Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2009, April 29, 2016 Amateur Radio Newsline report number 2009 with a release date of Friday, April 29, 2016 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a QST. Hams in the UK put patriotism on the air for St. George's Day. Australian licensees could be getting more power. Romania joins other nations on 60 meters. And some breaking news about the longtime home of Dayton Hamvention. All this and more in Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2009 coming your way right now. (Billboard Cart Here and Intro) ** BREAKING NEWS: MORE SPECULATION ON HAMVENTION SITE JIM/ANCHOR: We begin this week's newscast with breaking news. Just as Amateur Radio Newsline's deadline approached, a new published report has again revived speculation about the future of the financially troubled Hara Arena, where Dayton Hamvention, the world's largest gathering of amateur radio operators, will be held in a few weeks. The arena has been the host site for Hamvention since 1964. According to a Wednesday, April 27 report in the Dayton Daily News, the arena is among three venues being scouted as a possible new location for the Montgomery County Fair, which is held in late summer. John Friedline, president of the fair's board, was quoted as saying that the city and county will seek proposals to relocate the fair and redevelop its former fairground location on South Main Street. This news is the latest in a series of recent reports that have questioneds Hara Arena's future. . It was not clear what impact, if any, the possible selection of Hara Arena as a county fairground could have on the struggling arena's bookings in the future. Mayor Mary McDonald told the Dayton Daily News she would not comment. Amateur Radio Newsline will continue to follow this story. Meanwhile, Dayton Hamvention 2016 will be opening on May 20. (DAYTON DAILY NEWS, MONTGOMERY COUNTY FAIR WEBSITE) ** DROPPING A LINE FOR 'MINOWS' JIM/ANCHOR: On the West Coast of the U.S., a group of YLs has discovered a way to promote fellowship - even though there aren't any fellows. Amateur Radio Newsline's Kent Peterson, KC0DGY, tells us more: KENT: When most of us think of MINOWs, we thing about dropping a line over the side of a boat. But there's a group of hams who give Minnow a totally different meaning. ROBIN RESNICK: MINOWs is a YL group, young ladies, an awful name in ham radio lingo for women. All the members of MINOWS are YLs from Montana, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Washington and we've been known to have a member or two from California KENT: That's Robin Resnick KJ7BI who is the current president of MINOW. Resnick explains why the group was founded. RESNICK: One of the reasons we exist is to support women working on the bands, just getting on the radio and talking. There's not really a dearth of female hams, there's quite a few out there, but they are not active because oh its always been the husbands hobby or Oh my Father was a ham and I've never done anything with it. Lots of female hams are mike shy when they can't see who they're talking to. And you don't have to live in the MINOW states to become a member. Resnick told me they have one member who lives part time in Alaska. RESNICK: You can contact this group even if they're not from Montana, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Washington. We had a woman from Australia last week because she knew we were on Echolink. KENT: The group meets every Thursday evening at 7:30PM Pacific time on Echolink node 286905 and on HF Friday mornings at 8:30AM Pacific on 3912 KHz. There's an upcoming Spring Annual MINOW Eyeball Meeting May 14. RESNICK: The annual MINOW Eyeball Meeting, as it's called has happened at my house. I'm the most centrally located, I live in Portland, Oregon. KENT: If you have an interest in contacting them: RESNICK People can email me directly, my email is my call sign ......... KJ7BI@QSL.net KENT: For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Kent Peterson, KC0DGY ** GOOD CONTACTS, BY GEORGE! ANCHOR: In the UK, St. George's Day isn't just about patriotism, it's also about propagation. Amateur Radio Newsline's Jeremy Boot, G4NJH, tells us about an annual Essex Ham event that celebrates this fact. JEREMY: St. George, the patron Saint of England, unofficially became the patron saint of amateur radio on Saturday, 23 April, with the third annual Essex Ham event at Galleywood Common near Chelmsford. The amateurs had been poised, since early morning, for