Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2015, June 10, 2016

*** CLOSED CIRCUIT ADVISORY ****

The following is a closed circuit advisory and not necessarily for
broadcast.

Just a brief reminder that time is running out for you or your club to
nominate a deserving young radio amateur for our Bill Pasternak
Newsline Young Ham Of The Year award. Nominations must arrive by
midnight local time on June 30th of this year. That's just a couple of
weeks away. Full information and the nominating form can be found on
our website, arnewsline.org, under the YHOTY tab. And please note, the
California mailing address is no longer valid. The new address is in
New York and is listed on the nominating form. If you'?ve sent your
nominating package to California, please resubmit it to the New York
address. We hope to honor your amazing young radio amateur this August
as we award the 30th anniversary edition of the Young Ham Of The
Yearaward.

Also, this is a special, extended newscast and will contain 3 segments
and 2 ID breaks.

Thank you. Now here's Paul Braun, WD9GCO with Newsline# 2015. Paul?


Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2015 with a release date of
Friday, June 10, 2016 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. ARES volunteers are activated in Texas and
Kentucky. A special lighthouse takes on a special mission. A
Massachusetts ham club faces the loss of its home. And on the first
anniversary of the passing of Newsline creator/producer Bill Pasternak,
WA6ITF, we offer a tribute from friends in this expanded edition of
Amateur Radio Newsline coming your way right now.

****

BILLBOARD CART HERE

****

ARES ACTIVATIONS NEEDED IN TEXAS, KENTUCKY

PAUL: We begin this week's newscast with a somber reminder that one
very vital aspect of amateur radio - the Amateur Radio Emergency
Service, or ARES - springs into action most effectively in the
aftermath of a tragedy or during a crisis. That was the case in
Houston, Texas, last week, as the region was besieged by deadly
flooding. We hear more from Mike Askins, KE5CXP.

MIKE'S REPORT: Unrelenting floods in Harris County, Texas, and much of
the southeastern region of the state spurred the county's Office of
Homeland Security & Emergency Management to move to a level of
Increased Readiness - Level 3 - activating the Amateur Radio Emergency
Service in South Texas District 14 for a short while on June 2.

The section's Emergency Coordinator, Frank Aguilar, N5SSH, said that in
spite of the fact that communications were not disrupted, ARES efforts
were nonetheless needed to deal with what he called "situational
awareness issues" in the weather-drenched region. Flooded streets posed
a particular problem as the dangerous weather failed to let up.
District 14 Emergency Coordinator Jeff Walter, KE5FGA, requested South
Texas District 14 ARES volunteers to report through WebEOC or, lacking
access, to use repeaters.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mike Askins, KE5CXP.

PAUL/ANCHOR: There was also a tragedy in Kentucky's Hardin County where
ARES volunteers were activated on June 1 to assist in a different
crisis - one involving a missing aircraft. Two days after the
single-engine plane was reported missing on May 30, the hams joined
emergency responders, law enforcement, the Red Cross and the Civil Air
Patrol in their search. The aircraft was bound for home at Owensboro
Airport in Kentucky at the time it went missing.

On June 1, the wreckage of the plane was spotted from a helicopter in a
remote wooded area. The search team later recovered the body of the
pilot, identified as retired physician Robert C. Dalzell of Owensboro.
He was 70 years old.

(WBKO-TV, ARRL)


**

TRANSMITTING AT THE SPEED OF LIGHTHOUSE


PAUL/ANCHOR: A recent activation of a small lighthouse on Canada's
Prince Edward Island has become a shining example of how to promote
good will and tourism - and even ham radio! We hear more from Amateur
Radio Newsline's Neil Rapp, WB9VPG.

NEIL'S REPORT: Because lighthouses serve as navigational aids for
travelers who often cross great distances, the Souris Lighthouse was a
natural choice for Bernie Cormier VE9BGC and his friend George Dewar
VY2GF, who activated the Prince Edward Island lighthouse for three
days, during the first weekend in June. Thus the small team of amateurs
on Prince Edward Island became a true beacon themselves - using 15, 20
and 40 meters to draw attention to this small province in Atlantic
Canada.

