Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2261 for Friday February 26 2021
 

Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2261 for Friday February 26 2021

Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2261 with a release date of Friday
February 26 2021 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. Earthquake researchers partner with hams.
Australian hams weigh in on a proposed license change - and it's time
to think about nominating the Young Ham of the Year for 2021. All this
and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2261 comes your way
right now.

***

BILLBOARD CART

**
EARTHQUAKE STUDIES EMPLOY AMATEURS' WINLINK

DON/ANCHOR: In our top story for this week, a United States government
agency is relying increasingly on amateur radio operators to further
their understanding of devastating earthquakes. Ralph Squillace KK6ITB
gives us the details.

RALPH: Ham radio operators are partnering with the U.S. Geological
Survey in helping to report realtime details about seismic activity and
earthquake damage, especially when other means of communication have
gone offline: They're using the radio email platform Winlink to carry
data from the survey's questionnaire-based system known as DYFI, for
"Did You Feel It?" ARES members transmit the DYFI reports even if an
earthquake has knocked down the region's internet. Receiving stations
outside the earthquake region receive the data contained in the Winlink
transmission and forward it to the USGS via their own internet access.
The DYFI system gathers macroseismic intensity data, allowing
scientists to more accurately pinpoint where people felt the earthquake
and at what intensity. Researchers also rely on the reports' data to
further their general study of earthquakes.

According to an article on the website EOS, an estimated 90 percent of
DYFI reports are sent by observers within the first hour of an
earthquake. Hams can transmit the reports over VHF, HF and even local
high-speed mesh networks, many of which have the ability to interface
with satellite-connected cells-on-wheels. Cells-on-wheels have proven
useful in emergency response already during the California wildfires of
2017 and 2018. ARES is now promoting the DYFI protocol and training
hams in California, Washington, Arizona, Hawaii, and Mexico.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Ralph Squillace KK6ITB.

(EOS)

**
WIA POLLS AUSTRALIAN HAMS ABOUT ACMA'S LICENSE PROPOSAL

DON/ANCHOR: Hams throughout Australia are being asked to weigh in on a
fundamental license change being contemplated. John Williams VK4JJW
tells us what will happen next.

JOHN: As the Australian Communications and Media Authority seeks input
on whether to replace amateur radio operators' apparatus licence with a
class licence, the Wireless Institute of Australia has asked for
feedback from members and other interested amateurs. The WIA's formal
polling opens this week. The ACMA has stated that it would like to see
the Class Licence established. The licence would be available without a
fee and would not change any amateur privileges but it would no longer
ensure protection against interference.

WIA president Greg Kelly VK2GPK wrote members calling the proposal
[quote] "a non-trivial change" saying it had long-range impact on
amateur radio in Australia. In 2004, the ACMA's predecessor, the ACA,
did not implement a proposed move to such a licence.

The ACMA supports the change, however, saying it hopes to reduce its
regulatory burden and make costs more bearable for licensees.

The WIA poll is available to all radio amateurs in Australia. A link to
the online registration is available in the script of this newscast on
the AR Newsline website, arnewsline.org Hams who register will receive
their copy of the poll in their email.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm John Williams VK4JJW.

FOR PRINT, DO NOT READ: tinyurl.com/wiapoll

(ACMA, WIA)

**
MAJOR ELECTRONICS RETAILER SHUTTING IN U.S.

DON/ANCHOR: In the United States, another major retailer that was a
mainstay for amateur radio operators is shutting its doors. Fry's
Electronics, which did business online and at retail centers through
the western U.S., announced that online competition and the effects of
the pandemic were too much to overcome. The 36-year-old chain had 31
stores in nine states, with seven of them in California.

(KCAL LOS ANGELES)

**
COLORADO STUDENTS MAKE CONTACT WITH ISS

DON/ANCHOR: It was worth waiting for: A contact at last between the ISS
and students in Denver, Colorado. Amanda Alden K1DDN has those
details.

AMANDA: After dealing with strict COVID safety guidelines and numerous
schedule changes, STEM students from John F. Kennedy High School in
Denver, Colorado, finally got the green light for their QSO with
Commander Mike Hopkins KF5LJG aboard the International Space Station on
Wednesday, February 24th. The successful telebridge contact was
arranged using a relay station in Portland, Oregon with David Payne
NA7V as the controller. The last ARISS attempt with a school failed to
take place because of technical difficulties.

