Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1988 December 4, 2015   
      
   Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1988 with a release date of Friday,    
   December 4, 2015 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.   
      
   The following is a QST. Radio amateurs in Australia wind down their    
   tribute to those who fought at Gallipoli. A new island - in New England    
   - is activated. Participants in a solar flare emergency drill celebrate    
   their success. And hams in India press for greater involvement in    
   community service. All this and more in Amateur Radio Newsline report    
   1988 coming your way right now.   
      
   (Billboard Cart Here and Intro)   
      
   **   
      
      
   THE LAST HURRAH   
      
   [DON/ANCHOR]: The battle is almost over. Well, the Battle of Gallipoli    
   actually ended almost 100 years ago -- but amateur radio's centennial    
   commemoration of the World War One conflict has almost concluded too.    
   The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, or ANZAC, made up a big part    
   of that effort - and Australian hams have been transmitting their    
   national pride all year. Amateur Radio Newsline's Graham Kemp, VK4BB,    
   reports from Australia.   
      
   [GRAHAM]:   
      
   The Gallipoli commemoration of the Wireless Institute of Australia is    
   getting ready for its 'last hurrah,' just as in the battle itself 100    
   years ago.   
      
   Using the call sign VI4ANZAC, an amateur team will be marking the good    
   work of the First Royal Australian Navy Bridging Train. The unit, which    
   was created in 1915 in Melbourne, employed horse-drawn wagons to carry    
   its equipment to the front. Their wartime efforts were feats of    
   engineering, horsemanship and pontoon bridging.   
      
   The tribute paid to this unit will mark the move toward closure in the    
   WIA's ANZAC program, which has focused on the battle at Gallipoli. The    
   final commemoration will involve participation of call signs VI3ANZAC,    
   VI4ANZAC, VI6ANZAC and VI8ANZAC.   
      
   On Dec. 20, an address on the ANZAC 100 campaign, will be heard from    
   VK100ANZAC. And the year will wrap up -  and, just like the battle    
   itself, become a part of history.   
      
   For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Graham Kemp, VK4BB.   
      
   (Wireless Institute of Australia)   
      
   **   
      
   ISLAND HOPPING   
      
   Hopefully, three members of the Newport County Radio Club might actually    
   be thawed out by now after their recent adventure on an island in    
   Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. Paul Silverzweig, N1PSX, Paul Mankofsky,    
   KC1AQP, and Rich Russell, KC1ARO packed their gloves, winter jackets and    
   some toe warmers and, with their radio equipment, headed to Gooseberry    
   Island on Nov. 30 to activate it in the U.S. Islands Award Program.   
      
   Calling CQ on 20 meters with the club's call sign, W1SYE, they    
   accomplished exactly what they'd set out to do -- just as the club had    
   done in September on Turnip Island in Connecticut. And so, Island    
   MA-056S became a reality.   
      
   Russell told Amateur Radio Newsline, however, that this time the    
   November temperatures were a bit more challenging than on Turnip Island.    
   Russell said QUOTE"It was somewhere between 36 and 48 degrees and there    
   was a pretty stiff wind, about 15 knots. We dressed warmly but it was    
   still pretty chilly."ENDQUOTE   
      
   Running 80 watts and an end-fed dipole, it must have warmed them,    
   though, to make those all-important 32 contacts, ranging from snowbound    
   Wyoming to such DXCC spots as Italy, Canada, Serbia, Belgium and a    
   notably balmier Puerto Rico. In fact, if anything needed warmimg more    
   than they did, it was the team's lithium ion phosphate battery. As    
   Russell noted, QUOTE "They don't like freezing temps."ENDQUOTE   
      
   That's when the men decided to activate just one more thing - the toe    
   warmers they had brought along to put in their shoes and gloves. But    
   they found it also fit nicely with the battery. Said Russell: QUOTE    
   "That worked pretty well and didn't even overheat the battery. Just took    
   the edge off." ENDQUOTE.   
      
   **   
      
   GIVE THESE YOUNG HAMS AN "A" - FOR "AGAIN"   
      
   The results are in, and the Schofield Radio Club in Aiken, South    
   Carolina, has once again proudly announced its top 10 ranking to the    
   world. The youngsters at the Schofield Middle School placed fifth among    
   middle schools and 10th overall among all 62 schools in the nation    
   competing in the annual ARRL School Club Roundup in October. The club is    
   a repeat winner, in fact, having ranked 10th overall in last year's    
   contest, and third for middle schools.   
      
   The roundup involved students working contacts for three to four hours    
   after school for one week. The Schofield students reached 40 states, 22    
   countries and 30 schools, for a total of 520 QSOs.   
      
   Now the club is concentrating on contacting more students in their own    
   school - and hopes they'll see more members stopping by after class on    
   Thursdays from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.   
      
