Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1971 August 7 2015   
      
   Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1971 with a release date of   
   Friday, August 7, 2015 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.   
   The following is a QST. Hams worldwide prepare for International   
   Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend. The U.S. Navy tries to rein in a   
   satellite thats gone rogue. In Arizona, hams fine-tune their   
   emergency communications skills. And a trio of Australian DXers hits   
   the winter slopes, but not just for skiing. All this and more in   
   Amateur Radio Newsline report 1971 coming your way right now.   
   (Billboard Cart Here and Intro)   
   Here is this weeks news with Anchors Don Wilbanks, AE5DW and Stephen   
   Kinford, N8WB:   
      
   EVENT: SHIPS A GUIDING LIGHT   
   As hams around the world prepare for the International Lighthouse   
   and Lightship Weekend on August 15 and 16, one shining beacon in   
   Sweden is glowing with the light of a little extra pride. Its the   
   Lightship Finngrundet, a museum ship in Stockholm that had been   
   built in 1903 and was in service until its decommissioning in 1969.   
   Its just become the 400th participant to register for next weekends   
   global event.   
   The S”dert”rns Radio Amateur club, S-K-ZERO-Q-OH (SK0QO) plans to   
   put the former marine navigation aid on the air for the two-day   
   event as SEVEN-S-ZERO-S-F-J (7S0SFJ). The moored lightship is among   
   numerous ones around the world now registered, along with an   
   international collective of lighthouses, for the amateur radio weekend.   
   This is a very different role for the Swedish lightship from the one   
   it was built to have at the turn of the earlier century. As an aid   
   to navigation then, it would emit two consecutive light flashes,   
   every 20 seconds, as its signature and it was visible for a distance   
   of 11 nautical miles.   
   Now with the hams using the ship to sail their signals across the   
   ionosphere, the club is hoping the Lightship Finngrundet will really   
   go the distance in connecting them to some memorable QSOs.   
      
   (SOUTHGATE AMATEUR RADIO NEWS)   
   EVENT: WHATEVER FLOATS YOUR BOAT   
   Theres more action happening on the water for another group of hams.   
   These amateurs also happen to be avid boaters, and theyre preparing   
   to catch a really big wave. Forty meters big, in this case.   
   They're gathering for an event, known as British Inland Waterways On   
   The Air, taking place August 29 to 31st - a bank holiday weekend in   
   Britain. Boating radio amateurs plan to use those days as an   
   opportunity to connect with other boaters around the country.   
   The primary band will be 40 meters, but communications will not be   
   restricted to just one band if conditions permit. Interested? Send   
   an email to biwota2015@gmail.com ,   
   providing basic information such as your name, call sign, home and   
   club location, and other relevant details.   
   The boating hams are hoping for what else? smooth sailing.   
      
   PUBLIC SAFETY: IT PAYS TO BE PREPARED   
   Arizona hams have a chance to fine-tune their emergency   
   communications skills on August 29 and 30 at a state-sponsored   
   training to be held in Phoenix. The two free 10-hour sessions at the   
   Papago Park Military Reservation, will give volunteers the basics of   
   relevant FCC rules and regulations, appropriate etiquette in an   
   Emergency Operations Center as well as on the air, emergency   
   communications deployment, and other tools. To participate, youll   
   need a valid amateur radio license and certificates of completion   
   for FEMA courses 100b, 200b, 700a and 800b. For more information,   
   visit their website at triple-w-dot-az-dash-ares-dot-org   
   (www.az-ares.org ). Or call 602-464-6225.   
   (ARIZONA DEPT. OF EMERGENCY AND MILITARY AFFAIRS)   
      
