Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2141 for Friday, November 9 2018 Podcast: https://www.arnewsline.org/s/Report2141.mp3 Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2141 with a release date of Friday, November 9, 2018 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a QST. A new crew preps for launch to the International Space Station. The FCC changes its online registration system -- and a Montana repeater looks to make connections. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2141 comes your way right now. ** BILLBOARD CART ** NEW CREW MEMBERS PREP FOR LAUNCH TO ISS STEPHEN/ANCHOR: We begin this week's newscast with an update on a recent story about the prospect of an unmanned International Space Station. That's not going to happen after all: Russian space officials announced this month that three new crew members are scheduled to launch on December 3rd atop a Soyuz rocket, bringing cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko RN3DX, NASA's Anne McClain and Canada's David Saint-Jacques KG5FYI to the space station. Concerns were raised on October about the immediate future of having a crew aboard the ISS - and Amateur Radio on the International Space Station - after launch issues with a Soyuz spacecraft on October 11th forced an emergency landing in Kazakhstan. The present crew members on board the ISS are scheduled to return to Earth next month. ARISS is waiting on further developments. (SPACE.COM) ** REMEMBERING PAUL BITTNER W0AIH STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Following his fatal fall from a tower at his antenna farm, friends have been remembering Paul Bittner W0AIH. Newsline thought our listeners might want to hear a little more about a ham who, even in his 80s, was unstoppable in his enthusiasm and his devotion to the hobby. Here's Kent Peterson KC0DGY. KENT: Driving on the interstate freeway just outside Eau Claire, Wisconsin, its hard not to miss a collection of ham antennas covering a 20-acre patch of farmland. What IS hard to be missing now, however, is the ham who built that iconic antenna farm - noted contester and retired Lutheran minister Paul Bittner W0AIH. As Newsline reported last week, Paul suffered a fatal fall from a tower he was working on, on Oct. 31 at the superstation known as The Farm. Bittners son-in-law Paul Husby W0UC said the farm was a beloved project that just grew to be an entity that like its creator himself was well-known in ham radio for the way it grew and reached out to offer seemingly boundless possibilities. PAUL HUSBY: The farm evolved in a rather strange way, it doesn't have a great master plan. Perhaps its not the most well-designed place because it just sort of evolved as towers and equipment became available. KENT: A regular operator at the farm is Allan Schlaugat N9ISN ALLAN SCHLAUGAT: We can never say it was finished, he was always climbing the towers and improving things, adding antennas, changing antennas, always trying to improve things. HUSBY: Started building towers in 1982. All the towers out there are things that Paul scrounged over the years. He'd take down towers for whenever he had the opportunity to get his hands on something. He would collect towers for the cost of what it takes them down. KENT: Schlaugat once asked Paul how many antennas are at the farm. SCHLAUGAT: Do you actually know how many towers are there? And he goes, Oh I don't know, I think maybe 45 towers and 25 poles but I lost count about ten years ago. If there was something he would throw another tower up and put another antenna up. Over the years he just lost count so the ballpark we say 45 and 25 and we'll call it good. KENT: Schlaugat says the loss of Bittner is great. SCHLAUGAT: He left a hole in the entire ham radio community. We're talking all across the country or all across the world. Be it contesting, DX and socially. Its very very tough. HUSBY: His family has always been very interested in his activities all these years. They don't really understand what the radio is all about but they know he got an awful lot of fun out of it and everyone is glad he died working on something he really loved. KENT: Paul Bittner W0AIH is survived by his wife Mary WB0PXM four daughters, six grandchildren and all those who worked or visited the farm or perhaps just admired it from afar. For Amateur Radio Newsline Im Kent Peterson KC0DGY. ** RADIO CLUB OF AMERICA RECOGNIZES HAMS' WORK STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Amateur radio operators don't do what they do simply for the recognition but when it does come, it's welcome validation. Jack Parker W8ISH tells us about some hams enjoying the spotlight. JACK: When the Radio Club of America gathers for its 2018 Technical Symposium and Awards Banquet on November 17th in Manhattan, its keynote speaker Ted Rappaport N9NB will also be among those receiving honors. Ted is being given the Armstrong Medal in recognition of lasting contributions to wireless communications and the radio arts. A professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering and computer science at New York Universitys Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Ted is considered a pioneer in 5G networks, wireless systems simulation and RF propagation. He will share the evenings honors with a number of fellow amateurs: The Lee de Forest Award is being given to Nathan Chip Cohen, W1YW; the Fred M. Link Award to Joseph Yurman, N2PFO; the Edgar F. Johnson Pioneer Citation to Mark Allen, W6PC, and the RCA Presidents Award to Carroll Hollingsworth, K5CTT. New Fellows have been named to the RCA as well this year they include Steven Ahmed, K2MOT; Martha Carter, N4GJA and Charles Kirmuss, W0CBK. Congratulations to all those being honored. For Amateur Radio Newsline Im Jack