Speaking recently with Amateur Radio Newsline, George said that despite
challenging band conditions, the hams logged more than 100 contacts.
Most were in the U.S., although signals from Croatia, France and
Germany found their way to the lighthouse. There was even one ham from
Melbourne, Australia who they worked with their 100 watts and Bernie's
vertical on 20 meters. The hams also attracted attention off the air,
from foreign tourists visiting the lighthouse who got to see some radio
magic happen.

But operating as VY2PLH was more than just a means of identification,
George said: It was the very conversation-starter they hoped for, as
one station or another would ask "VY2 - where is THAT?"

Being able to call attention to Prince Edward Island, an agricultural
region known more for its potatoes and its mussels, was a good thing,
he said. Connected to the rest of Canada by ferries and a single
bridge, PEI just gained another navigational route via the ionosphere.
Or, as George says, QUOTE "We are getting the place a little better
known around the world. Hey you never can tell."

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

***

NOT JUST ALONG FOR THE RIDE


PAUL/ANCHOR: Although members of the Queen Anne's Amateur Radio Club,
K3QAC, on Maryland's Eastern Shore, will also be participating in Field
Day on Saturday, June 25, some hams are doing double duty by starting
early in the morning to ensure the safety of as many as 400 bicyclists
in the Two Rivers Bike Ride. The fifth annual ride is a benefit for the
Wye River Upper School, which serves students with learning
disabilities, and the Corsica River Conservancy, a nature preservation
group. The scenic ride begins in Centreville, Maryland, with courses
ranging from 15 to 100 miles.

The hams will be working net control, keeping in contact with radio
operators at seven rest stops. There will also be hams on roving
vehicles that provide aid to cyclists in need. For more information
about the benefit bike ride, visit wyeriverupperschool.org

(MYEASTERNSHORE, MARYLAND)

**

SCOUTS KEEP K2BSA ACTIVE

PAUL/ANCHOR: K2BSA is on the air again. Working three portable stations
- in three different states - Boy Scouts continue to call CQ in the
name of scouting. Here's Amateur Radio Newsline's Bill Stearns, NE4RD,
with this week's report.

BILL STEARNS REPORT:

This week in Radio Scouting we have 3 scout camps on the air in MO, OH,
and NM.

William Coverdell, WD0BC, will be the control operator for the portable
0 station at Camp Geiger in St Joseph, MO. William will have the camp
on the air on HF Voice Wednesdays through Fridays from 1500 to 1700
Zulu time, beginning June 15th and continuing through the summer until
July 23rd.

John Baddour, KC8KI, will be the control operator for the portable 8
station at Camp Wyandot at Firelands Reservation in Wakeman, OH. John
will have his Radio Merit Badge participants on the air on Wednesdays
beginning June 15th and running through July 21st.

We continue to have Dale Finley, KB5NFT, the control operator for the
portable 5 station at the Philmont Scout Camp in Cimarron, NM, running
throughout the summer.

Please help support this activity, and others involving youth in
amateur radio, by working and spotting them on the air and online. For
more information on K2BSA and radio scouting, please visit
http://www.k2bsa.net/.

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

**

IN THE RUNNING TO VOLUNTEER

PAUL/ANCHOR: The Boston Amateur Radio Club is looking for volunteer
radio operators to help at the Boston Athletic Association's 10K on
Sunday, June 26. Hams who want to provide support for the event should
plan to be available on that day from 6 a.m. to noon, and will need to
bring a handheld dual band radio -- one with a gain antenna would be
helpful.

Returning volunteers and newcomers can both sign up now, and should
visit the 10K site at baa.org, navigate to the volunteer page and
select the button reading "volunteer now." Then just follow the
instructions and complete the application. If you have questions about
the process, contact Brett Smith, AB1RL, the ham club's public service
coordinator, at

(BOSTON AMATEUR RADIO CLUB)

**

BREAK HE

Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio
Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including the
W0CRA repeater system in Denver, Boulder and Colorado Springs on
Sundays at 9 a.m. local time.