operations as Special Event station GB1STG. Despite skies that threatened rain, the operation on 4 HF bands was the usual upbeat undertaking. As coordinator Charlie, M0PZT, writes on his blog: QUOTE "For those not in the United Kingdom, it’s a bit like what St Patrick’s Day is to the Irish – although drinking Guinness and playing radio at the same time probably isn’t advised!" ENDQUOTE The aerials were mounted high, along with a couple of requisite St. George's Cross Flags. And never mind the concerns over QRN or solar flares: this special event station suffered briefly from a blast of hail. Charlie writes that the amateurs, in proximity to the Horse and Groom Pub, found a workable solution that involved neither filters nor linear amps: QUOTE "We hid in the bar until 1 p.m. when things improved." ENDQUOTE And improve they did: Later, the amateurs even got a clear copy on the afternoon's linkup between the Wellesley House School in Kent and Britain's own ISS astronaut Tim Peake, GB1SS, on 2 meters. In the end, with QSOs throughout the UK and some DX, it was a day for good propagation as well as patriotism -- and also for planning the next big thing. M0PZT reports that the next event will come in June, at the time of the summer solstice. The call sign then will be GB1JSS. And even without the chance of hail, no doubt the amateurs will still find some good reception inside the Horse and Groom pub too. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jeremy Boot, G4NJH, in Nottingham, the UK. (M0PZT blog) ** UPDATE: SCOUTING FOR MORE QSOS JIM/ANCHOR: And now, an update on the young K2BSA radio amateurs, who this week are activating stations in the western United States. Amateur Radio Newsline's Bill Stearns, NE4RD, has details for hams who want to work these Scouts on the air. BILL: This week in Radio Scouting we have two activations of the K2BSA callsign in Oregon and Texas. Norm Royce, KD6IFF, will be the control operator for the portable 7 station in Seaside, Oregon, for the Tuality District Camp-o-ree this weekend April 29 and 30 and will be active on 20, 40, and 80 meter phone. Norm will also have several STEM stations setup where scouts will learn about science of propagation, technology and history of morse code, the engineering behind antenna construction, and math to calculate antenna lengths! Jeff Sorrells, KG5BTF, will be the control operator for the portable 5 station at Durango's Canyon in Mt Enterprise, TX for the Quadrennial All Council Jamboree this weekend April 29th through May 1st and will be active on 20 & 40 phone. Jeff plans a demonstration of QRP gear and operation, and is looking forward to working you on the air. Next week we have activations in Alabama, Iowa, and New Hampshire! Please help support this activity, and others involving youth in amateur radio, by working and spotting them on the air and online. For more information on K2BSA and radio scouting, please visit http://www.k2bsa.net/. For Amateur Radio Newsline and the K2BSA Amateur Radio Association, this is Bill Stearns, NE4RD. ** IN SOUTH CAROLINA, A HALF-CENTURY OF CELEBRATION In South Carolina, the party never ends -- at least not this year. The Anderson Radio Club is turning 50 and Steve Foster, N4SZ, is one member of the club who's been there as long as it's even been a club. The club is marking this milestone for much of this year with celebrations and special events in and around Anderson. Foster, a retiree, joined at 14 and later helped organizers build the club, eventually assisting with Sunday night Nets, repeater work, emergency coordination and Field Day. The club's secretary and anniversary event chairwoman, Margie Spangenberg, KK4AGN, told Amateur Radio Newsline that the club's 50th anniversary celebration was too big a moment to be limited to a single celebration on April 23. It took 50 years to build the club and so it is taking much of this year to mark it in style. A Special Event station operated from Sunday, April 17 through Monday, April 25. Club officers also visited local clubs in South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia to talk about the club's history and invite hams to the the anniversary event. The club newsletter, which she edits, got in on the commemoration too: With permission from QST magazine, the pages carried QST articles and ads from 1966, the club's founding year. Steve Foster played a role in that too. The January 2016 newsletter featured him as its cover story. So he not only got top billing when Margie interviewed