Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2123 for Friday, July 6, 2018 Audio - https://www.arnewsline.org/s/Report2123.mp3 Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2123 with a release date of Friday, July 6, 2018 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a QST. The World Radiosport Team Championship is almost here. The U.S. Technician license exam arrives - and the FCC settles a four-year-old case with a Pennsylvania amateur. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2123 comes your way right now. ** BILLBOARD CART ** GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES SETTLEMENT WITH PENNSYLVANIA AMATEUR DON/ANCHOR: We open this week's report with word from the government that it has settled a four-year-old interference case with a ham in Pennsylvania. He's paying a hefty fine and losing some privileges, as we hear from Andy Morrison K9AWM. ANDY: A North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania ham radio operator has agreed to pay a $7,000 fine for creating interference on the amateur radio bands, according to the U.S. attorney's office. The government announced a settlement on July 3 with Brian Crow K3VR dating back to the government's charges that on March 14, 2014 he interfered with other radio amateurs and failed to identify himself by call sign. A press release from the U.S. attorney's office also noted that the settlement reduces his operating class to Technician for the next six months. According to the FCC, if no new violations occur, his Amateur Extra operating privileges will be restored. An FCC press release called the fine "a substantial payment for an amateur operator." Brian Crow has held an amateur radio license since 1976. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Andy Morrison K9AWM (U.S. Attorney's Office, FCC) ** ONE WEEK TO GO UNTIL WRTC KICKS OFF DON/ANCHOR: Are you ready for the biggest global radio challenge of the year? It's almost here. Ed Durrant DD5LP has this report on how you can be involved in this championship contest without having to travel to Germany. ED'S REPORT: It's less than a week to go to the World Championships of Amateur Radio and the Organisers need YOUR help. In order to test-the-metal of the 63, two person teams during the IARU HF contest on the 14th & 15th of July, they need you to call as many of the WRTC stations as possible. In return, there are awards to be won, along with the respect and thanks of the organisers. Once you've worked all the stations, do you want to stay involved in the competition? Well you can through watching the real-time on-line scoreboard, the daily video news programs and the live-streamed opening and closing ceremonies, but please, just get on the bands and keep calling until you get through to the stations. The call signs of the stations will be announced during the live-streamed opening ceremony on Thursday as well as being posted to the event web site in plenty of time for the contest start on Saturday at 12:00 UTC. To those coming to Wittenberg, whether competitors, judges, volunteers or visitors, the organisers look forward to welcoming you, for those can't attend, all the competitors look forward to working you on the HF bands. Full details are at the www.wrtc2018.de website (this including links to the live-streaming videos, daily TV info programs and the on-line scoreboard). Getting packed to go up to Wittenberg this has been Ed Durrant DD5LP. ** NORTH AMERICAN HOLIDAYS KEEP THE BANDS BUSY DON/ANCHOR: There's nothing like patriotism to get hams on the air and keep them there. Kevin Trotman N5PRE tells us why hams in the U.S. and Canada started July with a full calendar. KEVIN: The bands over North America seem to be getting no rest, not even after Field Day. Radio Amateurs of Canada brought the annual Canada Day contest to the air on Sunday, July 1. Hams found the action on HF as well as 6 and 2 meters and everyone wanted to score big. It was, after all, Canada's birthday celebrating the Constitution Act which turned three provinces into one country solidifying the Canadian identity. South of its shared border with the U.S., an American Independence Day tradition kicked off on the air that same day. The tenth annual 13 Colonies Event began with hams chasing contacts in states that comprised the 13 original colonies. They chased two bonus stations as well: WM3PEN, the Holmesburg Amateur Radio Club in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and GB13COL operated by the Durham and District Amateur Radio Society in England where, of course, the colonies all began. If you're hearing this after 0400UTC on Friday - or midnight Eastern Time - that event is all over but the counting of the contacts. Finally, a less competitive event brought Canada and the U.S. together on DMR - also on July 1. This was the Sunday night Midnight Hour Net on TAC 310. Hams checking in here from both sides of the border simply reported traffic, if there was any, and wished one another well for their respective holidays. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Kevin Trotman N5PRE. ** A LIGHTHOUSE ACTIVATION AND A TRIBUTE DON/ANCHOR: Nova Scotia's Port Bickerton Lighthouse has a story that's about to get a new chapter -- as we hear from Kent Peterson KC0DGY. KENT'S REPORT: Canadian radio amateur Billy Budge VE1AAO created his first tribute to his father a number of years ago with the publication of a book that tells his family's story when they lived on St. Paul Island. Fred Budge was the lighthouse-keeper there starting in 1955 and the book "Memoirs of a Lightkeeper's Son" recalls those years. There's now a second tribute planned for Billy's father. On July 13th through 15th, the Pictou County Amateur Radio Club and the Maritime Lighthouse Amateur Radio Group are activating the Port Bickerton Lighthouse on Nova Scotia's Eastern Shore. Fred Budge had been a lighthouse-keeper there as well from 1960 to 1977. Using the callsign VE1UW, the hams will be on the air for 48 hours, dedicating their activation to Fred Budge. They will honor him from a lighthouse that has remained a beacon of safety for more than a century for those sailing the North Atlantic. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Kent Peterson KC0DGY. (GEORGE DEWAR, VY2GF) ** IN THE MARKET FOR A CHALLENGE AT MARKET REEF DON/ANCHOR: On the other side of the Atlantic Ocean another lighthouse is about to see a different kind of action. Jeremy Boot G4NJH tells us more. JEREMY: The lighthouse on a small reef between Sweden and Finland is about to provide an unprecedented opportunity for an international group of young radio amateurs. They will be on the air at the Market Reef Lighthouse, a DXCC entity. operating as OJ-0C from 21st to 28th July. Their activities are being sponsored by the Finnish Lighthouse Society and the Amateur Radio League of Finland, in conjunction with OH-DX-Foundation (OHDXF) and DX University. The organizers are calling this activity International Youth at Sea. Their operations on the air will be supplemented by instruction in operating the radio equipment, managing pileups, an introduction to digital modes and, just as importantly, safety and survival. That fact is not insignificant: The Market Reef lighthouse is anything but a safe haven: set at sea level, waves cover it at times and it has no jetty, so landings must be accomplished via small inflatable boats. The operators, all of whom are between 16 and 25 years of age, are also part of a cultural exchange that is to be repeated sometime in August. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH (DXWORLD) ** FIRST TO TAKE U.S. TECH TEST ARE IN AUSTRALIA DON/ANCHOR: The new exam for the U.S. Technician license made its debut - but not where you might think. John Williams VK4JJW has that story. JOHN: In case you were wondering where in the United States the first new Technician exam was given with the new set of questions - well, keep wondering. It wasn't in the U.S at all but in Australia. Two candidates, Ward and John, sat for the test at a hangar in Bankstown Airport in Sydney at 8 a.m. local time on Sunday, July 1. But wait - it was still Saturday afternoon in the States! Getting a jump on things nonetheless were VEs Julian AG6LE, Bob AC1CZ and Brad AK2QQ as part of Oz-VE, which gives the U.S. licensing tests across eastern Australia. Better still, Julian tells us, both candidates passed the test. The early bird gets the ... license. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm John Williams VK4JJW. DON/ANCHOR: Newsline would like to add its congratulations to Ward Havens VK2FWLH and John Vetters VK2JV. (JULIAN SORTLAND VK2YJS/AG6LE) ** BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline heard on bulletin stations around the world including the K2ADA 2 meter repeater in Ocala Florida on Friday and Saturday nights at 7. ** UP, UP AND AWAY IN NOVA SCOTIA DON/ANCHOR: Some Canadian students let their dreams take flight recently with a radio and a balloon. Here's Neil Rapp WB9VPG. NEIL: There's NASA in the United States, and the European Space Agency in Europe. But now, a town of 20,000 people in Nova Scotia has their own space agency... of sorts. The Annapolis Royal Space Agency, or ARSA, is a high school group at the Annapolis West Education Center that launches high altitude balloons into near space. Like many others, the group gathers data and video, and sends it back to Earth using ham radio. The Annapolis Valley Amateur Radio Club joined in to provide the know how for APRS tracking. Their latest flight was on June 27th, and went amazingly well. They reached a peak altitude of 31,567 meters (or 103,566 feet) before landing in just 3 hours. The group feared an ocean landing like their last launch, but luckily they missed the Atlantic by about 300 meters (or 984 feet). VA1AVR-11 tracked the entire flight using APRS, and the payload was retrieved the same day as the launch... which was immediately after the school's graduation ceremony. Now these students can truly say that graduating high school was out of this world, and tell their parents, "I need my space!" For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Neil Rapp WB9VPG. ** RADIO SCOUTS ACTIVATE SUMMER STATIONS FOR K2BSA DON/ANCHOR: It's summer and radio scouts are keeping busy. Bill Stearns NE4RD tells us where to be listening. BILL: This week in Radio Scouting we're in the midst of summer camps on the air with two activations of the K2BSA callsign, 2 activations from our SCOTA site, and Jamboree on the Air Patches available. William Coverdell, WD0BC, is continuing to activate K2BSA/0 at Camp Geiger in St Joseph, MO, through July 21st. The camp will be offering radio merit badge classes throughout the six week period. Scouts will be getting on the air with a generous station that is completely scout-owned through 100 percent donations. Garland Eubanks, KB4RTM, is activating K2BSA/4 at Skymount Scout