***

ONE HAM CLUB'S MOVING EXPERIENCE

PAUL/ANCHOR: Every ham knows that finding a new radio-friendly house
and moving is no fun. But it's even less fun when you're an 83-year-old
club with a full station, antennas and other gear and you only have a
few months to do so. The Framingham, Massachusetts Amateur Radio
Association is facing just that right now. I spoke with club director
Sumner, W1VIV, about their situation and what they're looking for:

SUMNER WEISMAN: We are a very old club. We have been here in
Framingham, Massachusetts since 1933. We have an actual video of a 1933
club meeting where they're all wearing suits and ties and things like
that. We have been in this facility for about 38 years and we want to
remain a club in Framingham, Massachusetts. We have always been in this
town and we need to find a new facility -- hopefully something
cost-free as we have now with this government facility. We need to find
something before we're forced to move out of our present facility,
which is the basement of a town-owned museum. We have to move out in
early September. We're looking for a place with an operating station
where we can put up an antenna and we can have some radios and things
like that, where people can come in every week and operate. It should
have some kind of a classroom. We give VE tests so we need some sort of
a classroom and meeting space for board meetings and VE tests.

PAUL: The problem they're facing is that the old civic building that
they're in needs costly heating system repairs to the tune of
$1-million and the town is not willing to spend the money. So the club
and the other tenants of the building all have to find a new home. If
you'd like more information or would like to help them find a suitable
new home, please visit their website at www.w1fy.org

We here at Amateur Radio Newsline wish them luck in their search. For
Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Paul Braun, WD9GCO.


**
IRISH AMATEURS TAKE ON THE WORLD

PAUL/ANCHOR: Just months after their first organizational meeting in
January, a group of ambitious DXers in Ireland is already preparing to
jump into an international championship in radiosport. Here's more from
Amateur Radio Newsline's Jeremy Boot, G4NJH.


JEREMY'S REPORT: It didn't take long for a very new group of DXers in
Ireland to decide they could take on the world. Just this past January,
the amateurs held an organizing meeting in the Maldron Hotel in
Portlaoise and that was the genesis of new EI DX group. Now the newly
minted collective of contesters is preparing to work as many
International Amateur Radio Union stations as they can during the IARU
HF World Championship on 9 July and 10 July.

The amateurs will use the call sign EI0HQ, which is held by the Irish
Radio Transmitters Society.

Their plans, according to the IRTS website, includes creation of a
comprehensive multi-multi station at Garbally College in Ballinasloe.
The global contest will take place on six bands between 160 and 10
meters, in both SSB and CW.

When the DXing group first assembled and organized, its stated
objectives were to be a part of all DX activities possible, from
chasing DXCC to DXpeditioning. At the time, there was no mention of
world domination. Of course, winning a contest is all in good sport,
and the group does hope for a respectable showing next month.

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

(IRISH RADIO TRANSMITTERS SOCIETY)


**

THE WORLD OF DX

Dave, GM0LVI, is working between June 17th and July 6th as SV8/GM0LVI/P
from Zakynthos Island. He will operate holiday style using 10 watts.
QSL via GM0LVI, direct or by the Bureau. He is not accepting LoTW.

Hans, DK3PZ, will be on the air from June 11th to June 18th as LA/DK3PZ
from Rennesoy Island. He will be working the bands holiday style. Send
QSLs via his home callsign, direct or by the Bureau.

Mike, DG5LAC, is active on SSB through June 18 as EA8/DG5LAC from
Fuerteventura Island. Find him on 40 through 10 meters. Send QSLs via
his home callsign, direct, by the Bureau, LoTW or eQSL.

Members of a South Korean Amateur Radio Club will use the call sign
6M6M from Jeju Island between June 23rd and June 26th. Find the club on
6 meters only using CW, SSB, FM and the Digital modes. QSL via HL2UVH.


(OHIO PENN DX BULLETIN)

**

KICKER: THEY BELIEVE IN BELIZE

PAUL: Are they alive or have they disbanded? Amateur Radio Newsline's
Graham Kemp, VK4BB, has this report on the mystery behind the
disappearance - and the reappearance - of the Belize Amateur RadioClub.