him, the two enjoyed an eyeball QSO over lunch. (MARGIE SPANGENBERG, KK4AGN, ANDERSON RADIO CLUB WEBSITE, THE INDEPENDENT MAIL NEWSPAPER) ** BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around such as the Mingus Mountain Repeater Group, K7MRG, in Arizona, on Tuesday evenings. ** A FOUNDATION FOR MORE POWER JIM/ANCHOR: Big changes could be coming for hams in Australia. There's a push to give all classes more power. Amateur Radio Newsline's Jason Daniels, VK2LAW, explains: JASON: The suggestion from the Wireless Institute of Australia is a strong one -- a full 40 watts stronger, in fact, for Foundation license-holders. The WIA is asking the Australian Communications and Media Authority to approve an operating power increase for Foundation licensees from 10 watts to 50. The WIA is also asking that Standard license holders be permitted to operate at 200 watts, up from the limit of 100 watts -- and that Advanced licensees be permitted to operate at 1,000 watts. The WIA presses its case, saying Foundation signals in particular are challenged in more congested regions of the country by competing RF noise levels. The WIA also points out that most commercial rigs already have a 50-watt capability. Foundation's comparable license level in the United States is the Technician class, where operators are given a maximum operating power of 1500 watts. It's all in the name of good copy, of course. But the best reception the WIA is after right now, is the one these requests will ultimately get from the ACMA. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jason Daniels, VK2LAW, in Sydney, Australia. (WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA) ** A BOOST FOR HAMS IN ANGUILLA JIM/ANCHOR: On World Amateur Radio Day, April 18, a group of hams in the Caribbean discovered that they have the government's ear after all. We hear more from Amateur Radio Newsline's John Williams, VK4JJW. JOHN: For members of the Anguilla Amateur Radio Society, it was a contact like no other they could have ever had on the air. In a roundtable discussion with the island nation's top government officials, the hams learned that Anguilla's Minister of Communications has committed to greater recognition for radio amateurs -- largely because of the vital emergency work they do. Visiting the club on World Amateur Radio Day, April 18, Minister Curtis Richardson thanked the hams for their ongoing assistance in disasters, emergencies, hurricanes and other crisis situations. The minister agreed that hams in the club who import their radio equipment and provide volunteer help during emergencies on the island should be granted a duty-free status for any of those equipment purchases, as the club leadership had asked. He also said he is considering the issuance of a special ID card, sanctioned by the Ministry of Communications, that could be carried by ham radio operators, much like a driver's license. Gov. Christina Scott, who also attended the roundtable, said that networks, such as those comprised of ham radio operators, are paramount when information needs to be relayed quickly and reliably. She said she considered the amateurs' work especially vital. In a published report in the April 25 issue of The Anguillan newspaper, the club president, Keith Greaves, VP2EKG, said the club looked forward to the minister's fulfillment of his commitment to them. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm John Williams, VK4JJW. (THE ANGUILLAN NEWSPAPER, IARU, Region 2) ** OPENING UP THE 60 METER BAND JIM/ANCHOR: Radio amateurs in Romania have been given the go-ahead to operate on 5 MHz for the next year, on a test basis that could determine whether the band is useful for carrying out emergency communications. The Romanian telecommunications agency, ANCOM, is allowing 3 kHz of the spectrum - between 5363.5 and 5366.5 kHz to be used for PSK, RTTY, CW and WSJT at no more than 15 watts. Romanian hams who wish to use this portion of 60 meters are required to register for the program, which will schedule the permitted operations on Thursdays at approximately 1600 UTC. Romania's move follows a similar option made available to hams in Belgium, which is providing a 15 kHz sliver between 5351.5 and 5366.5 kHz, also at a permitted 15 watts and on a secondary basis. Spain and the Netherlands are among a number of other countries to have hams access to portions of 60 meters on a secondary basis. Some DXpeditions have also experimented with operations on 60 meters. The United States has yet to follow