Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2334 for Friday July 22, 2022

[Amateur Radio Newsline]

Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2334 for Friday July 22, 2022

Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2334 with a release date of Friday
July 22, 2022 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. Young DXers return from Curacao as
record-breakers. The Webb telescope sustains damage considered
unfixable -- and an Ohio ham gives a museum the gift of home-brew. All
this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2334 comes your
way right now.

**
BILLBOARD CART

**
YOUTH DX ADVENTURE TEAM BREAKS RECORD

PAUL/ANCHOR: We begin this week with a story of celebration. Young
teammates from the Dave Kalter Memorial Youth DX Adventure are back
home from Curacao and feeling victorious. Neil Rapp WB9VPG has more.

NEIL: The Dave Kalter Memorial Youth DX Adventure team is back home
after making 8,216 contacts over a long weekend in Curacao, breaking
their previous record of 6,583. Team members Candace, KE8MMS; T.J.,
KO4FFA; and Brennan, K6BFL worked through the pileups on SSB and CW,
despite being without an internet connection and the ability to do
digital modes due to technical difficulties. Candace tells us about
one of her favorite parts of the trip.

CANDACE: ...but I really enjoyed meeting everyone... it's really nice
seeing more youth in ham radio, just 'cause back where I am at home I
really don't know a lot of youth. And then, just getting to know
everybody and the weather out here is absolutely gorgeous. The view is
beautiful.

NEIL: Co-Leader Jim Storms, AB8YK, reported that once the travel
difficulties were over, the operation otherwise ran smoothly and that
they have another fabulous group of young operators. Their PJ2Y
operation was hosted by the PJ2T Caribbean Contest Consortium. Jim also
mentioned that the expenses are considerably higher this year compared
to previous trips. If you'd like to donate, or know a young person to
recommend for next year, or to see the QSL information, see their
website at qsl.net/n6jrl . For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Neil Rapp,
WB9VPG.


PAUL/ANCHOR: If you'd like to hear more details about the trip, tune in
to Neil's full interview on Ham Talk Live! Episode number 301.

**
WEBB TELESCOPE SUSTAINS UNCORRECTABLE DAMAGE

PAUL/ANCHOR: The James Webb Space Telescope, which recently transmitted
its first color images to us here on Earth, has suffered serious damage
following a micrometeoroid strike. Scientists said in a recent report
that the impact sustained in late May may have disrupted the space
telescope's operation more than first believed. The scientists wrote
that they believe that the problems are not correctable. Their biggest
concern is the longterm effect on the primary mirror, which scientists
believe will be degraded as a result of the meteoroid strike.

(SPACE.COM, FORBES)

**
GRANT SUPPORTS SATELLITE PROJECT IN SPAIN

PAUL/ANCHOR: Amateur radio satellite enthusiasts in Spain got some good
news recently that will benefit a project built with the help of
university students. For details we turn to Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

JEREMY: A nonprofit organisation in Spain known for providing grants
for projects involving the arts and sport has made an unusual gift in
support of an amateur radio satellite project. The group, known as the
Salvatore 009 Association, is providing funds to help cover development
costs and launch of the satellite in early 2023. The satellite is known
as URESAT-1 and it is an initiative of the Unión de Radioaficionados
Españoles, Spain's national amateur radio society. The project is
being managed by AMSAT-EA with support from businesses involved in the
space industry and a number of university students.

According to a post on the AMSAT-UK website,the satellite is likely to
have an FM voice repeater, support for FSK communications and some type
of on-board experiment, such as an SSDV-capable camera. It is also
supposed to carry a project that will permit hams to play chess against
the satellite's on-board computer using FSK frames.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(AMSAT-UK, SOUTHGATE)

**
GRANT WILL HELP EXPAND NETWORK SERVING ALABAMA HEALTHCARE

PAUL/ANCHOR: An expanded WinLink network will be built soon in Alabama
to serve health care and emergency response agencies throughout the
state with the help of funding from Amateur Radio Digital
Communications. The planned expansion is the project of the Healthcare
Community Amateur Radio Club, KK4BSK, comprising hams who volunteer or
are employed in health-related agencies and participate in drills,
public events and realtime disasters. The purchase and installation of
new fixed stations will fill the gaps that now exist in the WinLink
network. According to an announcement on the ARDC website, a grant for
$126,564 will fund the purchase and installation of portable stations.
A grant for $72,382 will be used for fixed stations.

