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Subj: Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2275 for Friday June 4, 2021
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Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2275 for Friday June 4, 2021
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2275 with a release date of Friday June
4, 2021 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a QST. A YL from Italy will become the first European woman
to command the ISS. Hams in India take on a somber task amid COVID — and
Istanbul inaugurates Europe's tallest communications tower. All this and
more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2275 comes your way right now.
***
BILLBOARD CART
**
ISS GETTING FIRST EUROPEAN WOMAN COMMANDER
PAUL/ANCHOR: Italy's first female astronaut, Samantha Cristoforetti IZ0UDF,
has also become the first European woman chosen to command the International
Space Station. The European Space Agency announced the former fighter
pilot's selection on Friday, May 28th. She is to launch in 2022 with NASA
astronauts Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS [Kay Oh 5 EM Oh Ess] and Bob Hines aboard a
SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. This will be her second stay on board the ISS
where she will become the fifth ESA astronaut to serve as its commander.
(BRUSSELS TIMES, EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY)
**'
?AMATEURS IN INDIA HELP COORDINATE CREMATORY LOGISTICS
PAUL/ANCHOR: Hams in India have taken up a grim but important responsibility
as people throughout that nation continue to count the deaths from COVID-19.
Jason Daniels VK2LAW has that report.
JASON: In India, where crematoriums and graveyards are pushed beyond
capacity to keep pace with the surges in death from COVID-19, amateur radio
operators have stepped up to help provide some coordination amidst the
chaos.?
The Indian Institute of Hams has created a communications network connecting
16 crematoriums, according to a news report in the Bangalore Mirror. More
than 30 hams have been working around the clock to ensure proper and
dignified handling of cremations as a reassurance to families, the report
said. The institute's director, S. Sathyapal VU2FI said, hams who are
particularly experienced in crisis management have been visiting
crematoriums at random, gathering details about any problems that have
arisen.
S. Sathyapal told the Banglore Mirror: [quote] "Any disturbances reported
at the crematoriums will be brought to the notice of officials and we will
alert the task force to inspect them immediately. Our aim is to see that a
dignified farewell is given to the deceased without any hassles." [endquote]
The hams' efforts are part of a greater nationwide network of volunteer
response from individuals and nongovernmental organisations attempting to
help funeral professionals at crematoriums and burial grounds.
A report in the New York Times said that an average of 217,638 COVID-19
cases per day were reported in India in the last week, although some reports
indicate the numbers of cases and deaths has begun to decline in recent
days.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jason Daniels VK2LAW.
(BANGALORE MIRROR, NYTIMES)
**
FCC MAY CONSIDER NEW LOW-POWER FM LICENSES
PAUL/ANCHOR: Make room on the bands - maybe - for some new low-power FM
stations. The US Federal Communications Commission is considering rule
changes that would pave the way for approval of new low-power FM licenses.
Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said the matter is on the agenda at
the commission's June 17th meeting. The move follows actions the commission
took last year to modify engineering rules for low-power FM stations.
(FCC, RADIOWORLD)
**
SILENT KEY: AMSAT's ANDY MAC ALLISTER, W5ACM
PAUL/ANCHOR: A longtime friend of AMSAT and a noted satellite enthusiast has
become a Silent Key. Kevin Trotman N5PRE tells us about him.
KEVIN: The ham described by some as the Voice of the Houston AMSAT Net and
the King of the South Texas Balloon Launch Team has become a Silent Key.
Andy MacAllister W5ACM died on Wednesday, May 19th at his home in Texas.
Andy, who became a licensed amateur radio operator in high school, was a
former member of the AMSAT Board of Directors and had been a liaison for
SAREX, that allowed students to speak to astronauts onboard the Shuttle
spacecraft.
Andy's many jobs included working as a chief operator and technician at
KTRU, the student-run radio station at Rice University in Houston. According
to his online obituary he also worked for two years for Lockheed at NASA,
designing space shuttle simulators and was in charge of technical manuals
and certifications for more than 20 years at Daniel Measurement and Control.
Andy was also known as one of the columnists at 73 magazine, where he wrote
about amateur radio satellites.
Andy was 68.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Kevin Trotman N5PRE.
