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Subj: Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2371 for Friday April 7th, 202
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Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2371 for Friday April 7th, 2023
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2371 with a release date of Friday
April 7th, 2023 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a QST. A difficult DXpedition takes on a humanitarian goal.
The ITU opens an area office in India -- and hams in Australia celebrate the
solar eclipse. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number
2371 comes your way right now.
**
BILLBOARD CART
**
DXPEDITION TO REMOTE ROCKALL ISLAND FOR CHARITY
JIM/ANCHOR: Our top story this week takes us to a foreboding uninhabitable
granite islet in the North Atlantic Ocean, where a trio of DXpeditioners are
just weeks away from activating that site. They hope to set a world record
while turning that desolate location into a symbol of hope. Jeremy Boot
G4NJH tells us about their plans.
JEREMY: When they land on Rockall Island in a few weeks, Emil Bergmann,
DL8JJ, Nobby Styles, GØVJG, and expedition lead Cam Cameron hope to be the
third DXpedition team to activate the island and they will use MMØUKI [Pron:
Em Em Zero You Kay Eye] as their callsign. They hope that their planned 50-
or 60-day stay starting in June will break the current world record of 46
days on the British territory set in 2014 by Scottish adventurer Nick
Hancock. Rockall is one of the world's most wanted Islands on the Air and
bears the designation EU-189.
The team isn't just looking to set a record: With donations and sponsorship
and the team members' own investment in the trip, they are looking to raise
£50,000 for charities: The Army Benevolent Fund and Royal Navy & Royal
Marines Charity. These charities assist veterans and their families as well
as the families of serving personnel.
This challenging journey to a remote spot 230 miles west of Scotland and 430
miles south of Iceland follows DXpeditions in 2005 and 2011. Knowing that
there are fewer than 400 claimed QSLs from previous DXpeditions, the team
expects the airwaves to be busy.
This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.
(ROCKALL EXPEDITION WEBSITE, MARK FELTON PRODUCTIONS, QRZ)
**
ARKANSAS HAMS SPRING INTO ACTION DURING TORNADOES
RANDY: Tornado season in the United States is again upon us. In the past
week we’ve had reports of fierce storms that spawned possibly dozens of
tornadoes from the South and the Midwest into the Northeast, killing at
least 32 people. Deadly storms also hit the central US, including Arkansas
and Missouri.
Joshua Carroll, AA5JC, Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator for SKYWARN
and ARES for Arkansas, reported that during the March 31st tornado in his
state, 112 operators were involved in net activities during storms that
brought devastation especially to the western part of Little Rock. “It
wasn’t just ham radio nets, which included Echolink and All Star,ö he told
AR Newsline. “Our thought was ‘use what works.ö His team also collected and
sent reports to the National Weather Service that they received through
texts, Facebook, Twitter, GMRS, and Winlink.
In talking with the Forecast Office after the event, Joshua was told, “you
guys were on fire!ö They indicated that three warnings were issued based on
these reports. Lives were probably saved. This is another example of ham
radio doing what it does best. So, until all else fails, use what works.
This is Randy Sly W4XJ.
**
CANADIAN FERRY MARKS ANNIVERSARY WITH US AMATEURS
JIM/ANCHOR: Hams in Chicago are celebrating the journey of beloved ferry
that arrived in the city from Canada 40 years ago. Oh what a family history
it has! Here's Andy Morrison K9AWM.
ANDY: The MV Abegweit (ABB IG WHITE) is a ferry that once made many journeys
across the Northumberland Strait of Canada, It carried passengers and cargo,
connecting Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Now, in modern times, it
carries memories. For George Dewar, VY2GF, there are memories of its
christening in Quebec in 1947 by his grandmother Katherine and its arrival
in Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island. For Wayne Anderson VE3UWA, it
holds the memories of his childhood trips on the ferry, nicknamed the Abby,
which some members of his family had worked on.
The vessel was taken out of service in the early 1980s and and in 1983
sailed to Chicago to become the new home of the Columbia Yacht Club. Hams
who belong to the Columbia Yacht Club Amateur Radio Society have been making
their own memories on board there for 40 years. The Abby has been involved
in the club's Boats on the Air activation with operators such as Alex,
KC1NBT, calling QRZ.
Perhaps the biggest memory it will be making next is the special event being
planned on board the Abby. Station K9CYC will be on the air on the weekend
of April 15th and 16th, marking the 40th anniversary of its arrival in
Chicago. Club member Keith Klemick, KD9NEG, told Newsline that while the
boat provides operators with its view of the city skyline, hams will be
calling QRZ on another kind of wave.
