Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2098 for Friday, January 12, 2018 Audio - https://www.arnewsline.org/s/Report2098.mp3 Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2098 with a release date of Friday, January 12 2018 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a QST. Participants in the World Radiosport Team Championship in Germany are gearing up. Ham Radio University gives amateurs refresher courses in New York -- and the ham community grieves the sudden tragic loss of a noted DXer. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2098 comes your way right now. ** BILLBOARD CART ** SILENT KEY: DEATH OF A DXer NEIL/ANCHOR: We begin this week's newscast on a somber note. Following a tragedy not far from his home in Maryland, a beloved radio amateur has become a Silent Key. Mike Askins KE5CXP has more. MIKE: A tragic accident has claimed the life of a well-liked and respected amateur who was an accomplished DXpeditioner and an Elmer to so many young people. David Collingham, K3LP, became a Silent Key on Jan. 6. He died after falling through the ice during an attempt a day earlier to rescue his dog from a frozen pond in Frederick County, Maryland. President of the Intrepid DX Group, David had participated in more than 70 DXpeditions. He visited more than 100 different DXCC entities, operating from 62 of them. In 2014, the CQDX Hall of Fame added his name to its roster. David's accomplishments included activating 8 of the Top 10 Most Wanted DXCC Entities and 16 of the Top 50. He was also a member of the ARRL, Potomac Valley Radio Club, the National Capital DX Association and the Southwest Ohio DX Association. His many friends, including James Nitzberg WX3B recall David's unwavering love of children and the care in which he encouraged them to grow in the hobby. When David would visit a rare DX location, James said, it was not unusual for him to leave behind radios and antennas for the kids or the amateur clubs to use as their own. David Collingham was 59. We here at Newsline send our deepest condolences to his wife Rebecca and the rest of his family. Announcing his death, Paul Ewing N6PSE, his friend and coleader on the 2016 VP8STI/VP8SGI South Sandwich and South Georgia Islands Dxpedition, wrote: He will always be a hero in our hearts. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mike Askins KE5CXP. ** ARRL FACING CHALLENGES OVER POLICIES, CODES, LOBBYING NEIL/ANCHOR: As the ARRL prepares for its next board meeting later this month it is facing some grassroots challenges, as we hear from Paul Braun WD9GCO. PAUL: The ARRL is facing some major public challenges from the U.S. amateur community regarding its actions, bylaws and policies. A group known as myARRLvoice is advocating change in the ARRL Code of Conduct and lobbying efforts as well through its steering committee that comprises some of the ARRL's own past vice directors, Life Members and Maxim Society members. The group launched a website on Monday, Jan. 8, urging them to press the ARRL for more transparency at its next board meeting on Jan. 19. ARRL leadership first became embattled in an escalating war of words with a vocal coalition in California over the league's Code of Conduct. The Northern California Contest Club, an ARRL affiliate, claimed the Code stifled communications in league matters and prompted the controversial public censure of a division director in November. The ARRL will not publicly discuss the specifics of the censure. However, its leadership continues to stand by the Code as well as its more recent actions. On Jan. 6, ARRL Hudson Division Director Mike Lisenco N2YBB addressed that issue in very general terms when he gave a keynote speech at Ham Radio University on Long Island, New York. Calling the censure a personnel matter not open to public by the ARRL he nonetheless reaffirmed both the need for the Code and the content of the Code and supported the ARRL's actions. