Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2039, November 25 2016

Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2039 with a release date of Friday, 
November 25 2016 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. More mysterious radio signals plague amateurs in 
India. One ham in New Zealand gives us details on the recent earthquake. 
Pennsylvania hams invite QSOs for every county -- and amateurs in the 
Philippines mark 84 years on the air. All this and more as Amateur Radio 
Newsline Report 2039 comes your way right now.

**

BILLBOARD CART

**

MORE SUSPICIOUS RADIO SIGNALS TROUBLE INDIA

NEIL/ANCHOR: We open this week's newscast with yet another report from 
India about suspicious radio transmissions. These originate off the 
nation's west coast by the Arabian Sea. Here's Amateur Radio Newsline's 
Jeremy Boot G4NJH with more details.

JEREMY'S REPORT: Even as radio operators in West Bengal attempt to track 
mysterious nighttime radio signals, there comes a more recent report 
that hams in Mumbai have been picking up signals on VHF just off the 
coasts of Gujarat and Maharashtra. Ankur Puranik VU2AXN of Ham Radio 
Operators Mumbai said he has written to the Ministry of 
Telecommunications and IT as well as other officials - including law 
enforcement - pressing for an investigation. Ankur said that his club's 
direction-finding equipment placed the signals about 100 nautical miles 
into the ocean off the coast. The transmissions have been heard for the 
past few months, he said -- and most of the time at night. He described 
the signals as being in an unintelligible language and devoid of the 
required identifying call signs.

He was quoted in the Mumbai Mirror as saying: [QUOTE] "We believe that 
they are using open-band wireless sets which can tune in to or transmit 
in any frequency in the VHF band between 136-174MHz. Some of these 
frequencies may be falling in the bands used by the Indian government 
and security agencies." [ENDQUOTE]

The Mumbai hams are not the only radio operators in India to be 
concerned about unidentifiable transmissions. In October, hams in south 
Bengal revealed they had begun monitoring unauthorized VHF transmissions 
sent at night along the Bengal-Bangladesh border, with an eye toward 
tracking possible terror cells.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(MUMBAI MIRROR)


**

IN NEW ZEALAND QUAKE, RADIO AMID THE RUBBLE

NEIL/ANCHOR: As the northeastern corner of New Zealand's South Island 
tries to clear out from this month's major earthquake, one local amateur 
has taken stock of his opportunity to help -- not just in that moment, 
but in the future. Amateur Radio Newsline's Jim Meachen ZL2BHF tells us 
more.

JIM: On holiday in Waiau at the time a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck 
New Zealand on Monday, the 14th of November, Daniel Ayers ZL1DFA found 
himself a few miles from its epicenter. With roads impassable,  
utilities not functioning and conventional communications useless, no 
amateur radio assistance was called in. Being there already with his 
handheld radio, Daniel was among the few who could get involved 
immediately in that rural region, first by finding out what had happened 
and then to step in and help.

DANIEL: "At that stage I only had a handheld radio with me. But 
fortunately it had a reasonably good antenna so I was able to get into 
an amateur repeater called 6975, a VHF repeater on 146.975 megahertz, 
which was some distance away but I was able to get in there and talk to 
people in Christchurch and the wider area around the northern part of 
the south island and they told me straightaway that we'd just had a 
direct hit."

JIM: Even after Civilian AM radio brought news reports in, the Civil 
Defense district's VHF repeater network failed for several hours, so it 
was tough getting word out until later. Limited road access eventually 
allowed Daniel to retrieve his SUV which is equipped with mobile ham 
equipment.

DANIEL: "I was able to scoot out into Christchurch and swap the car I 
was driving for my SUV which was fitted out for emergency communications 
on HF and VHF and had everything necessary to be ready to go to talk to 
anybody. I took that vehicle back into Waiau and using that I was able 
to participate more fully in providing some communications."

JIM: Daniel also worked for hours using the Civil Defense system and 
equipment before being asked to switch to his own amateur radios to help 
the New Zealand fire service pass messages to their regional office in 
Christchurch, 100 miles away.

DANIEL: "What I found that was very interesting is that the 
quote/unquote amateur VHF networks were more reliable in this instance - 
and this was not the only instance where we have seen this in this part 
of the country. The amateur infrastructure was more reliable than the 
radio communications infrastructure for Civil Defense."

