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PY2BIL > ARNR 09.04.21 11:47l 417 Lines 18306 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2267 for Friday April 9 2021
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Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2267 for Friday April 9 2021
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2267 with a release date of Friday
April 9 2021 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a QST. Get ready to work Bouvet Island later this year.
Antarctica gets an unexpected activation -- and a renowned hexbeam creator
becomes a Silent Key. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report
Number 2267 comes your way right now.
***
BILLBOARD CART
**
PAIR OF DX GROUPS SET EYES ON BOUVET ISLAND
PAUL/ANCHOR: We begin this week with a big DXpedition update — and you know
that has to mean Bouvet Island. But - TWO DXpeditions? John Williams VK4JJW
brings us the details.
JOHN: The date is set - December 15th of this year - for the Rebel DX Group
to depart Cape Town, South Africa for Bouvet Island and the Three Y Zero Eye
(3Y0I) activation. The team said it is as ready as ever, following the
cancellation of their 2019 DXpedition when they were within sight of the
remote island and turned back during a cyclone for safety reasons. The team
of eight, led by Polish DXpeditioner Dom 3Z9DX, expects to be on Bouvet for
as many as 30 days and will operate eight stations on 160 through 6 metres,
using CW, SSB, FT4/FT8, RTTY and operations through the Qatar-Oscar 100
satellite. The team has continued to appeal for donations to meet its
remaining need for ABFSL2HM$2,000.
Meanwhile, the Intrepid-DX Group has announced that they will be activating
the island as well using the call sign Three Y Zero Jay (3Y0J). Their 20-day
stay on the island is set for January 2023. The team's immediate goal is to
continue fundraising to meet their budget of 64,000 before their planned
trip aboard the MV Braveheart.
The Rebel DX Group, in response to the other team's announcement, said in a
press release: [quote] "We would like to wish the recently announced 3Y0J
Bouvet DXpedition all the best for a successful activity in 2023. There is
enough space for even 3 more activities from Three Y Zero land. We know how
much detailed planning goes into a project like this and cross fingers for
them." [endquote]
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm John Williams VK4JJW.
(INTREPID DX WEBSITE)
**
ANTARCTIC ASSIGNMENT EVOLVES INTO DXPEDITION
PAUL/ANCHOR: Occasionally there's a DXpedition that didn't start out quite
so ambitiously. Graham Kemp VK4BB has this story about one ham whose
activation of Antarctica just grew from its humble beginnings.
GRAHAM: For Paul Daniels VK2PAD, this was the Antarctic DXpedition that,
well ... just sort of happened. An instrument electrician and trades
supervisor, Paul was assigned to work at Casey Station in Antarctica where
he expects to be for the next nine months or so. Of course he brought his
radios and lots of wire for some antennas. Initially, he just wanted to chat
with people on the air: that's what he told Newsline. A conversation with
the Australian World Wide Flora & Fauna manager changed all that. Being a
SOTA activator, he was game for adventure, and he was convinced to activate
the WWFF park he was in, as well as the continent.
He's using the callsign VK0PD and trying his best on HF, including two bands
new to him: 17 and 24 metres.
Paul told Newsline: [quote] "Somehow this quickly morphed into what feels
like being a rare contest station. My usual style is halfway between a quick
QSO and a ragchew. I like to get to know people and make friends, so this
fast-paced action is not a familiar thing for me." [endquote] The activation
has shown Paul that the peaks of SOTA summits have got nothing on the peaks
of massive pileups for a coveted DX location. Email him if you want to
learn more about his availability. His email address is in the printed
version of this week's Newsline script.
VK0PD only operates on the weekends but is eager to — what else? — break the
ice.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Graham Kemp VK4BB.
FOR PRINT ONLY: Paul's email is exile06_1980@hotmail.com
**
ANOTHER 'FIRST' FOR HAMS ON THE ISS
PAUL/ANCHOR: Commercial spaceflight logged another first on Monday, April
5th, as the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft undocked from the forward port and
moved to the zenith port of the ISS with the crew of four amateur radio
operators aboard. The complex maneuver was the first of its kind undertaken
by a commercial crew and it makes way for the next Crew Dragon spacecraft's
docking at the ISS later this month. On board Crew Dragon "Resilience"
during the undocking were NASA's Mike Hopkins, KF5LJG, Victor Glover,
KI5BKC, Shannon
Walker, KD5DXB and JAXA's Soichi Noguchi KD5TVP. The relocation was carried
live on NASA TV.