(ARDC)

**
US LAB'S SOLAR CELL BREAKS EFFICIENCY RECORD

PAUL/ANCHOR: Scientists in a US military lab have announced that a
newly developed solar cell has broken a record for efficiency. Kent
Peterson KC0DGY has more on that story.

KENT: You might call it the brightest world record under the sun. You
wouldn't be wrong, either: A US Department of Energy laboratory has
broken the record for solar-cell efficiency, creating a solar cell that
is 39.5 percent efficient under lighting conditions equivalent to that
of the sun.

The achievement was reported in a recent issue of the journal Joule.
Scientists in the department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory are
also testing the solar cell for its usefulness in powering such devices
as communications satellites which require high cell efficiency. Under
those conditions, efficiency dropped somewhat to 34.2 efficiency.

Although a 41.1 efficiency has been reported with other experimental
solar cells, those levels were reached by cells using highly
concentrated light.

In an article on the website Interesting Engineering, the principal
investigator, Myles Steiner, said: [quote] "The new cell is more
efficient and has a simpler design that may be useful for a variety of
new applications, such as highly area-constrained applications or
low-radiation space applications." [endquote]

For now, however, the bright light of promise is overshadowed by one
factor that cannot be overlooked: Production costs are prohibitive.
Researchers are apparently working on that too.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Kent Peterson KC0DGY.

(INTERESTING ENGINEERING)

**

SILENT KEY: MENTOR, EDUCATOR HERB COLEMAN, W4AVX

PAUL: The ham radio community in Alabama is grieving the loss of an
amateur who was considered an educator, an inspiration and a friend.
The Birmingham Amateur Radio Club announced the death of Herb Coleman,
W4AVX, on July 18th. Licensed in 1953, Herb is credited with the
establishment of the first net for teenage amateurs in Alabama in 1955.
He taught Morse Code to many amateurs in the early 1960s and played a
major role in getting Birmingham's first 2m repeater on the air. A
public posting on the club's Facebook page said [quote] "He was a
patient and encouraging Elmer for many of us." [endquote]

We here at Newsline send our condolences.

(BIRMINGHAM AMATEUR RADIO CLUB)

**
AMATEUR NUMBERS DECLINE IN AUSTRALIA

PAUL/ANCHOR: There are discouraging numbers reported for the amateur
radio population in Australia. Graham Kemp VK4BB has that story.

GRAHAM: While hams are reported to be growing steadily in numbers in
the United States and the UK, here in VK, the Australian amateur radio
population appears to be getting smaller. The Wireless Institute of
Australia, which issued the report on July 17th, cited no numbers or
percentages of decline but said that during a recent board meeting,
members noted that the number of exams and licences had dropped.
Figures from the Ham Radio DX channel showed, however, that in early
2022, the numbers stood at just over 13,400, down steadily over the
years. In 2016, there were 14,619 licence holders.

This trend was noted just as the board announced it was preparing to
receive a batch of updated manuals for the Foundation licence level.
The board also made a commitment to continue working with ham radio
organisations around the world to ensure that Australian amateurs
visiting outside the country have expediated processing for their
applications to get temporary reciprocal licences.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Graham Kemp VK4BB.

(WIA, ARRL, HAMRADIODX PODCAST)


**
HF PROPAGATION PROJECT GOING FORWARD

PAUL/ANCHOR: A US project that makes use of sensors on satellites in
very low Earth orbit is looking for proposals that will help develop a
better way to predict HF propagation in the ionosphere in real-time.
The program is known as Ouija (wee-Jah) and is being undertaken by the
Defense Advanced Research Project Agency, or DARPA, which is part of
the United States military. The agency wants to monitor the ionosphere
locally and continuously and believes that it will achieve its stated
goal. The program focuses on the section of the ionosphere that is
between 125 miles and 185 miles in altitude, or 300 to 400 kilometers
high. In announcing the project this past spring, DARPA said a more
predictable environment for communications will be an aid for military
communication which includes among its obstacles solar flares and the
11-year solar cycle.

