Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1986 November 20 2015   
      
   Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1986 with a release date of Friday,    
   November 20, 2015 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.   
      
   The following is a QST. The FCC suffers another temporary outage of its    
   Universal Licensing System. The amateur community gets ready to    
   recognize hard-working SKYWARN volunteers. And a special station    
   operating in the Antarctic refuses to let blizzards get in the way of    
   QSOs. All this and more in Amateur Radio Newsline report 1986 coming    
   your way right now.   
      
   (Billboard Cart Here and Intro)   
      
   **   
      
   BAD LUCK (AGAIN) AT THE FCC   
      
   We begin with news of yet another obstacle for the FCC's beleaguered    
   Universal Licensing System, which suffered a second, and then third    
   shutdown of its Electronic Batch Filing system. One stoppage occurred,    
   appropriately perhaps, on Friday the 13th, and shortly after the system    
   was restored on Wednesday, Nov. 18, it once again stopped working.   
      
   And just as bad propagation can pretty much close the bands, the FCC    
   outages have brought processing of VEC license and examination files to    
   a screeching halt.   
      
   The ARRL's VEC Manager, Maria Somma, AB1FM, said she hoped volunteer    
   examiners and applicants would try to be patient, especially since the    
   FCC has indicated there is not yet a long-term fix for the problem. The    
   agency did acknowledge, however, that the on-again, off-again ability to    
   process files stems from the same issue each time.   
      
   According to Somma, the ARRL VEC had an estimated 400 applications and    
   nearly 150 exam sessions awaiting FCC processing. A few files did manage    
   to make their way through the system on Wednesday, however, before the    
   system went off line again.   
      
   The scenario is reminiscent of the shutdown that occurred in early    
   September, frustrating license applicants and examiners, while the FCC    
   website underwent maintenance and a system upgrade.   
      
   At the time of this newscast's production, however, it seemed that the    
   amateur radio community was once again in for a bit of a waiting game.   
      
   (ARRL)   
      
   **   
      
   BOBBY BEST SKYWARN STORY   
      
   [ANCHOR/DON:] There's no question about the forecast for Dec. 5, 2015 --    
   the bands will be partly crowded, with 100 percent chance of    
   participation. That's the date the National Weather Service and the ARRL    
   have set for the 17th annual SKYWARN Recognition Day, a 24-hour    
   opportunity for hams to acknowledge colleagues who serve as trained    
   volunteers assisting the weather service. Amateur Radio Newsline's Bobby    
   Best, WX4ALA, has the details:   
      
      
   [BOBBY:]   
   Ham radio operators aren't just fair-weather friends to local offices of    
   the National Weather Service. They're integral parts of the wireless    
   communication channel that passes along critical information, often    
   during the most severe weather. That's why, on SKYWARN Recognition Day,    
   when those hams set up operation at NWS offices around the country,    
   they'll look forward to making contact with other hams nationwide on the    
   HF bands, in various modes, and also on 2 meter and 440 repeaters. The    
   stations will exchange call signs, signal reports, location and, of    
   course indicate it's rainy, cloudy, snowing, hailing or perhaps even sunny.   
      
   The National Weather Service and ARRL created SKYWARN Recognition Day in    
   1999. It's going to be a big day for amateurs everywhere who reach out,    
   make contact and yes, even say thank-you. And it'll be an even bigger    
   day for the nearly 300,000 trained severe weather spotters on the    
   receiving end.   
      
   After all, Dec. 5 will be their day to shine, like the sun itself.   
      
   For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bobby Best, WX4ALA in Jasper, Alabama.   
      
   **   
      
   100 YEARS AND GOING STRONG   
      
   [ANCHOR/DON:] A lot has happened in history and ham radio since the    
   South Jersey Radio Association, K2AA, incorporated in June of 1916. And    
   since a centennial event only comes along once every 100 years, the club    
   is marking the milestone of its continuous operation with hats,    
   T-shirts, coffee mugs, certificates and something even more special - a    
   Centennial Membership, open to any radio amateur who'd like to be part    
   of the celebration. Amateur Radio Newsline's Mark Abramowicz, NT3V, has    
   more:   
      
   [MARK'S REPORT]   
      
   [ANCHOR/DON:] While you do need a valid amateur radio license to join    
   the South Jersey celebration, you don't need to have a New Jersey home    
   address. And perhaps best of all, you don't need to be 100 years old.   
      
   **   
      
   NO SECRECY OVER NATIONAL PARKS EVENT   
      
   During World War II, the kind of activations that took place inside    
   government facilities in Hanford, Washington; Los Alamos, New Mexico and    
   Oak Ridge, Tennessee were of the scientific sort, top secret components    
   of the Manhattan Project, which developed America's first atomic weapon.    
   Those sites are about to be activated again - this time for amateur    
   radio. The U.S. Departments of Energy and the Interior have declared the    
   locations National Historic Sites, making them eligible for next year's    
   National Parks on the Air event, marking the National Park Service's    
   100th anniversary.   
      
