Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2071 for Friday, July 7, 2017

[Amateur Radio Newsline]

Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2071 for Friday, July 7, 2017

Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2071 with a release date of
Friday, July 7, 2017 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. A new FCC commissioner gets nominated. We
follow the trail of a pilot recreating the Amelia Earhart flight.
Lighthouses are in the spotlight - and in our top story, a jury
convicts an Illinois man in the killing of a ham two years ago. All
this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2071 comes your way
right now.

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BILLBOARD CART


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CONVICTION IN ILLINOIS HAM'S KILLING

DON/ANCHOR: We begin this week's report with a courtroom conclusion to
a gruesome case from two years ago: the killing of a ham radio operator
in Illinois. There's been a verdict and Amateur Radio Newsline's Neil
Rapp WB9VPG has the details.

NEIL'S REPORT: A jury has convicted a Rockford, Illinois man of killing
an amateur radio operator and his dog two years ago and then setting
their house on fire. The verdict in the killing of Henry Murphy WB9TFX
was announced June 30 ending a case that began with the discovery of
the bodies on July 18, 2015.

Prosecutors had said the killer, Delano L. Foreman, 31, first robbed
Henry Murphy, then shot both him and his golden retriever before
setting three fires inside the Winnebago County home.

Silent Key Henry Murphy was also a veteran of the U.S. Army.

Foreman's attorney has filed a defense motion for a new trial and is
scheduled to reappear in court on Aug. 16 but will remain in the
Winnebago County Jail without bond until that time. If the defense
motion is denied, he will be sentenced immediately.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Neil Rapp WB9VPG


(THE ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR, QRZNOW.COM)

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NEW FCC COMMISSIONER NOMINATED

DON/ANCHOR: Meanwhile, the big news out of Washington is that there is
a nominee to fill one of the vacancies on the Federal Communications
Commission. We hear more from Amateur Radio Newsline's Stephen
KinfordN8WB.

STEPHEN'S REPORT: The FCC's general counsel, Brendan Carr, is
considered the next likely candidate to fill one of two empty spots on
the commission. President Donald Trump has announced he will nominate
the Republican - a move applauded by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai in a public
statement that praised his record.

The appointment, if confirmed by the Senate, would still leave one
remaining vacancy to be filled - a seat reserved for a Democrat. No
more than three members of the FCC are permitted to belong to the same
political party. On June 14, Trump named former Commissioner Jessica
Rosenworcel, a Democrat, to fill another vacant seat and she too must
be confirmed by the Senate. She would be returning to the commission,
following the expiration of her term last year.

A third vacancy is being created by the departure of Commissioner
Mignon Clyburn, another Democrat, whose term has just expired.

Brendan Carr is viewed as a major supporter of Ajit Pai's efforts to
undo "net neutrality" rules that had been passed by the commission's
Democratic majority.

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

(ARRL)

**
BRIGHT TIME FOR LIGHTHOUSE ON PEI

DON/ANCHOR: Coming off its 150th anniversary festivities, Canada has
something else to celebrate - a very special lighthouse on Prince
Edward Island. And who better to mark the occasion than amateur radio
operators? Here's Amateur Radio Newsline's Heather Embee KB3TZD.

HEATHER: Built in 1845, the Point Prim lighthouse was the first
lighthouse on Prince Edward Island -- and there's no doubt that the
things it has seen in the last 172 years would give it a lot to say.

Soon, it will be doing just that, talking to the world: The Prince
Edward Island Amateur Radio Group will be activating the lighthouse on
Saturday, July 15 as part of the lighthouse's open house marking its
acquisition last year by the Point Prime Lighthouse Society.

Radio operators will be calling CQ on all the HF bands right through
the late afternoon hours of Sunday, July 16. Modes will include SSB and
PSK-31.

Hams who collect lighthouse QSOs will be happy to know that Point Prim
has been assigned the code CAN-809 by the Amateur Radio Lighthouse
Society, which keeps track of 15,000 lighthouses worldwide. Islands on
the Air also declares PEI as NA-029 in their list of islands around
theworld.

