Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2088 for Friday, November 3, 2017 Audio - https://www.arnewsline.org/s/Report2088.mp3 Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2088 with a release date of Friday, November 3, 2017 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a QST. Hams in Pennsylvania and California give priority to disaster preparedness. In the UK, the last of the Bletchley Park listeners has died -- and Jordan prepares to launch its first CubeSat. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2088 comes your way right now. ** BILLBOARD CART ** SPECIAL REPORT: DISASTER PREPAREDNESS ON CAMPUS PAUL/ANCHOR: We open this week's newscast with a three-part special report on disaster preparedness. You've heard these past few weeks about amateur response to the challenges of Atlantic hurricane season. But what about earthquakes or even a nuclear power plant accident? Neil Rapp WB9VPG starts us off with the story of how a college radio club is teaching students to prep for the worst. NEIL'S REPORT: Ham radio is alive and well on the campus of California State University-San Bernardino, as California prepares for potential earthquakes, loss of electricity and other disasters. Located directly on the San Andreas fault, students in the CSU-SB amateur radio club are working on several projects tying together disaster assessment, communications and of course… radio. Dr. Vincent Nestler, KK6WJU, is the sponsor of the group and a professor of cybersecurity at the school. The club has several projects, like detecting Bluetooth signals under collapsed buildings to estimate the number of people that need to be rescued. He tells us about some of the other projects. VINCENT: We have a disaster preparedness project where we have students that are practicing “grid down." We have a tent with a generator, a small computer that acts as a server to collect up all the data and charge up radios. We’re working on some cool stuff like getting the school as part of the broadband mesh that’s out here. Again, if the grid is down and we can keep the mesh up, that allows us to have digital communications in real time. One of the cooler things we’re trying to do is, in our simulation of grid down is, send up drones. One drone will have a relay doing cross-banding. So that this way we whoever can hit the drone from line of sight will be able to communicate further and maybe get to the repeater that they may not be able to get to otherwise. So we want to send out drones to survey the area, send that information back via the broadband mesh, so that anybody that’s on the mesh can see that video. We can send up the drone and have it show real time footage of… ok this building collapsed; this building is on fire. NEIL: The club has licensed around 30 people. Vincent says that the time for ham radio is now. VINCENT: There’s never been a better time for ham radio to get big. Why? Two hurricanes, category whatever four and five, gone through Puerto Rico… that whole island is a case in point, right? You have, you know, the shooting in Las Vegas. Ham radio may not necessarily be the case for that exactly… but… the world is on fire, right? You got the crazy wild fires in [northern California]. The shooter was shooting people. At what point are they going to be shooting power grids? You know, terrorism strikes. So people are starting to understand that we’re going into crazy times and that little extra bit of security where it’s like... OK, even if everything shuts down, I have a radio and I can get to people and people can get to me. Now‘s the time to push that… to say, look. The world is on fire. Get a ham radio, get licensed, and learn how to communicate so that if you need it, you’ll have it. NEIL: Reporting for Amateur Radio Newsline, I’m Neil Rapp, WB9VPG ** SPECIAL REPORT: DISASTER PREPAREDNESS IN RETIREMENT COMMUNITY PAUL/ANCHOR: Now what happens if the amateurs happen to be older - a whole lot older - than college students? There's a very unique team of trained hams helping to safeguard their California community too - and it include retirees well into their 90s. Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT has that story. CARYN'S REPORT: The operators of amateur station AI6PV are not your typical rookies. In fact, many have waited a lifetime - a long lifetime - to get their tickets. These hams are in their 70s, 80s and even their 90s. Their shack is hardly typical either: It's located at Plymouth Village, a continuing care retirement community on a sprawling 37 acres in Redlands, California. Keith Kasin AI6BX, executive director of Plymouth Village, said the 3-year-old station started with a singular mission. KEITH: We got into it a lot for the disaster preparedness. We live right on top of the San Andreas Fault so we kicked a lot of it off as part of our emergency communication for the disaster preparedness team. People have taken to it and they are doing more of it on their own. I have had residents come to me and say "I am getting ready to take a trip to see children or grandchildren. Can you help me identify some repeaters along the way?" CARYN: The 32 licensed hams are part of a 64-member resident disaster response team connecting to staff administrators as well as area hospitals, city agencies and other organizations. Whether they live independently on the grounds or receive nursing or assisted living care, almost every resident can have a role. KEITH: Most, yes, are in the residential area but here's one of the best ones - and to me, this is a great success story - about how amateur radio kept someone socially connected to his friends: He had a situation and needed to go to our skilled nursing facility and he became a permanent resident there. He took his HT and he would be rolling down the hallway in his wheelchair talking to friends