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Subj: Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2440 for Friday August 2nd, 20
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Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2440 for Friday August 2nd, 2024
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2440 with a release date of Friday,
August 2nd, 2024 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a QST. The Bouvet Island 3YØK team negotiates for a
transport vessel. Mechanical Key Week gets underway for CW operators -- and
long-hidden artifacts of a college radio club come to light. All this and
more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2440 comes your way right now.
**
BILLBOARD CART
**
BOUVET ISLAND 3YØK DXPEDITION IN TALKS FOR TRANSPORT VESSEL
NEIL/ANCHOR: Our top story this week is the Bouvet Island DXpedition, 3YØK,
which is making progress in getting back on track for 2026. Jason Daniels
VK2LAW has those details.
JASON: The 3YØK Bouvet Island Dxpedition, which suspended its acceptance of
donations in April while organisers reassessed the trip's financial picture,
has plans to go forward with a 0.6 million budget in 2026. According to the
DXpedition website, negotiations are under way for a contract for a large
transport vessel. The team says it already has received all the helicopter
permits necessary from the Norwegian Polar Institute. The DXpedition's cost
is expected to be shared with [quote] "a small private group," [endquote]
according to organisers.
The website describes the Dxpedition as a "large-scale operation with 20 to
24 operators," but said the team still needs between 4 and 6 additional
amateurs for CW/SSB operation. The three-week trip to the remote island is
to be fully financed upfront but Bouvet's planners hope to restart their
fundraising campaign soon, seeking donations from individuals and clubs as a
way of recovering some expenses. The fundraising is not expected to resume
until a contract is signed for the vessel.
This is Jason Daniels VK2LAW.
(BOUVET ISLAND 3YØK WEBSITE)
**
FCC ADDS NEW CODE TO EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM
NEIL/ANCHOR: In the US, the FCC has made some changes to its Emergency Alert
System. Kent Peterson KCØDGY tells us what's in store.
KENT: The Federal Communications Commission is hoping to add a new event
code to its Emergency Alert system and will meet to consider the proposal on
Wednesday, August 7th. The three-letter code, MEP, is designed to cover
those individuals who are overlooked by existing codes, such as AMBER
Alerts, which focus on abducted and missing children.
The MEP event code -- for missing and endangered persons -- would also be
used in Wireless Emergency Alerts. The FCC believes the new alert code would
fill a need to bring awareness to the thousands of people - mainly missing
indigenous and native women - who cannot be located. Many tribal
organizations in the various native communities have urged the FCC to
activate the code. FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said it would allow for
[quote] "a more rapid and coordinated response to incidents, and build on
efforts by Tribal Nations, the Department of Interior and the Department of
Justice, to collect comprehensive data on missing and endangered Indigenous
person cases.ö [end quote]
The FCC said that manufacturers of equipment used in the nation's Emergency
Alert System will be given time to upgrade software and do whatever else is
necessary to integrate the new code.
This is Kent Peterson KCØDGY.
(RADIO WORLD, FCC)
**
SUDIP KUMAR NANDA, HAM RADIO ADVOCATE IN INDIA, DIES DURING US VISIT
NEIL/ANCHOR: A retired public official in India who was committed to using
ham radio to aid communication in remote regions has died in the United
States during a family visit. We have details about him from Graham Kemp
VK4BB.
GRAHAM: Sudip Kumar Nanda had a long career in public service in his home
state of Gujarat (GOO-juh-rott), focusing with public health and welfare
foremost on his agenda. His efforts included overseeing relief provided in
the aftermath of a 2001 earthquake and strong advocacy for blood donation
and the Ayurvedic system of traditional medicine.
One of his most prominent contributions as a public servant was to introduce
amateur radio in parts of the state underserved by traditional communication
services. Following a cyclone in 1997, when he was serving as relief
commissioner of the state, he promoted ham radio to ensure that hard-hit
districts still had a means of communicating. He advocated again for amateur
radio in 2001 following an earthquake in January. That same year the Gujarat
Institute of Amateur Radio was created and with his extensive experience in
disaster communication management, he was chosen as its chairman.
His radio contributions endured, especially in 2023 when Cyclone Biparjoy
struck the state and the Gujarat Institute of Amateur Radio sent 38 hams to
the state's emergency operation centre to assist with disaster
communications.
He and his wife were visiting their daughter in New York at the time of his
death on July 26th. Local media said the cause was cardiac arrest.
Nanda was 68.
This is Graham Kemp VK4BB.
(GUJARAT SAMACHAR, INDIAN EXPRESS, DESH GUJARAT)
**
CANADA WILDFIRES PROVIDE PREPAREDNESS STRATEGIES
NEIL/ANCHOR: Although amateur radio was not taking a significant role as
emergency-response teams battled the fast-moving wildfires in the Canadian
province of British Columbia, the challenges facing western Canada have been
providing some emergency communicators with a blueprint for going forward.