Point Prim stands out among Canadian lighthouses as a brick structure
with a distinctive round shape. It is, in fact, the only round brick
lighthouse on Prince Edward Island. It is also one of seven lighthouses
on the Island to be named on the National Heritage List. Now the
lighthouse is about to distinguish itself with a reception featuring
music, guest speakers, a barbecue, free tours and amateur radio. That
should establish it as quite a beacon.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Heather Embee KB3TZD

(GEORGE DEWAR VY2GF)

**

LIGHTHOUSE-LIGHTSHIP WEEKEND REGISTRATION GROWS

DON/ANCHOR: Speaking of lighthouses, it's almost time for amateur radio
to celebrate the world's community of lighthouses and lightships, and
the number of participating locations keeps growing. For that story, we
welcome Amateur Radio Newsline's Kevin Trotman N5PRE, who is joining us
on the air with his first report.

KEVIN'S REPORT: Don't expect any certificates or prizes or other perks
for contacts you may log next month during the International Lighthouse
and Lightship Weekend. The 20-year-old event is not a sprint, a contest
or even an emergency drill. It's a celebration of these time-honored
navigational aides.

This year, the lighthouse activations will take place on the weekend of
Aug. 19th and 20th. Lighthouse registrations were already at 240 and
counting as of the first week in July -- with Germany and Australia in
the lead. Many other nations will be participating as usual including
South Africa, the U.S., Canada, Scotland and Wales.

There are also some new countries where hams can count on hearing "CQ"
- including Serbia, where you can listen for Alex YU1CA operating near
the banks of the Danube River at the Tamis River West Lighthouse.

What it comes down to is an event that's part fellowship, part public
relations. The activations are designed to be visible to visitors who
can stop by and see the hams in action. In a way that's keeping in the
true lighthouse spirit - shining a little light, so to speak, on the
amateur radio community.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Kevin Trotman N5PRE.

(SOUTHGATE)

**
HAM CLUB IN UK FIGHTS FOR SURVIVAL

DON/ANCHOR: One amateur radio group in a rural part of the UK has been
struggling to find creative ways to stay alive. Amateur Radio
Newsline's Jeremy Boot G4NJH has that story.

JEREMY'S REPORT: The club in the small town of Workington, Cumbria,
announced on its website that all meetings at the Helena Thompson
Museum have been cancelled until September but the September meeting
will indeed be held - to talk about the club's future. The club website
noted that a real action plan is needed in order to survive and build
membership or the club may ultimately face shutdown.

Alex Hill G7KSE, told Amateur Radio Newsline in an email that the club
has enjoyed a strong record over the years in training new hams and had
great success with DXpeditions, special events and contesting. He
noted, however, that the membership has been aging and the club is now
challenged about ways to attract an infusion of new amateurs to the
club, which is in the Western Lake District.

Alex said one option being explored is outreach to the Maker movement
and code clubs as a way of boosting membership. As the club itself
noted on a web page about its future: [QUOTE] "At this stage, no idea
is a bad one." [ENDQUOTE]

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH

(WORKINGTON and DISTRICT AMATEUR RADIO CLUB, ALEX HILL G7KSE)

**

BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur
Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including
WFBT, Wilmington's Big Talker in Wilmington, N.C. on Saturday ands
Sundays starting at 8:30 a.m.


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ADVENTURE CONTINUES FOR AMELIA EARHART TRIBUTE PILOT

DON/ANCHOR: The world has been watching as a ham from the U.S.
navigates a flight in tribute to Amelia Earhart's final trip 80 years
ago. At Newsline's production time, he was getting ready to depart
Australia, where we hear from Amateur Radio Newsline's Graham
KempVK4BB.

GRAHAM's REPORT: Texas radio amateur Brian Lloyd WB6RQN continues his
flight along Amelia Earhart's path and as Amateur Radio Newsline went
to production, he was preparing to leave us here in Australia for the
next leg of his journey. His arrival there on July 1, however, brought
some welcome refueling for both Brian and his plane - and an eyeball
QSO with Stuie VK8NSB. The Australian amateur had contacted the pilot
on 20 meters and via satellite while he was still enroute from
Indonesia and met him on arrival. Stuie didn't just greet him and
provide overnight hospitality but, at departure time from Darwin, he
was there to help refuel and see the aircraft off, adding a sticker of
the Australian flag to the plane's wing. Other amateur radio contacts
followed as Brian took to the air, enroute to Ayers Rock, Uluru.

Brian's final stop in Australia was to be in Sydney and then he was off
to Auckland, New Zealand, followed by a flyover of Howland Island. His
plan was to drop a memorial wreath into the water there near the spot
where Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan disappeared in 1937.
As he continues his journey to Hawaii and beyond, be listening on SSB
on 14.210, 14.346, 18.117 or 7.130 MHz.

