Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2006, April 8, 2016

Amateur Radio Newsline report number 2006 with a release date of
Friday, April 8, 2016 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. Australia's giant electronics retailer gets a
reprieve. A Florida disaster drill is anything but disastrous. And
World Amateur Radio Day is coming. All this and more in Amateur Radio
Newsline Report 2006 coming your way right now.

(Billboard Cart Here and Intro)

**

ELECTRONICS RETAILER SAVED, GOES ONLINE

DON: This week's newscast opens with an update on the troubled
Australian mega-retailer, Dick Smith Electronics. Amateur radio
operators in Australia, New Zealand and, no doubt, elsewhere, will be
pleased to learn that reports of its death were premature. More from
Amateur Radio Newsline's Graham Kemp, VK4BB.

GRAHAM: An 11th-hour rescue has saved Australian mega-retailer, Dick
Smith Electronics, from the dusty pages of history. Sort of.

Entrepreneur Rusland Kogan has purchased the online portion of the
embattled retailer's business for an disclosed amount and, according to
press reports, will launch Internet-based sales starting the 1st of
June. No purchase price has been made public. The online-only sales
operation will be part of a dual brand strategy alongside kogan.com

Placement into receivership of the venerable Dick Smith Holdings, which
has more than 360 locations in New Zealand and Australia, cost
thousands of workers their jobs and, in the amateur radio community,
foretold the loss of an important resource of electronic components.
The online Kogan.com site, which is Australia's single largest
online-only seller, offers a variety of consumer goods, such as bed
linens, camping equipment and home electronics.

Dick Smith will be run separately from that site, and is considered an
off-platform venture by the 33-year-old self-made Kogan. A native of
Belarus, Kogan's founder is believed to have a personal net worth in
excess of $350 million.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Graham Kemp, VK4BB.

(WIA, BBC, NEWS.COM/AU)

**

EMERGENCY COORDINATION NO ACCIDENT IN FLORIDA

DON: In Florida, the scene spelled disaster - the crash of a bus and a
train. It was just a drill - but an important one. We hear details from
Amateur Radio Newsline's Paul Braun, WD9GCO.

PAUL: The devastating collision between a passenger train and a bus
near Morgan Park in Arcadia, Florida was just a test. And with the help
of area radio amateurs, everyone scored passing grades.

The April 1 mock disaster was organized to challenge area hospital
emergency departments as well as first responders. And with area hams
on the alert throughout, keeping their radios on 2-meter simplex,
planners said it proved a useful learning experience.

Hendry County's Emergency Management director Brian Newhouse, KJ4WIC,
led staff and reservists through the procedures, as 13 people, who were
made up with simulated injuries, awaited attention, triage and
transport. While rescue operations got under way, Hendry County CERT
Coordinator Margaret England KM4OVY, ARES Emergency Coordinator Frank
Harris WA4PAM, and Volunteer Coordinator Tony Fanska KC0SJU, helped
ensure safety on the roads in the Morgan Park area.

Brenda Barnes, Planning Consultant & Public Information Officer for the
Florida Department of Health in Hendry & Glades Counties proclaimed the
drill a successful training exercise and praised it for helping
strengthen the working relationships among the hams and the emergency
professionals.

It was also a great way to showcase the need for more active,
responsive, licensed hams. Hendry County Emergency Management plans to
host a free ham radio training session on Saturday, April 16, and will
also provide free CERT training in June. To register, call the
Emergency Operations Center at 863-674-5400. Because there are a lot
more tests awaiting everyone in the future.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Paul Braun, WD9GCO.


(ANDREW FRAME, WD4RCC; BIG LAKE AMATEUR RADIO CLUB)

----

THE EYES OF THE HURRICANE

DON: Spring brings the start of gardening season and yes, hurricane
season. The Hurricane Watch Net isn't just on the lookout for storms
-but for licensed hams too. Here's Amateur Radio Newsline's Stephen
Kinford, N8WB.

STEPHEN: May isn't that far away and neither are hurricanes in some
parts of the country. According to the Hurricane Watch Net, the eastern
Pacific storms' season begins May 15 and ends Nov. 30. Hurricanes also
become more of a likelihood in the Atlantic between June 1 and Nov. 30.
But sometimes hurricanes can - and do - occur out of season.

So the Hurricane Watch Net is hoping to get a jump on the season by
attracting additional Net Control Operators, and hopes that radio
amateurs will step forward to serve as Net Control Stations and provide
other support. According to Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, manager of the
Hurricane Watch Net, experienced operators are needed, especially those
who are bilingual in Spanish and English. Operators need to be prepared
for long hours under stressful conditions. Although net control
stations must become members of the Hurricane Watch Net, stations
servicng as reporting stations or as observers do not need membership.

To assist the Hurricane Watch Net, visit the membership information
page at www.hwn.org

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Stephen Kinford, N8WB, in
Wadsworth,Ohio.

