Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1974 with a release date of Friday, August 28, 2015 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a QST. Amateur radio comes through in two far-reaching emergencies wildfires in Washington State and in a Great Britain air tragedy. The FCC cracks down on an Ohio ham charged with malicious interference. Tennessee amateurs get ready for their annual QSO Party. And a science museum in India honors ham radio's heyday in the city of Bangalore. All this and more in Amateur Radio Newsline report 1974 coming your way right now. (Billboard Cart Here and Intro) ** BREAKING NEWS: We begin with breaking news out of Washington State, where the largest wildfires in the state's history have left three dead, consumed more than half a million acres and destroyed at least 200 homes. The fires surrounding the central Washington town of Twisp, where three firefighters died, were considered among the hardest to contain. Amateur Radio Newsline's Kent Peterson, KC0DGY, spoke with two hams in the Town of Twisp -- Dave Corrigan, KB7SVP, and Police Chief Paul Budrow, KG7PTU - about how a collective of relatively new hams in the police department, working with hams in the community, has allowed residents to help one another by keeping those all-important channels of communication open. --AUDIO ONLY-- Chief Budrow noted too that the town's police department is now entirely made up of licensed ham radio operators. ** AIRSHOW ASSISTANCE: In another example of radio amateurs performing critical services under daunting and dangerous circumstances, a team of British hams stepped in to help restore order and assure public safety after an air show demonstration turned deadly. Fourteen were injured and as many as 11 died perhaps more, according to news reports -- after a Hawker hunter aircraft, doing a demonstration for thousands of spectators on Saturday, Aug. 22, crashed into cars traveling on a busy road near the Shoreham Airport grounds. The South Sussex RAYNET group joined with members of the South Kent RAYNET, to assist emergency services, directing people and equipment where needed. The RAYNETS are part of their respective counties Radio Amateur Emergency Network. At the time of the crash, they had already been on site, providing communications support to the event's organizers. (SOUTHGATE, CNN, TELEGRAPH NEWSPAPER) ** OHIO HAM CENSURED: Ohio radio amateur Daniel R. Hicks, K-B-8-YOU-Y-Z (KB8UYZ), is being charged by the FCC with malicious interference with other radio operators communications and failure to properly identify, subject to a combined fine of $8,000. The agency said that, beginning last year, the Cincinnati ham's actions disrupted activity primarily on a number of VHF repeaters. The FCC's Enforcement Bureau issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture on Aug. 20, citing complaints dating to April 2014. Tom Delaney, W8WTD, speaking on behalf of the Greater Cincinnati Local Interference Committee, said the interference was initially described as a nuisance but later escalated into racist and obscene remarks. The enforcement bureau's initial investigations did not succeed in locating the source of the transmissions but according to the FCC, ongoing disruptions prompted a return visit some months later and verified Hicks address as the source. The NAL document said the agent heard several recorded messages for about 90 minutes, with the station identifying itself with another licensee's call sign. Delaney told the that short transmissions, sent across several repeaters, used he called a "sophisticated" synthesized voice. The proposed fine is $7,000 for malicious interference, with an additional $1,000 for failure to identify properly. ** BOSTON ON THE MOVE: Hams are hitting the road in Boston to assist with two important public events for the benefit of that city's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The first event, the Jimmy Fund Marathon Walk, steps off on Sunday, September 27. The all-day trek, along the 26-mile route, follows the same path as the Boston Marathon, with hams providing administrative communications as well as emergency communications for medical tents and the sweep vehicles deployed to them. Hams are needed to operate on 2 meters and 440. To participate, send an email to Bob at W-A-ONE-EYE-D-A at arrl.net (WA1IDA@arrl.net). Just a few weeks later, on Sunday, Oct. 11, the Boston Athletic Association's annual Half-Marathon, which also raises funds for the cancer institute's Jimmy Fund, will set out along the Emerald Necklace in Boston. Amateur radio volunteers are needed to provide communications at medical and water stations until early afternoon. Registration can be done on the athletic association's website. For questions, contact the ham radio team's captain, Brett Smith, of the Boston Amateur Radio Club, A-B-ONE-R-L, (AB1RL), at ab1rl@brettcsmith.org. (BOSTON AMATEUR RADIO 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 W4WVP repeater of the Arlington Amateur Radio Club of Arlington, Virginia. ** BRIGHT LIGHTS: Registration for International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend can be described in one word: Shining. Organizers say the numbers topped 500 this year: