Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2365 for Friday February 24th, 2023

[Amateur Radio Newsline]

Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2365 for Friday February 24th, 2023

Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2365 with a release date of Friday
February 24th, 2023 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. A national emergency brings hams to the scene
in New Zealand. Amateur radio puts the spotlight on autism awareness
--and a repeater system gets an upgrade in Southern Maryland. All this
and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2365 comes your way
right now.

**
BILLBOARD CART

**
NEW ZEALAND HAMS FACE CYCLONE CHALLENGE

JIM/ANCHOR: Our top story takes us to New Zealand, which is trying to
recover after Cyclone Gabrielle touched off a national state of
emergency. On the North Island at least 11 people were killed and
thousands were reported missing. Jim Meachen ZL2BHF brings us up
todate.

JIM: Radio operators with Amateur Radio Emergency Communications, or
AREC, were put to the test after Cyclone Gabrielle swept through the
North Island, bringing floods and damage to infrastructure. AREC
volunteer members and other licensed hams had braced themselves in
advance of the storm's landfall on Sunday the 12th of February. Don
Robertson, ZL2TYR/ZK6EX, the CEO of AREC, told Newsline that in
Auckland, AREC began providing radio support across the region for
field teams and maintained VHF contact with the region's 14 civil
defence centres plus local community response groups. Volunteers logged
contacts, handled logistics, phone calls, communications and used their
PC skills as needed until AREC was stood down at midday on Thursday the
16th of February. Meanwhile in hard-hit Hawkes Bay, amid rising rivers
and power outages, only three AREC members were able to respond, each
working 12-hour shifts.

Don told Newsline: [quote] "There are many more stories of the heroic
efforts by AREC members and licensed amateur radio operators and the
details will come out in due course." [endquote] He said that many
recovery efforts have got underway and are expected to continue for
years. As Newsline went to production search and rescue workers were
also arriving from Australia.

This is Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.

(DON ROBERTSON, ZL2TYR/ZK6EX, REUTERS, CNN)

**
BBC FOCUSES ON HAMS' ROLES IN TURKEY/SYRIAN EARTHQUAKE

JIM/ANCHOR: Hours after a 6.4 magnitude earthquake rocked the
already-stricken region of Turkey and Syria on Monday, February 20th,
mainstream media turned its attention to the critical role that amateur
radio is playing there. Jeremy Boot G4NJH picks up the story from here.

JEREMY: With communications taken down in much of the region of Turkey
and northern Syria, amateur radio repeaters on VHF and UHF frequencies
kept communications open for rescue work and other aid. That dramatic
story was told on the BBC programme, "Digital Planet," on Tuesday,
February 21st, by Aziz Şasa, TA1E, president of the Turkish Amateur
Radio Association. The retired engineer was interviewed by show host,
Gareth Mitchell, an amateur radio operator himself, with the call
signM7GJM.

Aziz said that following the disaster, VHF and UHF repeaters throughout
the region were the only means of communication for seven days, as
rescuers and agencies shared frequencies and information. He said that
the longer-distance capabilities of HF were not as essential because
most of the issues being handled were local and could be handled via
shorter-range frequencies.

Asked what the greatest contribution of the hams has been so far, Aziz
said simply: [quote] "We helped in saving lives. I believe that's quite
a nice thing for us." [endquote] This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(BBC, GREG MOSSOP, G0DUB)

**
OPERATORS NEEDED GLOBALLY FOR AUTISM AWARENESS EVENT

JIM/ANCHOR: A call has gone out worldwide for hams to get on the air to
bring greater attention to the needs of individuals who have autism. We
have more details from Paul Braun WD9GCO.

PAUL: Amateurs throughout the world whose lives have been touched by
autism are going to be getting on the air to help raise awareness of
autism spectrum disorder during World Autism Awareness Week. Between
March 25th and April 2nd, operators will be looking to log stations
using any mode of their choice with the goal of directing successful
contacts to the event's page on QRZ.com. This is all about education.