(HWN.ORG)

**

SPEND YOUR SATURDAY, APRIL 16, AT A HAMFEST

The Splitrock Amateur Radio Association's annual Hamfest kicks off
early -- and we do mean early -- on Saturday April 16. People will be
arriving for setup starting at 6 a.m. at the Roxbury Senior Center at
Horseshoe Lake on Eyland (EEE-LAND) Avenue in Succasunna, New Jersey.
Buyers begin arriving at 8 a.m. Bring your QSL cards! The hamfest will
have DXCC card-checking available along with a VE Session if you're
looking to upgrade - or even get your ticket for the first time. VE
registration starts at 8:30 a.m. and the exams start a half-hour later,
promptly at 9. Yes, the hamfest will also be on the air. Talk-in on the
146.985 repeater, K2GG, and you can be there in spirit.

For more details, visit splitrockara.org -- and make your plans.

Meanwhile, details are also being finalized for the 11th annual North
Central Indiana Hamfest, being held Saturday, April 16 as well. The
half-day event is open from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Miami County 4-H
Fairgrounds north of Peru, Indiana. The hamfest will also include VE
testing from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. and as an extra incentive, anyone who
qualifies for a new license after the testing is admitted free.
Otherwise, admission is $5 at the door and free for anyone 17 years of
age or younger.

(ERIC BUDINGER, N2KOJ; RALPH MURRAY, KB9WSL)


**

TWO AT THE HALF-CENTURY MARK


DON: With age comes wisdom, right? Well, two ham radio clubs are both
hitting the 50-year mark this year - and they're not shy about sharing
their smarts. We hear more from Amateur Radio Newsline's Neil Rapp,
WB9VPG.

NEIL: Between them, they have 100 years on the air. On one side of the
Atlantic, the Mid-Ulster Amateur Radio Club in Northern Ireland is
marking its 50th year - and just across the Pond, so is the Montgomery
Amateur Radio Club in Maryland.

The club in the Washington, D.C., suburbs is doing its 50th birthday in
grand style, with a special event station, K5O (Kilo-Five-Oscar)
running through Sunday April 17 - in various modes and on a number of
the HF bands - and QSL card designed to mark the occasion. According to
its website, the club meets on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month
in Rockville, Maryland. For the club, which has the call sign KV3B,
it's been a great 50 years.

For the Mid-Ulster club, call sign MNOVFW, it's been a half-century of
growth - the modest-sized group now counts one member for each year
they've been a club. And they have a notable local track record,
getting involved in everything from local marathons to Scouting events
to QSOs with astronauts aboard the International Space Station. They've
even launched a program geared toward younger hams, called MUARC Youth
-- because one of the joys of being 50 is offering a helping hand to
those who still have a few decades to go to get there too.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, in Bloomington,
Indiana.

(THE LURGAN MAIL, JEFF DAHN, KB3ZUK)

**

BREAK HE

Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio
Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including
Wednesdays on the WD9HSY repeater operated by the Tri-Town Amateur
Radio Club in Hazel Crest, Illinois.


**

A FRIENDSHIP DAY FOR AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS

Hams around the world may not be close enough to extend their hands in
friendship, so they extend their antennas instead. That's the spirit
behind World Amateur Radio Day, a day of even more on-air fellowship
than usual. That would be April 18, which falls on a Monday this year.
The date marks the founding in 1925 of the International Amateur Radio
Union.

The IARU is encouraging groups to promote their activities on that day
via social media, using the hash tag #WARD2016, and to make use of a
poster and flyer, both downloadable from their website at iaru.org


(INTERNATIONAL AMATEUR RADIO UNION)


**
HAM RADIO BOOSTS VIRGINIA BIKE RACE

DON: One of the largest bicycle races in the Mid-Atlantic region had
some amateurs along for the ride. But they weren't exactly pedaling:
these hams were riding the bands instead. Here's Amateur Radio
Newsline's Jim Damron, N8TMW, with the details.

JIM: There's kilocycles, there's megacycles and then there's
two-wheeled, multi-geared racing cycles.

And when a full racing contingent of those kinds of cycles set out
recently in a road race in Virginia's Albemarle County, the only thing
that seemed to ensure that they'd keep moving forward safely were the
other types of cycles, the kinds that come with radios. That's what
brought the Albemarle Amateur Radio Club back to help out the Jefferson
Cup Road Race on Sunday, April 3, as it has for more than a
quarter-century. The goal was to see that participants along the
various routes, which top off at 80 miles in length, stay safe as they
follow their course.

The race is one of the biggest in the mid-Atlantic. But cell phones
don't work reliably in that part of the county, according to Mike
McPherson, KQ9P , the Amateur Radio Emergency Service emergency
coordinator for the county. And for the cyclists to stay safe, and to
keep motor vehicle traffic diverted from them, reliable communications
was a must.

It's not just a commitment the hams make to the race, it's a trial run
for the real thing. McPherson told the Daily Progress newspaper: QUOTE
"This is great practice. With any luck, there aren't very many real
emergencies, so we use these events to practice our procedures and make
sure our equipment works." ENDQUOTE

McPherson has other goals too, that include making cconnections with
the ham radio club at the University of Virginia, W4UVA, and helping
Elmer even younger people who want to get into the science and the
experience of radio.

