Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1980 October 9 2015   
      
   Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1980 with a release date of Friday,    
   October 9, 2015 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.   
      
   The following is a QST. Hams step up to assist in the South Carolina's    
   biggest flooding since Hurricane Floyd. The Islands on the Air website    
   deals with a security breach. Boy Scouts around the world prepare for    
   the 58th Jamboree On the Air. And organizers ponder the future of the    
   Dayton Hamvention. All this and more in Amateur Radio Newsline report    
   1980 coming your way right now.   
      
   (Billboard Cart Here and Intro)   
      
   [SKEETER]: We begin this week with breaking news as the Carolinas    
   continue to struggle with record-setting floods. In South Carolina, a    
   coordinated network of ham radio operators has been blanketing the state    
   to protect public health, safety and communications. Amateur Radio    
   Newsline's Kent Peterson, K-C-ZERO-D-G-Y (KC0DGY), hears the details    
   from Thom Ashton of the South Carolina Healthcare Emergency Amateur    
   Radio Team:   
      
   [KENT'S REPORT with THOM ASHTON, 3:40]   
      
   **   
      
   WATCHING THE WEATHER   
      
   With seasonal storms very much in the headlines - and weighing on    
   everyone's mind - the National Weather Service is looking for    
   Connecticut area radio amateurs to train as weather-watchers. A SKYWARN    
   course is being held on Tuesday, Oct. 13 to teach proper reporting of    
   hazardous conditions to relay to the weather service. SKYWARN's national    
   network of volunteer weather spotters will provide the training and    
   certification following the two-hour class in the East Hampton,    
   Connecticut Middle School Library. Trainees will learn to report    
   developing thunderstorms as well as assess weather conditions such as    
   heavy snow, rain and flooding. Those completing the course receive a    
   Spotter ID card and a certificate. The course is sponsored by the East    
   Hampton Community Emergency Response Team and the town's Emergency    
   Management department. Seating is limited to 70.   
      
   To register, send an email to weather@easthamptonct.gov and include your    
   name, phone number and email address.   
      
   (NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE, HADDAMS-KILLINGWORTH PATCH.COM)   
      
   **   
      
   WEBSITE WOES   
      
   In the latest in a series of online security issues affecting hams    
   around the world, the Radio Society of Great Britain reports a breach    
   that has affected users' passwords on the website for RSGB's Islands on    
   the Air. A bug in the online code was apparently exploited, allowing the    
   intruder to reset the passwords of all the website's users, which    
   prevented anyone from logging in.   
      
   Immediately following the Sept. 27 breach, IOTA issued a statement of    
   reassurance saying, QUOTE "There is no sign in the system logs that any    
   data was read or that personal data was compromised."ENDQUOTE The    
   website has been encouraging users to change their passwords and to    
   contact them directly with any additional concerns.   
      
   (ARRL, THE DAILY DX)   
      
   **   
      
   SCOUTS TAKE TO THE AIR   
      
   ANCHOR [SKEETER]:   
      
   More than a million Scouts all across the globe will be looking to    
   connect with fellow Scouts by way of amateur radio for the 58th Jamboree    
   on the Air sponsored by the World Organization of the Scout Movement and    
   the Boy Scouts of America. The event runs Oct. 16 through the 18th.    
   Amateur Radio Newsline's Mark Abramowicz, NT3V, has our report.   
      
   [MARK]:   
      
   It is still the largest Scouting event in the world.   
      
   Last year, some 1.3 million Scouts took part and they were spread among    
   157 countries.   
      
   Jim Wilson, K5ND, who is the national coordinator for JOTA activities    
   for the BSA, says the concept is simple.   
      
   "It's really to get Scouts engaged in conversations with other Scouts    
   around the world so that they're being exposed to other cultures, other    
   ways of doing Scouting and even the seasons of the year that are    
   different in different counties," Wilson says. "It's springtime in    
   Australia as it's fall here in the U.S."   
      
