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Subj: Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2293 for Friday October 8th,
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Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2293 for Friday October 8th, 2021
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2293 with a release date of Friday
October 8th, 2021 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a QST. A breakthrough in licensing for several British
islands and territories in the South Atlantic. In the US, the Appalachian
Trail comes alive with amateur radio — ham radio gets a supporting role in a
new short film. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number
2293 comes your way right now.
***
BILLBOARD CART
**
NEW CALLSIGN PREFIX SETTLES FALKLANDS ISLAND DILEMMA
JIM/ANCHOR: We begin this week with report of a development that spells good
news for DXpeditioners and chasers: At long last a new callsign prefix has
evolved out of a long-simmering issue over licensed operations in the former
Falkland Islands Dependencies. Jim Meachen ZL2BHF brings us that report.
JIM: Ofcom, the communications regulator in the UK, has agreed to use of a
new prefix for the former Falkland Islands Dependencies, which had been
mistakenly omitted from the Falkland Islands Communications Ordinance in
2017. The prefix Victor Papa Zero, VP0, has been assigned to these
territories and the Falkland Islands Communications Regulator, which was
part of the discussions with Ofcom, is to administer these licenses on
behalf of the governments of the British Antarctic Territory and South
Georgia and South Sandwich Islands. The prefix will also apply to the
British sector of the Antarctic mainland, including the Antarctic Peninsula
and nearby islands as well as the South Orkney and South Shetland Islands.
This brings welcome news to DXpeditioners and others who have been unable to
use VP8 licenses in these former dependencies for years. The new call signs
will only be issued with three-letter suffixes.
Hams assigned VP8 call signs under the old Falkland Islands Communications
Ordinance will remain valid until the licenses require revalidation. At that
time, they will be reassigned a VP0 call sign.
Hams may coment on the draft of this policy until the 18th of October,
Falklands Island Time. Follow the link that appears in the script for this
week's newscast at arnewsline.org.
[FOR PRINT, DO NOT READ: www.gov.gs/amateur-radio-licences-policy-
consultation/]
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.
(OHIO PENN DX, SOUTHGATE)
**
WEST BENGAL HAMS ASSIST MOTHERS OF NEWBORNS
JIM/ANCHOR: In India, West Bengal hams turned their efforts recently to
aiding two displaced mothers of newborn babies. John Williams VK4JJW has
more.
JOHN: Relying on their amateur radio skills and the vast network of
connections that enables members to reconnect missing persons with their
families, members of India's West Bengal Radio Club came to the asssistance
of two women shortly after they had given birth.
According to a report in the Sujanya News, a woman who was in the advanced
stages of pregnancy was taken to Diamond Harbour Super Specialty Hospital in
West Bengal by police who found her at the local railway station and noticed
she appeared to be mentally challenged. The child was born on September 10th
and according to the news account her family was located in Punjab after
police requested intervention by the amateur radio club. Ambarish Nag
Biswas, secretary of the club, said the connection was made with the help of
Satnam Singh Birdi, VU2COR, in Punjab state. According to the newspaper
story the woman's brother told the hams she had been missing for more than
two months and that her husband also appeared to be suffering from mental
illness. The brother made the trip to the hospital, accompanied by other
relatives, to retrieve the woman and her newborn baby.
In another more challenging case, however, the fate of another mother and
her newborn child at that same hospital is less certain. The West Bengal
hams learned that the woman, who also appeared to be mentally challenged, is
a widow and the mother of two older children who are now being cared for by
neighbours. Ambarish Nag Biswas told the newspaper that no one has stepped
forward to bring the woman home, claiming her pregnancy was the result of
sexual assault and a stigma to her family.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm John Williams VK4JJW.
(SUJANYA NEWS, WEST BENGAL RADIO CLUB)
**
SILENT KEY: ACTIVE NET PARTICIPANT WALTER PAGE PYNE, WA3EOP
JIM/ANCHOR: A prominent active amateur radio operator and a well-known voice
on the OMISS and Century Club nets has become a Silent Key. Sel Embee KB3TZD
tells us about him.
