Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2090 for Friday, November 17, 2017Audio - https://www.arnewsline.org/s/Report2090.mp3 Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2090 with a release date of Friday, November 17, 2017 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a QST. A court dismisses a defamation suit against the ARRL. A pioneer of software-defined radio dies -- and a Special Event station in India prepares to honor a 19th century "father of wireless." All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2090 comes your way right now. ** BILLBOARD CART ** COURT DISMISSES HAM'S SUIT AGAINST ARRL NEIL/ANCHOR: In our top story, a federal appeals court has ruled in a defamation lawsuit filed against the ARRL. Kent Peterson KC0DGY has those details. KENT: A U.S. district court has dismissed a defamation lawsuit filed against the American Radio Relay League by its former Eastern Pennsylvania Section Manager Joseph Ames W3JY. The suit was filed last year after an article appeared explaining his dismissal in June of 2016. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruling on the 13th of November found the ARRL's contention to be true -- that the Malvern, Pennsylvania amateur had improperly conducted disaster planning directly with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The ARRL said Joseph Ames had violated ARRL bylaws which state that the league is responsible for its own representation with government agencies such as FEMA. The ARRL argued that the arrangement was thus unauthorized. According to the court papers the three-judge panel found "Ames treated NTS like a separate entity from ARRL by making decisions on policy issues, issuing press releases, doing government advocacy and giving NTS volunteers the false impression that NTS is separate from ARRL." Ames had been chairman of the ARRL National Traffic System's Eastern Area when he was voted out by the executive commmitte. He had sued the ARRL and three of its officers. The NTS was created by the league in 1949. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Kent Peterson KC0DGY (LAW 360, ARRL, U.S. COURT OF APPEALS THIRD CIRCUIT) ** SOFTWARE PIONEER VANU BOSE DIES NEIL/ANCHOR: The man behind the first FCC-certified software-defined radio has died. We hear more from Jim Damron N8TMW. JIM DAMRON's REPORT: The chief executive of the first company to be certified by the FCC for software-defined radio died suddenly in Massachusetts on Nov 11. The death of software executive Vanu Bose was announced on the website of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was an alumnus and member of the MIT Corporation. Bose's company Vanu Inc., uses technology he developed while a graduate student at MIT and now provides wireless infrastructure around the world. The company also used its technology for humanitarian causes, most recently assisting with communications in Puerto Rico following the devastating hurricane. In 2004, Bose's company made news when it won the first FCC approval of Vanu's Software Radio GSM Base Station, which was capable of being modified without changes to its hardware. It was heralded as a major advance in wireless communications. Vanu Inc. was also the developer of cellular repeater stations capable of running on solar power, enabling communications in remote areas of the world, including developing countries. He was the son of the late Amar G. Bose, was the founder of the Bose Corporation. Vanu Bose died of a pulmonary embolism. He was 52. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jim Damron N8TMW (MIT) ** FUNDRAISING A TOUGH NUT TO CRACK NEIL/ANCHOR: Want a creative way to raise money for your club's needs? Squirrel away this idea, as we hear from Mike Askins KE5CXP. MIKE: What gets busy every fall collecting nuts with an eye toward saving for the future? If you answered "squirrels," you'd be right, of course. But if you answered the "Cleveland Amateur Radio Club" you'd be right too. The club recently completed its big annual fundraiser - the incredibly popular nut sale considered its primary way to raise money outside of membership dues. The sale was launched several years ago by Edith Derrick KG4BDQ, now a Silent Key, and her husband Bill KF4OZO, the club's treasurer and it has become a family tradition in their honor, according to Buddy Kimsey WA4NIV, who has been Nut Chairman for the past two years. Indeed, the 42 offerings seem as hard to resist as a flea market at a hamfest: cashews, walnuts, chocolate-coated nuts, spicy and salty nuts and the top-seller, pecans. Enthusiasm builds right up into the weeks before Thanksgiving. Buddy said 630 bags were pre-sold and 108 extra bags were ordered and the club is expecting a sellout! The nut money goes toward a good cause: The hams are looking to expand their existing club house, an expense expected to run about $100,000. Meanwhile business has been brisk, said Buddy, as both hams and non-hams have been placing their orders. Now if only they can capture that squirrel market.... For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Mike Askins KE5CXP. ** NETS OF NOTE: THE TYPOCHONDRIACS NEIL/ANCHOR: In this next report, we present the latest in our occasional series "Nets of Note." Paul Braun WD9GCO introduces us to a net especially for fans of CW and, of all things, old typewriters. PAUL: Hams, by and large, have a fascination with old gear. We spend hours and untold amounts of money restoring and using 70-year-old rigs. We wax rhapsodic about the warm glow of tubes. We converse in Morse Code using World War II-era telegraph keys. So, we should easily identify with a group of people that love to write things on the word-processing equivalent of a Heathkit DX-100b - the manual typewriter. And there is an HF net dedicated to just that - The