South Dakota, but also Canada 
and Aruba. The crew worked mostly on 20 meters with some QSOs on 40 meters.

Paul Silverzweig, N1PSX, and Rich Russell, KC1ARO, report on the Newport 
County club website that on Sept. 19, the day they set up operations, 
QUOTE "river water was very low, complicating transport with rocky 
interjections, but we got out there with two radios, two antennas and 
lunch. The island was official by noonish."

Then, the crew, which had operated as call sign W1SYE, no doubt sat down 
to a lunch that had just become a celebration feast.

(NEWPORT COUNTY RADIO CLUB)

**

RAMPING UP AGAINST RADIO INTRUDERS

A recent report from the International Amateur Radio Union has put radio 
amateurs on alert to some new and persistent sources of interference on 
the bands. An increasing amount of Russian military traffic has turned 
up at 40 meters and 20 meters, according to the September newsletter 
from the IARU Region 1 Monitoring System. Monitors in Europe reported 
strong daily interference and frequent splatter in particular in 
Gorodezh on 14.108 MHz from a Russian over-the-horizon radar, and found 
the Russian Navy using FM CW frequently on 14.192 MHz. Other monitors, 
based in Germany, reported Chinese over-the-horizon radars operating on 
other bands, including 75 meters. Region 1 monitors have also detected 
interference from Spanish fishing vessels on all bands, and an 
interfering transmission from a beacon in Kazakhstan on 7027.5 kHz, sent 
as a continuous letter "V." European-based monitors have also detected 
interference on 10 meters, as transmissions between taxi dispatchers and 
drivers.

Wolf Hadel, D-K-2-OH-M (DK2OM), a coordinator and monitor with the 
program, has told members of the Rusk County Amateur Radio Club in East 
Texas that Russian and Iranian over-the-horizon operations are among the 
worst offenders, especially on 20 meters. Hadel has been encouraging 
more hams to become volunteer monitors.

(IARU Region 1)

**

AT THE END OF THE PAPER TRAIL

License applicants, welcome to the age of paperless paperwork: In 
keeping with its announcement earlier this year, FCC has stopped 
printing and mailing license documents as part of its plan to economize 
and streamline. And that has made things busier than ever at the ARRL's VEC.

VEC Manager, Maria Somma, A-B-ONE-F-M, (AB1FM), says her offices are 
receiving three times the number of calls from amateurs who may be 
confused about the change, or need additional information on how to get 
copies of their license. Somma has responded by creating a web page 
called "Obtain License Copy," which walks website visitors through the 
ways to receive an official document from the FCC. She also recommends 
that amateurs wanting a license copy call the FCC directly at 
877-480-3201 and select option 4 from the menu.

(ARRL)

**
LICENSE CHANGES OVERSEAS

Changes are coming to two European amateur radio licensing systems. In 
the UK, starting on Oct. 1, amateur radio license exams will be overseen 
by the Radio Society of Great Britain, which is picking up the 
responsibility from the Radio Communications Foundation.

The RGSB has been assuring applicants that nothing, other than that, 
will really change. A recent statement says: QUOTE "The same people will 
be doing the same things; they will just be reporting to the RSGB Board 
instead of the RCF. This will free the RCF Trustees to concentrate on 
their charitable work and will further streamline the administration of 
the examinations, building on the foundation established over the last 8 
years." The tests had been given by the RCF since 2007.

The RGSB concludes its statement by saying: QUOTE "Examinations will 
continue to be available to all, regardless of RSGB membership, and 
these changes will have minimal impact on the conduct of the 
examinations at local level."

In the meantime, the formerly free licenses issued in The Netherlands 
are now subject to a fee of 31 euros. The Dutch government announced the 
imposition of the new fee on Budget Day, Sept. 15. The move is being 
protested by the Dutch radio communications agency, VERON.

(RGSB, VERON)

**

WHEN PIGS FLY

Now here's a real case of a ham being on the air: Pinky Pig was set to 
head into near-space at noon on Friday, Sept. 25 from the National 
Hamfest at the Newark Showground in the UK. The little pink pig figure 
is being launched by Andrew Garratt, M-ZERO-N-R-D (M0NRD), who has 
outfitted Pinky with a headset worthy of his trip aboard a High Altitude 
Balloon. Images of the airborne porker are to be transmitted via Slow 
Scan Digital Video to waiting amateur receivers home on Earth. The 
payload carries the call sign - naturally - PINKY - and the pig will 
transmit on 434.575 MHz USB RTTY 300 bps Hz shift ASCII-8, no parity, 2 
stop bits.

