Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2131 for Friday, August 31, 2018

Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2131 with a release date of Friday, 
August 31, 2018 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. Hams respond to a hurricane in Hawaii and an 
earthquake in Venezuela; the ARRL’s new president talks about 
“rebranding” the league – and Honduras expands its safety net with newly 
donated radios. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2131 
comes your way right now.

**
BILLBOARD CART
**

BREAKING NEWS: ARRESTS MADE IN DEATH OF CALIF. AMATEUR

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: We begin this week's report with breaking news. As 
Newsline went to production, police in California released information 
about the death of amateur radio operator Henry Stange WA6RXZ and 
announced that they have charged two people with homicide. Henry's body 
was found on June 2 in a shallow grave in Joshua Tree National Park. An 
three-month investigation by the Murrieta Police Department and the San 
Bernardino County Sheriff resulted in the arrests of Curtis Krueger, age 
30, and Ashlie Stapp, age 27, on the 29th of August.

Further details about the killing were not immediately available.

Henry Stange, who lived in Murrieta, was 54 years old.

(MURRIETA POLICE DEPARTMENT)

**

RADIO RESPONDS TO EMERGENCIES IN VENEZUELA AND HAWAII

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: With the recent earthquake in Venezuela and hurricane in 
Hawaii, it’s been a challenging time for hams involved in emergency 
communications. We turn to Kevin Trotman N5PRE for this recap on Venezuela.

KEVIN: A magnitude 7.3 earthquake rocked the northern coast of Venezuela 
and parts of the Caribbean on August 21st and shock waves could be felt 
as far east as Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and Grenada and as far west 
as Bogota, Colombia. The U.S. Coast and Geological Survey said because 
of its depth of nearly 77 miles the quake did not cause major damage or 
lead to any casualties in Caracas but buildings were evacuated 
nonetheless. Scattered power outages were reported. The YV5RNE National 
Emergency Network of the Radio Club Venezolano activated on 7.088 MHZ 
but officials later reported there was no loss of life and damage was 
limited. Although cellular communications and scattered outages had been 
reported, hams networks functioned well on HF, VHF and even EchoLink.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I’m Kevin Trotman N5PRE.

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: In Hawaii, emergency amateur radio operations became 
active after Hurricane Lane stormed into the region. Hawaii ARES and the 
Salvation Army Emergency Radio Network were among those responding to 
keep communications open and WinLink was used for formal handling of 
messages. Although the storm dumped as much as 19 inches of rain on 
parts of Hawaii’s Big Island, the region was spared the worst of a 
direct hit and the hurricane was downgraded to a tropical storm by the 
24th of August. At Newsline’s production time, residents and hams alike 
were keeping an eye out, however, for the next event on the horizon: 
Tropical Storm Miriam.

(IARU REGION 1)
**
ARRL PRESIDENT SPEAKS AT WEST VIRGINIA CONVENTION

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Should the ARRL rebrand itself to appeal to a new 
generation? The organization’s new president posed that possibility at a 
recent appearance in West Virginia. Jim Damron N8TMW was there.

JIM DAMRON: The 60th annual West Virginia State ARRL convention was held 
August 25th in Central West Virginia at the WVU Jackson’s Mill 
Conference Center near Weston. A highlight of the convention was an 
address by ARRL president Rick Roderick K5UR. In his 45-minute keynote 
speech to a capacity crowd, president Roderick asked:

RODERICK:  Are we even relevant anymore as ham radio operators? Well, 
let’s see: We’re world communicators.  We provide public service.  We 
help in emergencies and disasters.  We help save lives. We talk to the 
jungles of Africa...to the beaches of the South Pacific.  We bounce 
signals off the moon.  We talk to astronauts.  We promote technology.  
We do positive things.  So absolutely—we are relevant.

JIM: What about change in the hobby….?

RODERICK:  We’ve got to accept change and we’ve got to adapt if we’re 
going to bridge that gap to that next generation.  So the question that 
I have here that I have challenged my colleagues at ARRL with is this:  
is it time to rebrand ham radio? Maybe we need to rebrand the American 
Radio Relay League.  That’s a pretty profound statement.