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

(JIM LINTON VK3PC)

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WORLD RADIOSPORT TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP PASSES TEST

DON/ANCHOR: For volunteers who were testing equipment in Germany
recently for next year's World Radiosport championship event, it was a
dry run - well, not really quite so dry thanks to the weather. We hear
more from Amateur Radio Newsline's Ed Durrant DD5LP.

ED'S REPORT: The WRTC test and training days 2017 between the 23rd and
25th of June brought together more than 100 volunteers from all over
Germany to the Jessen / Wittenberg region, to set up portable stations
exactly as will be used next year.

The Thursday before the tests brought devastating rain storms to the
area but this did not stop the training of the antenna teams at the
main campsite in Prettin on Friday. There were many new enthusiastic
contesters between the ages of 20 and 80 who took part in the weekend
alongside some well-known faces from the test day in 2016.

Saturday was the main construction day, where the wind made the antenna
erection somewhat more difficult but apart from that the weather was
sunny and dry. Concentrated work was called for to ensure that all
parts were correctly installed and after many hours of construction
work, radio operation and exchange of experiences followed. Lessons
learned were noted and changes included in planning for next year. The
Ham Spirit shone through with the enthusiasm ensuring new friendships
emerged and many new ideas were born.

On Sunday morning the stations were all dismantled and by 3 pm
everything was packed up and sent to the main storage warehouse. Thanks
to excellent preparation and the spirit of all participants, the test
and training days were a total success. The WRTC team is ready to
welcome 63 teams to Germany in 2018.

Before that however there is still work to be done, more finances are
required and next weekend at HAM RADIO Friedrichshafen the WRTC 2018
team will have both a stand inside the halls and an example portable
station setup outside to illustrate what the competitors should expect.
The team will be looking for additional volunteers for next year's
event as well as donations from supporters.

An additional highlight announced just after the test day is that Honda
Power Equipment have come on-board as a platinum sponsor of WRTC 2018
and will be supplying EU20i petrol generators for each team in next
year's event.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, this is Ed Durrant DD5LP.

**

WORLD OF DX

In the world of DX, be listening for Eric KV1J who is operating from
the St Pierre & Miquelon Islands as FP/KV1J until July 18th. Listen for
him on SSB and RTTY. Send QSLs to the home call.

Geoff ZL3GA is operating holiday style from Vanuatu in the Pacific
until July 13th. He will be using the call sign YJ0GA. His logs will be
uploaded to Logbook of The World and also to Club Log.

Be listening for the call sign RI0Z being used by a team of Russian
amateurs in the Komandorskiye Islands. The Islands on the Air reference
is AS-039. The team's QSL manager is RZ5D.


(IRISH RADIO TRANSMITTERS SOCIETY)

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KICKER: MORSE CODE IN A NEW DIMENSION

DON/ANCHOR: For this week's final story, we look at a bit of modern
innovation. It's always nice when amateur radio can enter a new
dimension. As we close out this week's report, we look at a Morse Code
Key that is definitely in that category because it gets all three of
its dimensions from a 3-D printer. Although that's where the key
originates, its real roots are in the imagination of the 14-year-old
son of the Texas radio amateur, Joe Delgado KC5ILR, who developed the
key to make his son happy. Joe says on his website that his son wanted
something "cool" and "colorful" for Morse Code and the 3-D printing of
the key made him happy -- plus it sends code! Now if someone can find a
way to print a 3-D noise filter to clean up the bands, we've got
itmade.

(JERRY WRIGHT NK2C)

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NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Alan Labs; Alex Hill G7KSE; Amateur News
Weekly; the ARRL; the Associated Press; CQ Magazine; The FCC; George
Dewar VY2GF; Hap Holly and the Rain Report; Irish Radio Transmitters
Society; Jerry Wright NK2C; Jim Linton VK3PC; QRZNOW.COM; the Rockford
Register Star; ;Southgate Amateur Radio News; Ted Randall's QSO Radio
Show; Stuart Birkin VK8NSB; Workington and District Amateur Radio Club;
WTWW Shortwave; and you our listeners, that's all from the Amateur
Radio Newsline. Please send emails to our address at
news...@arnewsline.org. More information is available at Amateur Radio
Newsline's only official website located 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 Don Wilbanks AE5DW saying 73 and as
always we thank you for listening.

Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2017. All rights reserved.