The new four-member crew will consist of NASA's Shane Kimbrough, KE5HOD and
Megan McArthur, JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, KE5DNI, and Thomas Pesquet,
KG5FYG, from the European Space Agency.
(SPACENEWS.COM, NASA, AMSAT)
**
SILENT KEY: HEXBEAM INNOVATOR WALDI SP7IDX
PAUL/ANCHOR: Hexbeam users and DXers alike are marking the loss of a popular
and prominent figure. Jeremy Boot G4NJH tells us about Waldi SP7IDX.
JEREMY: An amateur radio operator considered one of the world's foremost
makers of hexbeam antennas has become a Silent Key.
The death of Waldi was reported on the DX-World.Net website. Reportedly
recovering from COVID-19, he suffered a fatal heart attack on 4th April.
His QTH in southeast Poland was also the company headquarters for his
successful hexbeam antenna, used widely by Dx-peditioners around the world.
He was a well-known Dxpeditioner, most particularly in the Islands on the
Air awards scheme.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH.
(DX-WORLD.NET)
**
JS8CALL DEVELOPER WINS SPECIAL RECOGNITION
PAUL/ANCHOR: The developer of a popular new software that enhances weak-
signal communication has received special recognition. Sel Embee KB3TZD
tells us about him.
SEL: The creator of the weak-signal digital communication conversational
application known as JS8Call is this year's recipient of the Amateur Radio
Software Award. The award, founded by Claus AE0S, is an international honor
recognizing the spirit of innovation given freely to the amateur radio
community. Congratulations to Jordan Sherer, KN4CRD, of Atlanta, Georgia,
who created the application as an extension of the FT8 protocol. According
to the awards website, the application was five years in the works and has
added new vitality to digital communications, most particularly among
members of ARES. It is available to users as a free download. On his
QRZ.com page, Jordan describes the application as "a derivative of QSJT-X
that focuses on long-form keyboard-to-keyboard style communication similar
to what you'd see in Fldigi or FSQ."
Jordan will receive his award certificate and a grant of ABFSL2HM$00.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Sel Embee KB3TZD.
(RICH GORDON K0EB)
**
RSGB ANNOUNCES 'FRIENDSHIP ON THE AIR' AWARD
PAUL/ANCHOR: Most of us know that for a good ham radio experience you need
good components. One of the most important components, however, is an
intangible one: friendship. The Radio Society of Great Britain hopes to
change that by making that friendship tangible and rewarding it. Here's
Jeremy Boot G4NJH to explain.
JEREMY: Making contact is at the heart of the latest award being offered by
the Radio Society of Great Britain. The Friendship on the Air award has been
launched to celebrate contacts that turn into friendships amongst hams. It's
a noncompetitive award that encourages amateurs to dispense with the quick
QSO and really connect with other radio operators. It's an outgrowth of the
"Get on the Air to Care" campaign launched last year by the RSGB and the
National Health Service to reduce social isolation during the global
pandemic. The RSGB said that the award ties in with the theme of World
Amateur Radio Day on Sunday the 18th of April: "Home but Never Alone."
For details on how to qualify for the award, visit the link provided in this
week's Newsline script at arnewsline.org
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH.
[FOR PRINT ONLY: www.rsgb.org/friendship-award]
(RSGB)
**
NOMINATE A YOUNG HAM FOR NEWSLINE'S AWARD
PAUL/ANCHOR: There's one more award worth mentioning here: The Bill
Pasternak WA6ITF Memorial Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year
award. Just a reminder that the nomination period is open. Think of a young
amateur whose commitment to community and whose enthusiasm for radio has
inspired you and others and submit their name. Nominees must 18 or younger
living in the United States, its possessions or any Canadian province.
Downloadable nomination forms can be found on our website arnewsline.org
**
BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio
Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including D-STAR
Reflector 91 C in Melbourne, Australia on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. Australian
Eastern Time.
**
CONTEST FOR YOUNG HAMS MAKES DEBUT IN REGION 1
PAUL/ANCHOR: The Youth Working Group of the IARU Region 1 has announced a
new contest as we hear from Ed Durrant DD5LP.