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Paul Braun WD9GCO. ** TWO FOR THE ROAD AT WRTC 2018 NEIL/ANCHOR: The World Radiosport Team Championship is coming up July 12th through 16th near Wittenberg, Germany. The teams have been selected, and the competitors are well on their way of training for this event held only every four years, just like the Olympics. Youll be hearing more about WRTC as the months go by, and our own Ed Durrant, DD5LP will be on site bringing you the latest news from the biggest radiosport event in the world. The event features the best of the best. And, this year there are three youth teams added to the field. One of the teams is a pair from the Americas 22 year old Mathias Acevedo, CE2MVF, who had the highest qualifying point total of the under 25 selections from La Calera, Chile, and his chosen partner 13 year old Bryant Rascoll, KG5HVO from Montgomery, Alabama. These two are preparing the best they can, with some help of some very experienced contesters. MATHIAS: Well, in my case for this new challenge, the WRTC 2018 Roberto, CE3CT and Dale, VE7SV are helping me along the way. They are both serious contesters, and VE7 has participated in WRTC 2014. NEIL: Going up against 60 other teams consisting of the top contesters from all over the planet is a daunting task. But Bryant thinks it will be an experience of a lifetime. BRYANT: If you look up the word underdog in the dictionary, youd see our picture. Ive only been a ham two and a half years. We live 5,000 miles apart, and we cant do a mock run. And all of our interaction is via WhatsApp and on the phone. So we are definitely disadvantaged. But, I know we have a full tank of enthusiasm. And, I will say that we are very excited to be competing, and I know with hard work despite all these disadvantages, we will be in a huge learning experience. NEIL/ANCHOR: Good luck to these two and all the other competitors. ** "DIPLOMAS" FOR VOLUNTEERS AT WRTC 2018 NEIL/ANCHOR: Organizers of the championship are meanwhile finding ways to thank the volunteer supporters whose efforts form the backbone of the event. Ed Durrant DD5LP has more on that. ED'S REPORT: What would the World Radio Team Championship be without the volunteers? It simply wouldn't happen. In order to acknowledge the support provided by the volunteers, the WRTC organizers are issuing the "VOTA diploma" for those helping with WRTC 2018. VOTA stands for Volunteers On The Air and is intended to underline the fact that the work of the volunteers is central to the success of WRTC 2018 in July in Wittenberg, Germany. Each volunteer is assigned a WRTC VOTA number which they can give out on air for the whole of 2018. Stations working the volunteer stations can apply for the VOTA-Award at 25, 45, and 65 contact levels (classes 3,2 and 1 respectively) as well as Gold and Platinum awards for those working 100 or 200 volunteers. To launch the activity and award a special one hour "activity period" will take place between 0800 to 0900 UTC on the 80 metre band on Sunday the 14th. of January when the volunteers will be calling "CQ VOTA" and looking for contacts. Full details are on the DARC website at the link shown in the show notes. http://dcl.darc.de/~dcl/public/diplom_details.php?diplomid=115 For ARNewsline from Germany, this is Ed Durrant DD5LP and WRTC 2018 VOTA number DL-012. ** HAM RADIO UNIVERSITY CLASSES IN SESSION NEIL/ANCHOR: There were no diplomas but a whole lot of education was going on nonetheless at a recent program in New York called Ham Radio University. Jim Damron N8TMW has those details. JIM'S REPORT: A $5 donation became the ticket to a full day of amateur radio workshops - everything from the basics of propagation to the nuances of successful contesting - as Ham Radio University opened its doors on Saturday, January 6. The annual New York event featured 30 forums and a variety of hands-on workshops as well as special event station WHRU. Just like Dayton Hamvention, Ham Radio University was trying out a new venue - the C.W. Post campus of Long Island University in Brookville, New York. Despite the so-called "ice cyclone" that blasted the northeast only days earlier, the turnout drew attendance from around the region with an estimated attendance of about 300. Everything from scanning, SDR and satellites to digital modes and Dxing got full coverage. New forums were introduced for YLs, DMR and D-Star. Planning is already underway for another full day of Elmering and fellowship on Saturday, January 5, 2019. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Damron N8TMW. ** BREAK HERE Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including the K8SCH repeater on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. local time in Cincinnati, Ohio, during the TechTalk Net. ** COOPERATION AND CONSOLIDATION IN CANADA NEIL/ANCHOR: There's a new partnership starting up between Radio Amateurs of Canada and the amateur organization in Quebec. Geri Goodrich KF5KRN has more details. GERI: With the start of the new year, two amateur radio organizations in Canada are cooperating more closely with one another on amateur education and a QSL bureau. As of Jan. 1, Radio Amateurs of Canada and RAQI in Quebec have agreed to share resources for bureaus. The RAC's Outgoing QSL Bureau is to become Canada's sole outgoing bureau for QSL cards. RAQI's outgoing bureau will now serve as a branch of the larger RAC bureau. The organizations said the move makes particularly good sense with fewer QSL cards being sent and with postal rates rising. RAC has also agreed to promote RAQI's online amateur radio course to those outside the province of Quebec. According to the RAC this will provide an alternate form of instruction available to Canadians who are unable to receive instruction at their own local ham radio clubs. A portion of the registration fees paid by registrants outside Quebec will be given to the RAC. This agreement was worked out last year between the two organizations. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Geri Goodrich KF5KRN. (SOUTHGATE) ** WHY K3Y KEEPS THE CODE COMING NEIL/ANCHOR: If you couldn't get enough of Code on Straight Key Night, Skeeter Nash N5ASH has another option that's available for you right now. SKEETER: The Straight Key Century Club knows how to keep a good party going: It was founded in 2006 after the ARRL's annual Straight Key Night. They simply didn't want the party to end. Now, it seems, they have another reason to continue that festive feeling: the club is marking 12 years and more than 18 thousand members. So the club is inviting hams everywhere to come and work its Special Event Station K3Y. The club has stations operating in the U.S. and around the world, including Europe, South America and Africa -- 19 areas in total. Working all 19 locations gives you 500 bonus points. Here's another reason to go for those points: If all the call signs you work have enough letters to spell out "Happy Twelfth Anniversary SKCC" give yourself an extra 100 points for each of the words you have managed to complete. Dust off your straight key and visit K3Y's QRZ page for more details. To obtain a special spreadsheet for scoring, email Jerry K6III at Jerry dot Bliss at gmail dot com (jerry.bliss@gmail.com). For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Skeeter Nash N5ASH. (CURT WA2JSG) ** HAMVENTION PICKS COMMUNITY SERVICE THEME NEIL/ANCHOR: No, it's not May yet but Hamvention 2018 planners aren't waiting until the last minute to pick this year's theme. It's "Amateur Radio, Serving the Community" and according to event chairman Ron Cramer KD8ENJ, it's a nod to all the hard work hams have done locally in the past year, especially in times of emergency. There will be forums devoted specifically to emergency communications and hams can get a closer look at vehicles used during such emergencies. Remember Hamvention is being held May 18th through 20th in Xenia, Ohio at the Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center. (HENRY RUMINSKI W8HJR) ** FRIENDSHIP AND FOCUS IN THE PHILIPPINES NEIL/ANCHOR: Girl Scouts in the Philippines are getting ready for some DXing that's designed to build bridges of friendship. Here's Jim Meachen ZL2BHF with more. JIM MEACHEN'S REPORT: For five hours on Saturday, Feb. 17, Girl Scouts in the Philippines will be in search of good friends and even better scores on the air during the 2018 International Friendship Exchange and DX Contest. Girl Scouts at the Senior and Cadet levels will be assisted by amateur radio stations affiliated with the Philippine Amateur Radio Association. Stations may apply for special call signs from the National Telecommunications Commission after getting approval from the Philippine radio group. Stations will have both low power and high power operations and will be on 40, 20 and 15 meters using phone only. Although this is a contest, its greater purpose is to foster friendships internationally and to show the girls the important role radio communications can have if needed in a disaster. The event is run by the Philippine