   And, Wilson says, it requires licensed ham radio operators to make all    
   of this happen.   
      
   "As amateur radio operators, we feel it's a big opportunity to introduce    
   the technology and the fun and just the magic of amateur radio to have    
   those conversations," Wilson says.   
      
   He says the event activity will be spread across many bands and a many    
   modes.   
      
   "Primarily single-side-band, but EchoLink, D-Star, Digital Mobile Radio    
   (DMR) is open; IRC and those kinds of modes," Wilson explains. "And, a    
   growing interest in moon bounce. There's some EME stations - a very    
   large one in the Netherlands.   
      
   "There's a big one in South Africa that get on the air for Jamboree on    
   the Air and a few here in the U.S. as well."   
      
   Wilson says many of the successful JOTA operations across the U.S. are    
   tied into traditional camping events.   
      
   "The really successful events go to where the Scouts are," Wilson says.    
   "And, that's typically at a big camporee - ideally it's a council or    
   district-wide camporee. And, it becomes one more activity for the    
   weekend to introduce Scouts to amateur radio and, as well, the rest of    
   the world."   
      
   Wilson says there are many registered volunteer Scouters who are also    
   licensed hams who set up stations to help Scouts communicate.   
      
   He says it doesn't have to be at a camporee either. It can be even be a    
   home station.   
      
   There's also an internet component to the event as well.   
      
   You can learn more about JOTA and Jamboree on the Internet by going to    
   our website, www.arnewsline.org and clicking on the script link and    
   following the story to two links for the event...   
      
   http://www.scouting.org/jota.aspx   
      
   http://jotajoti.info/   
      
   For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mark Abramowicz, NT3V, in Philadelphia.   
      
   **   
   HAMVENTION INTERVENTION   
      
   A published report in Dayton, Ohio, has cast doubts on the location of    
   next year's Dayton Hamvention. An Oct. 2 report published in the Dayton    
   Daily News notes that this global gathering of more than 25,000    
   amateurs, which infuses the local economy with $8.5-million each year,    
   may face relocation from Hara Arena. Hamvention has been held there    
   since 1964. It is no secret that the arena has been beset with financial    
   challenges in recent years.   
      
   Emails obtained recently by the newspaper raise questions about the    
   arena's future, and describe how city and tourism officials are    
   scrambling to compile alternative sites to keep Hamvention in the Dayton    
   region. An Aug. 26 email from Dayton Convention Manager Michael Cashman    
   to one Dayton official described the prospect of holding Hamvention 2016    
   at Hara as QUOTE "highly unlikely." ENDQUOTE Cashman's message reported    
   that the Dayton Amateur Radio Association had already been given tours    
   of such alternate venues as the Dayton Convention Center and the Dayton    
   Airport Expo Center.   
      
   But Jim Tiderman, N-8-EYE-D-S (N8IDS), general chairman of the Dayton    
   Amateur Radio Association, has been downplaying the somber prospect of    
   relocation. Tiderman says the board does not foresee any relocation    
   unless QUOTE "something catastrophic"ENDQUOTE happens. And the    
   Dayton/Montgomery County Convention & Visitors Bureau agreed this is not    
   the first year that alternative sites have been put on the table for    
   Hamvention.   
      
   Meanwhile, it's business as usual, as planning sessions continue for    
   Hamvention 2016. The Dayton gathering is set to run May 20 through the 22nd.   
   (DAYTON DAILY NEWS, ARRL)   
      
   **   
   PARTYING, NEW YORK STYLE   
      
   Who knows how to party better than New Yorkers? And with the state's 62    
   counties at the ready, the New York QSO Party gets on the air October 17    
   and 18 for as much activity as possible, especially on 40 and 20 meters.    
   New York hams are extending a special welcome for mobile and QRP operators.   
   Hams around the country, working on SSB, CW, RTTY and other digital    
   modes, will be looking to connect with any and all New York stations,    
   county by county. There's even an entry class for rookies to face off    
   against other rookies. That class is open to any ham licensed since Jan.    
   1, 2012.   
   Visit www.nyqp.org for the full details. And let's get this party    
   started. The New Yorkers are waiting.   
      