During the 11-minute pass, students were able to ask 20 questions,
ranging from the way COVID-19 has impacted space travel to whether any
data-collection done in space has helped in an emergency situation on
Earth. In late 2019 the JFK school partnered with members of Rocky
Mountain Ham Radio and the Cherry Creek Young Amateur Radio Club who
mentored the students on the use of amateur radio communications to
prepare them for their ARISS contact.

To hear the contact, visit YouTube at the link printed in this week's
newscast script at arnewsline.org

[FOR PRINT ONLY, DO NOT READ:Â
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RgszX0npbQ]


**

INDIA HOSTS NET IN THE LANGUAGE OF FRIENDSHIP

DON/ANCHOR: Friendship has many languages in amateur radio. Jim Meachen
ZL2BHF tells us about one recent net that celebrated all of them.

JIM: Amateur radio operators in India, Bangladesh, Indonesia and
elsewhere checked into a special 90-minute friendship net held on the
21st of February, marking the UN's declaration of International Mother
Language Day. The more than 100 check-ins came throughout Asia as well
as Mexico, Ukraine and the United States via EchoLink while those in
the Kolkata, India region connected through the local VHF repeater. The
net had been organised by the Amateur Radio Society of Bangladesh and
the West Bengal Radio Club as a celebration of cultural and linguistic
diversity. The United Nations created International Mother Language Day
in 2000 in the hopes of fostering multilingualism and a general
appreciation for other languages.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.

**
MULTI-LINGUAL HAM HANDBOOK GOES ONLINE

DON/ANCHOR: Speaking of languages, which one do YOU speak? An online
project by a YL in Russia has helped hams make their QSOs a little more
multi-lingual. Ed Durrant DD5LP tells us more.

ED: Radio communication needs language as much as it needs good
equipment in the shack and now many of the languages of amateur radio
are more accessible than ever. A guidebook written 40 years ago by two
brothers in Finland - Jukka (YOOKA) OH2BAD and Miika (MEEKA) OH2BR -has
been converted into an online interactive guidebook, with the brothers'
permission. Raisa R1BIG, a popular YL in Russia well-known for videos
of her amateur radio journey, told Newsline she and a friend who is an
IT specialist created the online guide over the course of the past few
weeks. She said she was inspired by the brothers' original handbook,
"The Radio Amateur's Conversation Guide," which Jukka (YOOKA) had
shared with her two years ago.

With one mouse-click you can now read and hear almost 200 ham radio
phrases. Eight languages are available on the site, and more are in the
works, including the next one - Polish, being recorded by Darek SP3TLJ.
Raisa herself recorded the Russian-language entries and Pete M0PSX is
working on a new version of the English language sound files.

Although English is still the predominant language heard on the bands,
imagine being able to call "CQ 20 metres" or ask "When did you first
get your licence?" in Japanese or German. A link to the online guide
can be seen in the printed version of this week's newscast script at
arnewsline.org

For Amateur Radio Newsline, this is Ed Durrant DD5LP (please repeat
this in German, Ed!)

[FOR PRINT, DO NOT READ:
https://raisa.blog/how-to/the-radio-...rsation-guide]

(RAISA, R1BIG)

**
TOWERING VICTORY FOR VERMONT AMATEUR

DON/ANCHOR: A New England ham's battle to put up radio towers is over
and at last, he can start construction. Kent Peterson KC0DGY tells us
what it took for him to win his case.

KENT: Zach Manganello K1ZK may well consider himself the recipient of a
towering victory in every sense of those words. The longtime amateur
spent the greater part of 2020 defending his proposal to install two
radio towers on his property the rural part of Vermont. Last summer,
neighbors objected to his original proposal for the 84-foot towers
saying they were too high and were damaging to their views. Zach
downsized his plans and tried again.

He even conducted visual impact tests floating a balloon to simulate
the height of the tower to ensure neighbors' views would remain
unaffected. This month, the Telecommunications Review Board of the Town
of Shelburne granted Zach the right to go ahead with two towers, one at
40 feet and the other 60 feet, both supported by guy wires.

According to a report in the Burlington Free Press, the local board
decided to give its support to Zach's tower project after being
convinced that having backup emergency communications in the
neighborhood was a local asset. The report said the panel was impressed
as well by Zach's willingness to share the educational aspects of
amateur radio with the greater community.

