Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1981 October 16 2015   
      
   Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1981 with a release date of Friday,    
   October 16, 2015 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.   
      
   The following is a QST. American hams prepare for a historic partnership    
   with hams in Havana. The Pope Francis Special Event stations count tens    
   of thousands of successful QSOs. The International Amateur Radio Union    
   presses governments to ease restrictions on amateurs' antennas. And hams    
   in Nepal share how they assisted after April 25's devastating    
   earthquake. All this and more in Amateur Radio Newsline report 1981    
   coming your way right now.   
      
   (Billboard Cart Here and Intro)   
      
      
   **   
      
   QSOs IN CUBA   
      
   [SKEETER]: The team of radio amateurs operating on Oct. 24 and 25 from    
   Havana, Cuba, under the call sign T42US, won't just be another group of    
   competitors in the CQ World Wide SSB contest. They're a historic    
   collective of radio ambassadors, a partnership of American and Cuban    
   hams whose joint effort symbolizes the newfound ease in relations    
   between the two nations. Jim Milner, WB2REM, is the U.S. team leader.    
   The Florida-based ham recently talked with Amateur Radio Newsline's Hap    
   Holly, KC9RP, about how this Cuban-American matchup came to be.   
      
   [HAP'S REPORT]   
      
      
   **   
   A HOSPITAL HAM SHACK   
      
   The newest operations taking place 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. There, in    
   the hospital basement, a collection of state-of-the-art rigs provides    
   access to the UHF and VHF bands as well as D-STAR for station WX4BCA.   
      
   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. 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   
      
   The radios were purchased with a grant from the Georgia Hospital    
   Association. ARES member Buzz Kutcher calls the equipment typical of    
   what's at other local hospitals, making Sylvan Grove one more link in    
   the area's chain of safety.   
      
   (THE JACKSON PROGRESS-ARGUS NEWSPAPER)   
      
   **   
      
   YES, YOU CAN SURPRISE A HAM OR TWO OR THREE   
      
   For 20 years, Ronald Uhlman, KC6MTO, has been just what the doctor    
   ordered for the Benicia, California Police Department. It helps, of    
   course, that the longtime radio amateur also happens to the doctor. The    
   retired podiatrist has spent the past two decades in various jobs as a    
   volunteer with the Benicia police. And now, as he and his wife make    
   plans to relocate to Washington State, the department has done something    
   for him: He has been honored for his selfless work by Police Chief Erik    
   Upson and the rest of the force.   
      
   Now 75, Uhlman began volunteering in various jobs with the police in    
   1995, and ultimately worked his way up to community service officer.    
   Responding to the surprise award just as he is finishing his tenure, the    
   humble Uhlman says simply QUOTE"It's embarrassing. I didn't do anything    
   special. I was just doing what I was supposed to do and having a good    
   time doing it." ENDQUOTE   
      
   No doubt Hal Post, AK2E, of Middle Grove, N.Y., and Jay Buscemi, NY2NY,    
   can relate. Post and Buscemi have been chosen to receive the 2015 "Grand    
   Ol' Ham" award for the American Radio Relay League's Hudson Division, in    
   the New York-New Jersey area.   
      
   Hudson Division Director Mike Lisenco described Post and other award    
   recipients as "very worthy individuals who have had an impact on amateur    
   radio in the Hudson Division." Other honorees are: Rachel Weiss, AJ4WD,    
   Bruce Baccaro, K2ULZ, and John Melfi, W2HCB, three Amateur of the Year    
   award winners. The Technical Achievement award went to Blair Hearth, KD2EPA.   
      
   The awards luncheon is Sunday, Nov. 8.   
      
      
   (TIMES HERALD ONLINE, THE SARATOGIAN NEWSPAPER, ARRL HUDSON DIVISION)   
      
   **   
      
   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   
      
   (North Fulton Amateur Radio League)   
      
   **   
      
   POPE SPECIAL EVENT BLESSED BY BIG NUMBERS   
      
   [SKEETER] Pope Francis' visit to Washington D.C., New York, and    
   Philadelphia drew big crowds and lots of close encounters with the    
   leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics. It also made quite an    
   impact on the ham bands. We get the story from Amateur Radio Newsline's    
   Mark Abramowicz, NT3V.....   
      
   [MARK'S REPORT]   
      
   "The number of contacts were really incredible. The band conditions    
   weren't that great while the event went on or we probably would have    
   made more."   
      
   That's Jim Nitzberg WX3B from the Potomac Valley Radio Club, one of the    
   coordinators of the special event stations put on the air by amateurs in    
   the Mid-Atlantic region.   
      
   "The number of contacts that we made are just shy of 27,000 and that's    
   on a various array of high-frequency bands, VHF bands, internet/ham    
   radio communications, satellite communications and Earth-Moon-Earth    
   communications," Nitzberg says.   
      
   He says there was a lot of interest in the Pope special event stations    
   once they hit the air Sept. 22. They were on the air until the pope was    
   wheels up out of Philadelphia on Sept. 27.   
      