JIM: The next challenge, Daniel said, is not just preparing for the next 
quake that is surely to come, or the series of inevitable aftershocks, 
but finding a way for radio amateurs to establish a system of response 
on HF that will help this rural nation more reliably.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Meachen  ZL2BHF.

**

A NEW SUMMIT-TO-SUMMIT SUCCESS

NEIL/ANCHOR: There have been new heights of success in the latest 
Summit-to-Summit Event as we hear from Amateur Radio Newsline's Ed 
Durrant DD5LP, who was part of that activation.

ED'S REPORT: The Summits on the Air "Summit to Summit" event between 
Europe and North America on Saturday the 19th of November was a great 
success. Despite cold and rainy weather across several parts of Europe, 
band conditions being average and interference from contestants in the 
LZ-DX contest, all activators who were out reported a successful and 
enjoyable day.

Some stations racked up multiple S2S (Summit to Summit) contacts across 
the three continents involved -- as well as Europe and North America – 
there was one activator on holiday in the Canary Islands, which counts 
geographically as Africa. The event was also an opportunity for others 
to try out new rigs and other equipment, especially antennas. Several 
activators had their first-ever inter-continental summit to summit 
contact and were really happy about that. Others went in small teams and 
enjoyed working together. Some had tents to protect them from the 
weather. Others were really lucky with the weather, while others got 
soaked.
Three bands were used for inter-continental contacts – 21, 18 and 14MHz. 
Most contacts were made on 20 metres; however those with multiple band 
capability moved away from the contest traffic on 20 metres to the more 
peaceful 17 and 15 metres. The consensus seems to be that from a 
propagation point of view 17 metres was the best; however 
inter-continental QSOs were made on all three bands.

We even have some reports of chasers from VK catching some of the EU 
activators via short path in the very early hours of the Australian 
Sunday morning!
Sixty-six summits had been announced, but 77 were actually activated, an 
increase on the 51 summits alerted and 73 stations taking part in the 
VK-EU event a month earlier.

It'll be interesting to see what the numbers are for the North 
America-VK event. This may only now take place in 2017 when the weather 
in the Northern Hemisphere improves.
The general feeling around the SOTA community is that having these S2S 
events is both enjoyable and useful and many are looking forward to more 
of them.

For Amateur Radio Newsline this is Ed Durrant DD5LP.


**

BREAK HERE:

Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio 
Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around such as the Mingus Mountain 
Repeater Group, K7MRG, in Arizona, on Tuesday evenings.

**


WEATHER OR NOT, HERE COMES THE BALLOON

NEIL: On November 13th, STEM School and Academy senior Madisen Frie 
(FREE), KE0KCM, led a team that launched a high-altitude balloon from 
Deer Trail, Colorado. These balloon projects are all the rage across the 
country as a hands-on way to introduce students to principles of science 
and technology. But what made this launch different from their previous 
ones is that the entire project was engineered by students. This first 
launch in a continuing series accomplished its goal… to launch, track, 
and safely return. Madisen explains how she organized the students to 
complete the project.

MADISEN: We had the tracking group, the payload group, and then another 
group, which was my group, which was just to make sure… to oversee 
everything.  So for the tracking group they came up with a few different 
methods to track it such as the fox as well as the APRS unit. Those are 
the two that we ended up using. They also came up with other things not 
used such as an altitude-sensitive cold smoke bomb kind of thing where 
it would just set off signals so we actually could see it come down, as 
well as a noise emitter so we could hear it in case it got too dark to 
actually see the smoke or the APRS unit cut out, which it had been for a 
little bit before. As for the payload group, they took one of our old 
payloads and modified it so that it could hold three GoPro cameras and 
be able to take them up to 100,000 feet and come back down without them 
freezing.

NEIL: Madisen passed her amateur radio license exam this summer, after 
participating in 4 prior launches. Madisen shared her motivation to 
finally get her license.

MADISEN: What initially got me interested in getting my radio license is 
Skylar, who is KD0WHB. He just told me all of these benefits that he 
could get from having his radio license.  And honestly, I kind of felt 
left out when we were tracking all the weather balloons cause everyone 
had their radios and I thought that was so cool that they could talk to 
each other like they did.

NEIL: Adult amateur radio mentors included Toby Foss, K0TFS, and for the 
last time at STEM Academy veteran teacher Paul Veal, N0AH.