   But the agencies caution, these sites are not just another place to set    
   up your rig and entenna; they are considered sensitive locations and are    
   being treated as such.   
      
   So when the event kicks off next year, it's likely the kind of radio    
   activity this time around won't have the same mission as that during the    
   second World War. But it's bound to create a powerful reaction,    
   nonetheless - this time, on the HF bands.   
      
   **   
      
   NO CONTEST, N1MM'S A WINNER   
      
   Like so many of the ham radio contesters who rely on it, the popular    
   logging software, N1MM, has scored an award-winning contact.   
      
   The Yasme Foundation's board of directors has announced that the    
   development team behind the logging program, N1MM, has been given the    
   Yasme Excellence Award. The team includes Tom Wagner, N1MM; Rick    
   Ellison, N2AMG; Steve London, N2IC; and a number of others. The classic    
   version of the program is a free offering used by contesters worldwide.    
   N1MM Plus was then developed as a rewritten, revised version of the    
   original software.   
      
   The California-based nonprofit foundation gives its Excellence Award - a    
   plaque and monetary gift - recognizing those who make significant    
   contributions to ham radio from an operational, organizational or    
   technical standpoint. And they found N1MM deserving - no contest.   
      
   (YASME FOUNDATION)   
      
   **   
      
   BREAK HERE:   
   Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio    
   Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including the    
   SPARC club repeater for the Sportsman's Paradise Amateur Radio Club,    
   K4WAK, in Wakulla County, Florida in time for the Friday afternoon commute.   
      
   **   
      
   TRYING TIMES IN THE ANTARCTIC   
      
   [ANCHOR/DON:] Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the World War I    
   landing at Gallipoli has been something of a battle itself for the ham    
   radio station operating out of the Antarctic. Amateur Radio Newsline's    
   Graham Kemp, VK4BB, reports:   
      
   [GRAHAM'S REPORT]:   
   Sunday, November 22 could be the day - or maybe not the day - for the    
   return to the air of V-I-ZERO-ANZAC from Casey Base in the Antarctic.    
   The station's plan to get on the air has been, like the weather itself,    
   highly changeable. In fact, blame the weather for an earlier    
   postponement that kept the station silent until the weekend of Aug. 29    
   and 30.   
      
   V-I-ZERO-ANZAC, part of the ANZAC 100 program of the Wireless Institute    
   of Australia, is marking the centennial of the landing at Gallipoli,    
   Turkey of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.   
   But four generations later, the greater battle has been with blizzard    
   conditions and poor propagation that has challenged operator Doug    
   McVeigh, VK-ZERO-DMV. Getting on the air in August with a 50-watt    
   transceiver, a dipole and a lot of ambition and hope, McVeigh logged    
   only 56 contacts.   
   Still, the station intends to prove itself to be a stormtrooper of quite    
   another sort, especially in this kind of storm. So at 0200 UTC on    
   Sunday, Nov. 22, he intends try again, beginning on 14.250 MHz. Or    
   perhaps on some other band. Or then again, not at all.   
   But anything is possible, including contact with hams around the world.    
   If you happen to be one of them, send QSL cards via the bureau or using    
   eQSL. McVeigh is hoping this time for a blizzard of contacts instead.   
   For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Graham Kemp, VK4BB, of the WIA News in    
   Australia.   
      
   (SOUTHGATE ARC, ARRL, QRZ)   
      
   **   
      
   WINTER FIELD DAY: GETTING IT DOWN COLD   
      
   The snow is expected to be somewhat gentler and less of a problem in    
   other parts of the world for participants in Winter Field Day, which is    
   just weeks away. The Winter Field Day Association has announced the    
   annual event will be held the weekend of Jan. 30 and Jan. 31, 2016.   
      
   The event's website says it all, declaring: QUOTE"We believe, as do    
   those entities of ARRL Organizations like ARES and RACES that    
   maintaining your operational skills should not be limited to fair    
   weather scenarios."ENDQUOTE   
      
   As with the annual summer Field Day, the outreach on the air will be a    
   worldwide effort. The goal is to encourage emergency preparedness under    
   winter conditions. All modes may be used and all bands, except for 12,    
   17, 30 and 60.   
      
   For additional details on how to prepare for the event, visit the    
   website, www.winterfieldday.com  And dress warmly.   
      
   **   
      
   OREGON ARES OUSTER   
      
   Oregon's Office of Emergency Management has severed its ties with the    
   head of the Oregon Amateur Radio Emergency Service - but not the    
   emergency group itself.   
      