ED: Young amateurs in IARU Region 1 are hoping for a big turnout in May for
the debut of the YOTA contest, an initiative designed to get more young
amateurs on the air around the world. The 12-hour competition will be held
three times a year, with the first one happening on the 22nd of May. There
are eight categories, including ones for hams 25 and younger and the contest
exchange will be the operators' ages. Activity will be on 80, 40, 20, 15
and 10-metre bands in CW and SSB modes. The later contests will be in July
and December.
The Youth Working Group has arranged the event with the cooperation of the
Hungarian Amateur Radio Society. Details are available on the website shown
in this week's Newsline script at arnewsline.org.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Ed Durrant DD5LP.
PRINT ONLY: https://ham-yota.com/contest
(YOUTH WORKING GROUP IARU REGION 1)
**
ECHOLINK NET TO MARK WORLD AMATEUR RADIO DAY
PAUL/ANCHOR: Speaking of the IARU, it's almost time to mark its 96th
anniversary. The worldwide celebration includes this one happening on
Echolink. Kevin Trotman N5PRE tells us about it.
KEVIN: Like the International Amateur Radio Union itself, one net
celebrating the IARU's founding has undergone plenty of changes since its
inception. The net began modestly on Echolink in 2015 when John DeRycke (Duh
Rikey) W2JLD said he noticed there were no celebrations being held in that
mode to mark the IARU's founding in Paris in 1925. It has grown in
subsequent years to include other modes and extended hours of operation.
This year's net will span 16 hours with 10 to 12 net controllers from around
the world and the special event call sign W7W. Hams will be checking in on
the ROC-HAM Echolink conference node 531091 and on Allstar 2585. Other
conferences will be linked in including the *DODROPIN* NODE 355800, WALES
NODE 485040 and the South Wales Digital Group node 676659. Users of DMR and
the Hamshack Hotline will also be able to check in.
For full details of the celebration visit the QRZ page for W7W and to view
the QSL card marking the event.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Kevin Trotman N5PRE.
**
TWO-WAY RADIOS HELP NEW ZEALAND SEARCH AND RESCUE
PAUL/ANCHOR: In New Zealand, there's promise for extra search-and-rescue
success using drones outfitted with two-way radio. Jim Meachen ZL2BHF tells
us more.
JIM: Take a highly directional microphone array and processor, a team of
drones and a wild landscape with the potential for the danger of getting
lost and you have a promising search-and-rescue communications tool.
At least that's what executives at Dotterel, a company in Auckland, New
Zealand are hoping. Outfitting drones with this kind of audio payload is
providing two-way radio capability that can conduct search-and-rescue over
large areas by hearing people's cries for help. This adds one more tool to
the versatile toolbox of public safety operations which already contains the
ability to use thermal imaging, cellphone signals and visual imagery.
According to an article in DroneLife, this radio installation will permit
two-way communications with people on the ground calling for aid and who can
provide details of their injuries..
Shawn Edlin, the company's CEO, said in a press release that the microphones
are able to receive highly directional audio on the ground as the signal
remains uncompromised by drone propeller noise and other sounds.
Brandon McCarthy, Auckland search and rescue leader, said audio will provide
an extra capability for the team's operations going forward.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.
(DRONELIFE)
**
CONTEST UNIVERSITY TO BE HELD VIRTUALLY AGAIN
PAUL/ANCHOR: With Hamvention being held virtually again this year, there are
two programs figuring prominently on the calendar. We hear about them from
Stephen Kinford N8WB.
STEPHEN: Hamvention's Contest University will be held virtually again this
year, just like Hamvention itself. Classes get under way at 9 a.m. Eastern
Time, or 1300 UTC, Thursday May 20th on Zoom. Registration is free and you
can start signing up from the 20th of April.
Please check contestuniversity.com for updates and a course outline.
Lessons of a different sort continue the next day as Hamvention's 2021 Award
winners make 45-minute presentations followed by a Q&A – again, all
conducted virtually on Zoom. Presenters are Newsline's science editor
Tamitha Mulligan Skov (SKOVE) WX6SWW, winner of the Technical Achievement
Award; Wesley Lamboley W3WL, winner of the Special Achievement Award; Angel
Vazquez WP3R, Amateur of the Year; and the Vienna Wireless Society K4HTA
Club of the Year.