The balloon carried a little over 4 pounds of equipment, traveled to a 
height of 90,437 feet, and endured temperatures as low as -50 to -100 
degrees Fahrenheit.  The students were able to track and find the 
balloon after it fell over 17 miles back to Earth.  Now they await their 
next launch with some data gathering payloads and some other projects.

MADISEN: We do have some stuff planned. We are going to try to bounce a 
radio signal off the moon as well as listen to Saturn. So we’re getting 
into more of the space portion. I personally still have a lot to learn 
about radios, but I look forward to it for sure.


**

KEYING IN ON THE KEYSTONE STATE

NEIL: The Holmesburg Amateur Radio Club in Pennsylvania, known for its 
popular "13 Colonies Event" around July 4,  is posing another radio 
challenge -- just because it wants to. Here's Amateur Radio Newsline's 
Heather Embee KB3TZD.

HEATHER: What has an estimated 46,000 square miles, a noted colonial 
history and 67 counties full of radio operators looking to help hams 
around the world earn a certificate of distinction? That would be 
Pennsylvania, the Keystone State, the 33rd largest state in the U.S.

It's also home to the Holmesburg Amateur Radio Club, which is hosting 
the "Pennsylvania 67 Challenge," inviting hams everywhere to have a 
realtime QSO - amateur to amateur - in every county in any two-way radio 
mode; including moonbounce, IRLP, EchoLink, amateur satellites, and even 
D-Star FM repeaters.

If you can't work all the counties, don't be discouraged: Challenge 
certificates are also available for hams who work 20, 40, or 60 
counties. For information on how to qualify for certificates or how to 
get your contacts verified, visit the club's website at 
www-dot-H-A-R-C-dot-net or email the club at W-M-3-P-E-N at A-R-R-L dot 
net.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Heather Embee KB3TZD in Berwick, 
Pennsylvania - in Columbia County, one of those places in the 67 challenge!

(HOLMESBURG AMATEUR RADIO CLUB)

**

SCOUTS WRAP UP JAMBOREE ON THE AIR

NEIL: Some proud Scouts and supporters just finished their final report 
for this year's Jamboree on the Air. They shared the good news with 
Amateur Radio Newsline's Bill Stearns NE4RD -- who shares it with us.

BILL'S REPORT: This week in Radio Scouting we wrap up the final report 
for Jamboree on the Air with comments from participating stations.

Paul Griffith, KE5WMA, stated "Setting up at a Scout event gave us 
better results than previous years."

Benjamin Kuo, KK6FUT, told us: "We've found that by stretching our reach 
to three events each year – one around JOTA in October, another in June 
during Field Day, and one during the annual Camporee, usually in April, 
the overall result has been a lot more exposure of amateur radio to the 
scouting community at large."

The Yadkin Valley Amateur Radio Club, KE4YVF, reported "We need slick 
pre-event handouts to stimulate interest at district, council, and unit 
meetings!"

These comments and more can be found in our 2016 JOTA Report. In 
response to Benjamin, on our website in the JOTA resources there is a 
Scouting Event Publicity Guide published by Bill Ragsdale, K6KN.  This 
free and informative guide will help you get the message out about your 
next radio scouting event. For the YVARC, there are brochures, as well, 
highlighting radio scouting for any event you wish to plan.

For this and more information on K2BSA and  Radio Scouting, please visit 
www.k2bsa.net.

For Amateur Radio Newsline and the K2BSA Amateur Radio Association, this 
is Bill Stearns, NE4RD


**
THREE NEW EMERGENCY ALERT EVENT CODES

NEIL/ANCHOR: Changes are coming to the nation's Emergency Alert System 
and they'll be in place for next year's hurricane season. Amateur Radio 
Newsline's Bobby Best WX4ALA tells us more.

BOBBY'S REPORT: The Emergency Alert System, the national public warning 
system used during dangerous weather and in other crisis situations, has 
gotten FCC approval to add three new "event codes" for the 2017 
hurricane season. The codes are EWW, for Extreme Wind Warning, issued 
for advance notice of winds 115 miles an hour or greater during major 
hurricanes; Storm Surge Watch, or SSA, for use when the East Coast and 
Gulf Coasts experience riding water moving inland. This could be used in 
tropical, subtropical or post-tropical cyclones.

The third is SSW, or Storm Surge Warning when the tropical inundation is 
going to happen within 36 hours, and possibly isolate an area. The 
weather conditions could include storm-force winds that limit time to 
safely evacuate an area.