(AMSAT, BERESFORD FUNERAL SERVICE)
**
ACTIVATION TO BENEFIT NY STATE'S BANNERMAN ISLAND
PAUL/ANCHOR: Now here's an island activation with a dual purpose: Successful
radio contacts get a certificate—and the island itself gets hoped-for
funding to help restore its use as a park. As Dave Parks WB8ODF tells us,
it's going on in New York State's Hudson Valley region.
DAVE: The chance to activate a castle or an island has always ignited the
imaginations of many hams—but the activations taking place near Bannerman
Castle on New York's Bannerman Island on Saturday, June 12th have less to do
with imagination and more to do with a real-life goal. Radio operators who
are part of the Hudson Valley Digital Network are hoping to make contact
worldwide from locations along the Hudson River to bring attention to the
need to restore Bannerman Island and its buildings for visitors' safe use as
a public park. Bannerman Island is not part of the Islands on Air awards
program: It belongs to the New York State Park system and is one of six
islands in the Hudson River. Eight amateur radio stations will be on the air
between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time—one of them from the island itself,
using the callsign N2B. The stations are activating under the sponsorship of
the Hudson Valley Radio Relay. Operators logging these stations will receive
a commemorative certificate and information on how to contribute to the
fundraising campaign to help the nonprofit Bannerman Castle Trust restore
the historic island. So be listening for N2B along with stations operating
nearby: N2H, N2U, N2D, N2S, N2O, N2N and N2V. They will be using various
modes, including CW, SSB and the digital modes.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Dave Parks WB8ODF.
(EAST GREENBUSH AMATEUR RADIO ASSOCIATION, HUDSON VALLEY DIGITAL NETWORK
BLOG)
**
GERMAN AUTHORITIES CLAMP DOWN ON SOLAR PANEL COMPANY
PAUL/ANCHOR: We all struggle with RF interference and so much of it is
preventable. In Germany, authorities are taking steps to ensure some of that
RFI doesn't come from certain solar panels. Ed Durrant DD5LP gives us those
details.
ED: The manufacturer of a solar panel optimiser has been restricted from
doing business in the German market because of concerns over RF
interference. The German regulator, BNetzA, has said that it has taken the
action against SolarEdge because some of its optimisers cause levels of RF
pollution that do not comply with directives set by the EU. The company,
which has offices around the world, describes itself as a leading
manufacturer of photovoltaic inverters for solar power systems.
According to a translation from VERON, the largest amateur radio association
in The Netherlands, SolarEdge's representative in Germany has four weeks to
correct the problem before the regulator prohibits the products' national
sale altogether. According to reports, the restriction applies only to
Germany, despite the RF-pollution directive setting an EU-wide standard. The
company's website did not contain a statement responding to the German
regulator's actions.
SolarEdge's optimiser is not the only product by any manufacturer that the
German regulator has noted as being out of compliance. Recent study results
published by BNetZa have shown that 75 percent of solar panel installations
and 25 percent of LED lights studied failed to meet EU standards.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Ed Durrant DD5LP
(SOUTHGATE, VERON)
**
HAMSCI SEEKING AMATEUR INPUT DURING 'ECLIPSE FESTIVAL'
PAUL/ANCHOR: The citizen scientist organization HamSCI is looking for
amateur input worldwide during its "eclipse festival" this month. Jack
Parker W8ISH tells us how to get involved.
JACK: Hams and shortwave listeners around the world have been invited to the
latest solar eclipse festival being held by HamSCI to gather data using
their HF radios and a computer running open-source software. Radio operators
are being being asked to record time-standard stations during the annular
solar eclipse across the Arctic Circle, in an experiment that runs from the
7th to the 12th of June. The annular phase of the eclipse will be visible
from parts of northern Canada, Russia and Greenland; a partial eclipse is
likely to be visible, weather permitting, in Europe, northern Asia and the
United States. The crowd-sourced data from citizen scientists will help
researchers study the superimposed effects of auroral particle precipitation
and the eclipse on HF Doppler shift. Radio operators around the world are
invited to sign up and take part. All participants will receive QSL
certificates as well as the findings of the data's analysis. The primary
beacon for the experiment will be the Russian time standard station RWM on
9.996 MHz. If your radio cannot receive this frequency, try 10 MHz WWV or
another station listed on the HamSCI website.