(IARU REGION I, SPACE.COM)

**
BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur
Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including
the WB0QXW Repeater System in Saint Louis, Missouri on 145.210 Mhz
Mondays after the World Friendship Net beginning at 7 pm Central time.

**
RADIO SEIZED FOR INTERFERING WITH POLICE TRANSMISSIONS

PAUL/ANCHOR: In Texas, authorities cracked down after a hand-held radio
caused emergency intereference with police transmissions. Mike Askins
KE5CXP brings us those details.

MIKE: Authorities in Graham, Texas, seized a handheld radio that they
said had been transmitting illegally for months on emergency
frequencies used by the Young County Sheriff's Office. According to
local media reports, the transmissions on the dispatch channels often
included the voices of a man, woman and some children yelling at one
another and the sounds of a barking dog. A story in the Olney
Enterprise newspaper said that the police were so hampered in using
their own assigned frequencies that they often had to use cellphones
instead to communicate.

Sheriff Travis Babcock contacted the Federal Communications Commission
which provided him with an official statement to read on the emergency
channel but that failed to bring the transmissions to a halt. The news
report said that on July 8th two officers patroling in their car heard
the unauthorized traffic and were able to track down the radio and its
owner. The owner of the radio was not identified.

It was not clear what charges would be filed against the owners of the
radio, which is now the property of the county sheriff's office.
Charges could range from a misdemeanor for interfering with public duty
to a federal offense for interfering with emergency communications.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Mike Askins KE5CXP.

(THE OLNEY ENTERPRISE, GRAHAM LEADER)

**
WISCONSIN EVENT CELEBRATES FLIGHT, HOSTS SPECIAL EVENT STATION

PAUL/ANCHOR: Aviation enthusiasts are getting ready to head to
Wisconsin, or point their antennas in that direction, for a special
event - and a special event station - celebrating flight. Randy Sly
W4XJ brings us the details.

RANDY: More than 10,000 aircraft and a half-million flight enthusiasts
will descend on Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, from
July 25th to July 31st, turning it into the busiest airport in the
world. It's time for AirVenture, sponsored by the Experimental Aircraft
Association. Once again this year, it will not only involve being in
the air but on the air...

The ARRL has supported AirVenture since 2018 with an exhibit
encouraging pilots and aviation aficionados to discover radio
communications and technology through amateur radio. Kids will get a
chance to experience ham radio too: Volunteers at KidVenture will give
youngsters an opportunity to build and take home a radio receiver
capable of listening to air traffic and other nearby transmissions in
the 65 - 140 MHz range.

If you aren't able to personally fly in or even drive in, you still
have a chance to check in: A special event station, W9W, sponsored by
the EAA Warbirds of America, will be operating on HF, VHF and UHF
during AirVenture. More information about frequencies and operations of
W9W can be found in the text version of this week's newscast at
ARNewsline.org.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Randy Sly W4XJ.


TEXT VERSION ONLY:

The special event station will be located on the Warbirds' grounds near
their headquarters, against the backdrop of the display of historic and
vintage ex-military aircraft. Look for W9W on 40 - 10 meters near
7.225, 14.250, 21.235, and 28.425 MHz. The station will also operate on
the 2-meter and 440 MHz bands, simplex. A special event QSL card will
be issued for contacts with W9W.

**
STATIONS SIGNING UP FOR LIGHTHOUSE AND LIGHTSHIP WEEKEND

PAUL/ANCHOR: Most of us already know about beacons and the jobs they do
for us as hams but what about the original beacons, the ones that have
helped guide sailors by using beams of light? Amateur radio operators
are again preparing to celebrate the world's lighthouses and lightships
with an international weekend in August. Here's John Williams VK4JJW
with the details.

JOHN: Though many of the world's lighthouses now operate by automation
instead of the efforts of lighthouse keepers, there will be live
operators at historic lighthouses around the world on the weekend of
August 20th and 21st. They'll be operating radios instead of
lighthouses but in doing so, they will honour them.

