Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2143 for Friday, November 23 2018 Podcast - https://www.arnewsline.org/s/Report2143.mp3 Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2143 with a release date of Friday, November 23, 2018 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a QST. The Bouvet Island team makes preparations in South Africa. A YL sails solo around the globe - and for those celebrating Thanksgiving, a story of gratitude. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2143 comes your way right now. ** BILLBOARD CART ** TOP STORY: THEIR EYES ON BOUVET ISLAND JIM/ANCHOR: We begin this week with an update on what is easily one of the most anticipated DXpeditions in the ham radio community: the Bouvet Island DXpedition. While there are no specific dates for when the 3Y0I (Three-Y-ZERO-Eye) team becomes an on-air reality, the operators are now assembling in Cape Town, South Africa and making preparations for what is expected to be at least a two-week stay. The team includes Dom/3Z9DX, the groups leader, as well as Jose/CT1DSV, Tack/JE1CKA, Mietek/SP3CMX, Marcin/SP5ES, Stanislaw/SP8S and Branko/YU4DX. It is expected to take 12 days for them to arrive at their destination in the South Atlantic before getting on the air. They will be operating on frequencies from 160 to 6 meters and using SSB, CW and FT8. Their preferred QSL is via ClubLogs OQRS but they will accept LoTW or via 3Z9DX. The team estimates the total cost for the trip at about $225,000 U.S. dollars. As the team continues to work out security measures and logistics, this venture takes on even more importance for all interested hams. It follows the scrapping of the 3Y0Z (Three-Y-Zero-Zed) DXpedition in February of this year after one of its ships engines developed problems, forcing the team to reverse course, even as the coveted island destination was well within their sights. (SOUTHGATE) ** YL SAILS TOWARD NEW WORLD RECORD JIM/ANCHOR: Meanwhile, a YL on another ham radio journey is looking to set the record of a lifetime. She's doing it solo. Neil Rapp WB9VPG tells us more. NEIL: To all appearances, retired math teacher Jeanne Socrates VE0JS, is alone aboard her sailing vessel the S/V Nereida as she makes her third attempt at setting a record. Jeanne is already the oldest woman to circumnavigate the globe solo nonstop and unassisted -- and is the first woman to do so from North America. Now 76, the experienced sailor simply wants to be the oldest person to accomplish that feat. Yes, to all appearances she is indeed alone, but Newsline got on board with her briefly on 20 meters on Thursday Nov. 15 with the help of a Skype patch from her friend Jim Millner WB2REM. Shed left Victoria, Canada in early October and told us she was, at the time, 80 miles north/northwest of Ducie Island in the Pacific Ocean, at a good pace into her 8-month journey. JEANNE: Im pretty pleased with my progress, in fact. NEIL: When the sun shines brightly, Jeanne has the benefit of solar power. She has a little generator on board too but for a sailboat like the Nereida, the real power comes, of course, from riding the wind. Jeannes days are full. She makes her meals, she writes in her blog, she downloads critical weather information and maintains the boat in operating condition, even keeping barnacles from slowing her sojourn. There is, of course, also the radio to turn to, all 125 watts of HF signal and she does that often. JEANNE: I spend a lot of time actually, its really great for me to have the radio. Ive not been able to make the morning contacts I normally do when I am further north. I get onto various nets. Some of those contacts come up to me in the daytime and that seems to be good. In fact I made contact yesterday with Victoria Canada where I left from. He came up strong 17 meters which is great. And then other friends from the 7155 group and another group, we make contact from time to time and occasionally I am able to get a hold of my friends up on the west coast. There is a group there around 7147 in the morning around sunrise. I am able to talk to them occasionally. It has been a really, really good thing for me to have the ham radio to make connections like that. NEIL: So while Jeannes trip remains a true solo journey with nothing but ocean surrounding her, her crew members and her companions come and go regularly as she sails the world. If you want to join her, set your alarm clock early and your rig for 7.163 MHz between 5 and 6 a.m. Eastern Time. Meanwhile, this globe-circling ham and aspiring record-breaker is on her way. JEANNE: Good bye for now, 73. For Amateur Radio Newsline Im Neil Rapp WB9VPG. ** DISTANCE LEARNING BRINGS LESSONS CLOSER JIM/ANCHOR: Of course, sometimes hams don't have to travel at all - not even to receive instruction to upgrade their class of license. Jeremy Boot G4NJH tells us about the next class that's starting soon. JEREMY: Are you ready to go the distance to get the highest level amateur licence in the UK? The Bath Based Advanced Distance Learning Course is preparing to help hams achieve that goal. This is a very different kind of DXing. The long-distance instruction is being provided free by the Bath & District Amateur Radio Club through classes that start on Friday the 1st of February but because the class fills up fast, the team of instructors is already opening registration to interested amateurs. The course is free but a deposit of £40 will be held and then returned to students upon completion of the training. Deposits from hams who do not complete the coursework will be donated to charities such as the