   NAMES IN THE NEWS   
   A number of hams around the globe have made headlines this week:   
   HOLLY THOMAS: LIKE FATHER LIKE DAUGHTER   
   Ten-year-old Holly Thomas is accustomed to studying for tests that   
   score her good grades, but one of the latest exams she took granted   
   the young scholar something else - national acclaim and a radio   
   license: The Welsh girl passed her amateur radio test scoring 20 out   
   of 26 questions correctly - becoming what is believed to be Wales   
   youngest radio amateur.   
   Her father, Christopher Thomas, M-W-ZERO-H-A-C, (MW0HAC), of Copper   
   Quarter, Morfa in Wales, thinks it is simply in his words   
   incredible. QUOTE I have been involved with amateur radio for 30   
   years, since I was 17, and she has been watching me over the years,   
   he says. I used to catch her in the room listening to the radio at a   
   young age. CLOSE QUOTE.   
   In addition to her dad, Holly has not been without her own group of   
   Elmers locally: Thomas says his daughters devotion to her radio   
   studies has found her meeting with fellow hams, for the past four   
   months, at the local amateur radio society every Monday after school.   
   As for Holly, she says it is all about making new friends. QUOTE   
   "Ham radio is awesome, everybody should get involved," she says. "I   
   enjoy making friends with people and I have friends in Australia,   
   New Zealand and America."END QUOTE   
   (THE SOUTH WALES EVENING POST)   
      
   FRANK AND LYNN SKINNER: TAKING IT FROM THE TOP   
   Frank and Lynn Skinner, a mountain-climbing couple from Colorado   
   Springs, the notion of Peak-to-Peak power means something a little   
   different.   
   Frank Skinner, K-ZERO-J-Q-Z, (K0JQZ) a retired Air Force master   
   sergeant now working as a civilian on Peterson Air Force Base,   
   spends time cimbing the rocks in the Pikes Peak region with his wife   
   Lynn, K-C-ZERO-Y-Q-F, (KC0YQF) a special education teacher. The   
   couple takes along a miniature radio inside a small metal tin that   
   used to hold breath mints and are aided by a 9-volt battery and a   
   35-foot wire. Its enough power and equipment for them to send and   
   receive Morse Code, one of the modes they use. The higher the   
   altitude, generally, the less the interference.   
   The Skinners have become a top-competing team of activators in   
   Summits on the Air, with Frank Skinner in 32nd place nationally,   
   with 860 points, and Lynn Skinner in 47th place. Her 528 points have   
   made her the top female activator in the United States.   
      
   (THE COLORADO GAZETTE)   
   THREE HONORED BY YASME FOUNDATION   
   Three hams have been given the Yasme Excellence Award for what the   
   groups directors deem a significant contribution to amateur radio   
   whether operational, technical or organizational. They are:   
   Mike Mertel, K-7-I-R, (K7IR), of Washington State, for his   
   revolutionary invention of a tunable Yagi antenna that was later   
   made available to the amateur radio community under the brand name   
   SteppIR   
   Koos Fockens, P-A-ZERO-K-D-F, (PAOEKDF), of the Netherlands, for his   
   investigations, measurements and publications regarding noise in the   
   amateur radio bands that played a key role in the global fight   
   against Broadband Over Power Line (BPL) interference   
   James Ying, N-2-I-W, (N2IW), of Rochester, New York, for his   
   creation of an on-line scheduling application that was used by many   
   W1AW/portable operations during the 2014 ARRL Centennial and remains   
   available without charge   
   The award consists of a cash grant and an engraved crystal globe.   
      
   SATELLITES: FLIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD   
   Is there life after death? When it comes to the U.S. Navys PCSAT   
   NO-44, a satellite launched 14 years ago by the U.S. military, the   
   answer is most definitely yes.   
   The satellite, licensed in the Amateur Satellite service, was   
   originally designed to be a status reporting and message   
   communications transmitter exclusively over the United States, using   
   the Automatic Position Reporting System, or APRS.   
   But it appears to have taken off on an orbit of its own and is now   
   intermittently blasting European amateurs, mainly on the part of the   
   spectrum around 150 MHz. Thats left Navy officials at a loss as to   
   how they might rein it in.   
   The satellite, which had been plagued by battery issues early on   
   that was causing it to reset, had its mission declared dead in 2003.   
   According to the AMSAT website, QUOTE Since this time, there have   
   been numerous attempts to recover the satellite but further attempts   
   have been stopped. NO-44 remains active when conditions are   
   favorable for sunlight, usually in mid-day passes, although by the   
   time it covers about 30 to 45 minutes into eclipse, power drops.   
   CLOSE QUOTE.   
   PCSAT was built with a backup fail-safe beacon on 144.39 MHz that   
   would activate after a reset providing a backup link if 145.825 MHz,   
   the primary channel, died. The satellite resets on every orbit as a   
   result of its negative power budget.   
   Time, of course, is on everyones side, since solar cells will   
   eventually lose their ability to hold a charge and the orbit will   
   simply decay. But the satellites prospects of burning up and leaving   
   the realm of the undead are believed to be decades away. And so the   
   interference, like the satellite, lives on. And on.   
   (AMSAT, QRZNOW, The UK Register)   
      