Parker W8ISH. ** POSTHUMOUS RECOGNITION FOR INDIAN AMATEUR'S BOOK STEPHEN/ANCHOR: In India, recognition is coming posthumously for one Silent Key who authored a book about India's space program. That book was published this year, as we hear from Jeremy Boot G4NJH. JEREMY: Electronics engineer Ved Prakash Sandlas VU2VP never lived to see the publication of his book The Leapfroggers: An Insiders Account of ISRO. Ved became a Silent Key on 6th July 2017 and the book was published just months ago. It tells the story of how the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) developed its launch vehicles from scratch. A graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, Ved became a licensed ham radio operator whilst he was an undergraduate studying for his physics degree. According to the Daily Pioneer newspapers Sunday magazine of 28th October, his radio hobby later became invaluable to his work at the space agency when he was given the responsibility of developing a communication system for the Indian space programmes Satellite Launch Vehicle. The posthumous publication recently received a positive review by the Daily Pioneer crediting Ved with helping to build the success of Indias launch vehicle, which formed the pioneer mission of the programme. It quotes a passage from the ham radio operators book which says It was SLV-3 that lifted India to space. [endquote] For Amateur Radio Newsline Im Jeremy Boot G4NJH. (THE DAILY PIONEER) ** BRAZILIAN ASTRONAUT GETS GOVERNMENT POST STEPHEN/ANCHOR: The amateur radio operator who becacme the first South American in space is preparing to advance to a government post when Brazil's new president takes office. Robert Broomhead VK3DN has those details. ROBERT: In 2006, when amateur radio operator Marcos Pontes PY0AEB launched in Kazakhstan for the International Space Station, he became the first South American in space. Now the Brazilian Air Force lieutenant colonel is poised to become that nations science and technology minister. He was confirmed for the post on October 31st by Brazils president-elect Jair Bolsonaro, who will take office on January 1st. Marcos had been chosen as a mission specialist with NASA and arrived in August of 1998 at the Johnson Space Center, where he trained as an astronaut. He is still assigned technical duties at the space center and remains on standby for any space flights from Brazil. But for now, he has work to do in the administration of Brazils next president. One day after his confirmation he told a group of science and robotics students: A dream can take you anywhere, even off the planet. For Amateur Radio Newsline Im Robert Broomhead VK3DN. (QRZNOW, NASA, REUTERS) ** BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including the AH6LE repeater in Clackamas County Oregon on Sundays at 6 p.m. local time. ** FCC SWITCHES TO NEW ONLINE REGISTRATION SYSTEM STEPHEN/ANCHOR: The FCC is retiring its present version of the Commission Registration System, also known as CORES. As of March 1 of next year, anyone applying for an FCC Federal Registration Number, or FRN, must first create a username and password on the system before they can receive the FRN itself. That's already the case - but on the new CORES website anyone who already has an FRN from the old Commission Registration System will need to create a user name to continue managing it under the new system. You can find the website using the URL included the text version of this report. This is especially important for Volunteer Examiners while administering amateur radio license exams. FRNs are used in place of Social Security numbers. Hams who do not have Social Security Numbers must instead use their Taxpayer Identification Number to get an FRN. An FRN is required for everyone using this system. All hams who are already licensed and wishing to conduct business with the FCC, such as renewing their license or changing their address, also need to be registered properly through the new Commission Registration System so they have access to the online Universal Licensing System. It should also be noted that individuals with a new FRN will be able to log into the FCCs Universal Licensing System and set their preferences from receiving electronic copies of your documents to getting them on paper by postal mail, if desired. Again, look at the printed version of this report at arnewsline dot org and you'll find the link to the CORES website. (https://apps.fcc.gov/cores/userLogin.do) (BOB ROSE AA3RR) ** MONTANA REPEATER LOOKS TO MAKE CONNECTIONS STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Good news travels fast, especially on a repeater that's a source of pride to hams who got it running and are now looking to get it networked. Neil Rapp WB9VPG revisits those hams in Montana. NEIL: You may remember a few weeks ago, we shared a story about how some hard-working hams in the North Yellowstone Amateur Radio Club went where no repeater has gone before. They opened up a remote area of Yellowstone National Park that had no communications. They were able to acquire an abandoned phone company building about 8,000 feet up a mountain. A number of individuals and other clubs from surrounding areas pitched in their time, talent, and resources to make this repeater possible, and created a system to break the silence. Jim Halfpenny, K9YNP, tells us what's happening now. JIM: Right now we are mapping the coverage of where this repeater is allowing us to transmit to. We've got isolated hams that have no phone, no radio... and suddenly the repeater is up and talking into narrow valleys. We've opened it up wide open. So we're mapping coverage, and more coverage mapping is still needed. NEIL: Now that the repeater is in place, the next step will be to extend the coverage by linking through