   "The United States and the European countries were the highest    
   interest," Nitzberg says. "The majority of the contacts were made on the    
   HF bands, and, specifically, the 20 and 40 meter bands. There was more    
   contacts made using voice (or SSB) than Morse Code. But there were a lot    
   of contacts made using the Morse Code as a method of communication as well."   
      
   And, Nitzberg says, even the Vatican station got on the air for a short    
   period to take part.   
      
   "I saw them active on our DX spotting networks and they were on 17    
   meters," Nitzberg says. "It was during one of the last days of the event    
   so that must have been really exciting for those that got to make    
   contact with them."   
      
   Now it's it's time to begin answering all the requests for QSLs and    
   certificates.   
      
   "We have several hundred requests for cards, several hundred awards    
   certificates that have been printed already," Nitzberg says. "And I    
   noticed the Philadelphia group that's managed by Sig, N3RS, and my group    
   are just ordering cards and we're ordering a total of 4,000 cards    
   because we think that's how many people are going to request cards."   
      
   For more on QSLing, go to our website www.arnewsline.org and click on    
   the script version of the program for this week and scroll down to the    
   Pope Special Event story and you'll find the link for information there....   
      
   http://www.silverfishdevelopment.com/papalEvent/   
      
   For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mark Abramowicz, NT3V, in Philadelphia.   
      
      
   **   
      
   BREAK HERE:   
   Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio    
   Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including the    
   Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana (OH-KY-IN) Amateur Radio Society repeater, 146.670    
   MHz, in Cincinnati, managed by Bruce Vanselow (VAN-sloh), N8BV.   
      
   ** **   
      
   IARU SPEAKS OUT FOR ANTENNAS   
      
   Antenna restrictions have got to go. So says the International Amateur    
   Radio Union's Administrative Council, which recently opted a resolution    
   urging its members to press their local governments to ease limitations    
   on amateur radio antennas.   
      
   The resolution says, in part, that societies need to QUOTE"advocate for    
   planning and development regulations that properly recognize the    
   importance of an Amateur Radio antenna and do not place undue    
   restrictions."ENDQUOTE Those restrictions included any fees that might    
   be imposed which, the resolution said, could pose a problem    
   QUOTE"particularly in view of the non-pecuniary nature of Amateur Radio    
   and its popularity in the student and senior communities."ENDQUOTE   
      
   The measure was passed during the IARU's meeting in early October in    
   Bali, Indonesia.   
      
   (ARRL)   
      
   **   
      
   RUNNING FOR THE WARRIORS   
      
   The Great South Bay Amateur Radio Club in New York, and the Babylon Town    
   ARES has issued a QST for at least 100 volunteer radio operators for    
   this year's Hope for the Warriors Run on Saturday, Nov. 7. The 10K and    
   5K race shuts more than 200 streets on Long Island's busy south shore,    
   allowing runners to safely navigate the course with the intention of    
   raising funds to aid wounded veterans. The Hope for the Warriors    
   organization not only helps rehabilitate newly returned, injured    
   veterans but assists with their medical needs and helps their families    
   find appropriate housing for the disabled. The race begins in    
   Lindenhurst, New York, near Babylon Town Hall.   
      
   Ham radio operators with handheld radios and an interest in helping    
   ensure runner safety can email club president John Melfi at    
   W2HCB@arrl.net, or simply sign up on the club's website, www.gsbarc.org.   
      
   (Great South Bay Amateur Radio Club)   
      
   **   
      
   FCC TO WEIGH IN ON TINKERING   
      
   The ARRL is listening for a clear signal from the FCC that it's OK for    
   hams to modify non-amateur equipment to use on the air, especially WiFi    
   network devices. Recently proposed FCC rules, affecting the    
   authorization of RF equipment, have spurred concern in some corners of    
   the amateur community that these rules would restrict or prevent hams    
   from going on the air with equipment they'd modified.   
      
   The ARRL comments say, in part: QUOTE"The Amateur Radio Service has a    
   very long tradition of modification and adaptation of commercial    
   communications equipment." The League also pressed the FCC against    
   limiting Software Defined Radios to SDRs intended for use exclusively in    
   the Amateur Radio Service. The ARRL filed its comments on Oct. 8.   
      
   ARRL, QRZNOW   
      
   **   
      
   COASTING TO ANOTHER ANNIVERSARY   
   More than 50 ham radio stations throughout the United States will be on    
   the air beginning Friday, Oct. 16 through Sunday Oct. 18 as special    
   event stations marking the 76th anniversary of the U.S. Coast Guard    
   Auxiliary. The stations will operate mainly with 1 x 1 calls from    
   lighthouses, battleships, vessels and other venues, using both voice and    
   digital modes, including CW and PSK-31.   
   Participating stations include N7B, a mobile station near the Alki Light    
   House in Seattle, Washington; N3G, operating portable CW & PSK-31 from    
   Augustine Beach, Delaware and NJ2BB, the Battleship New Jersey.   
      
   (U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary)   
   **   
      
   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.   
      