Hopefully, Pinky won't end up hogging the airwaves.  And with luck, his 
signal won't be reduced to a squeal.

(Southgate Amateur Radio News)

**

BREAK HERE:
Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio 
Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including K7MRG, 
the Mingus Mountain Repeater Group, in Prescott, Arizona, on Tuesday nights.

**

YLS and XYLS ARE "ALL EAARS"

[ANCHOR]: The Gals' Night Net, based in Arizona, is part 
emergency-preparedness exercise and part supportive sisterhood for the 
YLs and XYLs who check in. And after a summer break, it's back in 
business. Amateur Radio Newsline's Heather Embee, KB3TZD, has the details:

[HEATHER]: After a successful spring season, and break in the action 
during August, Angie Buchanan, N7EMB, is back to hosting a Monday night 
on-air gathering of women amateurs on the Eastern Arizona ARS Repeater 
System, or EAARS, at 7:30 Mountain time. The net resumed in early 
September. Hams participating don't need to be a member of EAARS to use 
the wide-reaching 11 repeater system.

Angie writes, in an email to Amateur Radio Newsline, that the net 
evolved as a way to get licensed females on the air and to get to know 
one another. It's also a way to improve operating skills and check how 
well the radio equipment is working. And, she says, QUOTE "feel more 
relaxed behind the mic, just in case we are ever needed in an emergency 
situation." Angie says she   hopes to make it fun, even for the shyest 
amateurs. If that sounds like you, you can email her instead at 
emberfire@cox.net. Include your call sign, and SHE will call YOU on the 
air, instead. She says, QUOTE "I want them to be able to handle a radio 
in an emergency situation and not have their husbands to direct them." 
ENDQUOTE

Sorry guys, OMs are banned from this net. But as Angie says, most of 
them understand perfectly and accept it.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Heather Embee, KB3TZD, in Berwick, 
Pennsylvania

[ANCHOR]: For a list of repeater frequencies and PL codes, visit the 
radio society's website, www.eaars.com

**

DXPEDITION ON THE MOVE

We're barely into autumn but already the Intrepid DX Group is thinking 
ahead to January 2016. That's when the radio operators are heading to 
South Sandwich/South Georgia on their next DXpedition. These are coveted 
spots, with the South Sandwich Islands being Number 3 on ClubLog's Most 
Wanted DXCC List, and South Georgia Number 8.

Paul Ewing, N6PSE, said the team expects to arrive on South Sandwich on 
Jan. 17, weather permitting, and will spend 10 days there operating as 
VP8STI, before moving on to South Georgia Island, where they will 
operate as VP8SGI beginning Feb. 1.

Ewing told the ARRL that the South Sandwich operation is a top 
consideration: QUOTE "Our main priority is to make a great impact to the 
need for South Sandwich contacts, and we will sacrifice our time at 
South Georgia to ensure that we make that impact from South Sandwich."

(ARRL)

**

HAM AND CB: WHEN TWO WORLDS COLLIDE

The URE, the national amateur radio society of Spain, is trying to get 
licensed amateurs interested in Citizens Band. The URE website now has a 
27 MHz portal to CB and is encouraging everyone, especially licensed 
radio amateurs, to give it a try.
The website is promoting CB not just in Spain but in other countries. 
According to the website, the use of the CB frequency has not been 
considered special use, since May of 2014, and no special application or 
license is required from the Secretary of State for Telecommunications 
and the Information Society. The site goes on to say, in translation, 
"any approved equipment can be used by anyone without paying fees or 
(having) licenses." Inquiries are directed to the email address at 
cb27@ure.es
(URE, Southgate Amateur Radio News)

**

BIG BUSINESS IN BALI

Region 3 of the International Amateur Radio Union will hold its 
triennial conference on Oct. 12 in Bali, hosted by the Indonesian radio 
society, OARI.

The special event station, YB16IARU will be operating at the conference 
venue, the Sanur Paradise Plaza Hotel, through the gathering's 
conclusion on Oct. 16. This is the second time Indonesia has hosted the 
event.

Attendees will include representatives from the ARRL US Pacific 
Territories, NZART New Zealand, JARL Japan and VARC Vietnam, among 
others. The agenda will include the push by the UN to have Morse Code 
granted heritage recognition, the World Radio Conference to be held in 
Geneva in November and the IARU's role in CubeSat launches.


**

NEW UNITY FOR ALBANIAN HAMS

The Albanian Radio Amateur Club has announced its arrival to the world. 
And to local hams.

