Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2109 for Friday, March 30, 2018Audio - https://www.arnewsline.org/s/news-xjh8.mp3 Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2109 with a release date of Friday, March 30, 2018 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a QST. Look out: a Chinese satellite is headed back to Earth. Samuel Morse's birthday festivities are in the works in New York -- and in New Zealand, hams help discover a missing woman's remains. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2109 comes your way right now. ** BILLBOARD CART ** NEW ZEALAND HAMS ASSIST IN SEARCH FOR MISSING WOMAN PAUL/ANCHOR: Our top story this week comes from New Zealand, where a dozen or so members of the Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Group joined in a weekend effort to find a woman who'd been missing for three months. Jim Meachen ZL2BHF tells us how it unfolded. JIM: It began as a training exercise by members of the Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Group, part of the New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters - but the drill turned real after its participants discovered the body of a young woman who had been missing since December. More than 100 Land Search and Rescue professionals had been deployed in the Ashley River area near Rangiora, just north of Christchurch. AREC section leader Richard Smart ZL4FZ was one of them. Richard says the team also had help from vehicles best described as "communications hubs on wheels:" RICHARD: The vehicles are multi-role and capable of operating on several bands. They are already configured and set up with the radios established in the right places physically. They have computing facilities made available: We have portable laptops and all the network cabling is in the vehicles. As much as possible when we arrive we basically stop the vehicle, establish a power connection, establish a network connection and turn the radios on. As far as pragmatically possible we are ready to operate. JIM: The hams were in constant contact with one another over amateur frequencies and with New Zealand Police and Land Search and Rescue team members on their emergency channel on the weekend of March 24th and 25th. Their discovery of Emma Beattie's body on the riverbank that second day underscored the value that amateurs' skills bring to such scenes, time and again. RICHARD: There is a core team in Christchurch of people who respond to police search and rescue requests and they train regularly once a month so that they are ready. Part of that training is an acceptance and understanding of being needed for both search and rescue exercises and the real event. JIM: Getting it right is always important - even when the shared effort ultimately turns up a tragic result. RICHARD: We made it work and I think the results were acceptable and achieved what we set out to do. But there are certainly some points we'll go back over on our training nights and look into and see if we can do it either easier, faster or better for next time. JIM: Unfortunately, said Richard, there is often a next time. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Meachen ZL2BHF. (NZART) ** SATELLITE'S RETURN: LOOK OUT BELOW! PAUL/ANCHOR: Look out below! There's a satellite headed back to Earth and hams may want to keep an eye - and an ear - out for it, as we hear from Lloyd Colston KC5FM. LLOYD: Tiangong-1 will join the ranks of satellites such as SkyLab and Mir when it re-enters Earth's atmosphere around Easter Weekend. The 8.5 ton satellite from China is expected to disintegrate upon re-entry but pieces may reach the surface of the Earth. Skywarn volunteers may be watchful for the satellite using the information pinned to the top of twitter dot com slash kc5fm (twitter.com/kc5fm) For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Lloyd Colston KC5FM looking up for you. PAUL/ANCHOR: One benefit for hams would be a nice meteor trail for VHF and UHF weak signal opening on meteor scatter. ** ON SAMUEL MORSE'S FRONT PORCH PAUL/ANCHOR: Some big birthday plans in New York's Hudson Valley don't involve candles and cake, but you can expect perhaps a straight key or two, as we hear from Mike Askins KE5CXP. MIKE'S REPORT: Samuel Morse is turning 227 years of age this year! Well, OK, he was born on April 27 in 1791 so he's long gone but anyone who's ever known the thrill of CW knows his legacy is a big part of amateur radio life. The QSY Society in Poughkeepsie (PO-KIPPSY) New York will mark his birthday by visiting the estate in their community that had been his home and will be giving a CW demonstration - with real QSOs taking place - for four hours. Scott Dunlavey W2NTV told Amateur Radio Newsline: "We try to put on a good show. It is really fun to see the joy on one's face who has been away from the hobby for a while." People don't forget code, he said, even if they've been away from it for a while. People don't forget Samuel Morse either - or his birthday - so if you're in the Hudson Valley, New York area on April 28, stop by Locust Grove and raise a fist - gently of course - in honor of the birthday boy. If you can't get to New York, work the special event station. Be listening for the call sign W2M -- in CW of course. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Mike Askins KE5CXP. (THE QSY SOCIETY) ** AUSTRALIAN HAMS GET THEIR DAYS IN THE SUN PAUL/ANCHOR: The Wireless Institute of Australia sees bright days ahead for its annual convention and meeting - bright because, as we hear from Graham Kemp VK4BB, it's all happening in Queensland, the Sunshine State. GRAHAM'S REPORT: How do you make a boring old AGM interesting? Well, start by holding it somewhere that is fun for the whole family, like the SeaWorld resort on the Gold Coast of Australia's Sunshine State, Queensland. Then add some presentations on ground breaking technologies and of course some good food along with a free Blues Music Festival. That's what the Gold Coast Amateur Radio Society have organised for the Wireless Institute of Australia for their 2018 Radio and Electronics convention and AGM, which will run from the 18th to the 20th of May this year. The organisers have just added two important presenters to the mix: David Rowe (VK5DGR) is the leading expert for Digital Voice on the HF bands and will be talking about his creation CODEC2 which powers the FreeDV mode. David, a father of three, who was first licensed at age 14 in 1981 works part time as a senior engineer for a defence signal processing company. He writes a popular blog that is read by 70,000 people each month, drives a home-brew Electric Car and also enjoys bike riding and sailing (both while operating a 70cm HT). Another world leader in his area, Tim (VK5ZT) was first licensed in 1971 as VK5ZTD while still a Post Master General's department trainee who went on to careers in the private and public sectors including work in the defence industry. Tim been engaged to present his experiments in optical communication on nanowaves or to be precise 474 terahertz (i.e. light). As well as providing tips for solutions that are easy to build, he will also cover the current state of the art and theorise over what can be achieved in prospective future projects. The Gold Coast Amateur Radio Society is a busy group and in parallel to arranging this event for the WIA they also have been issued with the VI4GAMES special event callsign for use during the upcoming Gold Coast Commonwealth Games between April 4th. and 15th. There will be a rota of operators around the South east of Queensland using the call sign to publicise the games which will involve athletes from seventy one British Commonwealth nations. For Amateur Radio Newsline this is Graham Kemp VK4BB. ** QSOs WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM THEIR FRIENDS PAUL/ANCHOR: Another kind of gathering - a global gathering of friends - is in the works for April 18. Kevin Trotman N5PRE has those details. KEVIN's REPORT: On April 18, World Amateur Radio Day will mark that day when the International Amateur Radio Union was formed in Paris in 1925. There was, of course, no IRLP or EchoLink back then, but there's a group of relative newcomers operating on the Western Reflector feeling just as festive over marking the occasion. The World Radio Network/World Friendship Net is preparing for its fourth year as participants in the global event and it's making sure that all hams - even those who can't get on the HF bands - have a chance to get in on the action. The World Friendship Net will operate nonstop for 12 hours starting on 1600 UTC on April 18 and for the first year will be using a special event call sign W2W. Those who participate will get a commemorative special event QSL card this year as well. Organizer John De Ryke (duh RIKEY) said last year's success has encouraged even more participation this year. The 2017 participation logged 426 check-ins with 45 international stations representing 23 different countries. This year's 12-hour net will be run by 8 different net controllers around the clock. Node 9251 is located on the World Conference Server and part of the Nevada Amateur Radio Repeater network. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Kevin Trotman N5PRE. (JOHN DE RYKE W2JLD) ** BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including the NL7RQ repeater of the Cabot STARS Club in Cabot Arkansas on Sundays at 7:30 p.m local time. ** DXing BY FOOT PAUL/ANCHOR: For one ham in the UK, the journey of 560 miles begins with a single step - and, of course, an HT. Jeremy Boot G4NJH tells us more. JEREMY: Sunday the 1st of April marks the day that Paul Truswell M3WHO takes the first of many, many steps along a 900-mile walk across Great Britain. Paul and his 2m transceiver are making the trek in support of Fibromyalgia Action UK, a national charity. This is truly the equivalent of DXing for walkers, though the Macclesfield, Cheshire resident has done previous challenges, including a 560-mile journey in 2016 that took him from Lowestoft west to Land's End for the benefit of his local Scouting group. This year's trip will begin at the English Channel at Dover and finish - eventually - at the lighthouse in Britain's northwest corner at Cape Wrath. He's dubbed the trip Magnetic North acknowledging its direction. According to published reports, it will take him about 50 days to finish if he averages 18 or so miles a day and gives himself some rest time in between. He's hoping to raise 10,000 pounds - the equivalent of about fourteen thousand U.S. dollars Richard Newstead, G3CWI, will be providing logistic support to Paul from his motor home using the 2 metre FM band during the last, most remote stages of the walk, between Oykel Bridge and Cape Wrath, across the north-west highlands of Scotland. As he wrote on his website:: "Easter Day and April Fool's day - what could be better?!!" Perhaps a glorious finish and some QSOs along the way, especially with Richard Newstead G3CWI from his motor home. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH (SOUTHGATE ARC) ** A LIGHTHOUSE WITH 2 REASONS TO SHINE PAUL/ANCHOR: One of the registered stations for International Marconi Day is a lighthouse with two reasons to shine. Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT brings us those details. CARYN: International Marconi Day is as close as we can get to having our own amateur radio holiday. The annual event is held on the Saturday closest to Guglielmo Marconi's birthday and is organized by the Cornish Radio Amateur Club GX4CRC. This year stations in Ireland, Austria, Germany and Australia will be among the registered stations acknowledging that we are all beneficiaries of this radio pioneer's legacy. In Atlantic Canada, activation of the Cape Bear Lighthouse on Prince Edward Island as VY2PLH brings extra significance to the 24-hour period. GEORGE: Well Cape Bear has the distinction of being the only Marconi station in Canada that was in contact with the Titanic when that ship was in distress. Now people may say that Cape Race in Newfoundland also made a contact which they did but at the time Newfoundland and Labrador weren't a part of Canada. They didn't join until 1949 so technically Cape Bear is the only Canadian station to have had contact with the Titanic. CARYN: That was George Dewar VY2GF, one of the hams operating from this historic site, which includes a small museum dedicated to the Titanic. George said he and Bernie Cormier VE9BGC and the other operators have a pretty good idea of who they want to contact. GEORGE: Just about anybody and everybody! Well, it would be nice to contact stations at other historical Marconi sites. CARYN: Will that include GB4IMD, the special event callsign being used by the Cornish radio amateur club? They are, after all, the creators of the event and will be giving out awards. GEORGE: Well I hope so. They put a tremendous amount of effort into organizing this. CARYN: If you want the Cape Bear Lighthouse VY2PLH in your log, be listening on Saturday the 21st of April from 0000 UTC to 2359 UTC. They'll be operating on SSB and digital modes. For Amateur Radio Newsline this is Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT. ** FINE-TUNING THE DETAILS FOR WORLD RADIO TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP PAUL/ANCHOR: Excitement is building for the World Radio Team Championship as Ed Durrant DD5LP tells us. ED: With just about 100 days to the World Radio Team Championship 2018 near Wittenberg in Germany, the organisation is running with the expected German precision, with everything on schedule to be up and running from July 12th to the 16th. The competitors have been "honing their skills," using their intended equipment in contests such as the WPX SSB contest last weekend and others, so that nothing should go wrong with the transmitting and receiving equipment that the competitors provide themselves. The support infrastructure is taken care of by the organisers and no problems are expected there, although spares of everything are also in the warehouse "just in case." Almost all hotels around Wittenberg are now full with reservations for the competitors and their families, the VIPs, the judges, the visitors and those of the helpers who aren't self sufficient in their own motor homes or similar. As mentioned in my last piece, award schemes will run alongside the event so that all amateurs everywhere can be a part of the event. The volunteers on the air award is already running and will run all year - how many WRTC Volunteers have you contacted so far? The excitement is growing, everything is being double checked but this "World Cup of Amateur Radio" - which incidentally coincides with the Soccer World Cup, looks set to be the best WRTC yet. Run with German efficiency and amateur radio camaraderie. One hundred days out finances are at about 97 percent - so anyone who would still like to make a donation, be it large or small is very welcome to do so through the website at WRTC 2018 (dot) D E. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Ed Durrant DD5LP. ** NOMINATE THE NEXT ÒYOUNG HAM OF THE YEARÓ PAUL/ANCHOR: We remind you again that the Bill Pasternak/Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year award is an honor for radio operators 18 and younger who hold licenses in the U.S. or Canada. We are accepting nominations until May 31. If you know of a deserving candidate who has been of service to the community or helped improve amateur radio for those in the hobby, submit his or her name for consideration. You can find the nomination forms on our website at arnewsline dot org (arnewsline.org) under the YHOTY tab. The award is named in memory of Amateur Radio Newsline founder Bill Pasternak WA6ITF. ** KICKER: THEORETICAL PHYSICS MEETS REAL RADIO - MAYBE? PAUL/ANCHOR: Finally - we ask - Wouldn't we all like to work only one day a year? Well, Newsline's April 1st roving correspondent Pierre Pullinmyleg has that dream job - with us! Here he is again this year. Pierre? PIERRE's REPORT: Among zee many unpublished papers left behind by the late Stephen Hawking was a groundbreaking document describing his little-known discoveries in radio. Ziss theoretical physicist believed in Parallel Universes but not many realize he had also discovered Parallel Radio Frequencies. Now sources have said to me, "Pierre Pullinmyleg - because zat is my name! - Stephen Hawking believed that at the time ziss universe of ours was born, multiple universes actually came into being and with them - and ziss explosion, she created all kinds of amateur radio bands. But zey are, you see, all parallel. So now to operate QRP in ziss parallel world, you simply operate barefoot at 1 kilowatt. Ah, but zee real superpowers of the ham world, their signal steps on everyone else when zey turn on their linear de-amplifiers and key their mic with their ear-splitting super power of 1 mW. And to use CW? In zee code created by the famous Manuel Zorse, you send zee dots as dashes and zee dashes as zee dots. Zere is no need to have a good fist for sending zee code, you simply sit on your straight key and send your message with your - excuse my French - DERRIERE. Antennas? Mais non, chéri!! So unneeded, so passe. Just sink a grounding rod, hook up and tune up, no SWR to worry about! So you see? Thanks to theoretical physics, parallel bands will create a Big Bang of sorts for all of us. You go first. For Amateur Radio Newsline, this is Pierre Pullinmyleg in zee world of Parallel Frequencies saying "37" for now. ** NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Alan Labs; the ARRL; CQ Magazine; Gold Coast Amateur Radio Society; Hap Holly and the Rain Report; John De Ryke W2JLD; New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters; Ohio-Penn DX Bulletin; the QSY Society; Southgate Amateur Radio News; Ted Randall's QSO Radio Show; Wireless Institute of Australia; 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 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 2018. All rights reserved.