All of this came as the hoped-for good news for Zach, a lifelong radio
enthusiast since his childhood in Maine and a ham since the age of 14.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Kent Peterson KC0DGY.

(BURLINGTON FREE PRESS)

**

BREAK HE Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur
Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including
the WD8IIJ repeater of the Steubenville-Weirton Amateur Radio Club on
Fridays at 8 p.m. local time in the hometown of the late great Dean
Martin, Stuebenville, Ohio.

**
PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION FOR HAMSCI SPACE WEATHER PROJECT

DON/ANCHOR: The space weather project launched by the HamSCI collective
has been getting some pretty prominent notice. Andy Morrison K9AWM is
here with the details.

ANDY: Amateur radio's volunteer space weather watchers have been
getting some recognition from the pros lately. A February 9th article
in "Eos: Earth & Space Science News" gives a respectful nod to the
space weather sensor network created worldwide by Ham Radio Science
Citizen Investigation, or HamSCI, a collective created by Nathaniel
Frissell W2NAF.

The article praises the crowdsourced data hams are able to collect from
radio signals as those signals are influenced by changes in ionospheric
propagation. It was co-written by Nathaniel along with David Kazdan,
AD8Y, and Kristina Collins, both of Case Western Reserve University,
W8EDU. Eos is a publication of the American Geophysical Union.

The authors discuss how hams monitor what responses the Earth's
atmosphere has to different solar activity and the activity's impact on
telecommunications and electrical utilities, among other things. The
article advocates increased reliance on what hams and their amateur
stations can offer. [quote] They write: "With open-source
instrumentation cheaper and more plentiful than ever before, the time
is ripe for amateur scientists to take distributed measurements of the
ionosphere â-" and the amateur radio community is up for the
challenge." [end quote]

With support from the National Science Foundation, HamSCI has launched
a Personal Space Weather Station project to support hams who wish to
collect such data to be used in space science research. Publication of
the article comes just weeks before HamSCI's virtual workshop which is
being held on March 19th and 20th.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Andy Morrison K9AWM.

(EOS: EARTH & SPACE SCIENCE NEWS)

**
YOUTH ON THE AIR CAMP BEGINS PRIORITY REGISTRATION

DON/ANCHOR: If you know a young radio amateur who can't wait for camp
season, Jack Parker W8ISH has some good news for you.

JACK: Organizers have reaffirmed their commitment to hosting this
year's Youth on the Air camp, even as campers from across the Americas
who were accepted into last year's cancelled camp are completing
priority registration now. The camp is scheduled to be open in Ohio
from July 11th to the 16th with COVID-19 safety restrictions in place.

Camp director Neil Rapp WB9VPG said in an announcement that a decision
will be made in April about whether the camp must be postponed for
another year. In the meantime, applications will be accepted in March
for any prospective campers who were not a part of last year's group.
The camp will host a maximum of 30 youngsters.

Neil wrote: [quote] "We are truly hopeful that we can proceed with the
camp this summer. We have some exciting plans! We are also looking at
an operating event in the summer. Stay tuned." [endquote]

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jack Parker W8ISH.

(YOTA AMERICAS CAMP)

**
NOMINATIONS OPENING FOR NEWSLINE'S YOUNG HAM OF THE YEAR

DON/ANCHOR: Do these names mean anything to you? Chris Brault, KD8YVJ;
Bryant Rascoll, KG5HVO; Emily Stewart, KC0PTL; Kaitlyn Cole, KS3P. They
are all past winners of Amateur Radio Newsline's Young Ham of the Year
Award which since 2015 has carried another name - that of Newsline's
late cofounder Bill Pasternak WA6ITF. These award-winners mean a lot to
us here at Newsline because they make us proud of the generation we are
watching grow and flourish. On Monday, March 1st downloadable
nomination forms for this year's candidates will become available on
our website arnewsline.org

If you know a young amateur 18 or younger living in the United States,
its possessions or any Canadian province and they are devoted to radio
and community service, visit arnewsline.org and consider making them
your nominee. The award will be presented at the Huntsville Hamfest in
Huntsville Alabama this August.

**
HAMS PREP FOR DXPEDITION TO WILLIS ISLAND

DON/ANCHOR: An adventurous group of radio amateurs has some big p lans
for a very small island just off the Australian coast. Can you say
"DXpedition?" That's just what Graham Kemp VK4BB describes for us here.