Instructions on how to participate in this festival of frequency measurement
can be found at hamsci dot org. (hamsci.org)
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jack Parker W8ISH.
(HAMSCI)
**
BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio
Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including the NM5EM
repeater in Grants, New Mexico, on Thursdays at 8 p.m. local time.
**
TURKEY'S NEW COMMUNICATIONS TOWER CALLED EUROPE'S TALLEST
PAUL/ANCHOR: As so many hams know, a soaring new tower isn't always the most
welcome sight in some neighborhoods. Of course, if the neighborhood happens
to be the largest city in Turkey, that's a different story. Jim Meachen
ZL2BHF tells us why.
JIM: The Çamlica [pronounced: CHAM-LEE-CHA] TV-Radio Tower in Istanbul
stands 369 meters tall, or 1,210 feet tall, a futuristic, state-of-the-art
structure being heralded as the tallest telecommunications tower in Europe.
At its inauguration in late May, Turkish President Erdogan [pronounced: AIR-
DOO-WAN], praised the high-tech structure for its ability to carry 100 FM
broadcasts simultaneously, noting that it replaces numerous outdated
facilities that had previously stood on the same hill. The mass of older
towers had long been criticized as marring the city's skyline and posing
health risks for city residents. Construction began on the new tower in 2016
in the hopes it would also be a magnet for tourism in the city. The tower is
located on the Asian side of the city and its highest point is more than 580
meters, or 1,900 feet, above sea level.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.
(HURRIYET DAILY NEWS, DAILY SABAH)
**
IRISH AMATEURS ASKED TO CHECK IN AT WISCONSIN FESTIVAL
PAUL/ANCHOR: An invitation has been extended to hams in Ireland to attend an
Irish festival in Wisconsin—via radio—and the guests' replies are starting
to come in. Jeremy Boot G4NJH brings us up to date.
JEREMY: The popular Irishfest in La Crosse, Wisconsin is making a comeback
this August and this year the festival will be bringing Ireland to Wisconsin
in a new way: The Riverland Amateur Radio Club W9UP has invited a number of
Irish amateur radio clubs to join in the activity on the Mississippi
Riverfront. Irishfest trustee Shawn Hicks KD9KGQ, a board member of the
Riverland club, told Newsline he has already gotten a positive response from
the Shannon Basin Radio Club and the East Leinster Amateur Radio Club. He
said while Irish music, games and storytelling will be part of the usual
attractions, festival attendees will also get an opportunity to hear from
hams in Ireland and experience amateur radio.
In his invitation sent to various ham clubs based in Ireland, Shawn wrote:
[quote] "Our radio club members will be more than eager to make DX contacts
in Ireland but we would like for our hams to partner with a fest attendee
and give them an opportunity to chat with you. This would give them a chance
to learn a little bit about the region in Ireland you live in and a chance
for you to learn about us as well." [endquote] The club will be on the air
at the festival on August 14th from 1600 to 2200 UTC on 14.260 MHz and will
also conduct QSOs with the hams in Ireland via Yaesu Fusion Wires X Room
63956. Shawn said if clubs want to meet in a different Wires X room that
will be possible too.
Hams in Ireland may contact Shawn at e i s t i m 6 8 at gmail dot com
(eistim68@mail.com)
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH.
(SHAWN HICKS KD9KGQ)
**
HAWAIIAN AMATEURS CELEBRATE ISLANDS' 19th CENTURY KING
ANCHOR: A special event station is about to get under way in Hawaii,
marking the legacy of a beloved monarch. John Williams VK4JJW explains.
JOHN: The 19th century Hawaiian king, Kamehameha, who is celebrated for
having united the islands of Hawaii in 1810, would no doubt appreciate the
spirit of the day on Friday June 11th. On that day, amateur radio operators
will be working in unison as special event station K6K, honoring the leader,
warrior, businessman and diplomat whose vision for the islands kept Western
explorers from encroaching on their territories.