Amateurs in the United States will be using the call W2A. Hams in other
countries may want to secure local special event calls but they will be
able to use their home call instead if a special call is not available.
All participating hams will be calling "CQ Special Event, Autism
Awareness Week."

The organizer James, KB2FMH, will also be setting up a Discord chat
group channel to help operators coordinate their bands and modes to
make the most of propagation and traffic. Operators outside the United
States should also let James know what callsign they will be using.

Hams have already expressed interest from around the world but more
operators are still needed.

This is Paul Braun WD9GO.

**
OPERATORS NEEDED GLOBALLY FOR AUTISM AWARENESS EVENT

JIM/ANCHOR: Organizers of the 18th annual Salmoncon in Washington state
have changes in their plans this year and they're shouting those
changes from the summits - for good reason - as we hear from Ralph
Squillace KK6ITB.

RALPH: The Salmoncon gathering in Washington state is sharing its
celebration of QRP operators this year with SOTA operators by adding
some Pacific Northwest summits to their annual campout.

Hams will start to gather on Friday, July 7th and activation of the
peaks will begin early on Saturday, July 8th. Through Sunday, low-power
operators in the Pacific Northwest will enjoy the fellowship of QRP and
activities such as transmitter hunts. They will also activate the
Salmoncon special event callsign K7S. This year, organizers are hoping
to get as many activations as possible on Saturday at noon local time
from peaks with the SOTA designation W7W. Salmoncom is promoting
summit-to-summit and chaser contacts on 60, 40 and 30m HF bands along
with 2m simplex. There will be a special emphasis on peaks in the
W7W/KG and W7W/CW areas.

Visit the Salmoncon website for more details.

[FOR PRINT, DO NOT READ: https://www.pnwqrp.org/salmoncon ]

This is Ralph Squillace KK6ITB.

(SOTA REFLECTOR, SALMONCON.COM)

**
AMSAT NORTH AMERICA NEEDS ENGINEERS

JIM/ANCHOR: Engineers with an interest in satellites and satellite
operation may want to consider helping out AMSAT North America as
volunteers. Andy Morrison K9AWM tells us what they're looking for.

ANDY: If you're a satellite enthusiast with an engineering background
and want to become more involved in AMSAT North America, you may want
to consider one of these volunteer opportunities. AMSAT's FOX-PLUS team
needs a volunteer electrical engineer with RF experience and a working
knowledge of analog and digital communications protocols. The right
candidate will be involved in designing and building the RF
communications subsystems for low-earth-orbit 1U-3U CubSats. This
position will help provide digitally synthesized audio for FM modulated
VHF/UHF/SHF voice and telemetry channels.

AMSAT's FOX and GOLF CubeSat teams also need mechanical engineers to
join its all-volunteer team of a dozen or so electrical, mechanical,
software and systems engineers. The team is developing a series of
low-earth-orbit and highly elliptical orbit 1U-3U CubeSats for AMSAT's
engineering and educational goals.

Candidates should be US citizens or permanent residents of the US.
Volunteers can expect to spend about five hours a week on the project
they're assigned to and will attend a weekly meeting online to provide
updates.

Resumes can be sent to volu...@amsat.org.

This is Andy Morrison K9AWM.

(AMSAT NEWS SERVICE)


**
NOMINATE YOUNG AMATEURS FOR NEWSLINE AWARD

JIM/ANCHOR: We remind our listeners that young hams who live in the
continental United States have an opportunity to make news, if they
aren't already doing so, by being a recipient of this year's Amateur
Radio Newsline Bill Pasternak Memorial Young Ham of the Year Award.
Consider nominating an amateur radio operator 18 years of age or
younger -- someone who has talent, promise and a commitment to the
spirit of ham radio. Find application forms on our website
arnewsline.org under the "YHOTY" tab. Nominations open on the 1st of
May and close on May 31st.


**
BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur
Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including
the N5OZG repeater of the Crescent City Amateur Radio Group in
Metairie, Louisiana following the net on Sundays at 8 p.m.