Although amateurs have been active in that country since 1952, as the 
Federation of Radio Amateurs, the new club's website notes that 
activity, including contesting, had been limited even into the 1990s. 
The website says that once the democratic process took hold in Albania, 
replacing communism, amateur radio began to grow and expand, inspired by 
ham radio efforts in nearby Hungary.

The new organization, which replaces the federation, is the brainchild 
of three hams who, according to the website, wanted to provide QUOTE "an 
opportunity to bring together our personal experiences in order to 
create a meeting point for all those passionate [about] radio in Albania."

They are urging members and prospective members to be patient.

A banner at the bottom of the new club's webpage says: "We are newborn, 
give us time to get organized."


(Albanian Radio Amateur Club)

**

THE WORLD OF DX


Three Czech amateurs are operating in Zimbabwe as Z-21-M-G (Z21MG) 
through Oct. 1. They are focusing on the CQ World Wide RTTY Contest on 
Sept. 26 and 27 but will also be using SSB and CW. QSLs are available 
via ClubLog OQRS.

The Amateur Radio Club of Chios Island, SZ8XIO, is hosting a special 
event station through October. Using the call sign SX8HOMER, the Greek 
Island station will operate on 40, 30, 20, 17, 15 and 10 meters, using 
SSBm PSK31 and JT65. The call sign honors the author of the epic poems, 
"The Iliad" and "The Odyssey." QSL cards are not necessary but a 
certificate is available for $5, or is free for a .PDF. Write the QSL 
manager SV8GXQ.

Willi, DJ7RJ, will be operating on Mauritius on 160 through 10 meters as 
3B8/DL7RJ beginning Oct. 5 through the end of the month. He will focus 
on 160m using CW and SSB. QSL via his home call sign.

John, W2GD, will be active again in Aruba as P40W on Oct. 24 and 25th 
during the CQ World Wide DX SSB Contest. QSL via Logbook of the World or 
direct to N2MM. Bureau cards are no longer accepted.

Moto, J-A-ONE-G-Z-V (JA1GZV) is operating as TX7A from Moorea Island in
French Polynesia until the end of October.


(OHIO PENN DX NEWSLETTER, IRISH RADIO TRANSMITTERS SOCIETY, QRZ)

**

KICKER: THE CODE OF SISTERHOOD

Only one person could possibly be prouder than a 10-year-old ham herself 
after successfully competing her first QSO in CW. And that, of course, 
would be the young ham's dad. Faith Hannah Lea, AE4FH, did just that 
recently from her Florida home, with her father, Jim Lea, WX4TV, 
alongside her. He recently told Amateur Radio Newsline's Cheryl Lasek 
that it was one of the many proud moments given him by his homeschooled 
daughter, who earned her Extra class this year. Said her father, QUOTE: 
"When she decides that she wants to do something, she simply does 
it."ENDQUOTE That also includes speaking this past May at the Dayton 
Hamfest with her brother Zechariah, WX4TVJ.

Faith Hannah is also big fan of CW because, she noted, it is one of the 
last communications options available when the Internet and the grid 
have failed. And she credits her dad - her Elmer - with helping her 
practice, practice, practice - especially, she said, sending "weird 
messages" back and forth to amuse themselves while she learns.

With any luck, in a few years - actually, QUITE a few years - Faith 
Hannah may know the Morse Code accomplishment celebrated some months ago 
by Carol McGee of Reno, Nevada. Shortly before her 95th birthday, the 
former World War II Navy nurse was honored with a Legacy Award from the 
Sisterhood of Amateur Radio for her service as a radio operator during 
the war and beyond. McGee had been licensed in the 1930s, as W8UCY. Tom 
Loughney, AJ4XM, general manager of the Quarter Century Wireless 
Association, said his group was also present at the annual dinner, where 
McGee expressed an interest in perhaps becoming more active again. We 
eagerly await word of her next QSO in CW.

(Sisterhood of Amateur Radio, Quarter Century Wireless Association)

**

NEWSCAST CLOSE
With thanks to Alan Labs, the ARRL, AMSAT News Service; CQ Magazine, DX 
Coffee, Hap Holly and the Rain Report; The Irish Radio Transmitter 
Society; The Information Press; IARU Region 1; the ITU; KCRA-TV, the Los 
Angeles Times; the Newport County Radio Club; the Ohio-Penn DX 
Newsletter; Southgate Amateur Radio News, TWiT TV, the Quarter Century 
Wireless Association; QRZNOW; Sisterhood of Amateur Radio; Southgate 
Amateur Radio News, 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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