A total of 506 registrants from 32 countries took part in the annual event on August 15 and 16, and the greatest participation was seen in England, Australia and Germany. Other nations showing increased growth in participants included Canada, Cuba, Bulgaria, France, Portugal and Scotland. In the United States alone, there were 70 lighthouses and lightships registered for the event. Thirteen sites were registered from Cuba, which has been normalizing its relations with the United States. Although the numbers were good, organizers said that 2014 was still the best year, when 544 entrants signed up to operate. The next Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend will be held on August 20 and 21 in 2016. The event is off to a good start: It already has 30 registrations. (ARRL) ** TENNESSEE SET TO PARTY: Tennessee is ready to get this party started, and on Sept. 6 and Sept. 7, all antennas around the world will be rotated in the direction of that state or so the hams there have been hoping. The Tennessee QSO Party, organized by the Tennessee Contest Group, operates in CW, phone and digital modes as well as VHF/UHF. And yes, there will be party favors. The contest group awards plaques and certificates for different categories, as well as magazine subscriptions and even radio kits. For more information visit the QSO party's website at tnqp.org ** RELIVING HAMS HEYDAY IN INDIA: India's world class science museum, the Visvesvaraya (VIZ-VEZ-VER-AYAH) Industrial and Technological Museum in Bangalore, is marking its 50th year with special exhibits, one of which pays tribute to ham radio's popularity in that city. In addition to new displays of a meter gauge steam locomotive engine and Nobel Prize milestones, the museum devotes space to the history of amateur radio in India. The museum has had a radio station on the premises since the 1970s, when licensed amateurs were a rapidly growing community in the region, and many hopeful hams took classes, and then their licensing exams, at the museum. The display includes transmitters and other equipment that is now considered hard to come by. Museum curator Madan Gopal tells the Bangalore Mirror the acquisition of those radios was quite a feat for its time. "Back then, even to import an international magazine on science took at least three months and we had to seek several clearances from the government. You can only imagine how hard it was to import a transistor." The museum, which is part of India's Ministry of Culture, draws 1 million visitors annually. (BANGALORE MIRROR) ** HOMEBREW SWEET HOMEBREW: Elsewhere in India, hams from the South India Amateur Radio Society were marking a historic first: Hams from the South India Amateur Radio Society gathered on Aug. 22 and 23 for a home-brewers meetup and field day at the YMCA Camp in Yelagiri, not far from the capital city of Chennai. The focus was on home-brewing but activities eventually moved into a night of chasing DX using some of the hams own home-brew antennas. There was also a bit of Elmering, with the help of Dev Rama Prabhu, VU2DEV, from Bangalore. Two home-brews projects were in the spotlight: OM Prabin, VU3MJF, from Bangalore, shared the creation of his transmitter and another ham from Bangalore, OM Sudhindra Rajaurs, VU3PWT, spoke about the automation system he designed and built. Of course, the gathering wasn't complete without at least one more important project befitting the occasion: a good strong cup of tea home-brew, of course. (SOUTHGATE AMATEUR RADIO NEWS) ** WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA?: With this month already gone, the ARRL is already looking toward next August, specifically to spark new interest in its August UHF Contest. The ARRL's Ad Hoc Subcommittee on VHF and Above Revitalization is asking the amateur community to suggest ways to boost involvement in the annual late-summer competition and want input no later than October 1. The committee is seeking details about hams involvement on the UHF/VHF bands and thoughts on how to increase participation in the contest. Submit ideas, suggestions or other comments via email to V-H-F-DASH-INPUT-AT-ARRL-DOT-ORG (vhf-input@arrl.org) ** THE POLITICS OF RADIO: Election season is in high gear in the ARRL's Northwestern Division, where both the current director and vice director face challengers. James Pace, K7CEX, presently the director from Centralia, Washington, is being challenged by William Balzarini, KL7BB, of Auburn. Meanwhile, Vice Director Bonnie Altus, AB7ZQ, of Sheridan, is facing rival Delvin Bunton, N7QMT, from Vancouver, Washington. The election is for the term running from 2016 to 2018. Ballots will go into the mail on Oct. 1 to all division members in good standing as of Sept. 10. Only paper ballots will be used. Winners will be announced on Nov. 20. All other remaining division office-holders were unchallenged and have been declared re-elected. (ARRL) ** BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including the W7TA repeater of the Sierra Nevada Radio Society, high atop the Grand Sierra Resort Hotel and Casino in Reno, Nevada. ** HUNGARY PUTS 5MHz TO THE TEST: Hungarian radio amateurs can now apply for permits to operate in the band from 5350 kHz to 5450 kHz, on a secondary