   (ARRL)   
      
   **   
      
   HAMS REVISIT NEPAL'S EARTHQUAKE   
      
   Ham radio operators who responded last April to the devastating    
   earthquake in Nepal still haven't forgotten the scenes of devastation in    
   that Himalayan nation. And they are sharing the drama of that damage -    
   and the successful rescue work - by recreating that experience during a    
   puja, or Hindu worship gathering, in Kolkata. Members of the West Bangal    
   Radio Club will demonstrate how ham operations assisted the distressed    
   area on April 25, and how the radio amateurs' operations in the days    
   afterward helped restore stability.   
      
   Organizers say that the experience will be recreated with a simulated    
   earthquake of a very low magnitude, courtesy of special light and sound    
   effects, accompanied by vibrating motors. Says Anupam Das, one of the    
   organizers, QUOTE"As one steps into the tunnel at the entrance, they    
   will feel slight tremors. When they pass through, a scene of devastation    
   will lie before them. But our theme is not the damage itself, rather how    
   India helped Nepal in rescue and relief. Our theme is humanity."   
      
   The amateur radio club's secretary, Ambarish Nag Biswas, says amateurs    
   who were present to assist in the search and rescue in Nepal will be    
   conducting the live demonstration.   
      
   The quake caused widespread damage and was responsible for the deaths of    
   thousands.   
      
   TIMES OF INDIA, THE SOUTH ASIAN TIMES)   
   **   
   THE WORLD OF DX   
      
      
   A 12-man German Expedition Team is operating as V73D from Majuro in the    
   Marshall Islands until Oct. 28th. They will have four stations on all    
   bands CW, SSB and RTTY. IOTA reference is OC-029. Send QSLs via ClubLog    
   OQRS.   
      
   A multi-national team is operating as D4D from Boa Vista in the Cape    
   Verde Islands between Oct. 17 and 24th. They can be worked on 80m to 6m    
   on SSB, CW and RTTY. Send QSL cards to EB7DX.   
      
   Oliver, W6NV, is operating as ZD7W from St. Helena through Nov. 2 on all    
   bands, 160 meters to 10 meters. He will be using SSB and CW and will    
   also participate in the Worked All Germany CW Contest and the CQ World    
   Wide DX SSB Contest. Send QSLs to W6NV.   
      
   Beth M-W-ZERO-V-O-W, (MW0VOW) and John, ZS5J, will be working as C91B    
   during a DXpedition in Mozambique between Oct. 20 and Nov. 3. They will    
   be working all bands from 160 to 6 meters, using CW and SSB. They have    
   expedition status on Club Log with leaderboard facility. Logs will be    
   uploaded daily, free, to Logbook of the World and Club Log.   
      
   (DX World, Irish Radio Transmitters Society, OHIO PENN DX NEWSLETTER)   
      
      
   KICKER: HAM SCHOOL   
      
   The middle school students in Kingman, Arizona, aren't licensed hams    
   yet, but they were still able to give a 5 and 9 to their teacher, Dan    
   Miller, K3UFG. Miller, a teacher's aide at Kingman Middle School, has    
   been a ham since 1962. He drew upon his years of experience to teach    
   radio science to youngsters during an enrichment program during school    
   intercession earlier this month.   
      
   Miller's lessons included battery-testing, use of a volt-ohm meter, and    
   the differences between direct current and alternating current. He gave    
   them a sampling of what Morse Code is like and even helped them build    
   their first dipole antenna from wire he'd had stored at home.   
      
   When it came time to put that antenna to the test, however, the kids    
   made a seamless transition from radio science to archery: In order to    
   get a string over the rung of a pole so they could hoist their dipole    
   up, they shot it there using a bow and arrow. Not long after, Miller    
   successfully guided them through a QSO with a ham named Walt in    
   Torrance, California.   
      
   Later, the enthusiastic kids told Miller that yes, they're ready to    
   start studying for their licenses. And even if their eventual ham    
   careers never call upon their skills at archery again, Miller can be    
   pretty sure he hit a bull's-eye that day.   
      
   (THE DAILY MINER)   
      
      
   ** **   
      
   NEWSCAST CLOSE   
   With thanks to Alan Labs, the ARRL; CQ Magazine; the Daily Miner; DX    
   World; the FCC; Great South Bay Amateur Radio Club; Hap Holly and the    
   Rain Report; The Irish Radio Transmitter Society; The Jackson    
   Progress-Argus newspaper; North Fulton Amateur Radio League; the    
   Ohio-Penn DX Newsletter; the Saratogian; Southgate Amateur Radio News,    
   the South Asian Times; the Times of India; the Times Herald Online; TWiT    
   TV, the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary; 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.   
      
      
   ***   
      
   As a Service to the HAM Radio Community and HAM Operators all over the world,   
   this Amateur Radio Newline(tm) message has been gated from the internet and   
   posted to you by Waldo's Place USA, fidonet node 1:3634/12. We hope you   
   enjoyed it!   
      
   Please address all comments and questions to the ARNewsletter editor as   
   described in this posting. If you have any specific questions related to the   
   actual posting of this message, you may address them to   
   hamfdn(at)wpusa.dynip.com.   
      
   Thank you and good day!   
      
   -73- ARNTE-0.1.0-OS2 build 42   
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