GRAHAM: Where on earth is the Belize Amateur Radio Club? Well, if you
know your geography, you might answer "Central America." Or if an
oldtimer, British Honduras. But if you ask the International Amateur
Radio Union, you'd be told it is nowhere -- it has gone missing for the
last 23 years. In fact, that's what the IARU formally stated in a late
May news release, reporting that a longtime lack of IARU activity from
the club could only be interpreted as its death knell.

But visit the website at barc.bz, and you'll find a different story. A
statement there - along with a link to the club's Facebook page -states
that the Belize group is far from dead. In fact, a news item posted on
the site on May 21 reports that the club was recently certified as an
NGO, a non-governmental organization.

So what's happening? By all reports, it seems the club has been
resurrected. A June 2 posting on its Facebook page declares QUOTE "We
are the new BARC.. there was an old BARC that ceased to exist some time
ago." The statement goes on to say that the new club has actually
submitted a formal application to represent Belize with the IARU in
Region 2.

That, it turns out, is just what the IARU is looking for.

Meanwhile, the club seems very full of activity and life. A May 29
posting on its Facebook page even shares an announcement of a meeting
members held in April - and photos of the group's field trips in May,
including one to the village of Blackman Eddy. It seems that in Belize,
where there's life, there's hope. And ham radio. Belize me!

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

(FACEBOOK, IARU)

**

BREAK HE

Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio
Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including the
w9EAR repeater in Vincennes, Indiana on Monday nights.

**

REMEMBRANCES OF BILL PASTERNAK, SK, June 11, 2015

PAUL/ANCHOR: In the final segment of this expanded news report, we take
time to remember Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF. To many, he was a friend, a
mentor, a fellow ham, a brother, and a founding father of Amateur Radio
Newsline and its Young Ham of the Year Award. He is a Silent Key whose
influence on the amateur world will never be silenced. We hear from
Amateur Radio Newsline's Don Wilbanks, AE5DW, and others who were lucky
enough to share his world - as we mark one year since his passing.

Here's Don:

DON: Milestone. A noun. A stone functioning as a milepost. A
significant event or stage in the life, progress, development, or the
like of a person, nation, etc.

We're marking a milestone.

On Saturday, June 11 2016 we mark the first anniversary of the passing
of Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF. This is significant because it was Bill who
brought us all together. Nearly 40 years ago he was one of the
creators of the Westlink Report. That morphed into Amateur Radio
Newsline. Amateur Radio Newsline created the Young Ham Of The Year
award. But Bill was so much more than Westlink, Newsline and the
YHOTY.

I could go on and on about Bill and the impact he had on my life, but I
only knew him for a couple of decades. Let's go farther back and hear
from some folks who knew him way before then.

In 1986, Bill had the idea to honor young radio amateurs, the Young Ham
Of The Year award, now named after Bill. He got on the phone and
called up a few people to see if they were interested in helping
sponsor the award. One of these was CQ Publications. Rich Moseson,
W2VU, is the editor of CQ Magazine:

"I can't remember a single specific highlight of my relationship with
Bill, which went on over 30 years.

What stands out to me the most are 2 things. One is how he's a
perfect example of how ham radio can enable you to shine in ways that
other parts of your life may not. Professionally, yes he worked in
television in Hollywood but he was a videotape editor and maintenance
person. He kept their equipment running. It's not a high profile
position. But ham radio allowed him to shine as the producer of
Newsline, as producer of videos and as the founder of the Young Ham Of
The Year award. He passed that along to other people as well. He
gave me my first opportunity to do television field producing, to Meet
Senator John Glenn and I don't remember what else.

The other thing that stands out in my mind is with the Young Ham Of The
Year award how his total devotion was to the kids. Every year he would
sponsor the dinner and he would give the kid the who won the award the
option of where to go. I suppose we could have gone to some fancy
restaurant someplace, but we usually ended up at either a bar b q place
or, I remember one year we all went to 5 Guys and got hamburgers and
fries, because that's what the kid wanted. That said so much to me
about Bill and his dedication to promoting youth in ham radio, and
just his whole way of life and of being.

Those are things that I'll always remember about him."