Don't forget the Hamvention QSO Party on Saturday, May 22nd from 8 a.m. to 8
p.m. Eastern Time.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Stephen Kinford K8WB.
(HAMVENTION)
**
WORLD OF DX
Bodo, HB9EWU, is on the air in Zambia where he is on a humanitarian mission.
He is using the call sign 9J2BG and is active on 20 meters. Send QSLs to
HB9EWU, direct or by the Bureau. He is unsure of the length of his
activation but will send QSL cards in 2022 when he returns to Switzerland.
Be listening for Alex PA1AW who will be using the special event call sign
PA96WARD celebrating 'World Amateur Radio Day 2021 on the 18th of April.
That date is the anniversary of the creation of the International amateur
Radio Union in 1925 in Paris. Send QSLs to PA1AW.
**
KICKER: THE VAGABOND HAM
PAUL/ANCHOR: We end this week's news report with an invitation: On the
occasion of World Amateur Radio Day on Sunday April 18th, we ask you to sit
back, relax and think of what it means to be a ham radio operator. To help
your thoughts along, we offer this poem by Ken Johnson W6NKE/SK, first
published in 73 magazine in 1960. Sunil VU3ZAN brought it to the attention
of Onno VK6FLAB. We thank Onno, who reads it here in this except from his
weekly podcast "Foundations of Amateur Radio."
The Vagabond Ham, by Ken Johnson W6NKE (SK)
A vagabond's life is the life I live
Along with others, ready to give
A friendly laugh and a word of cheer
To each vagabond friend, both far and near.
I travel the air waves, day or night
To visit places I'll never sight
From the rail of a ship, or from a plane
Yet I'll visit them all again and again.
I never hear from a far off land
That my pulse doesn't quicken.
With careful hand I tune my receiver and VFO dial
To make a new friend and chat for awhile.
Africa, Asia, they're all quite near
In as easy reach as my radio gear
With the flip of a switch, the turn of a knob
I can work a ZL, a friend named Bob.
There's an LU4, a fellow that's grand
Who's described to me his native land
'Till I can hear the birds, and feel the breeze
As it blows from the slopes of the mighty Andes.
I learned of the surf, and a coral strand
The smell of hybiscus where palm trees stand
Neath a tropical moon, silver and bright
From an FO8 that I worked one night.
I've thrilled to the tales of night birds' screams
In the depths of the jungle where death-laden streams
Flow'neath verdant growth of browns and greens
From a DU6 in the Philippines.
The moors of Scotland, a little French Shrine,
German castles on the River Rhine
Of these things I've learned, over the air
Without ever leaving my ham shack chair.
There's a KL7 on top of the world
To whom the Northern Lights are a banner unfurled
That sweeps across the Arctic night
Makes the frozen sky a thing of delight.
Tales of silver and gold and precious stones
Ancient temples and molding bones
Where the natives, I'm told, are tall and tan
By an XE3 down in Yucatan.
My vagabond trips over the air
Will take me, well, just anywhere
Where other vagabonds and I will meet
From a tropical isle, to a city street
My vagabond's life will continue, I know
Through the fabulous hobby of ham radio
And one day from out at the world's end
We'll meet on the air, my Vagabond friend.
I'm Onno VK6FLAB
**
NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to the ACMA; Amateur News Weekly; AMSAT; the
ARRL; CQ Magazine; David Behar K7DB; Dronelife; DX-World.net; Hamvention;
IARU Region 1 Youth Working Group; Intrepid DX Group; NASA Ohio Penn DX
newsletter; Onno Benschop VK6FLAB; QRZed.com; Radio World; Radio Society of
Great Britain; Rebel DX Group; Rich Gordon K0EB; Southgate Amateur Radio
News; shortwaveradio.de; Spacenews; Ted Randall's QSO Radio Show; the
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 arnewsline.org.
For now, with Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT at the news desk in New York, and our
news team worldwide, I'm Paul Braun WD9GCO in Valparaiso Indiana saying 73.
As always we thank you for listening.
Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2021. All rights reserved.
73 de Bill, PY2BIL
PY2BIL@PY2BIL.SP.BRA.SOAM
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+
BBS: PY2BIL - Timed 09-abr-2021 07:40 E. South America Standard Time
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