Amateur Radio Association and "GSP SHARES," also known as the Girl Scouts of the Philippines Scouts Ham Radio Enthusiasts for Service. Participants need to register no later than February 1st. For more details, visit the website para dot org. (para.org) For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Meachen ZL2BHF. (PARA) ** 'SERGIO AND SERGEI' IS A HIT NEIL/ANCHOR: Who doesn't love a good film in which amateur radio has a starring role? Apprently even the audiences in Cuba love this one, as we hear from Kevin Trotman N5PRE. KEVIN: Take a stranded Russian cosmonaut in a space station and add a Cuban amateur radio operator into the mix and you've got a winning combination for a feature film. That's what the Cuban amateur radio federation, the FRC, has to say about "Sergio and Sergei." The film, directed by Ernesto Daranas, has been voted most popular by moviegoers in Cuba. The fictional account of the men's friendship that develops while the cosmonaut is stranded during the Soviet collapse in 1991, is loosely based on actual contacts between amateur radio operators in Cuba and the Mir space station. The U.S.-Cuba collaboration, which also features Ron Pearlman as an American journalist, was recently screened at the 39th International Festival of New Latin American Cinema in Havana. It mae its premiere in September at the Toronto Film Festival. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Kevin Trotman N5PRE. (The CUBAN AMATEUR RADIO FEDERATION) ** WORLD OF DX In the world of DX, listen for the FGC Radio Team from Eritrea between the 14th and 23rd of January. Zorro, JH1AJT, Franz/DJ9ZB, Dima/RA9USU, Yan/RZ3FW and Champ/E21EIC will be operating on CW, SSB and RTTY on 160 meters through 6 meters. The trip is designed to support the Eritrea National Olympic Committee. Send QSLs via JH1AJT. Contacts will be entered into OQRS on ClubLog when he returns to Japan. Listen for John KB4FB operating holiday style from Laos. He began there on January 9th and expects to stay for about two weeks. He is using the call sign XW4FB. QSLs will be via LoTW. A group of Japanese amateurs is using the call sign 6Y6J from the Jamaica home station of Josh 6Y5WJ through the 22nd of January. QSLs can be sent through Club Log's OQRS. All logs will also be uploaded to LoTW. Listen until the 31st of January for Rich PA0RRS. Rich is operating from Penang Island, West Malaysia using his 9M2MRS callsign. QSLs can go to his home call sign. (IRTS, OHIO PENN DX) ** KICKER: THE SKY'S NOT FALLING BUT..... NEIL/ANCHOR: We close out this week's newscast with a report about a contest that, for a change, doesn't involve being on the air. Here's John Williams VK4JJW. JOHN: If you're a distant relative of Chicken Little, the odds are that this contest may not be right for you. But if your guessing game is good - and you don't run around shouting every 10 minutes that the sky is falling - you might have a chance at a nice prize in what's being called the Chicken Little Contest. No, the sky isn't falling but a Chinese space laboratory weighing nine tons is definitely set for a less-than-glorious return home. It's called the Tiangong-1 spacecraft. It's the first space lab built and launched by China. It went up in September 2011 and now, well, it's poised to come back down sometime in mid-March. The word "sometime" is the key here. The Aerospace Corporation's Center for Orbital and Re-entry Debris Studies is sponsoring a contest, asking people to guess as best as they can when the lab will land. The center will provide a prize, which it hasn't yet disclosed. Don't worry, the laboratory has no crew aboard. The only thing riding on it now are people's hopes their guess was the best of all. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm John Williams VK4JJW. (SPACE.COM) ** NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Alan Labs; the ARRL; CQ Magazine; the Cuban Amateur Radio Federation; Curt WA2JSG; Hap Holly and the Rain Report; Henry Ruminski W8HJR; the IARU; the Irish Radio Transmitters Society; Ohio-Penn DX Bulletin; Philippine Amateur Radio Association; QRZ; Southgate Amateur Radio News; Space.com; 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 Neil Rapp WB9VPG in Bloomington Indiana saying 73 and as always we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2018. All rights reserved.
