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Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2260 for Friday February 19 2021
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2260 with a release date of Friday
February 19 2021 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a QST. The pandemic stirs a radio training surge in the UK.
Huntsville's Hamfest is back -- and an antenna reconnects Voyager 2 to
earth. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2260 comes
your way right now.
***
BILLBOARD CART
**
SURGE IN DEMAND FOR HAM RADIO IN UK
PAUL/ANCHOR: Our top story this week brings us back once again to COVID-19
and its impact on amateur radio. The news here, however, is good. Very, very
good. Jeremy Boot G4NJH explains.
JEREMY: The challenge of a deadly pandemic has stirred unprecedented
interest in amateur radio in the UK.
As the COVID-19 crisis kept most of the country immobilised, last year the
Radio Society of Great Britain rolled out remote invigilation of licence
exams. Now, some of the free popular distance learning programmes are
reporting a surge in applicants: for Foundation licence and upgrade exam
training.
Approaching its 17th February application deadline, the Bath Based Distanced
Learning Team told Newsline its new Full Licence course has had an
overwhelming response. Team leader Steve Hartley G0FUW said, in an email,
that with 100 spaces available, the class is already oversubscribed, as
organisers sort through some 250 enquiries. This exceeds the previous annual
registration for the course - one of several offered by the Bath & District
Amateur Radio Club. Steve continued, that some registrants for the Full
licence class are those who had trained in its intermediate class.
In another email, RSGB President, Dave Wilson M0OBW, praised those providing
online training, saying the society website offers a list of these groups.
RSGB communications manager Heather Parsons added that having more time to
devote to radio now was only one reason amongst many given for the upsurge
in interest. In Nottingham, the South Notts Amateur Radio Club said
enrollment for its Foundation, Intermediate and Full licence online training
classes have likewise attracted high levels of applicants. Club secretary
Simon Strange, M0SYS, told Newsline that he now has to lead training three
nights a week to meet the intense demand. He said the classes include men,
women and children.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH.
PAUL/ANCHOR: To see the full list of organizations offering online training
in the UK, see the printed script of this newscast on our website,
arnewsline.org We also note that the RSGB has announced a consultation
seeking views of a new direct Full License exam to run parallel to the
three-tier system in place. The Society's Examinations Standards Committee
is keeping the consultation period open until the 14th of March. A link to
the proposed syllabus is also on our arnewsline.org website.
[FOR PRINT ONLY: www.rsgb.org/online-training]
[FOR PRINT ONLY: www.rsgb.org/direct-to-full]
(SIMON STRANGE M0SYS, RSGB, STEVE HARTLEY G0FUW)
**
HUNTSVILLE HAMFEST GOING FORWARD IN ALABAMA
PAUL/ANCHOR: If you'd like to go to a hamfest — really GO to a hamfest —
you'll get your chance this August at the Von Braun Center. Don Wilbanks
AE5DW has the details.
DON: Finally, some good news about ham radio conventions. On Tuesday,
February 16th it was announced that plans are going forward for the
Huntsville Hamfest in Alabama. Mark Brown N4BCD, Huntsville Hamfest
chairman made the following statement on the convention website,
hamfest.org.
The Hamfest Board has met with the Von Braun Center to learn about the
current rules & regulations for mass-gatherings. In short, the
insurmountable obstacles that prevented us from hosting a Hamfest last year
have relaxed to the point where we can host a safe and successful event.
Additionally, our survey of commercial and flea-market vendors on their
plans to attend returned very encouraging sentiments.
Adjustments to the floor plan are being made to keep everyone safe, in
particular 12’ aisle spacing. Additional space will be utilized this year
to accommodate the commercial & flea-market vendors and visitors. Once that
floor plan is defined in a few weeks we’ll open the web portal up for vendor
registration.
We highly recommend visitors to purchase tickets on-line this year. Will-
Call windows will be set up to streamline the Saturday morning crush. The
ticket web portal will open in a few weeks.
The Hamfest Board is excited at the prospect of holding a live gathering in
a safe way for everyone attending and we look forward to seeing many of our
friends again.