JIM: Roderick offered a closing challenge:

RODERICK: Well I think we ought to get out there and stir things up. 
That’s what I think we ought to do. I think you ought to go back and 
rejuvenate your club. Over the next year, get somebody into ham radio. 
The second thing I want you to do....I want you to help a ham that needs 
your help.  And the third thing I want you to do is—if you’re not a 
member of the American Radio Relay League, you need to join 
today…because you know that whether you like us or not, we’re all you’ve 
got; ain’t nobody else in Washington DC helping us.  I want you to ask 
yourself this question:  don’t you think it’s time to give something 
back?  Now I believe as a group, if we all did that we’ll make a 
difference in this hobby as we go forward.  Be a champion of ham radio. 
Let’s work together and get it done.  Thank you very much.

JIM: That was ARRL president Rick Roderick K5UR. Reporting from 
Jackson’s Mill, West Virginia for Amateur Radio Newsline I’m Jim Damron 
N8TMW.

**
OHIO QSO PARTY: PROGRESS DESPITE PROPAGATION

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: You can’t fight Mother Nature and so hams participating 
in this year’s Ohio QSO Party decided to go with the solar flow. Jack 
Parker W8ISH has those details.
JACK: Every QSO party has its highs and lows but for this year’s Ohio 
QSO Party on Saturday, August 25th that same description best fit the 
day’s propagation. The Mad River Amateur Radio Club, which sponsors the 
annual event, had big hopes despite the challenges. Event chairman Jim 
K8MR said the activity began with the customary poor summertime 
conditions – not unexpected for a low sunspot year. There were hopes 
that sporadic E skip might boost conditions but he said that never 
happened. Then thunderstorms hit northwest Ohio but as the day went on 
the storm swept out and QRN wasn’t reported to be too much of a major 
problem. Jim told Newsline that for the early part of the QSO party, the 
only contacts to be had on 15 and 10 meters were local. Then, in late 
afternoon, things picked up and by 6 p.m. 40 meters sprang to life. 
Short skip helped hams make contacts within the state and into some 
nearby states. By late evening – into the final hours of the QSO Party – 
hams were still calling QRZ when a geomagnetic storm hit, bringing the K 
index to 7 toward the end of the contest.
So how did everyone do?
Jim told Newsline that some of the top Ohio scores seem to have gone up 
a bit this year, and he suspects this is because less productive higher 
bands sent more radio operators to 80 meters where people in Ohio could 
work more Ohio county multipliers than usual. So in spite of it all, no 
one’s complaining. By Monday night, August 27th, the club had received 
243 logs – on a par with last year.
Even if the propagation itself can’t be planned, the club is already 
organizing next year’s QSO Party, set for August 24.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I’m Jack Parker W8ISH.

(MAD RIVER AMATEUR RADIO CLUB)

**

IN CHICAGO, DX ASSOCIATION CONVENTION TIME DRAWS NEAR

STEPHEN/ANCHOR:  September brings the convention of the Northern 
Illinois DX Association to Chicago and organizers have an ambitious 
schedule planned. Here’s Heather Embee KB3TZD.

HEATHER: There’s a full agenda awaiting hams at the 66th annual W9DXCC 
DX Convention and Banquet in suburban Chicago. The Northern Illinois DX 
Association has scheduled presentations on the Baker Island DXpedition, 
ham response to storm-damaged Puerto Rico, Kosovo’s long journey to 
become a DXCC entity and the attempted 3Y0Z DXpedition to Bouvet Island.
The convention will be held September 14th and 15th at the Hyatt Regency 
in Schaumburg Illinois. Registration is still open for a little longer.
DXpeditioner Bob Schenck N2OO, who is also president of the 
International DX Association and the DX editor for CQ Magazine, will 
deliver the keynote address at the banquet. Bob is also a CQ DX Hall of 
Famer.
For additional details or to register visit w9dxcc dot com (w9dxcc.com)
For Amateur Radio Newsline I’m Heather Embee KB3TZD.

**

BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur 
Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including 
the N8VAA repeater of the Potomac Highlands Amateur Radio Club in 
Moorefield West Virginia on Monday nights at 8 local time.

**
RADIOS ARRIVE BY SPECIAL DELIVERY IN HONDURAS

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Amateur radio emergency response is about to get a lot 
better in Honduras. Jim Meachen ZL2BHF tells us about a special delivery 
that will help with preparations for the next disaster.