Randy Sly W4XJ has that report.
RANDY: Even as they keep an eye in the wildfires threatening the west, the
Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services teams have been working on a
comprehensive plan called PACE, for Primary, Alternate, Contingency and
Emergency, to address communications across Canada. Emergency disaster
specialist for the Maritime Division of the Salvation Army, John Bignell,
VE1JMB, told Newsline that the plan includes the critical role hams can play
in disaster-response efforts. Toward that end, the EDS teams are studying IP
linked systems such as Yaesu Fusion and Echolink and such technologies as
Winlink so that traffic can be passed even when the communication
infrastructure has suffered a failure. John told Newsline: [quote] : "We
believe that by internal training and developing relationships with local
hams and ham clubs in each region, we can significantly improve our disaster
response capabilities." [endquote]
The Salvation Army EDS teams see this as an opportunity to deliver what
could be needed in the future when a more extensive amateur radio
involvement may be needed. Meanwhile, said John, the teams are collaborating
with each division to develop a more comprehensive communication plan.
This is Randy Sly W4XJ.
(JOHN BIGNELL, VE1JMB)
**
SPACEX GIVES DETAILS OF SPACECRAFT TO DE-ORBIT ISS
NEIL/ANCHOR: We reported recently that SpaceX had been awarded a contract
from NASA for a spacecraft that is to deorbit the International Space
Station in 2030, when its operational lifetime concludes. At a July 17th
press briefing with NASA, SpaceX said it will help NASA accomplish this by
creating an enhanced version of its Dragon spacecraft, known as the United
States Deorbit Vehicle. It will be based on the original Dragon, but its
trunk section will be redesigned and twice and long, with more thrusters.The
final ISS crew will depart the station once the altitude reaches 330
kilometres, down from its present 400 kilometres as part of a natural decay
in its orbit.
(NASA, AMSAT NEWS)
**
FISTS 'MECHANICAL KEY WEEK' GETS UNDERWAY
NEIL/ANCHOR: There's still time to participate in "Mechanical Key Week," an
annual celebration of Morse Code hosted by the FISTS CW Club. Participants
started getting on the air on Thursday, August 1st and the week doesn't end
until the 11th of August. Jeremy Boot G4NJH has more details.
JEREMY: The FISTS CW Club has been promoting the use of Morse Code on the
air for 37 years. During Mechanical Key Week, hams are busy with their
straight keys, cooties and bugs. Best of all, you don't need to belong to
FISTS to be a part of this activity. Logs are due no later than the 7th of
September.
FISTS is also known as the International Morse Preservation Society. It has
chapters in Europe, East Asia, Oceania and the Americas. It was founded in
England by George Longden, G3ZQS/GX3ZQS, whose callsign was passed on to the
FISTS CW Club after he became a Silent Key in 2006.
This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.
(FISTS CW CLUB)
**
BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio
Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including the W9BCC
repeater in Wausau Wisconsin on Sundays at 9 p.m. during the Rib Mountain
Repeater Association's Sunday Night Swapnet.
**
TELEPHONE MUSEUM HOSTS NEW HAMPSHIRE HAM RADIO CLUB
NEIL/ANCHOR: A popular telephone museum in New England made an important
connection recently with a local ham radio club. Andy Morrison K9AWM tells
us what happened next.
ANDY: Hams from the Twin State Radio Club, W1FN, had a chance to operate
phone in a very different way recently. Dave Colter, WA1ZCN, and other club
members visited the New Hampshire Telephone Museum on the 27th of July to
give visitors a two-hour taste of amateur radio. Many of the visitors turned
out to be hams themselves.
The program focused on amateur radio as a family-friendly activity with a
strong public-service component - showcasing the wealth of technical
advances being made every day.
According to Graham Gifford, the museum's director of programming, the
amateur radio presentation was a natural fit for what is essentially a
museum of communications. Although the Warner, New Hampshire building
showcases a wide array of telephones and telephone history, the story it
tells of different types of communication through the years extends beyond
that. Previous museum events have included an after-school presentation this
past April about the solar eclipse and its impact -- and a discussion about
the Navajo Code Talkers of World War II.
This is Andy Morrison K9AWM.
(GRAHAM GIFFORD)
**
RSGB CONVENTION CALLED 'FEAST OF AMATEUR RADIO'
NEIL/ANCHOR: Excitement is building for the RSGB convention to be held this
fall. Jeremy Boot G4NJH gives us a preview.
JEREMY: The Radio Society of Great Britain is offering what its website is
calling "a feast of amateur radio" at its convention in Milton Keynes this
coming October. Once again, AMSAT's Colloquium will take place at the same
time during the convention which is between the 11th and 13th of October.