Thanks and 73, Mark N4BCD, Huntsville Hamfest chairman.
The Huntville Hamfest is a world class ham radio gathering and, since 1993,
the home of the Newsline Young Ham of the Year presentation. Mark your
calendars for this one and we will see you there August 21st and 22nd.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, this is Don Wilbanks AE5DW.
**
VARIETY OF EVENTS MARK WORLD RADIO DAY CELEBRATIONS
PAUL/ANCHOR: A lot of celebrating took place around the world and on the air
during the weekend of February 13th and 14th. It was the 10th anniversary of
UNESCO's World Radio Day, recognizing radio as the single most-consumed
medium with an ability to reach the world's largest and most diverse
audiences. Amateur radio was, of course, a big part of the global
activities. In Spain, call signs were activated with the suffix WRD from the
12th to the 14th of the month. Hams throughout India had a variety of
activities on tap. In the southern Indian state of Kerala (KER-uh-luh), the
Institute of Amateur Radio had hams on the radio reminding people of the
rescue and disaster assistance hams provide during floods, cyclones and
other events. A radio festival displayed antique and unusual equipment, from
handhelds to rare transmitters. Hams also got busy preparing for a two-day
Field Day in India on the 27th and 28th of February where emergency
communications will be given a test run. The website, weather.com, even got
into the act by posting an article reminding people of hams' unique ability
to assist in emergencies even when commercial power has been cut off. One
celebration began over the weekend and will continue at least for a while
longer. Be listening for the callsign 4U13FEB until the 28th of February.
Members of the UN Global Service Center ARC in Brindisi, Italy, are calling
QR Zed until then to promote World Radio Day. Meanwhile, get ready for the
next big event specifically for hams: Sunday, April 18 is World Amateur
Radio Day.
(SOUTHGATE, WEATHER.COM, INDIAN EXPRESS)
**
REVIVED ANTENNA RECONNECTS WITH VOYAGER 2
PAUL/ANCHOR: If you've ever been off the air for a year or so, you know that
your first contact has got to be a good one. Especially if it's serious DX
like the one we hear next about from Graham Kemp VK4BB.
GRAHAM: The completion of a complicated upgrade of an aging antenna at the
Deep Space Network in Canberra, Australia has restored full contact between
Earth and the Voyager 2 probe. The trailblazing spacecraft, which was
launched 44 years ago by NASA, had been crossing the heavens in relative
silence after a 70-meter dish there known as DSS 43 was shut down and
dismantled for a needed refreshing. In space as on Earth, however, few
things are immune to the impact of the global pandemic. The ordinarily large
team of experts NASA would have sent to Canberra for the makeover was
limited to four for safety reasons — and the reduced size of the team
delayed the upgrade's progress. With DSS 43 being the only antenna capable
of communicating with Voyager 2, the probe had few options for
communicating: It could only transmit to the smaller dishes in Canberra but
was unable to receive any commands, especially those that could have fixed
problems if any had been detected on board.
After a test message was sent last October when DSS 43 was partially
reassembled, NASA and other experts were optimistic.
Now with DSS 43 back in business, the long silence is over but two-way
contact still requires something of a wait: Round-trip communication between
Earth and the far-away Voyager 2 takes 35 hours.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Graham Kemp VK4BB.
(NYTIMES)
**
SILENT KEY: LIGHTHOUSE ACTIVATOR HANDEL 'ANDY' BLUER G3UUZ
PAUL/ANCHOR: A ham known for years of powerful operations at lighthouses
throughout the UK has become a Silent Key. Jeremy Boot G4NJH tells us about
him.
JEREMY: Handel Bluer G3UUZ, who was also known as Andy, is perhaps best
recalled by hams throughout in the UK for the remarkable longwire antennas
he would string from atop whatever lighthouse he happened to be activating.
That included those times he operated from Bishop Rock between 1976 and 1980
where he worked pileup after pileup, according to his son Redders M5ACT.
Redders told Newsline he remembered his father saying that he was able to
work stations in America from there long before anyone else in the UK was
able to do so.