Even as it is kept afloat by its busy future -- it will always remain buoyed
by the fond memories so many recall back home on Prince Edward Island.
This is Andy Morrison K9AWM.
(GEORGE DEWAR, VY2GF; KEITH KLEMICK, KD9NEG)
**
ITU OPENS AREA OFFICE IN NEW DELHI
JIM:Congratulations to the International Telecommunications Union which has
opened an area office and innovation center in New Delhi, India. According
to a report on the OSCAR India channel on YouTube, the ITU's presence in the
Asia Pacific region is intended to help advance technology and improve
innovation in India and across south Asia. The ITU is the specialized agency
of the United Nations, dealing with information and communications
technologies. The ITU's secretary-general, Doreen Bogdan-Martin, KD2JTX, was
present at the opening in March.
This is Jim Meachen ZL2BHF
(OSCAR INDIA YOUTUBE)
**
SATELLITE LAUNCH OPERATION SHUT BY VIRGIN ORBIT
JIM/ANCHOR: There will be no more satellite launch plans for Virgin Orbit,
and Neil Rapp WB9VPG is here to explain why.
NEIL: Virgin Orbit has shut the doors of its satellite-launch operations,
laying off 675 workers after six years in business. The company said in a
filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission that its inability to
secure sufficient funds has made it unable to continue operating.
Created as a subsidiary of Virgin Galactic, Virgin Orbit's mission was to
launch CubeSats into low earth orbit from beneath a commercial airliner that
had been modified to accommodate its proprietary satellite launch system.
The company did not have a history of great success with the system, known
as LauncherOne.
Virgin Orbit's most recent failure was its attempt to launch a rocket on
January 9th from Cornwall in the UK. The company CEO later said that the
problem may have been caused by a 000 part that may have become dislodged
in the second-stage engine. The launch had been a much-anticipated event for
Spaceport Cornwall, which has been competing for the UK to enter the global
space market by becoming a home to satellite launches.
This is Neil Rapp WB9VPG.
(ENGADGET, NBC NEWS, FORTUNE)
**
RETIRED COSMONAUT JOINS ON-AIR EVENT AS SPECIAL OP
JIM/ANCHOR: On the weekend of April 8th and 9th, one of the operators in a
DX contest honoring cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin will be a former cosmonaut
himself. Here's more from Graham Kemp VK4BB.
GRAHAM: You can be sure that Aleksandr Volkov, U4MIR, will be doing his best
as one of the special stations in a memorial DX contest on the weekend of
April 8th and 9th. Aleksandr has something in common with the pioneering
cosmonaut for whom the Yuri Gagarin International DX Contest is named: He is
a retired pilot and cosmonaut -- and is a former commander of the cosmonaut
detachment at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Star City,
Russia.
Other operating stations will be representing some of the places that are
significant in the life of Yuri Gagarin who on April 12, 1961 became the
first person to fly in space. Stations will be representing his birthplace
and the site where he landed after that historic flight. Operators will also
be paying tribute to the evolution of Russian space travel by operating at
significant locations in the space programme's development.
The contest is being held this year in memory of Konstantin Khachaturov,
RT3A, who became a Silent Key in April of 2022. Konstantin, a well-known
contester and active amateur and had served as director of the contest, also
known as the Gagarin Cup.
The contest website is available at the link that appears in this week's
text version of Newsline at arnewsline.org
[DO NOT READ: https://gccontest.ru/ ]
(DMITRI KOLENCHUK, R3GM; BRITANNICA)
**
BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio
Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including the WB3GXW
repeater in Silver Spring, Maryland and simultaneously on EchoLink
Conference Server Node 6154 on Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 7 PM Eastern
time.
**
ARDC ANNOUNCES RIA JAIRAM, N2RJ, JOINING THE BOARD
JIM/ANCHOR: Congratulations to Ria Jairam [JIE-RUM], N2RJ, who has joined
the board of directors of Amateur Radio Digital Communications. She recently
stepped down as director of the ARRL's Hudson Division, a post she held
since 2019. Ria is also a well-known presence on social media with her own
YouTube channel and hosts a week radio show on shortwave station WRMI.
(ARDC, ARRL)
**
HAMS IN AUSTRALIA OBSERVE THE ECLIPSE, RADIO-STYLE
JIM/ANCHOR: This month's solar eclipse will have many hams in Australia
thinking not just of the sun but the moon. John Williams VK4JJW tells us
why.