The ups and downs of Solar Cycle 25 and the particulars of Sporadic-E are
two of the propagation-related presentations being offered this year. Steve
Nichols, GØKYA, chair of the propagation studies committee, will discuss the
solar cycle and the predictions he made three years ago. Chris Deacon,
G4IFX, will be exploring Sporadic-E and its use for amateur contacts.
In all, there will be three thematic streams of presentations in the
programme: Getting Started, Operating and Technical. For details, visit the
society's website at rsgb dot org stroke convention (rsgb.org/convention).
There is also a convention update in the August issue of RadCom, the RSGB's
magazine.
This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.
(RSGB)
**
WORLD OF DX
In the World of DX, you have until the 6th of August to work Steve, ZL4CZ,
using the callsign E51CZZ, and Steve, ZL2KE, using the callsign E51KEE, from
Rarotonga, IOTA number OC-013, and Aitutaki, IOTA number OC-083. They are on
40-10m, focusing on 20, 15 and 10 metres. Their activity is holiday style.
QSL via LoTW.
Listen for Randy, K5SL, on the air from Turks and Caicos as VP5/K5SL from
the 14th through the 24th of August on the HF bands. He will be using CW.
QSL via his home call.
Thierry, FY4JI, is active until the 10th of August from French Guiana as
TO973FY. He is celebrating the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Listen on the HF
bands where he will be using SSB and FT8. QSL via EA5GL.
Members of the Russian Robinson Club will be active from Ayon island, IOTA
Number AS-038, in the East Siberian Sea, using the callsign RIØKA [R EYE
ZERO KAY AY] from the 12th through the 29th of August. Listen on various HF
bands. QSL via RZ3EC.
(DX WORLD)
**
KICKER: COLLEGE RADIO CLUB ETCHED INTO MEMORY - AND ONE WALL
NEIL/ANCHOR: For our final story, we visit a Pennsylvania college campus
building under renovation. If the walls could talk, these walls would tell a
story about a ham radio club of bygone years. Travis Lisk N3ILS brings us
those details.
TRAVIS: Like hieroglyphics on a wall, these etchings tell a story - but this
tale dates back to some not-so-ancient times: The wall etchings are
callsigns of students who belonged to the campus amateur radio society at
Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, a club founded a century ago. Some
remnants left by members of the now-defunct club were discovered on the
walls of a fifth-floor room in a building undergoing renovation. The room
was apparently used for storage; the shack, which had been in a number of
campus locations, eventually was moved to the building's basement.
Following the discovery of the callsigns, the university contacted graduates
of the college, including Daryl George, whose callsign as a student was
WA3EMX, and Neil Wells, whose callsign is still K1UTV. Both are 1969
graduates and shared their memories in an article on the campus website.
Both of their callsigns appear etched on the building's wall.
The club had a callsign: W3AEQ. Gary Wilson, K2GW, continues to renew it, a
gesture of optimism that ham radio will be back on the air one day on campus
in much the same way it first arrived through the efforts of students in
electrical engineering and physics.
For now, the Lehigh University Amateur Radio Society exists only in the
memories and the hopes of some of the school's graduates. It exists too in
those FCC-issued letters and numbers firmly carved into the wall of a campus
building so many decades ago.
This is Travis Lisk N3ILS.
(LEHIGH UNIVERSITY)
**
DO YOU HAIKU?
Ah, the sweet words of a beautiful poem, they make the heart sing - and the
well-chosen words of a well-written haiku guarantee good propagation. OK,
maybe not. But why not pick up a pencil and join the Amateur Radio Newsline
haiku challenge anyway? Share your experience by sending an original haiku
to us here at Newsline. Use the entry form on our website, arnewsline.org
and please follow the rules for writing your three-line haiku -- sorry but
we cannot accept any entries that aren't written in traditional haiku form.
Share with fellow listeners the poetry that is inspired by your ham radio
experience!
NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Amateur Radio Daily; AMSAT News; ARRL; Bouvet
Island 3YØK website; CQ Magazine; David Behar K7DB; DXNews; DXWorld;
425DXNews; FCC; FISTS CW Club; Graham Gifford; the Gujarat Samachar; John
Bignell, VE1JMB; Indian Express; Lehigh University; NASA.GOV; QRZ.com; Radio
Society of Great Britain; Radio World; shortwaveradio.de; and you our
listeners, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline. We remind our
listeners that Amateur Radio Newsline is an all-volunteer non-profit
organization that incurs expenses for its continued operation. If you wish
to support us, please visit our website at arnewsline.org and know that we
appreciate you all. We also remind our listeners that if you like our
newscast, please leave us a 5-star rating wherever you subscribe to us. For
now, with Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT at the news desk in New York, and our news
team worldwide, I'm Neil Rapp WB9VPG in Union Kentucky saying 73. As always
we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2024.
All rights reserved.
73 de Bill, PY2BIL
PY2BIL@PY2BIL.SP.BRA.SOAM
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+
BBS: PY2BIL - Timed 02-ago-2024 08:02 E. South America Standard Time
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