**
SOUTHERN MARYLAND UPGRADES REPEATER SYSTEM

JIM/ANCHOR: Residents in southern Maryland can be reassured that
emergency communications just got a little easier, thanks to the
efforts of local hams. Here's Sel Embee KB3TZD with those details.

SEL: A newly installed radio repeater system has given Calvert County,
Maryland, and the surrounding region an upgrade in the
emergency-communications system. Licensed as K3CAL, the system was a
project of the Calvert Amateur Radio Association and the Radio Amateur
Civil Emergency Service, or RACES. The RACES officer for Calvert
County, William Hackett Sr., N3XMZ, told the website BayNet.com that
the new system was a huge improvement over its predecessor. It will
provide enhanced coverage for handheld radios throughout Calvert
County, into the Chesapeake Bay region and parts of Patuxent River. The
system includes UHF capability on 444.950 MHz from a tower in the
southern end of the county and a VHF system on 146.985 MHz from a tower
in the northern part of the county. The two sites are also capable of
being linked. Brian Kress, KB3WFV, vice president of the Calvert
Amateur Radio Association, called it [quote] "a win for Calvert County
citizens as another layer of protection from a communication blackout."
[endquote]

This is Sel Embee KB3TZD.

(BAYNET.COM)


**
HAMS SHINE DURING AMERICAN LIGHTHOUSE WEEKEND

JIM/ANCHOR: If the lights were shining a little brighter over
lighthouses in Latin America and elsewhere in the Southern Hemisphere,
it was likely because of the American Lighthouses weekend on the air
from February 17th through to the 19th. Graham Kemp VK4BB brings the
illuminating details.

GRAHAM: Perhaps no one will remember this year's American Lighthouses
weekend better than hams with the Amateur Radio Alliance of Puerto
Rico, KP4ARA. Operators accomplished a first-time double activation
from two lighthouses on the island - the Punta Borinquen lighthouses,
one historic and one relatively new. Working several bands and using
digital modes, the lighthouse hams Emilio, WP4KEY, and Wanda, KP4NYC,
logged QSOs with a total of 42 DXCC entities, including Asiatic Russia,
Venezuela, the Philippines, England, Switzerland and Japan.

The weekend was marked by another dramatic first: participation by
radio operators at the Esperanza Base in Antarctica. According to the
organizing committee of Argentina, the Radio Club Grupo DX Bahia Blanca
of Argentina, this established a new record for the total number of
DXCC entities and countries involved in the event. The general
coordinator of the event was Carlos Almirón, LU7DSY, who said in a
public statement how pleased he was with the enthusiasm and
collaboration that helped create pride and new accomplishments during
this 15th year of the February lighthouse festival.

This is Graham Kemp VK4BB.

(EMILIO ORTIZ JR., WP4KEY)

**
AUSTRALIAN HAM HONORED FOR FALCONSAT-3 FINAL SIGNALS

JIM/ANCHOR: A ham in Australia has been honored for having copied the
final signals of an important-but-aging satellite as it was dying. We
hear that story from Jason Daniels VK2LAW.

JASON: Congratulations to Mark Jessop, VK5QI, of South Australia for
being the recipient of the FS3 Award from the Mauritius Amateur Radio
Society. The nonprofit amateur group created the honour to recognise
the last formal reported signals from the FalconSat-3 micro-satellite.
The 50kg satellite, launched in 2007 from Cape Canaveral in Florida,
went into decay in January.

The amateur radio society sent the Australian satellite enthusiast his
certificate along with some stamps commemorating MO-112, the Mauritian
Infra-Red Satellite, which was that nation's first satellite.

FalconSat-3 was developed by cadets and faculty at the United States
Air Force Academy in Colorado but control of the satellite was
transferred to amateur radio operators in April of 2017. A notice in
AMSAT News Service thanked Mark Hammond N8MH for his years of work as a
command station for FalconSat-3.

This is Jason Daniels VK2LAW.