RCF, British Wireless for the Blind and the RAIBC. The next Advanced Exam is expected to be given in either July or August of 2019. Coursework in the past has included video tutorials and instruction on the internet. Hams interested in registering should email Steve G-ZERO-FUW (G0FUW) at g0fuw at Tiscali dot co dot uk g0fuw@tiscali.co.uk Of course, those who live close to Bath can attend a classroom course that will be held on Wednesday evenings starting the 30th of January at Scout headquarters on Grove Street. For Amateur Radio Newsline Im Jeremy Boot G4NJH (RADIO SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN, Bath & District Amateur Radio Club) ** GOING APE OVER 'TARZAN' SPECIAL EVENT STATION JIM/ANCHOR: OK movie fans, did you miss having a QSO with Tarzan this month? We mean "Tarzan" the film classic, of course. An on-air tribute provided amateurs around the world with this special opportunity, as we hear from Mike Askins KE5CXP. MIKE: Movie-goers and fans knew the iconic figure as Tarzan of the Apes but thanks to Brian Tordoff KD0GRS, he became Tarzan of the Hams, if only for a day. Using the call sign W0T, for Whiskey Zero Tarzan, Brian operated from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time on Saturday, Nov. 11, receiving 83 contacts three from Canada and 1 from Norway among them. Each of those contacts helped him celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first Tarzan movie. That film, called Tarzan of the Apes, starred Elmo Lincoln as the first actor to wear the iconic loincloth. There was a lot of material for a ragchew, he said, and as fans checked in they recalled the 24 Tarzan novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the 48 movies and the 19 actors who got to portray Tarzan on screen. Brian, it seems, has been a ham for only nine years but a Tarzan fan for more than 60 years. Realizing last year that the anniversary would be coming up this year, he applied for the special call sign and his son helped him produce the special QSL card hed designed. Brian told Newsline he likely would have fared better with more than 100 watts but hes still glad he made the special event happen. Hes certainly not alone in his love of this classic literary figure. In fact, when a few hams heard him calling QRZed, they keyed the mic and simply went ape. For Amateur Radio Newsline Im Mike Askins KE5CXP. ** BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline heard on bulletin stations around the world including the KB9LPP repeater in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin on Saturdays. The repeater is DMR enabled on the Brandmeister Network. ** YOUNG HAMS GET HF WITH SOME HOSPITALITY JIM/ANCHOR: December is Youngsters on the Air month and it's coming up fast - but a group of young hams got a jump on things recently in Germany with the help of the YOTA organization and Carsten DM9EE, who hosted them at his contest station and his QTH, which happens to be a hotel. Ed Durrant DD5LP has their story. ED: At the recent CQ world-wide SSB contest six young Ops Claudia (DC2CL), Robert (DK2RO), Simon (DL3SPS), Jonathan (DM5NH), Monty (OE3VVU) and Gustav (SA7GGO) were on the air under the YOTA DQ5M call sign at DM9EE's contest station & hotel. AR Newsline got to talk with the host Carsten. Hello Carsten CARSTEN: Hi Ed. ED: What gave you the idea of hosting these six young operators for what is the largest SSB HF contest of the year? CARSTEN: Well that was at the WRTC in Wittenberg - that last evening, I was talking to Tim, K3LR and Ray Novak N9JA about contesting and youth. Somehow it was just said that somehow we could support youth getting into contests and so that was just the starting point of all this idea and I knew that Philip DK6SP was in a youth organisation - The YOTA program - and that I could contact him and ask him if he would like to form a group and make a contest from my station, so to invite them to the hotel and make a great weekend - and that was how everything started. The YOTA organised it, they put it on their web page so youngsters could send applications for the weekend and then we just formed the team and they got the information, when to come, what to bring with them and what is the plan here etc. We made a Facebook group and we sort of shared some informations about the contest, about the hotel and that everything is here prepared for them. They just have to come here and make some schedules and explain the station. ED: Do you have the results yet? CARSTEN: When we met that first evening, the youngsters said they wanted to have fun and to learn about contest etc. We wanted to have fun while operating we made number 5 in Germany, 26 in Europe and number 51 world. That's not too bad as we were explaining in between and so considering they were new to contesting they did very well. I heard that YOTA was contacted by other bigger contest stations - that they also want to take part in the Youth Contest Program. So I think we really started something. ED: I believe the station and hotel rooms can be booked - can you give the listeners the website to go to if they want information? CARSTEN: Well the best thing is to see WWW dot Delta Mike 9 Echo Echo dot Delta Echo. I'm happy to have guests here from other countries and take them around. ED:Thank you for this Interview Carsten. CARSTEN: Thank you 73 Ed. ED: To all listeners do not forget December is YOTA MONTH, be listening out for special stations with younger Ops on the Mike, on the key or on the keyboard. For Amateur Radio Newsline this has been Ed Durrant DD5LP. ** PHILIPPINE AMATEUR RADIO ASSOCIATION