Thanks Rich. Rich shared the stage with Bill and the young ham award
winner for many years. Another sponsor from day one is Yaesu. Now
with Ham Radio Outlet, Chip Margelli, K7JA, then with Yaesu, also
shared that stage for decades:

"This is Chip Margelli, K7JA and my remembrences of Bill Pasternak are
that he was every day, every minute of every day, trying to promote
amateur radio.

Trying to bring amateur radio to young people, trying to bring amateur
radio to people who didn't know the difference between a megacycle and
a motorcycle, and he was tireless in his efforts.

He also was tireless in his efforts to improve the knowledge base. All
these videos that Bill and Dave Bell and others were so deeply involved
in weren't just to try to recruit new hams. They were trying to
improve the knowledge base amond existing hams, and that's the thing I
remember the most about Bill.

He was always trying to make new hams out of no hams and to make better
hams out of current hams and to his last day he was going after that
goal of bringing more people the joy of amateur radio."

Thanks Chip. Have you noticed a trend here? Education. Youth. That's
not by accident. A more recent addition to the Newsline fold is Mark
Abramowicz, NT3V:

"How does one reflect on the loss of a good friend and fellow ham ? a
man whose life was devoted to family and Amateur Radio. That?s right,
family was always first for Bill Pasternak. And, I guess I became part
of that extended family after my son, Josh, then KB3GWY, was selected
to become the Young Ham of the Year by Amateur Radio Newsline. I
listened to Newsline and it?s predecessor, the Westlink Report carried
on a local repeater for years here in my area of eastern Pennsylvania.
Little did I realize I would one day become a contributor. But it went
beyond that as Bill asked me to shepherd the Young Ham of the Year
Award after its long-time leader bowed out. As I said, ham radio aside,
Bill Pasternak was always the guy who put family first ? his family and
my family. His emails and phone calls at all hours of the day and night
? weekends, too, were always welcome. And, they always began with ?
How?s the family? Yes, there was business to transact but it was
genuine concern for family that was first. To tell the truth, I have
missed those calls. And, I?ve come to miss a man who was like a second
father, an uncle, and a very, very dear friend. He may be gone, but his
legacy will live on not just in Newsline and it?s work serving the
amateur community ? but in my heart and the hearts of many he touched
with his genuine love of his family ? all of us."

Thanks Mark.

This just scratches the surface of the kind of man, the kind of ham,
that was Bill Pasternak. He was the kind of guy that you didn't have
the heart to say no to. That's how he brought in the dozens of
broadcast professionals into the all-volunteer team that made up, and
continues to make up Amateur Radio Newsline and the Young Ham Of The
Year award.

So as we mark this milestone on the path of life we pause to reflect,
remember and honor the man who brought us all together. The Newsline
staff, those in the Young Ham Of The Year committee. The 30 years of
young hams who have been honored, their families and you, the listeners
and supporters of Amateur Radio Newsline. Without Bill, and without
you and all the others over the nearly 4 decades, none of this would
matter.

So thank you Bill. Thank you for everything. We are all better people
just for knowing you.

I'm Don Wilbanks, AE5DW.

**

NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Alan Labs; the ARRL; Boston Amateur
Radio Club; the CBC; CQ Magazine; Facebook; Hap Holly and the Rain
Report; the IARU; Irish Radio Transmitter Society; K2BSA Amateur Radio
Association; MyEasternShoreMaryland; Southgate Amateur Radio News; Ted
Randall's QSO Radio Show; WANE-TV; WBKO-TV; 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
. More information is available at Amateur Radio
Newsline's only official website located at www.arnewsline.org.

And we remind you once again of the June 30 deadline to nominate
candidates for the Bill Pasternak Young Ham of the Year Award. Please
visit our website at arnewsline.org and click on the tab that says
"Y-H-O-T-Y" for information and an application. Remember to mail your
applications to the New York address printed on the application.

For now, with Caryn Eve Murray, KD2GUT, at the news desk in New York,
and our news team worldwide, I'm Paul Braun, WD9GCO, in Valparaiso,
Indiana saying 73 and as always we thank you for listening.

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