(AMSAT NEWS SERVICE)


**
WORLD OF DX

In the World of DX, listen for Dave, YC5YC/7, and Arli, YC7UDD/p
operating on Teluk Harapan Beach on Maratua Island, IOTA number OC-166,
from the 25th through to the 27th of February. They will operate SSB,
FT8 and RTTY on HF. They will upload logs to LoTW and Club Log. There
will be 10 other operators with YB7, YC7 and YD7 calls operating near
them doing a Beaches on the Air operation.

Eight special callsigns are being activated to commemorate the 43rd
anniversary of the 1980 referendum for autonomy and representing the
provinces of Andalusia. They are on the air through the 28th of
February. The callsigns are AN43AL (Almeria), AN43CA (Cadiz), AN43CO
(Cordoba), AN43GR (Granada), AN43HU (Huelva), AN43JA (Jaen), AN43MA
(Malaga), AN43SE (Sevilla). Be listening as well on the 28th of
February for AN43AND, which is Andalusia Day. QSL via LoTW and eQSL.

Be listening for David, F4FKT, active as FT4YM from Dumont d'Urville
Station, IOTA number AN-017 from Ile des Petrels. He is on the air
until the 27th of February. He will also operate as FT4YM/mm from the
icebreaker "L'Astrolabe" from the 28th of February to the 5th of March.
QSL via F5PFP.

(425 DX BULLETIN)

**
KICKER: FISHING FOR QSOs ON A FROZEN LAKE

JIM/ANCHOR: For our final story, we visit with a group of hams in
Minnesota on a wintertime fishing expedition. Kent Peterson KC0DGY
tells us what they caught while at the lake. Here's a hint: It
wasn'tfish.

KENT: In Minnesota, it's considered a winter tradition for some people
to go out on the frozen lakes for fishing. One group that took to the
frozen waters in the Twin Cities region of the state were hoping for a
very different kind of catch: They set up their equipment on White Bear
Lake at Mahtomedi Beach in the hopes of reeling in some QSOs while
operating portable. This was the February 11th "Hams on the Ice" event
where antennas took the place of fishing rods and the waves being
plumbed were radio waves.

The four-hour event drew 20 or so amateurs. Some brought portable
heaters. Others simply were warmed by the idea of working some DX --and
many did. This was the amateurs' winter equivalent of a monthly group
gathering known as Hams in the Park held during warmer months.

According to a video on the YouTube channel of Matthew, K0LWC, the hams
were also there to provide an opportunity for some of the regions'
youngest licensees: With a little help, some of the newer hams got
their first contacts on HF radio.

With mic fright being a big concern for a lot of newcomers, you might
even say they broke the ice.

This is Kent Peterson KC0DGY.

(QRZ.COM, MINNESOTA HAM RADIO, YOUTUBE)

**
PAUL/ANCHOR: Do you have a piece of Amateur Radio News that you think
Newsline would be interested in? We are not talking about advertising
your club's upcoming hamfest or field day participation, but something
that is out of the ordinary. If so, send us a brief overview via the
contact page at arnewsline.org. If it's newsworthy and we would like to
cover it, we'll get back to you for more details.

NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Amateur Radio Weekly; AMSAT News
Service; Baynet.com; the BBC; CNN; CQ magazine; David Behar K7DB; Don
Robertson, ZL2TYR/ZK6EX; DX-World.net; Emilio Ortez Jr., WP4KEY; FCC;
425 DX News; Greg Mossop, G0DUB; QRZ.com; Reuters; Minnesota Ham Radio;
SOTA Reflector; shortwaveradio.de; Wireless Institute of Australia;
YouTube; and you our listeners, that's all from the Amateur Radio
Newsline. We remind our listeners that Amateur Radio Newsline is an
all-volunteer non-profit organization that incurs expenses for its
continued operation. If you wish to support us, please visit our
website at arnewsline.org and know that we appreciate you all. We also
remind our listeners that if you like our newscast, please leave us a
5-star rating wherever you subscribe to us. 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.
As always we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is
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