As envisioned by Michael Miller KH6ML, the special event station will carry
the king's story around the world as operators on the various islands make
as many contacts as possible. This is not a contest and there are no paper
QSL cards. However, downloadable certificates will be available. For more
details visit the QRZ page of K6K.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm John Williams VK4JJW.
**
RSGB TO EXPAND NEWS-READER TEAM
PAUL/ANCHOR: The Radio Society of Great Britain wants new team members on
its news service to read reports from around the UK and the world for local
hams. Jeremy Boot G4NJH tells us how to get involved.
JEREMY: One of the latest news items from the Radio Society of Great Britain
is about ham radio news itself: The Society is looking for amateurs who
would like to join their team of news readers, sharing updates on events,
solar forecasts and issues of concern to hams throughout the UK and around
the world. A new video on the Society's website and on their YouTube channel
explains the news readers' roles with the GB2RS news service. The Society
currently has more than 100 news readers delivering transmissions every week
on Sunday—a tradition that began in September of 1955.
The news reports are heard on HF, analogue and digital VHF AND UHF repeaters
as well as through amateur TV transmissions. Reports are also transmitted
via the QO-100 satellite. Hams with online access can hear the reports via
podcasts and video presentations.
For more details, or to watch the video, follow the link in this week's
printed script of this newscast at arnewsline.org.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH.
[FOR PRINT ONLY, DO NOT READ: rsgb.org/gb2rs-manager]
(RSGB)
**
FOX MIKE HOTEL CHALLENGE
Wherever you are in the world, get ready for the return of the Fox Mike
Hotel Portable Ops Challenge coming September4th and 5th. The contest is
designed to create equal operating conditions between portable and fixed
stations. For details visit foxmikehotel dot com.
(OHIO PENN DX)
**
KICKER: RADIO'S BLASTS, NOT NECESSARILY FROM THE PAST
PAUL/ANCHOR: Finally, we ask: Do you love solving a good mystery? Scientists
think they may be getting ready to do just that. They're hot on the trail of
some mysterious—and intensely fast—radio signals. Here's Neil Rapp WB9VPG
with the details.
NEIL: Fast radio bursts: No, that's not the enviable signal report you dream
of getting from that rare DX somewhere in the Antarctic. These are the
formerly mysterious deep space signals astronomers have been tracking using
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Notice we said "formerly" mysterious. For
years scientists have scratched their heads over the source of these 1,000
or so powerful blasts, which began showing up in 2001. They are, however, so
fast that they're here and then....they're not. According to a report in CBS
News, scientists have traced only 15 of them and they apparently came from
distant galaxies. New findings about to be published in The Astrophysical
Journal, track five of the most recent radio blasts to the so-called "spiral
arms" of the galaxies, the places where stars form - but not from ' young
stars exploding and dying. Rather, the blasts' origins appear to be from
neutron stars, young magnetars that have powerful magnetic fields. While
this doesn't completely solve the mystery, it does narrow things down quite
a bit and that's no small task. This is the kind of power we hams can only
envy: in the one-thousandth of a second it takes these flares to erupt, they
create as much energy as the sun does in a year.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Neil Rapp WB9VPG.
(CBS)
**
NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Amateur News Weekly; AMSAT; the ARRL;
Bangalore Mirror; Brussels Times; CBS; CQ Magazine; David Behar K7DB; East
Greenbush Amateur Radio Association; the European Space Agency; FCC; HAMSci;
Hudson Valley Digital Network; Massachusetts Institute of Technology;
MSN.COM; New York Times; Ohio Penn DX newsletter; QRZ.com; Radio Society of
Great Britain; RadioWorld; Ron Panetta WB2WGH; Southgate Amateur Radio News;
shortwaveradio.de; Ted Randall's QSO Radio Show; SpaceNews; VERON; WTWW
Shortwave; and you our listeners, that's all from the Amateur Radio
Newsline. You can write to us at newsline@arnewsline.org. For more
information or to support us visit our official website at arnewsline.org.
Be sure to follow some of these stories as they get a more indepth look on
the YouTube Channel of 100 Watts and a Wire. Search for the video segment
with the title "Two Stories."
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 04-jun-2021 15:15 E. South America Standard Time
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