Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1980 October 9 2015 Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1980 with a release date of Friday, October 9, 2015 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a QST. Hams step up to assist in the South Carolina’s biggest flooding since Hurricane Floyd. The Islands on the Air website deals with a security breach. Boy Scouts around the world prepare for the 58th Jamboree On the Air. And organizers ponder the future of the Dayton Hamvention. All this and more in Amateur Radio Newsline report 1980 coming your way right now. (Billboard Cart Here and Intro) [SKEETER]: We begin this week with breaking news as the Carolinas continue to struggle with record-setting floods. In South Carolina, a coordinated network of ham radio operators has been blanketing the state to protect public health, safety and communications. Amateur Radio Newsline's Kent Peterson, K-C-ZERO-D-G-Y (KC0DGY), hears the details from Thom Ashton of the South Carolina Healthcare Emergency Amateur Radio Team: [KENT'S REPORT with THOM ASHTON, 3:40] ** WATCHING THE WEATHER With seasonal storms very much in the headlines – and weighing on everyone’s mind – the National Weather Service is looking for Connecticut area radio amateurs to train as weather-watchers. A SKYWARN course is being held on Tuesday, Oct. 13 to teach proper reporting of hazardous conditions to relay to the weather service. SKYWARN’s national network of volunteer weather spotters will provide the training and certification following the two-hour class in the East Hampton, Connecticut Middle School Library. Trainees will learn to report developing thunderstorms as well as assess weather conditions such as heavy snow, rain and flooding. Those completing the course receive a Spotter ID card and a certificate. The course is sponsored by the East Hampton Community Emergency Response Team and the town’s Emergency Management department. Seating is limited to 70. To register, send an email to weather@easthamptonct.gov and include your name, phone number and email address. (NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE, HADDAMS-KILLINGWORTH PATCH.COM) ** WEBSITE WOES In the latest in a series of online security issues affecting hams around the world, the Radio Society of Great Britain reports a breach that has affected users’ passwords on the website for RSGB’s Islands on the Air. A bug in the online code was apparently exploited, allowing the intruder to reset the passwords of all the website’s users, which prevented anyone from logging in. Immediately following the Sept. 27 breach, IOTA issued a statement of reassurance saying, QUOTE “There is no sign in the system logs that any data was read or that personal data was compromised.”ENDQUOTE The website has been encouraging users to change their passwords and to contact them directly with any additional concerns. (ARRL, THE DAILY DX) ** SCOUTS TAKE TO THE AIR ANCHOR [SKEETER]: More than a million Scouts all across the globe will be looking to connect with fellow Scouts by way of amateur radio for the 58th Jamboree on the Air sponsored by the World Organization of the Scout Movement and the Boy Scouts of America. The event runs Oct. 16 through the 18th. Amateur Radio Newsline's Mark Abramowicz, NT3V, has our report. [MARK]: It is still the largest Scouting event in the world. Last year, some 1.3 million Scouts took part and they were spread among 157 countries. Jim Wilson, K5ND, who is the national coordinator for JOTA activities for the BSA, says the concept is simple. "It's really to get Scouts engaged in conversations with other Scouts around the world so that they're being exposed to other cultures, other ways of doing Scouting and even the seasons of the year that are different in different counties," Wilson says. "It's springtime in Australia as it's fall here in the U.S." And, Wilson says, it requires licensed ham radio operators to make all of this happen. "As amateur radio operators, we feel it's a big opportunity to introduce the technology and the fun and just the magic of amateur radio to have those conversations," Wilson says. He says the event activity will be spread across many bands and a many modes. "Primarily single-side-band, but EchoLink, D-Star, Digital Mobile Radio (DMR) is open; IRC and those kinds of modes," Wilson explains. "And, a growing interest in moon bounce. There's some EME stations - a very large one in the Netherlands. "There's a big one in South Africa that get on the air for Jamboree on the Air and a few here in the U.S. as well." Wilson says many of the successful JOTA operations across the U.S. are tied into traditional camping events. "The really