JOHN: When the moon passes between the Earth and the sun on the 20th of
April, observers in Australia will welcome what's being called Ningaloo
Eclipse, a name given to this hybrid solar eclipse from an Aboriginal word.
At about that same time, amateur radio operators in Australia hope to be
busy celebrating Australia's other link to the moon. They are planning to
get on the air from a historic location that has ties to the Apollo 11 moon
landing in July of 1969. That landing - and so many other missions - was
achieved with the assistance of the NASA Carnavon and Overseas
Telecommunications Commission tracking station in Western Australia.
The US and Australian government worked to establish the station, which
opened in 1964 and became a vital communications link between Earth and the
NASA astronauts on the Gemini and Apollo missions.
From April 17th to the 23rd, hams including Dan VK6NAD and Michael VK6TU,
will be activating a site between the Casgrain Horn that was used during the
mission and the 30-metre dish. They were still awaiting confirmation of the
call sign they wish to use, but are hoping for approval of VI6CRO.
This is John Williams VK4JJW.
(WIA, ABC.NET.AU, TIME AND DATE.COM)
**
WWFF ACTIVATES SPECIAL EVENT CALLSIGN IN AUSTRALIA
JIM/ANCHOR: Throughout Australia, hams with a love of the natural world are
celebrating a program that helped them combine nature and radio in that
country 10 years ago. Jason Daniels VK2LAW tells us how they're doing it.
JASON: This is a big year for hams throughout Australia who are involved in
the World Wide Flora and Fauna programme. The global awards scheme, which
celebrates parks and other natural settings, began its regional VKFF section
in Australia in March of 2013. Activators have been on the air with the
special event callsign VI 10 VKFF.
According to the WWFF website, more than 80 percent of the nation's
flowering plants, mammals and reptiles are unique to Australia, along with
most of its freshwater fish and almost half of its birds.
Although many hams have embraced these activations because of the low high
noise floor away from the home QTH, others simply want to travel around
Australia and add amateur radio into a journey that helps them discovering
nature.
Hams who are hunting for contacts from home rather than activating do not
need to submit logs. Activators are very eager to make these contacts. Be
listening for VI 10 VKFF which will be active throughout the year.
This is Jason Daniels VK2LAW.
(WIA, WWFF)
**
PLANS MOVE AHEAD FOR CLIPPERTON ISLAND DXPEDITION
JIM/ANCHOR: An international team of Dxpeditioners is making plans to visit
a coral atoll in the Pacific that hasn't been activated in 10 years. Patrick
Clark K8TAC brings us up to date on their agenda.
PATRICK: One of the next big DXpeditions in the works is well into the
planning stages by the Perseverance DX Group. It's been 10 years since a
major activation has taken place on the uninhabited Clipperton Island, which
carries the IOTA designation of NA-011, is a protected environmental reserve
that is the only French possession in the north Pacific. Its last major
activation was in 2013 - the same year the Perseverance DX Group was
founded.
Next year, an international team of experienced operators will be on the
island using the callsign TX5S. They expect to be on the air from the 18th
of January 2024 to the 2nd of February.
Previous DXpeditions by the group have included South Orkney Island VP8PJ in
2020, Ducie Island VP6D in 2018 and Chesterfield Reef TX3X, in 2015.
This is Patrick Clark K8TAC.
(PERSEVERANCE DX GROUP)
**
FORD MOTOR COMPANY ELIMINATES AM RADIO IN 2024 MODELS
JIM/ANCHOR: The death of AM radio has arrived at the Ford Motor Company in
Detroit, Michigan. Ford spokesman Wes Sherwood announced that it will not be
installing AM radios in any 2024 vehicles, both its gas-powered and electric
models. He confirmed the plan to the Detroit Free Press newspaper. He said
that Ford will continue to make AM radios available in its commercial
vehicles because of contracts the company has. Ford's move comes amidst a
push by a number of prominent lawmakers and former officials of the US
Federal Emergency Management Agency. Opponents of carmakers' elimination of
AM radio say it is an integral part of the nation's emergency notification
system.
(DETROIT FREE PRESS)
**
KICKER: PENNSYLVANIA AMATEUR'S CONTACT 'OUT OF THIS WORLD'
JIM/ANCHOR: And for our final item this week, the story of a Pennsylvania
ham who is still walking on air after a recent “out of this worldö contact.