Typochondriacs Net. I recently spoke with Fred Beihold, NV1N, about the net: BEIHOLD: Well, I was reading Richard Polt's website and he wrote the book "The Typewriter Revolution" - he's just really into manual typewriters. And I still had my manual typewriter from college, and I read about these gatherings all over the world where people get together at cafes and type on manual typewriters. I talked to a ham on 40 meters on CW and he said the only two items left from his original station were his manual typewriter and his telegraph key. So I thought "why not combine the two?" I'm a traffic handler, and I always thought a RadioGram looks best when it's typed up on a manual typewriter on an official RadioGram form - looks really smart. So I started this about two years ago and I haven't done much with it but recently I picked up the ball again and I'm looking for some ways to stir up some interest for this. I think it has two goals that it could achieve - it could be fun and it could really serve a useful purpose. PAUL: The net meets on the third Thursday of the month at 8pm Eastern time on 7054 Kilohertz. I asked Beihold about how the net would run: BEIHOLD: To start with, just a little bit of ragchewing - not too much - and we'll go from there. Anybody can join - I mean, we might even provide services to people who don't care at all about manual typewriters - but the net will be tailored to serve the manual typewriter crowd. PAUL: So, if you feel like getting together with some fellow vintage gear junkies, the Typochondriacs Net might just be for you. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Paul Braun, WD9GCO. ** NEW EDITORS AT NATIONAL CONTEST JOURNAL NEIL/ANCHOR: There are new voices and a new guiding hand at the ARRL's National Contest Journal as we hear from Kevin Trotman N5PRE. KEVIN'S REPORT: A new editorial team will be guiding the editorial content of the ARRL's National Contest Journal beginning with the January/February 2018 issue. Dr. Scott Wright, K0MD, an active contester and DXer from Rochester, Minnesota, will be taking over as editor. Scott will be joined by Fred Regennitter K4IU as Deputy Editor. All of the contributing editors will remain and there will be several new ones: Amateur Radio Newsline's own Neil Rapp WB9VPG, host of Ham Talk Live, will serve as “Next Gen Contesters” contributing editor. Dr. John Thompson K3MD will serve as Contributing editor for Contest Surveys and Book Reviews and the past Editor Pat Barkey N9RV will remain doing periodic interviews and feature stories. Congratulations everyone! For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Kevin Trotman N5PRE. ** BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline heard on bulletin stations around the world including the Greensboro Amateur Radio Association's W4GSO repeater in Greensboro, North Carolina on Sunday evenings following the 8:30 p.m. net. ** THE NATURE OF HAM RADIO IS....NATURE NEIL/ANCHOR: As summer approaches in Australia, John Williams VK4JJW gives hams there a good reason to get out of the shack. JOHN's REPORT: If you are in Australia, let nature be your radio shack on the weekend of November 25th and 26th. Those two days mark VKFF Activation Weekend for the World Wide Flora and Fauna program. Amateurs are being encouraged to activate parks throughout VK land and sharpen their abilities to operate portable while drawing attention to the parks. Hams who want to activate one of the designated parks should email vk5pas at wia dot org dot au (vk5pas@wia.org.au) with all the specifics of the planned activation so your station can be included in the registry being compiled. According to the WWFF Australia website, calling CQ from a designated park can almost surely guarantee a pileup. Parks should meet event criteria, however. For details on how to activate a park and for more information about registering, visit the website wwffaustralia dot com (wwffaustralia.com) Most of the parks in the program are national parks but there are, of course, exceptions. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm John Williams VK4JJW (WWFF AUSTRALIA) ** NETHERLANDS REPORTS A DECLINE IN NEW LICENSEES NEIL/ANCHOR: In the Netherlands, the tally for new licensees is down but officials are not discouraged, as we hear from Jeremy Boot G4NJH. JEREMY'S REPORT: Fewer new hams are getting on the air in the Netherlands. That's the latest report from the Netherlands Radio Examination Foundation. The latest figures for applications and successful candidates for the Novice and Full licenses both declined. The years compared were 2015 and 2017. According to VERON president Remy Denker PA3AGF, who spoke at the Radio Amateur Day in Apeldoorn on Nov. 4, there were 322 new amateurs registered in the Netherlands in 2015 - a figure that has declined to 270 in 2017. Remy Denker kept his message upbeat however and said that even small numbers of hams can do their part for large-scale promotion for Dutch amateur radio. He encouraged licensed radio amateurs to serve as good-will ambassadors and share the hobby with friends and acquaintances. His advice: Spread the word. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH. ** CW ACADEMY OPENS FOR YOUNG AMATEURS NEIL/ANCHOR: Guess what? Kids think Morse Code is cool. Now there's a resource helping them learn how to be "Morse Cool" and it's free, as we hear from Stephen Kinford N8WB. STEPHEN'S REPORT: The successful CW Academy Program run by the CW Operators Club has launched some new coursework aimed specifically at young radio amateurs. The club's online Morse Code classes for young hams will be taught free to hams between the ages of 11 and 19 who live in the U.S. and Canada. Students who sign up will be grouped with other hams their age in their time zone and will be trained over Skype. The club will even try to find volunteers who live near the students' QTH to assist them with rig and antenna set-up where needed. This is a pilot program but the club is very optimistic. Carl Davis W8WZ told Amateur Radio Newsline in an email that the club has discovered that lots of young amateurs enjoy CW and embrace it as if they were learning a second language or a musical instrument. Carl said that he conducted a code demonstration at a recent Scouting Jamboree on the Air and the youngsters showed tremendous enthusiasm for something that didn't involve keyboards and screens for a change. That is the success they hope for with this CW Academy. Registration begins the 15th of November and runs through the 15th of December. Classes begin in January. To register, send an email to k6rb58 at gmail dot com (k6rb58@gmail.com) and include first and last name, call sign and license class, age, time zone, email address and phone number. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Stephen Kinford N8WB (CW OPERATORS CLUB) ** SPECIAL EVENT STATION HONORS JAGADISH BOSE NEIL/ANCHOR: A Special Event station is about to get on the air in India honoring a 19th century scientist who played a major role in wireless. Here's Jim Meachen ZL2BHF. JIM MEACHEN'S REPORT: Born the 30th of November in 1858, Bengali physicist Jagadish Chandra Bose would no doubt appreciate this special event station. Datta VU2DSI will be on the air using the call sign AU2JCB from the 23rd of November to the 11th of December marking the anniversary of the birth of the scientist considered by many around the world to be the "Father of Wireless." The 19th century innovator's many accomplishments include development of Galena crystals for making radio receivers and the discovery of 1 centimeter to 5 millimeter radio waves, such as those used in satellites and radars. His demonstration of wireless radio in 1895 predates the more publicly recognized one credited to Italy's Guglielmo Marconi whose demonstration came two years later. Honoring India's scientist, Datta will operate on both the HF bands as well as in FM mode on 6 meters and 10 meters. Send QSL cards directly to VU2DSI. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jim Meachen ZL2BHF ** MORE FREQUENCIES FOR HAMS IN ARGENTINA, COLOMBIA NEIL/ANCHOR: There's more room for more QSOs on the bands! Hams in Argentina have something to celebrate: Local communications authorities have granted new privileges on the bands on 630 meters and 60 meters and extended existing allocations on 160 meters, 80 meters and 30 meters. Radio Club Argentino made the announcement following final approval and said the changes will be effective in February 2018. In Colombia, hams are getting access to part of the band on 2200 meters, 630 meters and 60 meters. The announcement was made this month by the Colombian Radio Society, a member of the IARU. (RADIO CLUB ARGENTINO, COLOMBIAN RADIO SOCIETY) * THE WORLD OF DX In the world of DX, be listening for Argentinian DXers on San Andres Island in the Caribbean operating through the 26th of November as 5K0T. The IOTA reference for San Andres is NA-033. Send QSLs to LU1FM. Harald DF2WO is in Rwanda through the end of November operating with the callsign 9X2AW. Listen for him on CW, SSB and RTTY. QSL Manager is M0OXO. Georg DK7LX is in Bermuda through the 21st of November, operating holiday-style as VP9/DK7LX. You can listen for him on 40 through 15 meters operating CW only. QSL via Club Log OQRS. (IRTS) ** KICKER: THE SCIENCE OF HONORING SUPPORTER'S MEMORY NEIL/ANCHOR: We close this week with a tale of weather balloons released in an Indiana football field -- two balloons with two missions. Don Wilbanks AE5DW shares that story. DON: In the eyes of 20 high school seniors from Indiana's Hobart High School, few things could have flown higher in those few moments of launch than Gensis and Exodus, the weather balloons that lifted off on Nov. 9 from the school's football field. The engineering and design seniors were led by teacher Brent Vermeulen, who had secured about $3,000 in grants to make the launch happen. Each helium-filled balloon had a GoPro camera and a 360 degree HD camera to record its flight, plus an antenna enabling tracking by two local hams. Exodus lived up to its name, traveling 240 miles before ending up in a cornfield near Huron, Ohio. Genesis made it as far as Napoleon, Ohio, completing a trip of about 162 miles before landing in a farmer's field there. Much more was on board however than just recording and radio equipment. Jackie Fitzgerald of Hobart had been on the sidelines watching it all. This year her brother, Marvin Boetcher, WV90, could not be there for one of his favorite annual events. The Hobart amateur, a 1967 graduate of the school, became a Silent Key in March. Jackie had made a donation in her brother's memory to help the flight -- and these words covered the payload of Genesis: "in loving memory of Marvin Boetcher." She watched the students and their balloons and in her eyes too, few things could have flown higher on that bright morning. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Don Wilbanks AE5DW. (CHICAGO TRIBUNE) ** NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Alan Labs; the ARRL; the Chicago Tribune; the CQ Magazine; the CW Operators Club; Hap Holly and the Rain Report; Irish Radio Transmitters Society; Law 360; the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Ohio Penn DX Bulletin; Southgate Amateur Radio News; Ted Randall's QSO Radio Show; the U.S. Court of Appeals; Worldwide Flora and Fauna; 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 located 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 Neil Rapp WB9VPG in Bloomington Indiana saying 73 and as always we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2017. All rights reserved.