   (NY QSO PARTY)   
      
   ******   
      
   ROLL CALL FOR MILITARY CONVOY   
      
   The military Convoy on the Air Special Event is rolling into its final    
   week. Since mid-September, members of the Military Vehicle Preservation    
   Association have been following the path of the 1920 Transcontinental    
   Convoy west from Washington, D.C., with ham radio operations happening    
   along the way. The vehicles and the special stations all come to a    
   definitive halt on Saturday, Oct. 17, when they reach their destination    
   in San Diego, California. The convoy has been making its way along the    
   old BankHead Highway convoy route, a precursor to the modern interstate    
   highway system.   
      
   If you haven't been along for the ride yet, there's still time to make a    
   clean sweep, connect with the host station, bonus stations and earn a    
   special certificate. Visit www.convoyontheair.org for more information.   
      
   (CONVOY ON THE AIR)   
      
   **   
      
   BREAK HERE:   
   Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio    
   Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including the    
   KB9WSL repeater in Rochester, Indiana, following Thursday's 7 pm weekly net.   
      
   ** **   
      
   LICENSE NUMBERS ARE DOWN, DOWN UNDER   
      
   The number of licensed amateurs in Australia has fallen. According to    
   the Australian Communications and Media Authority, there are almost 400    
   fewer license-holders this year than in 2014. Most of the losses are the    
   result of cancelled call signs and Silent Keys, many of them amateurs    
   who got their licenses following World War II. Even Australia's most    
   populated states, New South Wales and Victoria, reported a decline in    
   licensed amateurs.   
   In all, there are now 14, 748 ham radio operators in Australia, down    
   from 15,141 in 2014. The country is seeing prospects for growth,    
   however. Australia is creating opportunities for newly licensed amateurs    
   through the establishment of a Foundation License, an entry level    
   gateway for operators. And, the Wireless Institute reports, prospective    
   radio amateurs are still coming on board even after having failed under    
   the previous Novice license system. The Institute's Jim Linton, VK3PC,    
   says the WIA has also been encouraging clubs and trainers to step up    
   recruitment.   
      
   (SOUTHGATE AMATEUR RADIO NEWS, WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA)   
      
   ** **   
   A HOSPITAL HAM SHACK   
      
   The newest operations going on inside the Sylvan Grove Hospital in    
   Jackson, Georgia have nothing to do with scalpels or anaesthesia. The    
   operators, in this case, are licensed radio amateurs and they are    
   breathing new life into the hospital's emergency radio shack in the    
   basement. There, a collection of state-of-the-art rigs provide access to    
   the UHF and VHF bands as well as D-STAR.   
   The Butts County Amateur Radio Emergency Service Group is using the    
   hospital-based equipment to make critical connections with fire and    
   health departments, as well as 911. The radios were purchased with a    
   grant from the Georgia Hospital Association.   
   Ken Wallis, a member of Butts County ARES, says six people serve as the    
   hospital's response team, ready to get on the air in an emergency. He    
   says: QUOTE "With this radio, we can talk across the street, nationally    
   or internationally if we have to." ENDQUOTE   
   ARES member Buzz Kutcher calls the equipment typical of what some other    
   area hospitals have. The hospital operates under the call sign WX4BCA.   
      