the Montana Repeater Link Association, or MRLA. JIM: We are working with folks, volunteers, and knowledgeable folks on the MRLA system to extend that coverage south into Gardiner, Montana; Northgate of Yellowstone; and Yellowstone Park. That's our next reallly big plan, but because of all the snow is going to have to wait until next summer before we can actually accomplish setting up that linkage. NEIL: But for now, a large area around Gardiner, Montana appreciates their efforts. JIM: During this winter season we are going to have much better coverage than we had before. The repeater got started about September 10th. The northern Yellowstone ecosystem will have better communications also. The new repeater, hopefully in the future, will be a boon to emergency services. NEIL: The North Yellowstone group offers an invitation to hams in the area. JIM: Local hams and visitors to Yellowstone National Park can now talk on the repeater on 146.98 MHz with a negative offset and a tone of 100 Hz. So we welcome everybody to join in when they come through the park or are near the park. We'd really appreciate their participation. For Amateur Radio Newsline Im Neil Rapp WB9VPG. ** THREE NEW AMATEUR BANDS FOR INDIA STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Indian officials have updated the country's frequency plan and that's encouraging news for hams there, as Graham Kemp VK4BB tells us. GRAHAM: Still trying for that elusive QSO with India? Amateurs there now have access to three new bands 60 metres, 630 metres and 2300 metres. The nations telecommunications regulator, the Ministry of Communications, has updated the Indian National Frequency plan and added 5 MHz, 472kHz and 135kHz to the list of available bands where hams can try to catch a contact. The band plan became effective on the 25th of October. It should be noted for all three frequencies, amateurs carry status of secondary users. They are limited to 1 watt EIRP on 630 and 2300 metres and 15 watts EIRP when using 60 metres. According to a report in Southgate Amateur Radio News, the new bands comply with current criteria set by the International Telecommunications Union. For Amateur Radio Newsline Im Graham Kemp VK4BB (SOUTHGATE) ** WORLD OF DX In the World of DX, you have a little more time to contact Andy OE7AJH operating from Madagascar along with Thomas OE7KUT. Andy is using the call sign 5R8UP until November 13th, working holiday style on 40 through 10 meters and possibly 80 meters. He will be using both CW and SSB. QSL via OE7AJH. Be listening for Take (Tah-KAY)JG8NQJ on Minami Torishima starting around the 15th of November. He expects to be there for three months, operating CW and some RTTY as JG8NQJ/JD1. QSL via JA8CJY (direct) or JG8NQJ (bureau). Be listening for John, W2GD operating as P40W from Aruba from the 19th to the 27th of November. Although he will mainly be participating in the CQ WW DX CW Contest, he will also be on the air outside the contest operating SSB and CW on 160-10 metres. QSL via LoTW or direct only to N2MM. Listen for Nobu JA0JHQ operating as T88PB from Koror, Palau between the 23rd and 26th of November. He will be most active during the CQ WW DX CW Contest. QSL via LoTW, which is preferred, or send direct to JA0JHQ. (OHIO PENN DX) ** KICKER: NO VALID LICENSE? WELL, NO VALID TRAFFIC TICKETS EITHER STEPHEN/ANCHOR: We all know that getting on the air without a license isn't legal. As Andy Morrison K9AWM tells us in this week's final story, that's true even for the local traffic cops. ANDY: Hams are not the only ones who can get in trouble for not having an appropriate and valid FCC license. Take the case of the Buckeye Lake Police Department in Ohio. Village officers have been writing speeding tickets, as police are known to do, for any motorists driving in excess of the 35 mph village limit - but apparently every ticket thats been handed out since 2013 has been unlawful, according to Buckeye Lake Police Chief Vicki Wardlow. According to an Associated Press story quoting the local Newark Advocate newspaper, the chief told the village council members at a meeting in October that the departments license with the FCC expired in 2013, which means the radar guns used to measure the speed of motorists whizzing by cannot be calibrated for use. No one applied to renew the license so the tickets issued in the past five years simply arent valid, she said. She told the council that the law requires the department to have that license in order to operate both its radar units and its radios. That means the department cant write valid tickets, at least for now. A new license could cost anywhere from $840 if she files the application herself, or a total of $1,400 if the village outsources the process and would not expire for another 10 years. It was unclear what penalty if any would be assessed for the departments 5 years of unlicensed operation. The Villages clerk treasurer Rochelle Menningen said the police departments budget has the funds to cover the cost of a new license and so, presumably, it will apply as quickly as possible for its FCC license but of course, at a speed within the legal limit. For Amateur Radio Newsline Im Andy Morrison K9AWM. (JOHN HILLIARD W8OF) ** NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Alan Labs; Amateur News Weekly; the ARRL; Bob Rose AA3RR; CQ Magazine; the Daily Pioneers; FCC; Hap Holly and the Rain Report; Irish Radio Transmitters Society; John Hilliard W8OF; NASA; Ohio-Penn DX Bulletin; QRZNow; Radio Club of America; Reuters; Southgate Amateur Radio News; Ted Randall's QSO Radio Show; Variety; 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 Stephen Kinford N8WB in Wadsworth Ohio saying 73 and as always we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2018. All rights reserved.