SEL: Walter Page Pyne was known for identifying his callsign as WA3EOP - We
Are Three Elephants On Patrol - and his voice was a familiar one on the
OMISS Net, the Century Club Net, the YL International Single Sideband Net
and numerous other nets. Page, as he was known to friends, died on September
26th in his Maryland hometown of Hagerstown. A life member of the Antietam
(Ann-Tee-Tum) Radio Association and the International Order of Odd Fellows
ham club, he was also a cofounder of the Cheese Hollow Amateur Radio Society
in Maryland. He had served as Charter Year President of the Hiram Percy
Maxim Memorial Chapter (#222) of the Quarter Century Wireless Association.
Page, a former phone activities manager for the ARRL's Maryland/DC section,
at the time of his death belonged to the Maryland Emergency Phone Net.
Walter Page Pyne was 74.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Sel Embee KB3TZD.
(QRZ.COM, TRIBUTE ARCHIVE)
**
SCHOOL FOR DEAF PREPS FOR UNIQUE ARISS CONTACT
JIM/ANCHOR: Few things are outside the realm of possibility with amateur
radio, as a group of deaf students in the UK is about to learn in an ARISS
QSO with an American astronaut. Here's Jeremy Boot G4NJH.
JEREMY: American astronaut Mark Vande Hei, KG5GNP, is scheduled to complete
a unique amateur radio contact from the ISS with students at Mary Hare
School for deaf children in Berkshire, England.
Ciaran Morgan, M0XTD, the UK's ARISS operations lead, told Newsline that the
event will proceed like a standard ARISS contact for the astronaut, but
students and school volunteers will have access to a stenographer using a
device that projects what is being said onto a large screen in their
auditorium. Ciaran added that the text will also appear on a live web stream
which will also feature a sign language interpreter. Meanwhile, hams from
the Newbury and District Amateur Radio Society have been assisting the
students by providing lessons on amateur radio.
The school noted on its blog: [quote] "These will be the first deaf children
to have done this, making it a world first." [endquote]
While some of the students will be linked to the action by a web feed,
others will be in the auditorium itself as socially distanced spectators. It
is scheduled to take place sometime during the week of October 10th.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH.
(CIARAN MORGAN, M0XTD, ARISS-UK, MARY HARE SCHOOL)
**
CQWW DX CONTEST GAINS PLAQUE SPONSORS FOR YOUTH
JIM/ANCHOR: As the date inches forward for the CQ WorldWide DX contest,
there are new sponsors for categories featuring young competitors. Ed
Durrant DD5LP has those details.
ED: The IARU Region 1 Youth Working Group will be sponsoring plaques awarded
in the upcoming CQWW DX contest for competitors in Europe and Africa who are
25 years of age or younger. Plaques will be given to young SSB and CW
operators. A number of other YOTA branches and IARU Youth Working Groups are
sponsoring other awards on other continents for young participants. The CQWW
contest announced on its blog in August that organisers have created a
number of overlays within the contest, including those for young operators
and for hams who are experimenting with new technologies. A new Explorer
category has been created for those radio operators who are using SSB and CW
while employing such new technologies as internet-linked stations.
The contest dates are October 30th and 31st for SSB and November 27th and
28th for CW.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Ed Durrant DD5LP.
(CQWW BLOG)
**
IT'S 'FALLOUT' WEEKEND FOR 100 WATTS AND A WIRE
JIM/ANCHOR: Don't forget to be listening for operators calling "CQ FALL
OUT!" on October 8th, 9th and 10th. Those are the days for the portable
operating event of the 100 Watts and a Wire community. Operators are being
encouraged to work any band, any mode and alone or as a team. The exchange
is your call sign, your 100Watts ID if you have one, your state, province or
DX country and a true signal report.
For details visit the website 100wattsandawire.com and use the numerals "1
Zero Zero" for the word "one hundred."