This is the annual event known as the International Lighthouse and
Lightship Weekend, which since 1993 has publicised the need to ensure
these structures are not forgotten and are kept in good repair. What
began as an event with 11 operations at lighthouses eventually grew to
include 544 lighthouses and lightships across 56 countries in 2011. The
48-hour activation begins at 0001UTC on August 20th, on all frequencies
and in all modes. Radios will either be set up inside the lighthouses
or directly nearby.The amateur radio event will be happening on the
same weekend that the International Lighthouse Heritage Weekend is held
by the Association of Lighthouse Keepers, whose members are committed
to preserving lighthouse heritage.

Most importantly, it is not a contest. It is, in a way, a beacon in its
own right, shining a light on these important treasures that have long
served ships at sea for so long.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm John Williams VK4JJW.


(ASSOCIATION OF LIGHTHOUSE KEEPERS, ILLW)

**
PROS TO MENTOR TEEN RADIO ENTHUSIASTS

PAUL/ANCHOR: A new program is creating a yearlong partnership between
radio professionals and teens -- and Andy Morrison K9AWM tells us how
it works.

ANDY: Founded as the Junior Wireless Club more than a century ago by a
group of teenage radio enthusiasts, the world's oldest professional
wireless radio organization is now reaching out to teen hobbyists in a
new formal role: pairing them with mentors.

The Radio Club of America already has an array of initiatives focusing
on young people: a Youth Activities Program launched three decades ago
focuses on STEM studies through ham radio; a college scholarship
program supports students in engineering and related fields; a Young
Professionals program boosts the careers of those under the age of 30.

The club's Mentorship Program brings young people and veteran RCA
members together for an intensive year of one-on-one support. The RCA's
president, John Facella, K9FJ, said in a statement: [quote] "RCA
recognized that an important new value for our membership was to have
our more experienced members provide help to members who were
relatively new to the wireless industry." [endquote]

The program recognizes the need for diversity and inclusion and will
encourage both mentors and mentees to outline goals and expectations as
their year together gets under way. The program's co-chairs are Paul
Scutieri and David Witkowski W6DTW.

Additional details are available on the RCA website at
radioclubofamerica.org

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Andy Morrison K9AWM.

(RADIO WORLD, RADIO CLUB OF AMERICA)

**
KICKER: WHEN HOME-BREW GIVES A TASTE OF HISTORY

PAUL/ANCHOR: Our last story is about amateur radio generosity. An Ohio
ham with a gift for home-brew has now shared that gift with a radio
museum. Jack Parker W8ISH concludes this week's report with that story.

JACK: When Robert Gunderman, W8INO, built his home-brewed radio
equipment in the post-World War II era, he did so in the tradition of
radio's earliest pioneers. Recently those radios found a new QTH where
they now educate future generations by giving visitors a glimpse of
radio's roots from a home-brewer's perspective.

The move took place with the help of John Levo W8KIW and other members
of the Highland Amateur Radio Association, this year's Hamvention Club
of the Year. With their assistance, David Gunderman, K8DG, was able to
provide a relevant museum with this carefully built collection from his
father Robert. Robert is relocating and will no longer have room for
the equipment in his new home. Robert's collection has found a
welcoming home of its own now at the West Virginia Museum of Radio and
Technology in Huntington where president and curator Geoffrey Bourne
told Newsline the equipment is already on display. The items include a
2-inch oscilloscope, a CRT rejuvenator for black and white TV images, a
power supply and a converter - and a transmitter and receiver, both
capable of operating on 10 through 80 meters.

Geoff told Newsline in a phone call that the craftsmanship shows true
artistry. He said [quote] "the quality of the construction is
unbelievable." At the time Geoff spoke to Newsline, nothing had been
powered up yet, but the equipment was already doing its job anyway,
carrying its message of homebrew pride, the kind that amateurs
respectmost.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jack Parker W8ISH.

(JOHN LEVO W8KIW, GEOFFREY BOURNE)

**
NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to the AMSAT-UK; ARRL; CQ Magazine; David
Behar K7DB; Forbes; Geoffrey Bourne; the Graham Leader; John Levo
W8KIW; IARU Region 1; Ohio Penn DX; Olney Enterprise; QRZ.com; Radio
Club of America; Radio World; Southgate Amateur Radio News;
shortwaveradio.de; Space.com; 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 youall.

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. As always we thank you for listening.

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