Amateur Radio Newsline’s Mark Abramowicz (Abram-o-vich) NT3V has the
details…
[AUDIO]: “Welcome to the International Space Station, over.ö
MARK: And with that response from NA1SS, 73-year-old Dave Fix N3AMY from the
Reading, Pennsylvania area, says he felt like an excited 8-year-old kid at
Christmas as he began a specially-arranged amateur radio contact with
Astronaut Nicole Mann.
It happened in the early morning hours of March 4 as the ISS orbit passed
above Berks County in eastern Pennsylvania just north and west of
Philadelphia for about a 6-minute window.
Fix gives a lot of credit for the contact to his long-time friend – also
called Dave – who personally knows the first native American woman in space
and used to vacation with her and her family many years ago.
It was Fix who suggested to Dave the idea for a ham radio contact.
His friend liked the idea so much that he quickly reached out to Nicole’s
father, Howard, who proposed it to Nicole over a private family conversation
channel to the ISS. She was all for it.
But Nicole didn’t get a chance to get her ham ticket before last October’s
lift-off, so she needed a little assist to set it up and then initiate the
contact.
“That was world-famous Koichi Wakata, Japanese astronaut that helped us make
this connection, over,ö Nicole explained on the 2-meter frequency reserved
for the contact.
Indeed, Koichi Wakata, KI5TMN, acted as control op and Elmer for his fellow
astronaut.
Fix and Dave, and his wife, Jan, were ecstatic when they heard Nicole’s
voice clearly coming from the speaker over the mobile radio in the car.
Dave, the family friend, kidded Nicole about why she never blinked the
lights at least once as the station passed over Pennsylvania those many
times while she was aboard.
“I don’t know what you mean, Dave. I’m always rocking my wings every time I
fly over PA,ö Nicole joked. “You’ve got to look a little closer. Over.ö
And as quickly as it began, the contact window started to fade but not
before a grateful astronaut made her final transmission.
“Okay, thank you Dave Fix for helping to set this up. We really appreciate
it,ö she declared.
“Toodaloo, Nicole,ö they responded.
“I’ll never forget this,ö Fix exclaimed as he excitedly related details of
the contact and shared the audio with Newsline. “I don’t think Dave and Jan
will ever forget it. Nicole certainly won’t. It is once in a lifetime.ö
I’m Mark Abramowicz, NT3V, in Reading, PA.
**
NOMINATE OUR NEXT 'YOUNG HAM OF THE YEAR'
JIM/ANCHOR: We remind our listeners that young hams who live in the
continental United States have an opportunity to make news, if they aren't
already doing so, by being a recipient of this year's Amateur Radio Newsline
Bill Pasternak Memorial Young Ham of the Year Award. Consider nominating an
amateur radio operator 18 years of age or younger -- someone who has talent,
promise and a commitment to the spirit of ham radio. Find application forms
on our website arnewsline.org under the "YHOTY" tab. Nominations are now
open and close on May 31st.
**
DO YOU HAVE NEWS?
JIM/ANCHOR: Do you have a piece of Amateur Radio News that you think
Newsline would be interested in? We are not talking about advertising your
club's upcoming hamfest or field day participation, but something that is
out of the ordinary. If so, send us a brief overview via the contact page at
arnewsline.org. If it's newsworthy and we would like to cover it, we'll get
back to you for more details.
NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to ABC.NET Australia; Amateur News Weekly;
Amateur Radio Digital Communications; ARRL; Australia Communications and
Media Authority; CQ Magazine; David Behar K7DB; Detroit Free Press; Dmitri
Kolenchuk, R3GM; DX-World.net; Engadget; FCC; 425 DX News; George Dewar,
VY2GF; Keith Klemick, KD9NEG; National Public Radio; OSCAR India YouTube;
QRZ.COM; Perseverance DX Group; Radio Society of Great Britain; Radio World;
shortwaveradio.de; Space.com; Time and Date.com; Wireless Institute of
Australia; World Wide Flora & Fauna; and you our listeners, that's all from
the Amateur Radio Newsline. We remind our listeners that Amateur Radio
Newsline is an all-volunteer non-profit organization that incurs expenses
for its continued operation. If you wish to support us, please visit our
website at arnewsline.org and know that we appreciate you all. We also
remind our listeners that if you like our newscast, please leave us a 5-star
rating wherever you subscribe to us. 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. As always we thank you for
listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2023. All rights
reserved.
73 de Bill, PY2BIL
PY2BIL@PY2BIL.SP.BRA.SOAM
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+
BBS: PY2BIL - Timed 07-abr-2023 10:01 E. South America Standard Time
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