Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1989, December 11, 2015

Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1989 with a release date of Friday, 
December 11, 2015 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. Hams in India struggle to help the nation's 
flooded south. The founder of Ham Radio Outlet becomes a Silent Key. 
Boston area amateurs are already planning for the city's big marathon. 
And get ready to do some real DXing with Pluto, the so-called "dwarf 
planet." All this and more in Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1989 coming 
your way right now.

(Billboard Cart Here and Intro)

**

HAMS CHALLENGED BY INDIA'S FLOODS

We open this week's newscast with a developing story, as flood-soaked 
Chennai, the fourth largest city in India, struggles in the aftermath of 
devastating floods -- and the hams who've been looking to give 
assistance are struggling too. Even radio amateurs who have been able to 
travel to the area to provide emergency communications are being 
challenged by a scarcity of available power, as many of the batteries in 
their portable gear have long since discharged. The International 
Amateur Radio Union in India told the ARRL that an emergency net was 
established on 7.070 MHz, and amateurs who are able to have also been 
making use of some local repeaters. Some news reports indicate that the 
band at 14.160 MHz has also been put into use for contact with the 
National Institute of Amateur Radio, with the special call sign AU2MTT.

The president of the Amateur Radio Society of India, Gopal Madhavan, 
VU2GMN, reported, however, that with so many areas surrounding the city 
being underwater and cut off, ground transportation has been impossible 
and even hams who want to travel to give assistance have been unable to 
get out. Madhavan told the ARRL that QUOTE"efforts are being made to 
garner more hams into relief activity as soon as they are able to move 
out of their locales,"ENDQUOTE, adding, QUOTE"the situation is 
grim."ENDQUOTE.

He was optimistic at midweek that, with the floodwaters receding, the 
hams will soon be able to do more.

(SOUTHGATE AMATEUR RADIO NEWS, ARRL, HINDUSTAN TIMES)

**

SILENT KEY: HAM RADIO OUTLET FOUNDER ROBERT FERRERO, W6RJ

[JIM/ANCHOR:]

The amateur radio community has lost a businessman, a friend and a 
devoted advocate and DXpeditioner: Robert Ferrero, W6RJ, the founder of 
the national Ham Radio Outlet chain, became a Silent Key on Dec. 4. 
Amateur Radio Newsline's Don Wilbanks, AE5DW, talked to Ferrero's 
longtime friend and associate, Chip Margelli, K7JA.

[DON'S REPORT]

**

MAKING A MARATHON EFFORT

Even with the Boston Marathon still months away, local hams have already 
gone into training to build up some endurance of their own. The April 
18, 2016 event will rely on the efforts of an estimated 300 Amateur 
Radio volunteers who will cover the 26-mile course with the assurance of 
reliable emergency communications.

The Boston Athletic Association's Communications Committee is already 
warming up, and this year they'll be flexing some high-tech and digital 
muscle. Committee member Matthew Forman, K6MCF, told Amateur Radio 
Newsline in an email: "A major initiative of the Committee this year is 
to bolster the technology we use on Marathon Monday. To do so, we're 
forming a Technical Infrastructure Subcommittee and seeking Amateurs who 
can offer current skills in Analog and/or Digital modes (UHF/VHF), 
repeaters, and infrastructure.  We'd like to have the TIS consist of one 
technically-seasoned member from Amateur Radio clubs in Massachusetts, 
Southern New Hampshire, and the northern parts of Connecticut and Rhode 
Island."ENDQUOTE

Committee member, Mark Richards, K1MGY, will work to get word out about 
the subcommittee among clubs and other special interest groups.

By April, everyone should be in the running - especially the hams.


**

[JIM/ANCHOR:]  A new club for hams is starting up in the Ozarks of 
Missouri and it promises to be a much-needed resource for local 
amateurs. Matthew Chambers, N-R-ZERO-Q, has the details:

[MATTHEW CHAMBERS REPORT]: Radio amateurs in the Missouri Ozarks are in 
the process of organizing a new amateur radio club. The Wright County 
Outlaws Amateur Radio Club members met in November and elected a board 
of directors and officers. They will meet again in January to vote on a 
constitution and by-laws. Primary mission for the club will be SKYWARN 
and Amateur Radio Emergency Services communications in Wright County, 
Missouri. They will meet at the Wright County Emergency Management 
Agency in Hartville, Missouri.