   (THE JACKSON PROGRESS-ARGUS NEWSPAPER)   
      
   **   
   ROME ON THE RADIO   
      
   Barely two weeks after Pope Francis' historic visit to the United    
   States, the Vatican is making news again in the amateur radio world. On    
   the weekend of Friday, Oct. 10 and Saturday, Oct. 11, Rome will host a    
   DX Summit and Vatican City's station, H-V-ZERO-A (HV0A) will be active    
   on several bands. The summit will feature a presentation on easing    
   traffic during a DXpedition, and other ways to improve the DX    
   experience. According to Finland's Martti Laine, OH-H-2-B-H (OH2BH), the    
   summit agenda also includes plans to unveil a new Q code. Laine helped    
   organize the event with Italy's Giordano Giordani, I-K-ZERO-X-F-D    
   (IK0XFD) and Francesco Valsecchi, I-K-ZERO-F-V-C (IK0FVC).   
      
   If you work the Vatican, send QSL cards to Valsecchi, IK0FVC, and    
   Logbook of the World.   
      
   The summit will also feature a paper from DX University given the    
   working title, "How to Work Everything with No Pain - Even Europe."   
      
   (ARRL)   
      
   **   
      
   DOLLARS FOR SCHOLARS   
      
   A scholarship fund has been established by the ARRL Foundation in memory    
   of Alan G. Thorpe, K-ONE-T-M-W (K1TMW), a Connecticut radio amateur who    
   became a Silent Key in 2011 at 65. Thorpe was a longtime member of the    
   Stratford, Connecticut Amateur Radio Club, and had key emergency    
   coordination roles in the Amateur Radio Emergency Service. He was known    
   by Stratford club members as community-minded and an educator. Longtime    
   friend and fellow ham, Bob Betts, N-ONE-K-P-R (N1KPR), tells the ARRL    
   that Thorpe had left a trust fund to help continue his work after his    
   death, and made a bequest as well to the ARRL. Betts says: "Al believed    
   in the basic tenets of our hobby: Education, promotion and community    
   service, and he directed all his available efforts toward those goals."   
      
   The Thorpe memorial fund hopes to award its first $1,000 scholarship in    
   2016 to a licensed amateur enrolled in a four-year undergraduate    
   program, with studies in any major. The ARRL Foundation is administering    
   the scholarship.   
      
   **   
      
   JAM SESSION   
      
   Now there's nothing wrong with THIS kind of radio jamming: It's Hamjam    
   2015, taking place in Alpharetta, Georgia on Nov. 14. This is the    
   seventh such free gathering put together by the North Fulton Amateur    
   Radio League, as a way to promote ham radio in the southeast. Raffle    
   tickets sold at the event fund the league's education programs as well    
   as scholarships for youth.   
      
   The half-day program at the Metropolitan Club features an array of    
   speakers including Mike Corey, K-I-ONE-U (KI1U), ARRL Emergency    
   Preparedness Manager; Jamie Dupree, NS3T, radio news director of Cox    
   Media Group's Washington Bureau and Glen Popiel, KW5GP, author of the    
   ARRL's book, "Arduino for Ham Radio," who will present his talk via Skype.   
      
   Veteran hams as well as prospective hams are invited. For more details,    
   visit www.hamjam.info   
      
      
   **   
   THE WORLD OF DX   
      
   Jay, K4ZLE, will be active as 5X2A from three different locations in    
   Uganda from Oct. 10 through the 19th. He is best reached in the evenings    
   and/or early mornings, Uganda time, and will be using CW and RTTY on 40    
   through 17 meters. Send QSLs to his home call sign, K4ZLE, by the Bureau    
   or Logbook of the World.   
      
   Oliver, EI8GQB, will be working as E-I-ONE-A (EI1A), from a hilltop in    
   Ireland for two contests: The Worked All Germany Contest on Oct. 17 and    
   18, and the CQ Worldwide DX SSB contest on Oct. 24 and 25th. He will    
   continue to be active at all other times, through the end of October,    
   under his regular call sign, EI8GQB.   
      