GRAHAM: What does a group of Aussie hams do when they see the 100th
anniversary of one of the last remaining manned weather stations
comingup?

Well as the station is difficult to get to, located as it is on a very
small, 19 acre, island 450 kilometres off Cairns in Queensland, it
wouldn't be a simple special event station set-up. No, this has to be a
proper DX-Pedition. The group is the Hellenic Amateur Radio Association
of Australia who have a long record of running DX-Peditions.

The location is Willis Island which at number 38 is one of the more
wanted locations for DXCC. The hams are hoping to use the call sign
VK9W, but if not allocated will use VK9HR (the clubs own call sign)
from this rare IOTA Island - OC-007.

If you are looking to add this entity to your collection, get ready for
this Aussie team who will be joined by some international friends
heading out to the Coral Sea to get on the air on 160 through 10 metres
between November the 3rd and the 13th 2021.

For more information check the URL given in the text version on the AR
Newsline dot ORG website.

(FOR PRINT, DO NOT READ: https://dxnews.com/vk9hr/).

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Graham Kemp VK4BB.

**
WORLD OF DX

In the World of DX, Gareth, M0MOL, is on the air as MM0MOL/P from the
main Island of Shetland for the remainder of February and into March.
He will be operating QRP with a portable setup. Listen for him mainly
in the evenings local time after work. Send QSLs to his home callsign.

The Pride Radio Group is using the special event callsign VI2021PRIDE
throughout the Sydney Mardi Gras until March 7th. Be listening for
operations on SSB and FT8. QSL directly to Michaela Wheeler VK3FUR or
via the ClubLog OQRS system.

The Welland Valley Amateur Radio Society will be putting several
special event stations on the air in the months ahead to celebrate the
patron saints of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The first event
will be for the feast of Saint David, patron saint of Wales. Be
listening for GB0SD between February 28th and March 2nd. The actual
feast day is on March 1st. QSL by eQSL, LoTW and by the Bureau via
manager G4XEX.

(OHIO PENN DX, SOUTHGATE)

**
KICKER: ON MARS, ALL IT TAKES IS A LITTLE INGENUITY

DON/ANCHOR: Finally: Have you ever dreamed of having the frequency all
to yourself to make that one perfect, historic QSO? Well it can happen:
On Mars. Newsline's space cadet Paul Braun WD9GCO takes us there.

PAUL: Talk about operating mobile! NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter,
prepped to accomplish the first powered flight on that planet, has
already achieved its first QSO. According to reports from NASA, the
4-pound helicopter, which is actually a drone, is resting comfortably
in the underbelly of NASA's Perseverance rover which landed on the red
planet on February 18th. Its mission is to conduct a test of the first
powered flight in the thin atmosphere there, where it is capable of
achieving an altitude of no more than 15 feet, or 5 metres.

The tiny helicopter employs point-to-point wireless communication with
the rover. A day after the landing, the helicopter sent its first
message back to Earth via the rover by making use of NASA's Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter, saying all systems, including its power supply
of six lithium-ion batteries, were working as expected. NASA's Jet
Propulsion Laboratory reported that a downlink from the orbiter
confirmed that all was well. According to NASA, it will be at least a
month before Ingenuity makes its maiden flight.

One has to wonder, though â-" is Ingenuity going to apply for a QSL
card? And if so, does that go direct or through a bureau? I've got to
imagine it's going to need one for that "Worked All Planets" award.
That's a lot of postage.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Paul Braun WD9GCO.

(NASA, CNN, MSN.COM)

**
NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to the ACMA; Amateur News Weekly; the ARRL;
Burlington Free Press; CQ Magazine; CNN; David Behar; EOS; KCAL Los
Angeles; MSN.COM; NASA; Ohio Penn DX newsletter; QRZ.com; Raisa R1BIG;
Southgate Amateur Radio News; shortwaveradio.de; Space.com; Ted
Randall's QSO Radio Show; the Wireless Institute of Australia; WTWW
Shortwave; YouTube; YOTA Americas Camp; and you our listeners, that's
all from the Amateur Radio Newsline. Please send emails to our address
at . 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 Don Wilbanks AE5DW in Picayune Mississippi
saying 73. As always we thank you for listening.

Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2021. All rights reserved.