(100 WATTS AND A WIRE)
**
BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio
Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including the K7MMA
repeater in Spokane, Washington on Fridays at 5 p.m. local time.
**
APPALACHIAN TRAIL ACTIVATIONS LIGHT UP AIRWAVES
JIM/ANCHOR: When POTA, SOTA and Worldwide Flora and Fauna operators
activated sites along the Appalachian Trail in the eastern United States
recently, the airwaves above apparently blazed a few trails of their own.
Dave Parks WB8ODF brings us that report.
DAVE: Saturday, October 2nd was a busy day for Appalachian Trail
activations, as more than 60 stations called CQ from points along more than
two thousand miles of trail. David, ND1J, and Mike KB7THL operated POTA
stations in North Carolina and Pennsylvania, respectively, and Jonathan,
W4UYE, and Bob, AC1Z, activated SOTA summits in Georgia and Virginia,
respectively. According to organizer Mike WB2FUV, the day ended with at
least 25 unique SOTA summits activated and at least 26 POTA partipants in 11
of the 14 states. Mike himself was operating QRP CW on West Mountain along
the original section of the trail and logged 77 contacts. He said many SOTA
stations were also making summit-to-summit contacts with W7A SOTA stations
on the 10 point peaks in Arizona.
The event marked the trail's 100th anniversary. But the celebration extended
beyond the US: Preliminary results on the event website showed that the
farthest DX went to Heinz, OE5EEP/p in the Austrian mountains. He broke
through the stateside pileups to work two SOTA stations on the trail.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Dave Parks WB8ODF.
(MICHAEL MORAN WB2FUV)
**
RESULTS ARE IN FOR PORTABLE OPERATIONS CHALLENGE
JIM/ANCHOR: The results are in for the Portable Operations Challenge held in
Sepember. Here's Ed Durrant DD5LP.
ED: The Portable Operations Challenge 2021 took place on September 4th and
5th and the overall winner showed what can be done from a great portable
location and using very low power. With just six contacts and running at
one-watt CW on twenty metres, Jack Haefner NG2E took out the top spot with a
grand total of 615,924 points. His six contacts were from all around the US
plus one that went all the way from his Hogback Mountain SOTA summit W4V/SH-
007 in Virginia to French SOTA chaser Christian F4WBN near the
French/Spanish border. All contacts took place within 32 minutes of
operating, in session two of the contest.
The most efficient contact measured in kilometres per watt used was that
same Virginia - France contact with 6,340 kilometres per watt achieved.
So, this year both the overall winner and the furthest km/watt contact title
go to one person - Jack Haefner NG2E. WELL DONE Jack!
The number of entrants was a little disappointing. There were only eighteen,
far more had been hoped for in this, the second year, of the challenge.
Of those entering however, there were a wide variety of power levels and
modes both from home and portable locations.
Of the eighteen entrants, fifteen were from the US, two from Europe and one
from Australia.
For the portable operations challenge and ARNewsline this has been Ed DD5LP.
**
CHINA ANNOUNCES LOSS OF SATELLITE
JIM/ANCHOR: China had great hopes for a satellite launched late last month
but following a malfunction, has declared it lost. Jason Daniels VK2LAW has
that story.
JASON: China's Shiyan-10 satellite was declared lost shortly after its
launch on Monday, September 27th. In releasing the news, Chinese state media
reported that the spacecraft did not function properly despite having had a
normal flight one day earlier. A report on Twitter said a flash was seen in
the sky above New South Wales, Australia. According to SpaceNews, the flash
was believed to be a sign that the launch was on course and that this was a
visible burn of the upper stage of the Long March 3B rocket that carried the
satellite as payload. The satellite was to have entered a geosynchronous
orbit around Earth. It was said to have malfunctioned during the launch and
by Tuesday, September 28th, was officially declared a failure.
Shiyan-10's launch closely followed the liftoff of China's Jilin-1 Gaefen
02D satellite, which was reported to have achieved successful orbit.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jason Daniels VK2LAW.