That, after all, doesn't just move bicycles in a forward direction. It
also keeps the hobby safely on course.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Damron, N8TMW.

**

IN THE UK, A GARDEN OF QSOS

You can now add one more piece of equipment - or perhaps two - to the
array of rakes, hoes and shovels you might find in a British garden: a
transceiver. This new garden tool cultivates a bountiful crop of QSOs.
The Radio Society of Great Britain has launched a new activity known as
Sheds, Allotments and Greenhouses on the Air, or SAGHOTA, and the date
for radio operation already began on Friday, April 1 and continues,
informally thereafter, on the dates of the amateur's choosing.

In the same spirit as Summits on the Air and Islands on the Air,
SAGHOTA will encourage the cultivation of contacts anywhere, as long as
they are made on the same band, on the same day. Organizers are quick
to point out that the event also celebrates the great tradition of
British gardens, expressing the hope that QUOTE "tea-making apparatus,
biscuits (and waffles if possible). Beer and sandwiches are optional."
ENDQUOTE

(SAGHOTA GOOGLE WEBPAGE)


**

WORLD OF DX

Listen for Ben, DL1RNT, working as 8Q7NT from Embudu Island, South Male
Atoll through April 17. Ben is working holiday style on 40-10 meters
using mostly CW with some RTTY and PSK. Send QSLs via his home
callsign.

Mike, SQ3PMM, is active as 9X9MM throughout Rwanda, working 80 through
10 meters. He is using CW and SSB. Most of his operations have been on
20/15 meters SSB and some slow CW. See his QSL information on QRZ.com.

In Italy, it's a Special Event that's a wartime commemoration: Members
of the A.R.I. Fidenza Radio Club will be active on the HF bands as
IQ4FE from April 18 through April 28. The station marks a World War II
event known as "Fornovo's Sack Battle," near Parma, Italy, in April
1945. There are commemorative QSL cards available. Send yours via the
bureau to IQ4FE.


**

KICKER: QSL CARD THAT DELIVERED

DON: And finally, we celebrate the fact that sometimes it takes a
little longer for a QSL card to reach its destination. Sometimes years.
Sometimes decades. And in this case, three quarters of a century. But
oh, it was worth it. Here's Amateur Radio Newsline's Jeremy Boot,
G4NJH, with this story of a time-traveling QSL card.

JEREMY: A QSL card that ended up in the hands of Jane Walton in the UK
in late February had to cross not just one ocean but two generations
before reaching her. It belonged to a British radio amateur named
Clifton Trevor Malkin, call sign G5IV. Clifton had been Jane's
grandfather. And though Jane is not a ham and never had a QSO with her
grandpa, she always had fond memories of being in his shack with him
when she was a child in Yorkshire. She would hear him make contacts
around the world via radio from Barnsley and be charmed by its magic.

Two months ago, some magic happened again - but a different way.
Feeling nostalgic, Jane decided to type her grandfather's call sign
into the Google search engine and one of the responses that came up was
an eBay listing. It said: "QSL CARD, ham radio card" and the call sign
was G5IV. The card had been mailed to the U.S. long ago from Barnsley,
England, following a successful QSO in 1939. Now, the American seller
was asking $6.50 for G5IV's card.

Jane bid on the item and some 77 years later, the card is back home to
where it all began. The Barnsley Chronicle carried the story of Jane
Walton and the QSL card in its April 1 edition, creating the impression
that perhaps this was one of those April Fool's tales that makes its
way to the public this time of year. But indeed, the offering of the
card can still be found on eBay, in the inventory of eBay seller,
Anne's Books & Stuff. The seller, not surprisingly, has a number of
other vintage QSL cards from around the world.

But Jane Walton has the only one she wants. It's a piece of her
childhood, come back home.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jeremy Boot, G4NJH, in Nottingham, the
UK.


(FACEBOOK, EBAY, BARNSLEY CHRONICLE)

**


NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to ABC.NET Australia; Alan Labs; Andrew
Frame, WD4RCC; the ARRL; the Barnsley Chronicle; Big Lake Amateur Radio
Club; CQ Magazine; DX.NET; Eric Budinger, N2KOJ; eBay; Facebook; Hap
Holly and the Rain Report; International Amateur Radio Union; Irish
Radio Transmitter Society; the Ohio-Penn DX Bulletin; QSL.NET;
QRZ.COM., Ralph Murray, KB9WSL; Southgate Amateur Radio News; Sheds,
Allotments and Gardens on the Air; TWiT TV; Wireless Institute of
Australia; and you our listeners, that's all from the Amateur Radio
Newsline. Our email address is . More
information is available at Amateur Radio Newsline's only official
website located at www.arnewsline.org.

A reminder that the nominating period for the Bill Basternak Young Ham
Of The Year award is now open. Full details and the nominating form is
available right now on our website, www.arnewsline.org. Click the
YHOTY tab.

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 and as always we thank you for listening.

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