   GOING BACK IN TIME   
   Time may seem to stand still at least for a few moments - at WWV,   
   the National Institute of Standards and Technologys HF radio station   
   in Fort Collins, Colorado. The time and frequency standard station   
   is celebrating the completion of its successful first year with a   
   restored vertical dipole, one it had stopped making use of in 1977.   
   Last year, the 25 MHz signal went back to transmitting at the   
   antennas original location for the first time, on an experimental   
   basis. The experiment, it seems, worked just fine.   
   Matt Deutch N-ZERO-R-G-T (N0RGT), WWVs lead electrical engineer,   
   told ARRL that when the 25 MHz broadcast returned last year, a   
   broadband monopole was the antenna the station first used. But the   
   monopole was eventually paired with the stations 2.5 MHz standby   
   transmitter. Thats when the decision was made to resurrect the older   
   vertical dipole which, he said, after restoration now looks just   
   like it looked in 1977. He said the vertical dipole has a lower   
   angle of radiation than the broadband monopole did, and now has a   
   transmitter of its own, radiating 2.5 kilowatts. The signal provides   
   a way for radio operators to check their frequency calibration or   
   determine the exact time of day, and can also help with propagation   
   conditions on both 10 and 12 meters.   
   WWV welcomes signal reports and comments sent to its email address   
   at wwv-at-nist-dot-gov (wwv@nist.gov ).   
   (ARRL, KH6JRMs Amateur Radio Blog)   
      
   BREAK   
   Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio   
   Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world. We are being   
   relayed by the volunteer services of the following radio amateur:   
   (5 second pause)   
      
   AUTHOR, AUTHOR   
   Youve probably heard of the Elf on a Shelf, a Christmas figure   
   designed to inspire good behavior. Well, think of Don Keith,   
   N-4-K-C, (N4KC), as the Elmer on a Shelf: The prolific author has   
   just published two books that help newcomers sort out the   
   often-confusing business of being a successful ham. He spoke this   
   week with Amateur Radio Newslines Cheryl Lasek, K-9-B-I-K, (K9BIK).   
   Here is the first of two parts of their conversation:   
   [Cheryls interview with Don Keith]   
   Be listening next week when Cheryl concludes her talk with author   
   Don Keith on Amateur Radio Newsline.   
   CUBESAT PAIRS UP   
   Its a match made in the heavens or at least FOR the heavens: AMSAT   
   reports that its Fox-1A CubeSat has been paired with the Centaur   
   rocket, which means the newly mated couple will be ready for launch   
   this fall from Vandenburg Air Force Base in California.   
   AMSAT expressed hope for the new launch on its Meet-the-Fox-Project   
   web page saying QUOTE - This provides us with a way to put ham radio   
   transponders into orbit and provides our university partners with a   
   reliable platform for space-based research projects, ENDQUOTE.   
   The original announced launch date had been Aug. 27 but earlier this   
   year, AMSAT moved the date to late September. The satellite will be   
   carrying a Mode B FM transponder with an uplink frequency of 435.180   
   MHz, and a downlink frequency of 145.980 MHz. It will initially   
   allow contacts from ground stations using HTs and dual-band   
   antennas, and will also transmit continuous telemetry during normal   
   transponder operation.   
   This is the latest in a series of CubeSats AMSAT has put together   
   carrying amateur radio payloads. The satellites also support the   
   work of universities on scientific and educational missions.   
   (ARRL, AMSAT)   
      
   THE WORLD OF DX E5, SOUTH COOK ISLANDS (Update)   
   Milan, O-K-1-D-W-C (OK1DWC), is using call sign E-5-1-D-W-C (E51DWC)   
   from the Rarotonga Islands (OC-013, WAZ - 32) where the Czech   
   amateur will be at least through September. Part of his reason for a   
   visit to the Islands is to celebrate his birthday, he told the   
   Ohio-Penn DX Newsletter. He will be working 160 meters through 10   
   meters, holiday style, and his activity will include the 30/17/12   
   meter bands, using CW, SSB and RTTY. Milan reports that by the last   
   week in July, he had made 12,000 QSOs. Send QSLs via his home call sign.   
   (OHIO PENN DX BULLETIN, ARRL DX BULLETIN)   
      