   (AIKEN, S.C., STANDARD NEWSPAPER)   
      
   **   
      
   GOOD NIGHT FOR A NET   
      
   Wednesday, Dec. 3 was a promising night for Rebecca Hughes, M6BUB, the    
   Youth Committee Promotional Manager of the Radio Society of Great    
   Britain. The 16-year-old launched the first gathering of a new Youth    
   Net, reaching out on the North Wales 2 meter repeater, GB3MP.   
      
   She told Amateur Radio Newsline in an email: QUOTE"The Net is hopefully    
   going to be a way for young licensees to interact with other young    
   people. I had this idea because when I first got my license in November    
   2011, I did not know of any youth licensees, apart from my    
   brother."ENDQUOTE   
      
   She said that her work with the Radio Society has brought her into    
   contact with more young amateurs and it inspired the idea of the Net.    
   She said QUOTE "My goals and hopes for the Net are to help young hams    
   who may not know any young licensees to gain friends and contacts that    
   they can talk to even when the Net is not on the air."ENDQUOTE   
      
   (RSGB)   
      
   **   
      
   SORRY WRONG (HOUSE) NUMBER   
      
   Speaking of contests, the ARRL says "Oooops, sorry about that."    
   Participants in last year's 10 Meter Contest who received certificates    
   may have discovered quickly that they were intended for someone else.    
   The problem, it seems, was a formatting error in a data file that caused    
   confusion over the mailing addresses.   
      
   The ARRL's Interim Contest Manager, Dan Henderson, N1ND, said: QUOTE "We    
   have heard from several certificate recipients recently that they were    
   receiving certificates for other award winners. After checking, we    
   determined that some address data retrieved from submitted Cabrillo logs    
   in the data file were misidentified, which resulted in many certificates    
   being sent to the wrong recipients."   
      
   He quickly clarified that the error is limited only to addresses, not    
   anyone's scores or standings.   
      
   So be patient, advises Henderson. The plan is for new certificates - the    
   correct ones - to be in the mail no later than Dec. 11. Yours may be on    
   the way very soon.   
      
   (ARRL)   
      
   **   
      
   HAM RADIO IN A DAY?   
      
   It takes more than 24 hours to learn enough to qualify for an amateur    
   radio license, but the Holland Amateur Radio Club in Michigan thinks    
   it's a good beginning. That's why the group is offering a class called    
   "Ham License in a Day" on Dec. 12 at the American Red Cross of Ottaway    
   County.   
      
   And it's actually a five-hour session. The coursework will be presented    
   from 1 to 6 p.m., and the licensing test will be given afterward. The    
   fee for the half-day program is $35.   
      
   For more information or to register, contact Tom Bosscher at    
   k8tb@bosscher.org or phone 616-648-0058.   
      
      
   (MICHIGAN LIVE)   
      
   **   
      
   A FLARE FOR SUCCESS   
      
   [DON/ANCHOR]: An emergency drill, in the form of a huge coronal mass    
   ejection, sent radio amateurs scrambling early last month. And though    
   their response was real enough, the chaos was simulated - with good    
   results. Amateur Radio Newsline's Bobby Best, WX4ALA, has more:   
      
   [BOBBY'S REPORT]   
      
   Imagine an outage of all conventional communications throughout the U.S.    
   Imagine too, massive solar flares known as coronal mass ejections, as    
   the source of the stirred-up ionosphere behind the blackout. This was    
   the reality for members of the Military Auxiliary Radio System and the    
   Amateur Radio Emergency Service for two days beginning Nov. 8.   
      
   It was only an exercise but, for two days, it was still a challenge. And    
   ultimately, said the organizers, it was a success.   
      
   MARS operators were given the directive to make direct contact with as    
   many radio amateurs in the nation's 3,142 counties as possible, using    
   mainly HF NVIS bands, along with VHF and UHF repeaters. Other methods,    
   such as store-and-forward messaging systems and Internet-linked systems,    
   were necessarily off limits.   
      
   Paul English, WD8DBY, the U.S. Army's MARS program manager, praised the    
   work of the radio operators at the conclusion of the exercise. He told    
   the ARRL that MARS members got messages through to 816 counties around    
   the country - or 26 percent of the nation's total. He said advance    
   publicity helped boost performance during the two-day drill, and    
   inquiries about participation had poured in from 41 states and more than    
   50 ARES groups who wanted to be part of the test.   
      
   Best of all, he said, the mission was accomplished. He said: QUOTE"The    
   purpose of these exercises is to reach beyond interoperability and focus    
   on our ability to exchange usable and relevant information from the    
   local level to the national level following a crisis event. Only through    
   the cooperation among MARS and the larger Amateur Radio community can we    
   hope to achieve that synergy."ENDQUOTE   
      
   For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bobby Best, WX4ALA, in Jasper, Alabama.   
      
   (ARRL)   
      
      
   **   
      
   BREAK HERE:   
   Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio    
   Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including the    
   Lakes Area Amateur Radio Club repeater, W5JAS, in Jasper, Texas, Monday    
   nights at 7:30.   
      