   According to published reports, the ARES chief, Vince Van Der Hyde,    
   K7VV, had asked that the group's volunteers not take part in a Nov. 12    
   emergency drill the state had planned because he found the state's    
   equipment, and its advance notice to volunteers, insufficient. That    
   action apparently is what caused the split.   
      
   Despite the rift between Van Der Hyde and the state, the ARRL's Oregon    
   Section Manager, Everett Curry, W6ABM, has since confirmed that Oregon    
   ARES/RACES will still work with the state's Office of Emergency    
   Management. On Nov. 16, a statement from the OOEM/ARRL Oregon Section    
   stressed that emergency management's relationship with Oregon ARES/RACES    
   continues.   
      
   (ARRL)   
      
   **   
      
   THE WORLD OF DX   
      
   If all you want for Christmas DXing this year is a Special Event holiday    
   QSL card from the Netherlands, Dutch amateur Raymond Smit, PD7DX can    
   help. He's working Special Event Station PD15XMAS from December 5    
   through January 1, in the spirit of the holiday. He will be active on 7,    
   14 and 28 MHz on HF as well as 2 meters and 440 MHz.   
      
   Elsewhere, Daniel, DL5YWM, is working in Crete as SV9/DL5YWM until    
   November 25. QSL to his home call sign.   
      
   In Liberia, Donald, EL2DW is working from Monrovia until December 17 and    
   can be found on 20, 15 and 10 meters using SSB. QSL via KD4UDU in Florida   
      
   Peter, DL1RPL, and Soren, DL3RKS, are activating two Indian Ocean    
   islands. They will be on Mayotte Island through Nov. 25, working as    
   FH/DL1RPL and FH/DL3RKS, respectively. Beginning Nov. 27 and through    
   Dec. 3, they will be on Reunion Island, active as FR/DL1RPL and    
   FR/DL3RKS. They will operate on the HF bands, 20 through 10 meters,    
   mostly on CW, with some SSB. Peter will also operate on 2m and 440 bands    
   EME using WSJT65 and CW. Send QSL cards via DL1RPL.   
      
   And a few stations will be marking the 90th anniversary of the IARU with    
   special stations: Special event station JT90IARU will be working from    
   Mongolia until the end of 2015. QSL via JT1KAA.   
      
   Likewise, members of the Malta Amateur Radio League are working as    
   9H90IARU. QSL via 9H1SP. And special event station EV90IARU is in    
   Belarus. QSL direct via EW1I. Finally, members of the Radio Club D'Haiti    
   are working as HH90IARU. QSL via operators' instructions.   
      
   **   
      
   KICKER:   
      
   We close this newscast with the words of a radio pioneer, speaking    
   eloquently to us from the past: Nobel-prize winner Guglielmo Marconi was    
   visiting Sydney, Australia on Dec. 14, 1935, when he said at a public    
   ceremony:   
      
   QUOTE "It is indeed gratifying to me to know that the people of    
   Australia appreciate the extent to which wireless has figured in their    
   prosperity, for I firmly believe that without economical and efficient    
   long-distance communications, no country can make much headway."ENDQUOTE   
      
   Marconi, of course, had made headway himself in 1901, sending radio    
   waves across the Atlantic, shaping the future of communications. Then in    
   1918, he oversaw the first direct wireless message from England to    
   Australia - a message received in Sydney by wireless engineer Ernest    
   Fisk. Marconi ultimately came to Australia in 1935 when a monument was    
   unveiled there, and that is where he made his speech.   
      
   Now you can hear Marconi for yourself. The Essex Record Office in the UK    
   obtained a recording of Marconi and recently released it on the website,    
   soundcloud.com   
      
   Marconi's message, of course, is now being carried by another form of    
   communication - and not the kind he originally had in mind. But the    
   visionary, who believed in making headway and progress, likely wouldn't    
   be put off by the Internet because, like radio itself, it still delivers.   
      
   (SOUTHGATE, BIOGRAPHY.COM, ARRL)   
      
   **   
      
   NEWSCAST CLOSE   
   With thanks to Alan Labs; AMSAT; the ARRL; Biography.com; CQ Magazine;    
   Hap Holly and the Rain Report; The Irish Radio Transmitter Society; the    
   Ohio-Penn DX Newsletter; QRZNOW; Southgate Amateur Radio News; TWiT TV;    
   Winter Field Day; 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 Don Wilbanks, AE5DW in Picayune,    
   Mississippi, saying 73 and as always we thank you for listening.   
      
   Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2015. All rights reserved.   
      
      
   ***   
      
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   -73- ARNTE-0.1.0-OS2 build 42   
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