JIM MEACHEN: Radio equipment vital to emergency communications in 
Honduras has been donated by the International Telecommunication Union 
as part of its project to improve radio response in South America during 
times of crisis. The delivery was made on August 22nd and given to 
COPECO, the commission in Honduras that coordinates public and private 
disaster response. The radios had been received first by the National 
Telecommunications Commission of Honduras.
Officials said that high priority would be given to use of WinLink with 
amateur radio. The National Commission Minister for COPECO, Lisandro 
Rosales, said that radio communications had grown even stronger recently 
in the nation and that 95 percent of its territory has emergency radio 
access. The minister said that the new radios would not just be for aid 
after disaster but to give early warnings of imminent danger and then 
assist in any reconstruction efforts that follow.
The equipment donation is part of an agreement to provide additional 
training in emergency response with involvement by Honduran radio amateurs.
Omar Paredes, HR1OP, secretary of the radio club in Honduras known as 
CRACH, said that the added use of HF will be critical for first 
responders especially when digital communications failures and power 
outages occur.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I’m Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.
(WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA)

**
DIGITAL RADIO RALLIES FOR EMERGENCY COMMS IN COLORADO

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: In Colorado, another type of radio is being deployed to 
assist with emergency response. These are digital radios that will also 
be used for public service events. Here's Andy Morrison K9AWM with more.

ANDY: A partnership between Rio Blanco County, the sheriff’s office, the 
State of Colorado AuxComm Division and a Rocky Mountain Ham Radio club 
has led to the installation of amateur radio equipment that is available 
for use in public service communications in northwest Colorado. The new 
radio installation was reported in the Herald Times newspaper, which 
said the digital radios will also be installed by the ham club at radio 
towers for use during this year’s Rally America automobile performance 
event. The installation is the result of discussion that began more than 
two years ago between Sheriff Anthony Mazzola and the Auxiliary 
Communications division of the state about that year’s Rally America 
being held in Rangely. These rallies often rely on hams for operations 
and emergency communications during the event but at the time those 
formative discussions were taking place there were no towers near the site.
The next step is to grow the number of interested and qualified 
operators. At a meeting scheduled for September 15th in Rangely, hams – 
and anyone interested in becoming a ham – are invited to hear how the 
radios can also support the community during emergencies. The meeting 
will be led by Russell Granger W0CDE, regional Amateur Radio Emergency 
Service section chief.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I’m Andy Morrison K9AWM

(THE HERALD TIMES)

**
TWO MORE WAYS TO CONTACT K2BSA

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Radio Scouting is back on the air in the week ahead and 
counting the weeks until Jamboree on the Air. Bill Stearns NE4RD brings 
us the latest update.

BILL: This week in Radio Scouting we have two activations of the K2BSA 
call sign, two activations from Scout Camps on the Air, and we're just a 
month and half away from Jamboree on the Air!
Frederick Donkin, KA7MMM, will be activating K2BSA/7 from the Centennial 
Jamboral at the Salt Lake County Equestrian Park in South Jordan, Utah 
on September 14th and 15th.  It was in 1918 when the first Boy Scout 
Council was created in the Salt Lake Valley and the Great Salt Lake 
Council is celebrating a century of honor at this camp.
Gregory Pioppi, KB2ANG, will be activating K2BSA/3 from a Merit Badge 
Weekend at Braden Air Park in Easton, Pennsylvania on September 21st 
through the 23rd. Again this year, Troop 41 and Crew 41 of the Minsi 
Trails Council along with the Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 
70 and the Lehigh & Northampton Airport Authority will be hosting the 
fun and exciting Aviation Merit Badge Weekend held at Branden Air Park.  
Scouts will not only get to earn the Aviation Merit Badge but also get 
an opportunity to get some actual "stick-time” with one of the EAA 
Chapters. Seventy members and their aircraft as they get a fly-over of 
the Lehigh and Delaware Valleys.  As part of the event an amateur radio 
station is set up at the airport by KB2ANG and his crew, as an 
introduction to Ham Radio and how the two subjects can complement each 
other.
Thomas Barker, WA1HRH, will be activating a special event call sign W1M 
from the Moses Scout Reservation in Russell, Massachusetts on September 
22nd.  This will be an outdoor adventure weekend that is open to scouts 
and the public. A special QSL card is available for a 4x6 stamped 
self-addressed envelope. Operators will be updating their Facebook pages 
with details of the operation throughout the day.
David M Hinkley, KA0SOG, will be activating W0HRB from the H Roe Bartle 
Scout Reservation in Iconium, Missouri on September 22nd. This will be a 
Webelos Weekend focused on STEM activities being held at the local 
council’s summer camp. Please stop by if you can help the kids learn 
about amateur radio
Jamboree on the Air is just a short month and half away. Hopefully all 
your plans have been solidified and you have successfully registered 
your station over on the JOTAJOTI website or through our shortcut 
of jota2018.k2bsa.net.  Six-hundred twenty-eight stations from all over 
world are currently registered, with only 104 stations located in the 
United States.  The registration process has been greatly simplified, so 
please head over and announce your plans by registering there today.
For more information on JOTA or Radio Scouting, please visit our website 
at k2bsa.net.
For Amateur Radio Newsline and the K2BSA Amateur Radio Association, this 
is Bill Stearns, NE4RD.