Reporting for the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Matthew Chambers NR0Q, in 
Mountain Grove, Missouri.

**

FIRST OFCOM LICENSES REVOKED

The UK has 530 fewer licensed radio amateurs as of this month. Following 
notice it gave to hams earlier this year, Ofcom has made good on its 
warning and revoked the first batch of licenses that went without the 
required validation process. The Ofcom website has a list of the call 
signs affected, and a copy of those notices of revocation. The office 
said there are at least 15,000 such licenses that still remain 
unvalidated and will, over the course of time, also be revoked.

Ofcom requires radio amateurs to revalidate their license at least once 
every five years. So if you want to stay on the air, be sure to check 
that your license is current. And contact Ofcom for further details.

(SOUTHGATE)


BREAK HERE:

Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio 
Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including 
W-ZERO-E-F, the Twin City FM Club repeater in Plymouth, Minnesota, 
Saturday mornings at 9:30.

**

SKYWARN: WEATHER OR NOT

[JIM/ANCHOR]:

No matter the weather, the sun is always shining on SKYWARN Recognition 
Day which, this year, was Saturday, Dec. 5. At National Weather Service 
locations around the country, volunteer radio operators connected with 
other amateurs for 24 hours, reaffirming their commitment to keep the 
lines of communication open when severe weather strikes. Forecaster Mary 
Keiser (KI-ZER), KE5TXH, of the National Weather Service in Birmingham, 
Alabama, told Amateur Radio Newsline's Hap Holly, KC9RP, about how this 
special day underscores the important role hams play:

[HAP'S REPORT]

[JIM/ANCHOR]: That was Mary Keiser (KI-ZER) of the National Weather 
Service talking to Hap Holly, KC9RP.


**

PLUTO: BIG EVENT FOR A DWARF PLANET

The Northern Arizona DX Association has come to think of Pluto as "the 
little planet that could." Or, in this case, the downgraded planet that 
still can. The radio amateurs are marking 2015 as the Year of Pluto and 
are operating Special Event Station W7P through December 13. The station 
will operate out of the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, the very 
observatory from which astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto in 1930.
Although Pluto has since undergone a celestial demotion to "dwarf 
planet," there's nothing small about the DX Association's 
commemoration.  The astronomer's nephew, Doug Tombaugh, N3PDT, will be a 
special guest radio operator -- and a number of others will be on the 
air from the interior of the actual telescope dome where Pluto's 
discovery was made. QSLs and a certificate will be available. For more 
information, visit the NADXA website, www.nadxa.com. And on the outside 
chance anyone snags a QSO from coming from Pluto itself, that would be 
the ultimate DX.


**

PEOPLE IN THE NEWS: LARRY PRICE, W4RA

The Canadian Amateur Radio Hall of Fame has named Larry Price, W4RA, as 
its inaugural honorary member. Price, president emeritus of the ARRL and 
the International Amateur Radio Union, has been an active leader in the 
amateur community for more than three decades. He was president of the 
ARRL from 1984 to 1992, and president of the IARU from 1999 to 2009. He 
is a Life Member of the ARRL and also belongs to the ARRL Maxim Society. 
Last year he was named Amateur of the Year at the Dayton Hamvention.

The Canadian Hall of Fame Board of Trustees said him nomination by the 
Radio Amateurs of Canada comes after many years of support to that 
organization and amateur radio in Canada in general.

He will be formally inducted into the Hall of Fame early next year.

(ARRL)

**

NEW ZEALAND JOINS SOTA

Amateur radio has achieved a new summit in New Zealand -- or several new 
summits - literally. The nation's hams are now able to participate in 
this worldwide activity, following the mapping and checking of summits 
for the North Island. South Island summits will follow next.