suit. The FCC still needs to set operating parameters for the band and commence a rule-making proceeding. (ARRL) ** THE WORLD OF DX Koji, JI1LET, is operating as JD1BOI from Chichijima Island in the Ogasawara Archipelago until May 6. Ogasawara is about 1000km south of Tokyo and counts as a separate entity for the DXCC Award. Koji is working all bands 80m to 6m in a variety of modes: CW, SSB and RTTY. QSL via the home call. Dave EI9FBB and Jeremy EI5GM are among the 11 hams on Hawar Island in the Arabian Gulf until May 1. Be listening for them as A91HI. QSLs should be requested by ClubLog OQRS and will be handled by M-ZERO-O-X-O (M0OXO). Chris HB9LCA will be working from Vanuatu as YJ0CS from May 1 through May 27, mainly holiday style and on CW. QSL to Chris' home call. There is still time to work the Ukrainian team operating as ET7L in Ethiopia. They have been there since the middle of January and will remain there only for a short time longer. QSL cards go via ClubLog OQRS. (IRISH RADIO TRANSMITTERS SOCIETY) ** KICKER: AMONG MONKS, THE SPIRIT OF HAM RADIO JIM/ANCHOR: And finally, we close our newscast with a story about the spirit of ham radio. And in this case, the word "spirit" takes on a whole new meaning because the operators are Orthodox Christian monks. We hear more from Amateur Radio Newsline's Don Wilbanks, AE5DW. DON'S REPORT: Considered one of the most sacred places on Earth for Orthodox Christians, Mount Athos in northern Greece is home to some 20 monasteries. It is also home, as it turns out, to two very busy ham radio operators: Monk Apollo, SV2ASP/A, who since 1988 enjoyed the distinction of being the only radio amateur in the community of sacred collectives. Last year, however, the brotherhood of radio amateurs grew to two when he gained a new colleague: Monk Iakovos, SV2RSG. Monk Iakovos resides in a different monastery but the two hams share the same mountain community. In the past, Monk Apollo's busy operating schedule has included working with noted DXer Zorro, JH1AJT, on Mount Athos. He has also worked Expedition 5 commander Valery Korzun, RZ3FK, on 2 meters and ultimately enjoyed an eyeball QSO with the Russian cosmonaut on his visit to Mount Athos. In 1998, the monk became a member of the ARRL's DX Century Club and a year later got his Worked All States award - among his achievements. As for Monk Iakovos, it's only been a few months since he received his license from the Ministry of Telecommunication, but he has already been heard on 40 meters SSB, and elsewhere operating CW. He runs his rig, an IC-735, into a vertical antenna. Now, in the peaceful quiet of a landscape where other monks study, read and pray from sacred manuscripts, there are two hams who are also hard at work, copying Code. You can also find them working digital modes and logging contacts on SSB. After all, when your monastery is also your shack, that's a blessing in itself. (SOUTHGATE ARC, QRZ, MACEDONIAN-HERITAGE.GR, MOUNTATHOS.GR) -- -- NEWSCAST CLOSE: NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Alan Labs; the Anderson Radio Club; the ARRL; CQ Magazine; Dayton Daily News; DX.NET; Hap Holly and the Rain Report; IARU Region 2; the Independent Mail newspaper; Irish Radio Transmitter Society; Macedonian-Heritage website; Margie Spangenberg, KK4AGN; the M0PZT blog; MINOWS; Mount Athos website; Southgate Amateur Radio News; Wireless Institute of Australia; and you our listeners, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline. Please send emails to our address at arnewslinetips@gmail.com. More information is available at Amateur Radio Newsline's only official website located at www.arnewsline.org. We also remind our listeners that there's still time to nominate candidates for the 2016 Bill Pasternak Young Ham of the Year Award. This honor recognizes licensed amateurs who are no older than 19 and living in the U.S., Puerto Rico or Canada, and who have made significant contributions to ham radio and their community. To download an application form, visit our website, www.arnewsline.org, and click on the tab for "Y-H-O-T-Y." Completed applications should be sent to: The Young Ham of the Year Award, in care of Amateur Radio Newsline Inc., Editorial Office, P.O. Box 451, Huntington Station, New York 11746. For now, with Caryn Eve Murray, KD2GUT, at the news desk in New York, and our news team worldwide, I'm Jim Damron, N8TMW, in Charleston, West Virginia, saying 73 and as always we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2016. All rights reserved.