successful events go to where the Scouts are," Wilson says. "And, that's typically at a big camporee - ideally it's a council or district-wide camporee. And, it becomes one more activity for the weekend to introduce Scouts to amateur radio and, as well, the rest of the world." Wilson says there are many registered volunteer Scouters who are also licensed hams who set up stations to help Scouts communicate. He says it doesn't have to be at a camporee either. It can be even be a home station. There's also an internet component to the event as well. You can learn more about JOTA and Jamboree on the Internet by going to our website, www.arnewsline.org and clicking on the script link and following the story to two links for the event... http://www.scouting.org/jota.aspx http://jotajoti.info/ For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mark Abramowicz, NT3V, in Philadelphia. ** BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including the KB9WSL repeater in Rochester, Indiana, following Thursday’s 7 pm weekly net. ** HAMVENTION INTERVENTION A published report in Dayton, Ohio, has cast doubts on the location of next year’s Dayton Hamvention. An Oct. 2 report published in the Dayton Daily News notes that this global gathering of more than 25,000 amateurs, which infuses the local economy with $8.5-million each year, may face relocation from Hara Arena. Hamvention has been held there since 1964. It is no secret that the arena has been beset with financial challenges in recent years. Emails obtained recently by the newspaper raise questions about the arena’s future, and describe how city and tourism officials are scrambling to compile alternative sites to keep Hamvention in the Dayton region. An Aug. 26 email from Dayton Convention Manager Michael Cashman to one Dayton official described the prospect of holding Hamvention 2016 at Hara as QUOTE “highly unlikely.” ENDQUOTE Cashman’s message reported that the Dayton Amateur Radio Association had already been given tours of such alternate venues as the Dayton Convention Center and the Dayton Airport Expo Center. But Jim Tiderman, N-8-EYE-D-S (N8IDS), general chairman of the Dayton Amateur Radio Association, has been downplaying the somber prospect of relocation. Tiderman says the board does not foresee any relocation unless QUOTE “something catastrophic”ENDQUOTE happens. And the Dayton/Montgomery County Convention & Visitors Bureau agreed this is not the first year that alternative sites have been put on the table for Hamvention. Meanwhile, it’s business as usual, as planning sessions continue for Hamvention 2016. The Dayton gathering is set to run May 20 through the 22nd. (DAYTON DAILY NEWS, ARRL) ** PARTYING, NEW YORK STYLE Who knows how to party better than New Yorkers? And with the state’s 62 counties at the ready, the New York QSO Party gets on the air October 17 and 18 for as much activity as possible, especially on 40 and 20 meters. New York hams are extending a special welcome for mobile and QRP operators. Hams around the country, working on SSB, CW, RTTY and other digital modes, will be looking to connect with any and all New York stations, county by county. There’s even an entry class for rookies to face off against other rookies. That class is open to any ham licensed since Jan. 1, 2012. Visit www.nyqp.org for the full details. And let’s get this party started. The New Yorkers are waiting. (NY QSO PARTY) ****** ROLL CALL FOR MILITARY CONVOY The military Convoy on the Air Special Event is rolling into its final week. Since mid-September, members of the Military Vehicle Preservation Association have been following the path of the 1920 Transcontinental Convoy west from Washington, D.C., with ham radio operations happening along the way. The vehicles and the special stations all come to a definitive halt on Saturday, Oct. 17, when they reach their destination in San Diego, California. The convoy has been making its way along the old BankHead Highway convoy route, a precursor to the modern interstate highway system. If you haven’t been along for the ride yet, there’s still time to make a clean sweep, connect with the host station, bonus stations and earn a special certificate. Visit www.convoyontheair.org for more information. (CONVOY ON THE AIR) ** ** LICENSE NUMBERS ARE DOWN, DOWN UNDER The number of licensed amateurs in Australia has fallen. According to the Australian Communications and Media Authority, there are almost 400 fewer license-holders this year than in 2014. Most of the losses are the result of cancelled call signs and Silent Keys, many of them amateurs who got their licenses following World War II. Even Australia’s most populated states, New South