Andy became a Silent Key this month at the age of 92. He had achieved
recognition in The Short Wave Magazine in July of 1971 for his noted
abilities in Top Band operation from such lighthouses as Nash Point in South
Wales. Andy's fondness for lighthouse operations earned him a profile in the
March 2000 issue of Practical Wireless magazine where the authors of the
article said they were pleased to be shared his insights into [quote]
"finding a happy medium between being a lighthouse keeper and a radio
amateur." [endquote]
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH.
(REDDERS BLUER M5ACT, THE SHORT WAVE MAGAZINE, PRACTICAL WIRELESS)
**
BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio
Newsline heard on bulletin stations around the world, including the K7ECI
repeater of the Elmore County Amateur Radio Club in Mountain Home, Idaho on
Wednesdays at 8 p.m. local time.
**
YOUNGSTERS' FORUM IN IARU REGION LOOKS AT SOTA, IOTA, WWFF
PAUL/ANCHOR: Who doesn't want to get outdoors? Young hams in IARU Region 1
are making plans to do just that and holding an online forum, as we hear
from Ed Durrant DD5LP.
ED: Summits on the Air, Islands On the Air, Worldwide Flora and Fauna and
other radio-friendly outdoor activities will be the focus of discussion
among young amateurs during the next YOTA Online session this month. It's
being held by the Youth Working Group of IARU Region 1. The programme will
begin at 1900 UTC on Thursday, the 25th of February. This episode is called
"Gone exploring" and shares different ways to enjoy outdoor activations. The
Youth Working Group Chair Philipp Springer DK6SP writes on the ham-yota.com
website that, as with previous episodes in the series, there will be a
question-and-answer period afterwards.
YOTA Online is a monthly presentation by Region 1's youngest amateurs. The
events are livestreamed on YouTube, Twitch and Facebook and the organisers
are also hoping to stream the proceedings via the QO-100 geostationary
satellite in DATV mode.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Ed Durrant DD5LP.
(IARU REGION 1 WEBSITE)
**
U.S. HAMS RESPOND TO WINTER WEATHER EXTREMES
PAUL/ANCHOR: Recent weather extremes throughout much of the United States
put hams' preparedness to the test, as we hear from Randy Sly W4XJ.
RANDY: Sleet, winter storms and other severe weather systems plus power and
telecommunications outages challenged hams across the nation, even as
temperatures fell to record lows in parts of the U.S. South. Arctic
conditions prevailed through much of the central region of the country as
well. The ARRL's emergency response director Paul Gilbert, KE5ZW, reported
on the league website that an ARES net was set up in Texas to track rolling
blackouts taking place as the power grid there became overwhelmed by
customer demand. The net also handled health and welfare needs and vehicle
accident reports. Hams responded to similar conditions as well in Alabama
where the Section Emergency Coordinator David Gillespie W4LHQ also reported
on the league website that the region was dealing with power outages and
temperatures below freezing. Although not every region activated an ARES
group, hams were standing by just in case as the threat of the return of
severe weather hung over many regions.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Randy Sly W4XJ.
(ARRL)
**
AUSTRALIAN HAM GROUP HELPS MEMBERS SOLVE ACMA ADDRESS REQUIREMENT
PAUL/ANCHOR: In Australia, one radio group has directed its problem-solving
toward hams unable to fulfill the regulator's requirement for a permanent
address. Here's Robert Broomhead VK3DN with more.
ROBERT: The ACMA's requirement that hams in Australia provide a public
postal address to be certified and licensed left some amateurs with a
dilemma: they do not have a fixed address at the moment because they have
been traveling or are perhaps in a vulnerable segment of the population.
Leave it to amateur radio ingenuity and problem-solving to resolve this
issue. The Pride Radio Group, created last year as a welcoming organisation
for amateur radio operators in the LGBTQ community, has arranged a free mail
redirection service for its members in Australia. It provides a post box
address that can be publicly listed and is separate from the address of the
ham's QTH. The radio group's founder Michaela (Mick-EYE-ALE-A) Wheeler
VK3FUR/VK4XSS, said Pride is providing the mail redirection service free to
its members with the help of the provider HotSnail. Michaela said members
receive an address to use on their registration paperwork. If mail arrives
at that address, HotSnail scans it and forwards it to the email address the
ham has provided. While this service cannot be used for QSL cards, Michaela
said it does solve the address problem for the ACMA's required paperwork.