Reservation in Alatamont, TN, through July 14th. During this time period on the Fridays there might be activities when scouts might also attempt to contact other summer camps operating under K2BSA. Brian McDaniel, N4AE, will be activating his callsign at Camp Freeland Leslie in Naperville, Illinois, from July 8th through the 13th. Brian will be attending Summer Camp with his Troop and running Holiday Style with a FT-817ND into a Double Bazooka Coaxial Dipole. Running on 80, 60, 40, and 20. Phone and some CW. Thomas Barker, WA1HRH, will be activating a special event callsign K1A at Moses Scout Reservation in Russell, MA, from July 9th through the 27th. A short three week summer camp season for a new activation. Radios will include Yaesu FT 897, FT 817, home made dipole for 40. Will operate as time allows only on 40 meters using recommended SCOTA frequencies of 7.030 and 7.090. They'll be running commercial power and paper logging will be used. Jamboree on the Air and Internet are just 3 months away now. Hopefully most groups had a chance to test their gear and recruit some volunteers at Field Day. Now is the time to start ordering up your patches and printing out literature in preparation for your event. The patches are now available at the ScoutStuff.org site. For more information on JOTA and Radio Scouting, please visit our website at www.K2BSA.net. For Amateur Radio Newsline and the K2BSA Amateur Radio Association, this is Bill Stearns, NE4RD. ** WORLD OF DX In the world of DX, there is still time to work Peter/VE3IKV and Bill/W4TAA/VE3MMQ operating as VQ5Z on the Turks and Caicos Islands. They are on the air through the 10th of July. Listen on the HF bands and 6 meters (with a focus on 6m) using CW, SSB, FT8, MSK144 and JT65A. They also have a 6m beacon running on 50.107 MHz. Monitor the ON4KST 6 meter chat page. QSL via VE3IKV direct. Members of the Amateur Radio Club SP3PET will be active from July 18th to 31st as JW100PUT from Spitsbergen in the Svalbard island group. The Norwegian archipelago is between the North Pole and Norway. The operators are marking the 100th anniversary of the Academic Ham Radio Club of the Poznan University of Technology. Activity will be on 80/40/20 meters as well as 2m and 70cm using SSB and FM. QSL via SP3PET. Be listening for Karel, OK2ZI, operating as 3B8/OK2ZI from Pointe aux Sables, Mauritius starting on July 26th until August 4th. Karel will be on 80-10 meters and possibly 160m, depending on local conditions. He will be using CW, SSB and the Digital modes. QSL via his home callsign, direct, by the Bureau, ClubLog's OQRS or LoTW six months after his expedition has ended. ** KICKER: AMATEUR RADIO NEWSLINE'S MILESTONE DON/ANCHOR: Id like to share a personal moment with you. Amateur Radio Newsline is celebrating a birthday. A milestone, if you will. It was June 29th, 1976 that Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, Jim Hendershot, WA6VQP and Robert Sudock, WB6FDF produced and presented the very first Westlink Report, later rechristened as Amateur Radio Newsline.From that day until Bills sudden admittance to the hospital in December of 2014, Newsline had not missed a single weekly deadline. Ever. 1,946 consecutive weeks of newscasts. After his passing on June 11th, 2015 we took some time to regroup. Now, 42 years after that inaugural Westlink Report, Newsline is continuing. We begin our 42nd year with report #2123 and this promise. We will remain as we began: totally unbiased and independent, 100 percent voluntary. I joined the Newsline staff in 1995, just a few months after getting my license. Bill was a friend and a mentor to me. I'm by no means the head of Amateur Radio Newsline, Im just the most visible due to my role on Ham Nation. Newsline is a total team effort. Newsline has always set itself apart from other bulletin services because Bill modeled it after a network radio newscast with professional broadcasters behind the mic and the typewriter, now the word processor. A lot of our current staff came along following Bills passing. We are all committed to continuing the path Bill set us out on. Our mantra is "WWBD: What Would Bill Do?" We ask that question every day. I know the current Newsline staff and product would please Bill because were doing it like Bill would. A large part of his legacy is the Young Ham Of The Year award, now named in his honor. Bill loved kids and loved sharing this hobby and service with everyone, particularly kids. In closing, Id like to thank you, our listeners, for supporting us for these 4 decades and counting, and for your continued support as we soldier on as if Bill is still here. In a sense, he is. His memory and example are always with us. With great appreciation to you, our listeners, supporters and our staff, Im Don Wilbanks, AE5DW. ** NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Alan Labs; Amateur News Weekly; ARISS: the ARRL; the U.S. Attorney's Office; CQ Magazine; the FCC George Dewar VY2GF; Hap Holly and the Rain Report; Irish Radio Transmitters Society; Julian Sortland VK2YJS/AG6LE; K2BSA; Ohio-Penn DX Bulletin; QRZNOW.COM, 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 Don Wilbanks AE5DW in Picayune, Mississippi saying 73 and as always we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2018. All rights reserved.
K3VR hasn't lived in PA since April of 2016. He's Florida's problem now. (Glad I'm retired from there.) I think the FCC should "update" their data base from time to time.