   The CQ Worldwide DX SSB contest will bring together some new Qatari    
   licensees with more seasoned operators in a joint team for the contest    
   on Oct. 24, and 25. Members of the Qatar Amateur Radio Society, Danish    
   Contest Academy and others will work from the Disaster Management Camp    
   compound in northern Qatar. They will operate as A-7-ONE-A (A71A), with    
   particular emphasis on the low bands.   
      
   The CQ Worldwide DX SSB contest will also see some action from Gia,    
   4L4WW, who will be on the air from Obcha in Western Georgia, on Oct. 25    
   and 26th. Gia will work as a Single-Op/Single-All/High-Power entry. QSL    
   via LoTW or via EA7FTR. He is not accepting any direct QSL cards.   
   Planning for next month, German operators Manfred/DK1BT, Sigi/DL7DF,    
   Reiner/DL7KL and Frank/DL7UFR will be active as 5Z4HW from Kenya between    
   November 4 and 18th. They will work 160 through 6 meters using CW, SSB,    
   RTTY and PSK31. Pilot station will be Bernd, DF3CB. Send QSL cards via    
   DL7DF, direct or by the Bureau.   
      
   (IRISH RADIO TRANSMITTERS SOCIETY, OHIO PENN DX NEWSLETTER)   
      
   KICKER: SOME KIND OF SUMMIT   
      
   Ham radio operators are no strangers to rescue operations in the face of    
   storms, floods or fires, but in Victoria, Australia, one ham enroute to    
   a Summits On the Air activation found himself engaged an unlikely    
   rescue: the SOTA activation itself. Peter Freeman, VK3PF, was driving to    
   his destination peak when something went seriously wrong with his    
   Subaru. He writes in his blog on Wordpress, QUOTE "I heard something    
   'pop' and the engine started sounding rough. As I was slowing down, I    
   saw some smoke from under the bonnet, so I slowed and pulled over just    
   after the engine died."ENDQUOTE   
      
   When he got out of the car to inspect further, he could see flames    
   erupting. He quickly got on 2 meters and notified another ham enroute,    
   Tony VK3CAT, to get help. Then he jumped back into the car, hoping to    
   toss his ham gear to safety just as the flames combined with billowing    
   black smoke. Peter continues, in his blog, QUOTE "The flames got bigger    
   and that was it - stand back and watch!" ENDQUOTE   
      
   By the time firefighters arrived, all that was left of the car was    
   memory. Peter lost the vehicle, along with a dual band radio and 40    
   meter whip antenna. The hams were about to pack up and head home in    
   Tony's car when they realized they were, after all, right there at the    
   foot of the unactivated mountain. So, with Tony's ham gear in tow, they    
   decided to take care of their unfinished business. How could they    
   resist, especially when that particular summit was conveniently named    
   Mount Useful?   
      
   (SOUTHGATE AMATEUR RADIO NEWS)   
   ** **   
      
   NEWSCAST CLOSE   
   With thanks to Alan Labs, the ARRL, AMSAT News Service; CQ Magazine; DX    
   Coffee; the FCC; Jackson Progress-Argus; Jim Linton, VK3PC; Hap Holly    
   and the Rain Report; Irish Radio Transmitters Society; the New York QSO    
   Party; the Ohio-Penn DX Newsletter; Southgate Amateur Radio News, TWiT    
   TV, the Russian Digital Radio Club; Southgate Amateur Radio News, the    
   Wireless Institute of Australia; and you our listeners, that's all from    
   the Amateur Radio Newsline. Our email address is    
   newsline@arnewsline.org. 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, with Caryn Eve Murray, KD2GUT, at the news desk in New York,    
   and our news team worldwide, I'm Skeeter Nash, N5ASH in Topeka, Kansas,    
   saying 73 and as always we thank you for listening.   
      
   Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2015. All rights reserved.   
      
      
   ***   
      
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   this Amateur Radio Newline(tm) message has been gated from the internet and   
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   Thank you and good day!   
      
   -73- ARNTE-0.1.0-OS2 build 42   
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