MARKS 86th YEAR JIM/ANCHOR: Members of the Philippine Amateur Radio Association are getting ready for a big party - and a big Go-Kit contest - at the end of November. Jason Daniels VK2LAW has the details. JASON: The Philippine Amateur Radio Association is marking its 86th anniversary with a celebration being held inside the Multipurpose Hall of Camp Crame in Quezon City on the 30th of November. It was on the 27th of November in 1932 that the association was organized under its founding president Leon Grove, KA1LG, who was the principal of the Philippine School of Arts and Trade. Later that year, PARA was admitted to the International Amateur Radio Union. The days celebrations will include the groups fourth annual Ham Radio Go-Kit Contest, in which hams who have created an emergency station compete for prizes. Hams must be able to demonstrate their Go Kits operation and explain to the judges how it works. Go Kits may be contained inside an ammo can, tackle box, tool kit, suitcase or any other suitable housing. The contest requires registration by November 26th. Admission to the day of celebration is free to all PARA members. For more information send an email to para1932 at gmail dot com (para1932@gmail.com) For Amateur Radio Newsline, Im Jason Daniels VK2LAW. ** 'STRAIGHT KEY NIGHT' MOVES TO DECEMBER JIM/ANCHOR: If you're in New Zealand, you might want to think about spending an hour sending Code via straight key one December evening. Jim Meachen ZL2BHF tells us why. JIM MEACHEN: A New Zealand amateur tradition has changed just for this year: Straight Key Night, which honours amateur radios roots through Morse Code sent simply via straight key is happening on Sunday December 2nd, instead of its usual time in November. Dont worry about speed or expertise in Code; the event welcomes all skill levels. Certificates will be issued for three stations with the most QSOs and everyone who takes part in Straight Key Night gets to nominate one operator for the coveted award of Best Fist. For this one-hour activity, the exchange is simple: RST, type of key, type of transmitter and power output. For stations contacting anyone outside New Zealand, the exchange will be RST, location and name. The event begins at 9 p.m. New Zealand Daylight Time or 0800 UTC and will be on 80 meters. All stations will compete in a single division and have a maximum 100 watts transmitter output. Straight Key Night is organized by maritimeradio.org to celebrating New Zealands radio communications history. It begins when you start calling CQ SKN. For Amateur Radio Newsline Im Jim Meachen ZL2BHF. (NZART) ** KICKER: GIVING THANKS FOR A LIFE-SAVING ARIZONA NET JIM/ANCHOR: Here in the U.S., where Newsline originates, this has been the season for Thanksgiving. One young ham in Arizona, however, gives thanks every day for amateur radio. He shares his story now with us and with Paul Braun WD9GCO. PAUL: We've all heard stories about ham radio playing a part in saving lives. However, for Travis Gardner, KE7EUL, it was much more than just a story. Gardner's interest in radio started when his family would use FRS radios while hunting. After discovering re-runs of "The Dukes of Hazzard" on TV he developed an interest in CB radio. An invitation to visit a local science center introduced him to amateur radio, and he was hooked. Good thing it all worked out, because according to Gardner, things went very, very wrong one evening: GARDNER: I have a seizure disorder. For those who have seizures, ham radio is a very, very good tool to have. So, I was sitting at the computer desk one night, on the 2100 Net, and I don't remember what happened but I went down on the carpet, grabbed a mic after the seizure, and said, "I need help." The way that Arizona is laid out, I'm in Peoria and a radio operator picked that up 150 miles North. There's a linked system, W7ARA - Arizona Repeater Association. Where I'm sitting right now, there's a firehouse down the street. The firehouse in Flagstaff relayed down here and I got out of here. Thanks to the 2100 Net, I'm still alive today. PAUL: The 2100 Net is an Arizona-based net that runs on a combination of 2 meter, 70 centimeter, and 900 Megahertz repeaters throughout the state. You can find out more at the URL in the online text version of this newscast (www.2100net.org). The seizure that triggered the emergency SOS call was brought on by an undiagnosed case of meningitis, according to Gardner. To make matters worse, the disease also affected his optic nerves rendering him totally blind. So, he's also had to work out how to use his radios without sight. But if it hadn't been for the fact that his radio was on, and he had been checked into the net, the outcome could have been much, much worse. Gardner said that he's thankful that he's still alive, and he now tries to do what he can to help others in similar situations, and to bring a smile to someone's face. And he owes that chance to ham radio and the quick-thinking of members of the 2100 Net. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Paul Braun, WD9GCO. ** NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Alan Labs; Amateur News Weekly; AMSAT-UK; the ARRL; the Bath & District Amateur Radio Club; CQ Magazine; Hap Holly and the Rain Report; New Zealand Amateur Radio Transmitters; Ohio-Penn DX Bulletin; the Philippine Amateur Radio Association; the Radio Society of Great Britain; 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 Jim Damron N8TMW in Charleston West Virginia saying 73 and as always we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2018. All rights reserved.