(SPACE.COM, SPACENEWS)
**
IN-PERSON EXAMS RETURNING IN UK
JIM/ANCHOR: In the UK, it's almost back to business as usual for amateur
radio exams but there are a few changes in the works. Jeremy Boot G4NJH
explains.
JEREMY: Face-to-face amateur radio exams are making a comeback now that
pandemic restrictions are easing after 18 months. Exams via remote
invigilation and training by distance-learning sessions are giving way to
in-person club meetings and training for those who choose it. The Radio
Society of Great Britain has announced that starting on the 1st November,
clubs will be able to use a new online booking system for candidates' paper-
based exams. The same booking system is already in use for online exams as
of the 6th of October. There are plans, however, to phase out the paper
exams eventually.
Meanwhile, candidates planning to take the Foundation exam, going forward,
will no longer be required to complete a practical test, according to the
RSGB Examination Standards Committee. The tests had in any case been
suspended during the 18-month pandemic restriction period, but clubs are
still encouraged to include a practical component in their candidate
training.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH.
(RSGB)
**
WORLD OF DX
In the world of DX, be listening for Nobby, G0VJG, operating as 3B8/G0VJG
from Mauritius until the 16th of October. He's on 80 through 10 metres using
SSB and the Digital modes. Request QSLs via M0OXO's OQRS or send directly to
him.
(OHIO PENN DX)
**
KICKER: HAM RADIO FILM SHORT, 'NIGHT,' COMES TO LIGHT
JIM/ANCHOR: Our final story takes us to the movies—namely to the screening
of a short film featuring student actors....and amateur radio! Mike Askins
KE5CXP wraps it up for us this week.
MIKE: In 34 harrowing minutes, a world awakens darkened by a sudden and
unexplained absence of morning sun. Amateur radio provides a lifeline for a
group of terrified children who've disovered they've been plunged into an
endless state of midnight. This is the plot of the film short, "Night,"
which premiered recently on YouTube following its release by John D'Aquino's
Young Actors Workshop, a California-based drama school. The workshop had
reached out to the Edmond Amateur Radio Society K5EOK for technical
assistance to prepare for the filming in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
The young actors may all be relative unknowns for now but hams in Oklahoma
and beyond might recognize two of the names in the credits: Marcus Sutliffe,
N5ZY, and Kevin O'Dell N0IRW. Marcus gets special thanks for making the
connections with the club and Kevin is credited as technical advisor. Kevin,
who has an extensive film and video production background, is also featured
in a key speaking role as The Colonel, the radio operator the youngsters
reach out to for guidance. The Colonel tells them that a nuclear blast has
occurred, putting a shroud of darkness between the Earth and the sun.
Written and directed by John D'Aquino, the film is a showcase for the young
student actors and was created with assistance from the Oklahoma Film and
Music Office. But even within its plotline of darkness and destruction,
amateur radio emerges as a shining light and a ray of hope for making
meaningful connections in troubled times.
To view the film, see the link in the printed version of this week's script
at arnewsline.org
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Mike Askins KE5CXP.
[FOR PRINT ONLY, DO NOT READ: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf1Q4tS32Ww ]
(MARK KLEINE, N5HZR)
**
NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to AMSAT; the ARRL; ARISS-UK; CQ Magazine; CQ
Worldwide contest blog; David Behar K7DB; Mark Kleine, N5HZR; Mary Hare
School; Michael Moran, WB2FUV; Ohio Penn DX; QRZ.com; Radio Society of Great
Britain; the SOTA Reflector; Southgate Amateur Radio News;
shortwaveradio.de; SOTA Reflector; space.com; spacenews; Sujanya News; Ted
Randall's QSO Radio Show; West Bengal Radio Club; WTWW Shortwave; and you
our listeners, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline. You can write to
us at newsline@arnewsline.org. 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.
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 2021. All rights reserved.
73 de Bill, PY2BIL
PY2BIL@PY2BIL.SP.BRA.SOAM
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BBS: PY2BIL - Timed 08-out-2021 09:27 E. South America Standard Time
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