The new codes will affect the Emergency Alert System as well as NOAA 
Weather Radio.

The FCC is requiring that EAS equipment makers provide software upgrades 
to participants in the Emergency Alert System by March 12, 2017.

For more details about the changes in the codes, visit nhc.noaa.gov

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bobby Best WX4ALA


(ARRL, NOAA)

**
PHILIPPINE AMATEURS MARK 84 YEARS

NEIL/ANCHOR: It's not your typical 84th birthday party but it's bound to 
be festive in any case: The Philippine Amateur Radio Association is 
marking eight decades and more. We hear the details from Amateur Radio 
Newsline's Jason Daniels VK2LAW.

JASON's REPORT: The Philippine Amateur Radio Association is marking its 
84th anniversary on the 27th of November at the Marikina Hotel and 
Convention Center in Marikina City. The full day of activities will 
include VE testing, fox hunting, a CW challenge for experts as well as 
students, and a contest for the best Go-Kit. PARA's forerunner 
organization, the Amateur Radio Club of the Philippines, was organized 
in 1922 and was merged, two years later, into the Philippine Radio 
Society. On November 27th of 1932, the Philippine Amateur Radio 
Association (PARA) was organized and admitted into the International 
Amateur Radio Union. Its founding president was Leon V. Grove, KA1LG, 
who was then the Principal of the Philippine School of Arts and Trade. 
The 84th anniversary program will also set aside time to honor members 
of HERO who assisted during October Typhoons Karen and Lawin. Lawin was 
considered the strongest cyclone to hit the Philippines in three years.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jason Daniels, VK2LAW.

(PARA)

**

THE WORLD OF DX


In the world of DX, listen for Alan K0AV operating as ZD8V from 
Ascension Island until December 1st. Alan is operating most of the time 
on CW. Send QSL cards via his home call. Logs will be uploaded to LoTW.

Find Mike AJ9C operating as HR2/AJ9C from Honduras until November 30. Be 
listening on all HF bands from 160m to 10m. He is operating on CW, SSB 
and RTTY. Send QSL cards to his home call.

Christian IS0BWM can be heard from the club station 9H0HQ/3 in Kenge in 
the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He plans to stay in the Congo 
until Christmas Day, December 25th. Send QSL cards directly to his 
address in Sardinia.


(IRISH RADIO TRANSMITTERS SOCIETY)

**

KICKER: NO PLACE LIKE HARA FOR THE HOLIDAYS

NEIL: Our last story, in keeping with the Thanksgiving holiday, is about 
gratitude. For more than 50 years, amateur radio operators were grateful 
for the spring ritual of Dayton Hamvention, which was held in Hara Arena 
in Trotwood, Ohio. Now the arena has been shut down and the massive 
global gathering of amateurs has found a new home at the Greene County 
Fairgrounds starting in 2017. Pieces of arena history - especially 
keepsakes of Hamvention history - are being auctioned off online.

The online auctioneer, Everything But The House, began accepting bids on 
Thanksgiving Day, the 24th of November and the auction concludes 
Wednesday the 30th of November. No doubt there will be many among the 
tens of thousands of radio amateurs - two generations of visitors - 
wanting something by which to remember Hamvention's longtime home.

For many hams, though this will simply be a harvest of memories, some of 
them precious indeed. Although bidding on all items starts at $1, 
nostalgia is actually beyond any price. It's easy enough just to own 
Hara memories themselves: They're bought easily with gratitude for the 
good years and the friendships that flourished under that roof -- and 
all of that knows no season.


(DAYTON DAILY NEWS, ARRL)


**

NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Alan Labs; the ARRL; Boston Globe; Boston 
Business Journal; CQ Magazine; Dayton Daily News; Hap Holly and the Rain 
Report; Irish Radio Transmitter Society; K2BSA; the Mumbai Mirror; NOAA; 
Ohio-Penn DX Bulletin; PARA; Southgate Amateur Radio News; Ted Randall's 
QSO Radio Show; 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 located at 
www.arnewsline.org.

For now, with Caryn Eve Murray, KD2GUT, at the news desk in New York, 
and our news team worldwide, I'm Neil Rapp, WB9VPG in Bloomington 
Indiana saying 73 and as always we thank you for listening.

Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2016. All rights reserved.


***

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