   THE 3RD TIME IS THE CHARM   
   As part of a barter agreement between NASA and Italy's ASI space   
   agency, Italian ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli, I-Z-ZERO-J-P-A   
   (IZ0JPA), has been chosen for a trip to the International Space   
   Station in May 2017. The Milan native holds bachelors and masters   
   degrees from the Polytechnic Institute of New York, and is a   
   professional engineer, pilot and diver. He joined European Space   
   Agencys European Astronaut Centre in 1995.   
   The Italian Army veteran will be making his third trip into space   
   when he launches aboard a Soyuz vehicle. His first flight into space   
   was in a short-duration flight in 2007 - a two-week mission on the   
   Space Shuttle's STS-120. His job was to help install the Space   
   Station's Node-2 module.   
   His 2017 flight will be ASI's third long-duration flight, coming   
   after the 2013 trip taken by Luca Parmitano, K-F-5-K-D-P, (KF5KDP)   
   and Samantha Cristoforetti, I-Z-ZERO-U-D-F (IZ0UDF) this year.   
   (NASA)   
      
   And while were on the topic of the International Space Station, we   
   close out our newscast with word that something very special is   
   brewing on board there. Mike Askins, K-E-5-C-X-P, (KE5CXP), has that   
   story:   
   HEAVENLY COFFEE   
   Theres nothing like sitting at the window with a nice hot cup of   
   coffee and watching the world pass by. Now the astronauts on the   
   International Space Station can do just that. Instant coffee has   
   always been available on the ISS but now, for the first time, it can   
   be enjoyed freshly brewed. Italian retailer Lavazza and Argotec, the   
   provider of space food for European astronauts have joined forces   
   and created the ISSpresso, a device that overcomes the unique   
   challenges of brewing coffee in space. Quoting here: "Making coffee   
   in space isn't easy," Argotec officials said. "This is the first   
   capsule espresso machine that can work in the extreme conditions in   
   space, where the principles that determine the fluid dynamic   
   characteristics of liquids and mixtures are very different from   
   those typically found on earth." Unquote. The microwave-sized box   
   uses capsules, similar to a Keurig machine, to brew the caffeinated   
   beverage, as well as other hot drinks, such as caffŠ lungo, tea, hot   
   chocolate and broth. Fittingly, Italian astronaut and java fiend   
   Samantha Cristoforetti was the first to try the new machine after it   
   was installed May 3rd. And because no self-respecting coffee lover   
   would ever drink their latte with a straw, a special plastic, 3-D   
   printed cup was designed to cope with the demands imposed by   
   microgravity. So now when youre sitting at your window with a hot   
   cup of joe watching the world pass by you can delight in the fact   
   that maybe, somewhere way up in the sky, an astronaut is doing the   
   exact same thing. Except the view up there repeats every 90 minutes.   
   Im Mike Askins, KE5,CXP in Shawnee, Oklahoma.   
      
   NEWSCAST CLOSE   
   With thanks to Alan Labs, AMSAT, the ARRL, CQ Magazine, DXWorld, Hap   
   Holly and the Rain Report; NASA, the Ohio-Penn DX Newsletter;   
   Philippine Amateur Radio Association; Russ Roberts/KH6JRM, Southgate   
   Amateur Radio News, TWiT TV, QRZNOW, and you our listeners. Our   
   email address for news tips and comments is arnewslinetips@gmail.com   
   . More information is available at   
   Amateur Radio Newsline's only official website located at   
   www.arnewsline.org . You can also write   
   to us or support us at Amateur Radio Newsline, 28197 Robin Avenue,   
   Santa Clarita, CA 91350.   
   For now, Im Don Wilbanks AE5DW in New Orleans with Stephen Kinford,   
   N8WBX, in Wadsworth, Ohio, Caryn Eve Murray, KD2GUT, at the news   
   desk in New York, and our news team worldwide saying 73 and as   
   always we thank you for listening.   
   Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2015. All rights reserved.   
      
      
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