Michaela said that because Pride Radio Group operates as a virtual entity,
using HotSnail made the most sense because the service can be managed
remotely.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Robert Broomhead VK3DN.
(MICHAELA WHEELER VK3FUR/VK4XSS)
**
RESEARCHERS DEVELOP SENSITIVE, EFFICIENT TERAHERTZ DETECTOR
PAUL/ANCHOR: Researchers in Moscow have developed a terahertz detector with
unprecedented sensitivity and it shows promise in several areas of science.
Jack Parker W8ISH has the details.
JACK: A development from researchers in Moscow has presented what
researchers consider good prospects for radio astronomy, wireless
communications, medical diagnostics and security systems. It involves the
use of something called quantum-mechanical tunneling in graphene. The
scientists have used it to create a highly sensitive terahertz detector.
This solves the problem of inefficiency when mobile systems make use of
extremely high frequencies beyond the traditional ones used today. Most
transistors in use today in typical wireless receivers aren't fast enough to
recharge at those frequencies: Wi-Fi receivers typically use signals at
about 5 GHz and 5G mobile can transmit as high as 20 GHz - but going much
higher usually poses a challenge.
What researchers in Moscow and the University of Manchester have created is
a device much more sensitive to those in commercial use now, which are based
on semiconductors and superconductors. In this new development, the
application of even very low voltage to the control contact or gate in a
tunneling transistor aligns energy levels of the source and channel,
permitting current to flow.
On the website Phys.Org, one of the Moscow researchers, Dennis Bandurin
writes: [quote] "The current characteristics give rise to great hopes for
the creation of fast and sensitive detectors for wireless communications."
[endquote]
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jack Parker W8ISH.
(PHYS.ORG)
**
KICKER: A MARS LANDING FOR PENNSYLVANIA CLUB CALL SIGN
PAUL/ANCHOR: We conclude this week's report by asking: Can YOUR call sign go
the distance? For one Pennsylvania amateur radio club, the answer is a
resounding: YES! Ralph Squillace KK6ITB tells us why.
RALPH: This could be the world's tiniest QSL card for the world's rarest DX
thus far: The Perseverance Rover arriving on Mars to look for signs of past
microbial life and collect climate and geographic data will be carrying the
name of the Holmesburg Amateur Radio Club with it. The Pennsylvania club's
name and call sign WM3PEN is one of almost 11 million names on board,
stenciled into one of three tiny silicon chips by an electron beam as part
of NASA's "Send Your Name to Mars" campaign. The club is perhaps best well-
known for running the annual 13 Colonies Special Event that takes place
around America's Independence Day celebrations each year.
Sure, the club had more than enough company on its journey when the launch
took off at Kennedy Space Center in Florida last summer -- but how many of
them are space-travel veterans like the Holmesburg hams? Club trustee Bob
Josuweit WA3PZO, told Newsline that this is the second trek to Mars for the
club's call sign. The first journey was in 2011 on board the rover named
Curiosity where the club's call sign joined some 1.2 million names. Bob told
Newsline the club decided it was worth going along for the ride again. Talk
about perseverance!
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Ralph Squillace KK6ITB.
(NASA, BOB JOSUWEIT WA3PZO)
**
NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Amateur News Weekly; the ARRL; Bob Josuweit
WA3PZO; CQ Magazine; David Behar K7DB; EOS; HAMSci; Indian Express; Michaela
Wheeler VK3FUR; NASA; New York Times; Ohio Penn DX newsletter; PHYS.ORG;
QRZ.com; Practical Wireless; Radio Society of Great Britain; Redders Bluer
M5ACT; Short Wave Magazine; Simon Strange M0SYS; Southgate Amateur Radio
News; shortwaveradio.de; Southgate; Steve Hartley G0FUW; Ted Randall's QSO
Radio Show; the Wireless Institute of Australia; WTWW Shortwave; YOTA; 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 19-fev-2021 10:06 E. South America Standard Time
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