basis. The National Media & Infocommunications Authority, Hungary's telecommunications register, is granting the three-month permits largely for propagation research, with support from the Hungarian National Amateur Radio Society. The temporary permits, which are renewable, permit power of as much as 100 watts with a maximum bandwidth of 3kHz. Although the permits are issued by the telecommunications register, hams apply through the amateur radio society, which is coordinating the details. The band already has a CW beacon at 5357 kHz, using the call sign H-A-7-S-OH (HA7SO). (SOUTHGATE ARC NEWSLETTER) ** THE WORLD OF DX: Pedro, OH-N-7-W-P (ON7WP), has been operating as C5WP in Buntu, Gambia where he is working with the private charity group, Smile Gambia, supporting a small remote village in the central part of the nation. He is focusing on WARC band operation but will also be active on 6 meters. He is hoping for 40 and 80 meters as well until he concludes his operations on Sept. 1. QSL directly to his home address in Belgium. David F-ZERO-C-R-S (F0CRS) and Freddy F-FIVE-EYE-R-O (F5IRO) will be in French Guyana for the next four months, active on the HF bands, CW and PSK. Both operators can be sent QSL cards via F5KIN. The Manx Kippers will be on the air from the Isle of Man, on 80 through 10 meters, during SSB Field Day on Sept. 3 and 4, using the call sign G-D-ZERO-E-M-G-SLASH-P (GD0EMG/P). If time permits, they will try to be active on 30 meters as well. Send cards to M-ZERO-B-E-W (M0BEW). The Amateur Radio Club at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm is marking its 50th anniversary and using a special call sign for the event. They will take part in the Scandinavian Activity Contest on SSB from Sept. 24 to Sept. 25 using the call sign SA50L. QSLs should be sent via S-K-ZERO-B-U (SK0BU) Alan Rovner, K7AR, is heading to Rarotonga Island (IOTA OC-013) where he will be on the air from Sept. 24 to Sept. 29 as E-FIVE-ONE-A-A-R (E51AAR). He will be on 80 meters through 10 meters, participating in the CQ Worldwide RTTY contest on Sept. 26 and 27. Send QSLs via his home call sign, K7AR, Logbook of the World, or the Online QSL Request System. K2HVN returns to Iceland, and is operating as TF/K2HVN between Aug. 31 and Sept. 7, holiday style. He'll be on 30 meters through 10m, using CW and SSB. Send QSL cards via his call sign. He is not accepting Logbook of the World or eQSLs. (OHIO PENN DX NEWSLETTER, DXCOFFEE) ** KICKER: 10 YEARS AFTER KATRINA; As this newscast goes to air Hurricane Katrina was coming ashore in Buras, LA and later on the Louisiana-Mississippi border exactly 10 years ago. It was a storm that claimed, by some estimates, at least 2,000 lives, and forever changed the shape of life for tens of thousands more, including mine. We lived in Chalmette, about a 10 minute drive from the New Orleans Superdome in 2005. I evacuated my family to Little Rock, Arkansas for what we thought would just be a long, unscheduled weekend trip, like so many other storms before. Two weeks later we departed for our then-weekend home in Picayune, Mississippi, 50 miles northeast of New Orleans. That has been our home for the last 10 years. While in Little Rock Bill Pasternak asked me to file a report. He said just say what you want. I picked up a microphone and just started talking. No script, no editing, just my thoughts while the flooding was unfolding. There was no cell service, only this new fangled thing called texting. Finding satellite maps online was tedious at best, but I had a Yaesu FT-817 that I had bought just the week before at the Huntsville Hamfest. That little radio allowed me to get on the local repeaters and, more importantly, listen to what was happening back in New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Here is that report: -AUDIO ONLY- I don't mind telling you that it's a bit surreal listening to that again after 10 years. Something I don't want to go through again. So, in closing, I'd like to thank all the ham radio operators, first responders and everyone around the country and around the world who put their lives on hold and traveled down to the Gulf Coast to help with the rescue and the rebuilding. It was a team from Canada that made it to my house, way before the local folks got there. And to the great people and radio amateurs of North Little Rock, thank you. We will never forget how you made us feel welcome. ** NEWSCAST CLOSE With thanks to Alan Labs, the ARRL, the Bangalore Mirror, the Boston Amateur Radio Club, CQ Magazine, CNN, DX Coffee, DXWorld, Hap Holly and the Rain Report; LIDS, the Ohio-Penn DX Newsletter; Southgate Amateur Radio News, TWiT TV, QRZNOW 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.
Wow, Katrina was such a tragedy, so heavy-duty that we still don't know exactly how many people were lost. Prayers to all of the families that lost loved ones and who lost their homes due to that horrific storm.
This article popped up on a TV station's website in Oregon. It's an interview with a National Guard soldier who was in New Orleans. http://www.kdrv.com/news/Katrina_Worse_than_Iraq__Afghanistan_says_Local_Guardsman.html As soon as the storm passed, people turned on each other. Scared to leave their homes, people drowned instead.