on the radio. His great-grandson would come in and say 'Great grandpa, what's that? Tell me about it' and he would get him engaged. This is someone who had been licensed years ago when he was a storm chaser and relicensed when he got to our community. It is disaster preparation, it is a new social engagement. I have heard residents calling each other to set up a game of ping pong on their radios. CARYN: The hams have begun upgrading their licenses and studying to become Volunteer Examiners. Others spend time DXing on HF. Meanwhile, other facilities including Plymouth Village's sister locations in Arizona and Washington State are interested in replicating the model. His advice? KEITH: Find a couple of residents if you can who were hams and would be interested in getting back into it. Look for those retired from the military who were radio officers -- and make it fun. CARYN: Amateur station AI6PV: making it fun and keeping it safe. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT ** DISASTER PREPAREDNESS: BRACING NEAR NUCLEAR POWER PLANT PAUL/ANCHOR: For the final part of our report, we look to Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, where hams are gearing up for a drill this month to ensure safety surrounding a local nuclear power plant. We hear more from Heather Embee KB3TZD. HEATHER'S REPORT: In Pennsylvania, the Reading Radio Club is preparing to take part in the Limerick Power Plant Exercise on Tuesday, Nov. 14th and is looking for 18 to 24 radio operators to assist, starting at 5 p.m. The Limerick Generating Station in Limerick Township, Pennsylvania is a nuclear power plant that can produce enough electricity for more than 1 million homes - but its presence also produces concerns about public safety in the surrounding 10-mile emergency planning zone. The amateur radio club provides communications support for these tests every two years. Since the exercise covers a number of different municipalities, the club is hoping to have two or three hams stationed at each location, as well as some assigned to the Montgomery County EOC. Hams who are participating for the first time will be paired up with an amateur who has assisted in the exercise before. Food will be provided at each location. For more details, send an email to Don WA1ELA at joni hyphen don at att dot net (joni-don@att.net). Joni is spelled "j o n i." For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Heather Embee KB3TZD. ** DEATH OF A BLETCHLEY PARK 'LISTENER' PAUL/ANCHOR: A woman who used her mastery of Morse Code to help make World War II history has died. Jeremy Boot G4NJH tells us her story. JEREMY'S REPORT: One of the heroic Bletchley Park "listeners" of World War II has died. Alison Robins, who taught herself both Morse Code and German during the war and intercepted messages from U-boats around the coast of Britain, was instrumental in passing along those messages to Allied codebreakers at Bletchley Park. Her assignments placed her at various coastal listening stations. She was described in various newspaper reports as the last surviving secret listener of that era. Alison had been in the Women's Royal Naval Service during the early part of the war and also worked at the Royal Naval College. Her daughter Jill Hazell told the Mirror newspaper that the Royal Navy Wren spoke very rarely about her wartime experiences, which involved monitoring communications late into the night. Her husband, Maurice, who also spoke German was sent to that nation before the Nuremberg Trials to help with translations. Alison Robins was 97. She died on the 15th of October in the Westbury Nursing Home in Bristol where she was receiving care for dementia. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH. (FORCES NETWORK, THE MIRROR, DAILY MAIL) ** BREAK HERE Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including the W6ZN Repeater Group in Palomar Mountain, California on Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. local time. ** JORDAN'S FIRST CUBESAT GETS FINAL TOUCHES PAUL/ANCHOR: In Jordan, student scientists and ham radio operators will share a historic "first." Jim Meachen ZL2BHF tells us about this ambitious project. JIM'S REPORT: Jordan's King Hussein, call sign JY1, was one of the world's most notable radio amateurs whose list of on-air contacts included Columbia shuttle astronaut Owen Garriott W5LFL the first ham in space. So it's perhaps a fitting tribute that the late monarch's call sign is about to go back on the air - literally - it will be launched into space. Jordan is preparing to send up the Cubesat JY1-SAT, its first miniature satellite. The satellite is the creation of a team of 19 engineering students working at various universities in Jordan under the supervision of the Crown Prince Foundation. The satellite will be launched in early 2018 and is designed to communicate with earth stations as well as broadcast various images of interest to tourists. During a visit to the Nanotechnology Institute recently to help oversee the finishing touches on JY1-SAT, Crown Prince Hussein was able to record an audio message that will be carried by the tiny Cubesat and broadcast once it is in space. King Hussein became a Silent Key in 1999 but amateurs can now look forward to a contact that is also a tribute. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Meachen ZL2BHF ** HAM RADIO BECOMES 'VANDERKLOOF DAM RADIO' PAUL/ANCHOR: Throughout November, the resort region surrounding the Vanderkloof Dam in South Africa is going to be busier than usual - with amateur radio activity. John Williams VK4JJW has the details. JOHN'S REPORT: Get ready to celebrate the Vanderkloof Dam in the Northern Cape of South Africa. The dam is marking its 40th anniversary with the help of the Bo-Karoo Amateur Radio Club. The club will be on the air as Special Event station ZS40VDK from November 1st until the 30th. The dam which was commissioned in 1977 was originally known as the PK Le Roux Dam and is fed by South Africa's largest river, the Orange River. It's the second-largest dam in the country and boasts the highest wall among dams in the nation - 108 meters, or more than 350 feet high. There is, of course, an off-the-air celebration too - a big party at the Sandgat Resort just outside the town of Vanderkloof on Saturday the 18th of November. But there will be no QSL cards for that. Meanwhile, if plans hold for the month of November, the special event honoring the dam can count on a nice big flood - of HF contacts, that is. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm John Williams VK4JJW. (SARL) ** SPAIN GIVES HAMS 60 METER ALLOCATION PAUL/ANCHOR: Good news for hams in Spain. The new National Frequency Allocation Chart shows that amateur radio operators have been given the new global 60 meter allocation on a secondary basis. The frequencies are 5351.5 - 5366.5 MHz. Hams in Spain are also getting additional 50 KHz of space on the 70 MHz band. The operating frequencies now are 70.150-70.250 MHz. The state's official newsletter carried the news on Friday, October 27. (SOUTHGATE) ** HIGHEST AWARDS FOR 2 FROM CW OPERATORS CLUB PAUL/ANCHOR: The CW Operators Club, an advocate for the continued use of Code by amateurs worldwide, has just presented honors to two recipients who carry on the tradition. We hear more from Stephen Kinford N8WB. STEPHEN'S REPORT: The CW Operators Club is an international group that believes it's all about the Code. With that in mind, the group has announced that this year's recipients of its CW Ops Awards for Advancing the Art of CW are the Boy Scouts of America and Roger Cooke G3LDI. The Scouts are being recognized for the various programs the organization has run throughout the years encouraging youngsters to develop an interest in Morse Code. Roger Cooke, author of the book "Morse Code for Radio Amateurs" is being recognized as the GB2CW coordinator for the Radio Society of Great Britain and for his commitment to teaching Morse Code to other amateurs. His book is in its 12th edition. The award is one of several given by the CW Operators Club, which promotes the use of Morse Code in ragchewing, contesting and DXing. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Stephen Kinford N8WB. (SOUTHGATE) ** THE WORLD OF DX In the world of DX, be listening for Robert DL7VOA will be using the call sign V34AO from Hopkins in Belize between the 18th and 30th of November. He will be operating holiday style on the beach, mainly using CW during the local evening and nighttime hours. You may be able to hear him as well on SSB. Be listening for him especially during the CQWW DX CW Contest November 25th and 26th. Robert would be very happy to receive recordings of his transmissions in MP3 at DL7VOA dot DE. Send QSLs via DL7VOA, by the Bureau or direct. Be listening through the 10th of November for two Canadian amateurs operating as VY0ERC from the Eureka Amateur Radio Club station on Ellesmere Island. The island, which is in the northernmost part of Canada, counts as NA-008 for the Islands on the Air award program. The hams will be operating from inside the Eureka Weather Station. QSL M-ZERO-OXO OQRS or Direct Mail. Thomas, OZ1AA is operating until November 7th as 4W/OZ1AA from East Timor. Listen for him on 40-10 meters using mainly CW and some FT8. Send QSLs via OZ1ACB, ClubLog's OQRS or LoTW. (OHIO-PENN DX NEWSLETTER) ** KICKER: SLOW-SCAN EXPERIMENT A TV HIT PAUL/ANCHOR: Finally, let's consider the value of something manmade versus something natural: in this case, let's consider the aurora. Kevin Trotman N5PRE tells us about a recent aurora that truly deserves to have its name up in - what else? - lights. KEVIN'S REPORT: When it comes to the real thing versus its artificial equivalent, is it OK to accept a substitute? For the team at the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program in Alaska, the answer is most certainly YES. Ham radio operator Christopher Fallen KL3WX and a team of technicians at the research facility, known as HAARP, experimented a few weeks ago with the creation of an artificial aurora, using an array of 180 antennas. The aurora, known as radio-induced airglow, was a challenge to create, given the cloudy environment at the time. He set up two video cameras that work a low-light environment and hoped for the best. He even tweeted his intentions hoping amateur radio operators would tune in. Then he began transmitting images within the radio wave and watched his Twitter feed come alive as radio listeners responded from such places as Pueblo, Colorado and Victoria, British Columbia. The Slow Scan TV experiment, reported in the IEEE Spectrum journal, was proclaimed a success. One of the images returned to Chris, that he had sent earlier was an image of the logo of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, where he is an assistant professor in the Geophysical Institute. After this, he can feel a bit like a star of Slow Scan TV too. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Kevin Trotman N5PRE. (IEEE SPECTRUM) ** NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Alan Labs; Amateur News Weekly; AMSAT-North America; the ARRL; CQ Magazine; the Daily Mail; the FCC; Forces Network; Hap Holly and the Rain Report; IEEE Spectrum; Irish Radio Transmitters Society; the Mirror; Ohio Penn DX Bulletin; South African Radio League; Southgate Amateur Radio News; Ted Randall's QSO Radio Show; 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 located 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 Paul Braun WD9GCO in Valparaiso Indiana saying 73 and as always we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2017. 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