Wales and Victoria, reported a decline in licensed amateurs. In all, there are now 14, 748 ham radio operators in Australia, down from 15,141 in 2014. The country is seeing prospects for growth, however. Australia is creating opportunities for newly licensed amateurs through the establishment of a Foundation License, an entry level gateway for operators. And, the Wireless Institute reports, prospective radio amateurs are still coming on board even after having failed under the previous Novice license system. The Institute’s Jim Linton, VK3PC, says the WIA has also been encouraging clubs and trainers to step up recruitment. (SOUTHGATE AMATEUR RADIO NEWS, WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA) ** THE WORLD OF DX Jay, K4ZLE, will be active as 5X2A from three different locations in Uganda from Oct. 10 through the 19th. He is best reached in the evenings and/or early mornings, Uganda time, and will be using CW and RTTY on 40 through 17 meters. Send QSLs to his home call sign, K4ZLE, by the Bureau or Logbook of the World. Oliver, EI8GQB, will be working as E-I-ONE-A (EI1A), from a hilltop in Ireland for two contests: The Worked All Germany Contest on Oct. 17 and 18, and the CQ Worldwide DX SSB contest on Oct. 24 and 25th. He will continue to be active at all other times, through the end of October, under his regular call sign, EI8GQB. The CQ Worldwide DX SSB contest will bring together some new Qatari licensees with more seasoned operators in a joint team for the contest on Oct. 24, and 25. Members of the Qatar Amateur Radio Society, Danish Contest Academy and others will work from the Disaster Management Camp compound in northern Qatar. They will operate as A-7-ONE-A (A71A), with particular emphasis on the low bands. The CQ Worldwide DX SSB contest will also see some action from Gia, 4L4WW, who will be on the air from Obcha in Western Georgia, on Oct. 25 and 26th. Gia will work as a Single-Op/Single-All/High-Power entry. QSL via LoTW or via EA7FTR. He is not accepting any direct QSL cards. Planning for next month, German operators Manfred/DK1BT, Sigi/DL7DF, Reiner/DL7KL and Frank/DL7UFR will be active as 5Z4HW from Kenya between November 4 and 18th. They will work 160 through 6 meters using CW, SSB, RTTY and PSK31. Pilot station will be Bernd, DF3CB. Send QSL cards via DL7DF, direct or by the Bureau. (IRISH RADIO TRANSMITTERS SOCIETY, OHIO PENN DX NEWSLETTER) KICKER: SOME KIND OF SUMMIT Ham radio operators are no strangers to rescue operations in the face of storms, floods or fires, but in Victoria, Australia, one ham enroute to a Summits On the Air activation found himself engaged an unlikely rescue: the SOTA activation itself. Peter Freeman, VK3PF, was driving to his destination peak when something went seriously wrong with his Subaru. He writes in his blog on Wordpress, QUOTE “I heard something ‘pop’ and the engine started sounding rough. As I was slowing down, I saw some smoke from under the bonnet, so I slowed and pulled over just after the engine died.”ENDQUOTE When he got out of the car to inspect further, he could see flames erupting. He quickly got on 2 meters and notified another ham enroute, Tony VK3CAT, to get help. Then he jumped back into the car, hoping to toss his ham gear to safety just as the flames combined with billowing black smoke. Peter continues, in his blog, QUOTE “The flames got bigger and that was it – stand back and watch!” ENDQUOTE By the time firefighters arrived, all that was left of the car was memory. Peter lost the vehicle, along with a dual band radio and 40 meter whip antenna. The hams were about to pack up and head home in Tony’s car when they realized they were, after all, right there at the foot of the unactivated mountain. So, with Tony’s ham gear in tow, they decided to take care of their unfinished business. How could they resist, especially when that particular summit was conveniently named Mount Useful? (SOUTHGATE AMATEUR RADIO NEWS) ** ** NEWSCAST CLOSE With thanks to Alan Labs, the ARRL, AMSAT News Service; CQ Magazine; DX Coffee; the FCC; Jackson Progress-Argus; Jim Linton, VK3PC; Hap Holly and the Rain Report; Irish Radio Transmitters Society; the New York QSO Party; the Ohio-Penn DX Newsletter; Southgate Amateur Radio News, TWiT TV, the Russian Digital Radio Club; the Wireless Institute of Australia; 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 Skeeter Nash, N5ASH in Topeka, Kansas, saying 73 and as always we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2015. 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Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1980 October 9 2015 - Audio http://www.arnewsline.org/storage/audio/2015/Report1980.mp3