**

KICKER: SMALL RESCUE, BIG HEART

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Our last story is another tale of a ham's involvement in 
a rescue operation - but this one was very different, as we hear from 
Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT.

CARYN: On a recent broadcast of “To Tell the Truth,” an American TV quiz 
show, Rick Gruber KD7NHM of Phoenix, Arizona told the truth – and a 
story. It’s the story of a very special rescue that happened four years 
ago when he spotted a drowning victim in a swimming pool he had come to 
repair. At first there was frantic struggling and splashing...but then 
it stopped.

RICK: I walked over to him and I could see he had no movement at all. So 
I reached over with a pipe and pulled him closer to the edge of the 
pool. I brought him out and laid him on the ground and thought: “The 
poor guy. It hasn’t been that long, it’s only been about a minute or so, 
I wonder if I could give him CPR.”

CARYN: Rick had saved a tiny ground squirrel – now limp and unconscious. 
Draping him over a PVC pipe, Rick put his CPR and first aid training to 
use – and began capturing it on video.

RICK: I just started doing some compressions on the side of his ribs 
with my fingers and eventually after 30 or 40 seconds or so I saw a 
little bit of water come out of his mouth and he spit it up, almost 
hiccupped, and so I kept doing and I thought “wow it is actually working 
on him.”

CARYN: As the squirrel came to, Rick stayed by his side.

RICK: I tried to talk to him real nice and comfort him and keep him as 
calm as I could to show him I wasn’t a threat to him until he was fully 
recovered.

CARYN: An hour later, the squirrel had revived completely and scampered 
off. Once the video hit YouTube, this selfless act went viral, grabbing 
the attention of CNN, the Steve Harvey Show in Chicago and even a 
morning news show in Australia. This year, it landed Rick on TV’s “To 
Tell the Truth” on August 12. Meanwhile, Rick has been receiving 
hundreds and hundreds of emails thanking him for his life-saving kindness.
So what does this have to do with amateur radio? Well…..nothing, really 
– except that Rick has been a ham since 2001 and enjoys 2 meters, DMR, 
DXing and climbing the local mountaintops to call QRZ. Ah, and thanks to 
that little squirrel, he’s now got some company on those outdoor trips:

RICK: “One of the best things to come out of that squirrel video is 
that’s how I met my wife.”
CARYN: A woman in England, moved by the video, became his Facebook 
friend, then his real-life friend and eventually – his life partner. Her 
father, it turns out, had been a ham radio operator too.

The squirrel, however, did score an award for most QSLs, says Rick.

RICK: “I’ve made more QSOs from Facebook and from people messaging me 
from around the world on Facebook because of the squirrel video than any 
QSOs I’ve ever had on ham radio.”
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I’m Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT.

**

NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Alan Labs; Amateur News Weekly; the ARRL; 
CQ Magazine; Hap Holly and the Rain Report; the Herald Times; IARU 
Region 1; Irish Radio Transmitters Society; K2BSA; the Mad River Radio 
Club; Northern Illinois DX Association; Ohio-Penn DX Bulletin; QST 
Magazine; 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 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 Stephen Kinford N8WB in Wadsworth Ohio 
saying 73 and as always we thank you for listening.

Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2018. All rights reserved.



-- 



73
James-KB7TBT
www.arnewsline.org
www.ylsystem.org




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