Warren Harris, ZL2AJ, the association manager for SOTA New Zealand, has 
encouraged all hams to climb to the heights, even if they're not 
necessarily mountaineers. In urging the amateur community to get on 
board with this worldwide activity, he said recently: QUOTE"I am keen to 
encourage SOTA activity. I am available to give some branches a talk, 
and to provide advice and encouragement to fellow hams."ENDQUOTE  There 
is also a Yahoo Group that supports interested hams in New Zealand.

He asks that hams wanting more information, write him directly at 
warren@zl2aj.com
And then, climb on up.

**

THE WORLD OF DX

Joel, N5JR, will be working from Haiti as HH2/N5JR until Dec. 14. He 
will focus primarily on the WARC bands but he can also be found on all 
HF bands, 160m to 6m. Send QSL cards to his home address.

William, K2HVN, will be active from St. Barthelemy in the Caribbean from 
Dec. 12 through Dec. 17, using the call sign FJ/K2HVN. He will be 
working 40m through 10m, in both CW and SSB. Send QSL cards to his home 
call sign.

In France, a special event station connected to the United Nations 
Climate Change Conference is operating as F8DVD. The station will be on 
the air until Dec. 13 and a special QSL card will be available.

Ravi,M-ZERO-XUU/VU3HPF, will be working from Kasane and Gaborone from 
Dec. 22 through Dec. 30, working the bands primarily in the mornings or 
evenings, holiday style. He will operate on CW and SSB across 40, 30, 20 
and 17 meters. QSLs can be sent to his home call sign, M0XUU.


(IRISH RADIO TRANSMITTER SOCIETY, DX COFFEE)

**

KICKER: CHRISTMAS IS IN THE AIR

We end this week's newscast with more on-air adventures of Santa Claus, 
whose Yule Log has been looking more and more like an amateur radio log 
these days. It seems 2015 has presented more than a sack full of 
opportunities to QSO with the big guy, thanks to amateurs with spirit, 
imagination and a little creativity.

For the first time this year, the Battleship Iowa Amateur Radio 
Association, using the call sign NI6BB, is providing a round-the-clock 
connection to Santa's Shack in the North Pole, on December 16 and 17. 
Organizers, who will be spending the night aboard the battleship museum, 
say that Santa's own XYL, Mrs. Claus, may also put in an appearance on 
the HF bands.

In New Jersey, the Santa's Workshop Special Event station, W2S, is on 
the air through Dec. 23, with support from the South Jersey DX 
Association and the Old Barney Amateur Radio Club. Never mind Christmas 
cards -- this Santa is sending personalized QSL cards and Chuck, W2CCW, 
is serving as Santa's QSL QS-ELF.

And although the Barrow Amateur Radio Club in Bethlehem, Georgia, 
already concluded their special holiday event earlier this month, Old 
Father 9 Christmas, OF9X, has just begun the long journey through the 
Land of Santa again, starting at the Arctic Circle, for the benefit of 
the Finnish Red Cross disaster relief fund. That journey doesn't end 
until Dec. 28. So that's not QRN you're hearing through your headphones 
-- it's jingle bells. Turn on your rigs: It's beginning to sound a lot 
like Christmas.


** **

NEWSCAST CLOSE
With thanks to Alan Labs; the ARRL; Bruce Sperka, KG7MXL; CQ Magazine; 
Hap Holly and the Rain Report; the Hindustan Times; Matthew Forman, 
K6MCF; Northern Arizona DX Association; the Ohio-Penn DX Newsletter; 
QRZNOW; SOTA New Zealand; Southgate Amateur Radio News; TWiT TV; and you 
our listeners, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline. Our email 
address is newsline@arnewsline.org. More information is available at 
Amateur Radio Newsline's only official website located at 
www.arnewsline.org. You can also write to us or support us at Amateur 
Radio Newsline, 28197 Robin Avenue, Santa Clarita, CA 91350.

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 and as always we thank you for listening.

Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2015. All rights reserved.


***

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