   **   
      
   INDIAN HAMS AIR THEIR FRUSTRATION   
      
   [DON/ANCHOR]: What happens when hams, who expect to be called to public    
   service, aren't? That's the situation right now in the Indian state of    
   Andhra Pradesh. Amateur Radio Newsline's Jeremy Boot, G4NJH, has the    
   details:   
      
      
   [JEREMY]:   
      
   Radio amateurs are accustomed to action, and not sitting idly by, but in    
   Andhra Pradesh, India, a group of otherwise enthusiastic radio amateurs    
   claims their only call to public service lately has been to play a    
   waiting game. Amateurs who formerly coordinated the Ham Radio Training    
   Centre in Krishna district, have been urging state officials to engage    
   their services next year during the Hindu festival known as the Krishna    
   Pushkarams. The hams say the need is especially pronounced, in the wake    
   of stampedes that occurred this past July during the Godavari    
   Pushkarams. That riverside festival, well-attended by devoted pilgrims,    
   was held July 14 through 25. Twenty-seven were killed and more than 30    
   critically injured at the gathering.   
      
   In a Dec. 1 issue of The Indian Express newspaper, the government has    
   said that, while it regretted the stampedes that occurred, the number of    
   those in attendance had greatly exceeded the number expected.   
      
   That's all the more reason, say the Indian amateurs, for their services    
   to be sought at the next festival. The Krishna Pushkaram is to be held    
   August 12 through 23 in Vijayawada.   
      
   Says Arza Ramesh Babu, coordinator of the now-defunct Ham Radio Training    
   Centre in Krishna district, "At least in the ensuing Krishna Pushkarams,    
   we want the government to use HAM radio operators as a parallel    
   communication network." The hams have left that training centre,    
   established by the local Urban Development Authority, and are meeting in    
   the Regional Science Centre at Bhavanipuram.   
      
   Speaking to the newspaper, The Hindu, Ramesh Babu adds: "A growing    
   number of people, especially engineering students, are evincing interest    
   in this mode of communication. The government should develop the sector."   
      
   He said there are nearly 500 ham radio operators in and around    
   Vijayawada who are ready to serve at times of disaster or large    
   gatherings but for now they simply wait.   
      
   For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jeremy Boot, G4NJH, in Nottingham, the UK.   
      
   (THE HINDU, INDIAN EXPRESS)   
      
   **   
      
   TRANSMITTING A TRIBUTE   
      
   One of the fathers of modern radio science, the late Jagadish Chandra    
   Bose, has received a number of tributes posthumously. An Indian botanic    
   garden just outside Kolkata was named in his honor in 2009 -- and in    
   2012, the IEEE recognized him for his pioneering work in the discovery    
   and development of radio.   
      
   Ham radio hasn't forgotten him either. The scientist, who died in 1937,    
   also has a special amateur radio event marking the anniversary of his    
   birth in what is now Bangladesh on Nov. 30, 1858.   
      
   The special event call sign, AU2JCB, launched on Bose's birthday and    
   will once again pay homage to him through Dec. 13. The operator is Datta    
   Deogaonkar, VU2DSI, whose mission each year at this time has been to    
   spread the word about Bose's lifetime of contributions to the radio art.    
   He will be operating throughout the HF bands and has even devoted a    
   portion of his page on QRZ.COM to information about Bose, everything    
   from his work in microwave optics technology to his critical    
   contributions to the work of Guglielmo Marconi.   
      
   Though many consider him the unsung hero of radio, at least for the next    
   week or so, the airwaves will be singing his praises.   
      
      
   (QRZ.COM)   
      
   **   
      
   AWARDS ROUNDUP   
      
   The Intrepid-DX Group is looking for nominees to receive its Intrepid    
   Spirit Award, an annual prize that honors the memory of Silent Key James    
   McLaughlin, WA2EWE/T6AF. Honorees are recognized for their commitment to    
   amateur radio in a manner that is, according to the group's recent    
   announcement, "courageous, dedicated, innovative and fearless," among    
   other things. The award will be presented in April at the International    
   DX Convention in Visalia, California. Nominations are due by Dec. 15 and    
   may be sent via email to intrepiddxgroup@gmail.com   
      
   The ARRL is seeking candidates for the Hiram Percy Maxim Award, which    
   honors a radio amateur and ARRL member younger than 21. Nominations for    
   this award are due by March 31 but should first be sent to your ARRL    
   Section Manager for forwarding. This year's winner was Colorado's Anna    
   Veal, W0ANT, who was also the recipient of Amateur Radio Newsline's    
   first Bill Pasternak Young Ham of The Year Award.   
      
   The ARRL is also seeking nominees among hams who are educators and    
   innovators. The awards include the Herb S. Brier Instructor of the Year    
   Award, the Microwave Development Award, the Technical Service Award, the    
   Technical Innovation Award and the Knight Distinguished Service Award.    
   For details about all of these, visit the website, www.arrl.org.   
      
   (ARRL)   
      
   **   
      
   THE WORLD OF DX   
   Martin W8AKS will be active as 8P9EZ from Dec. 5 through 12 in Barbados,    
   operating on 40m through 10m. He will upload logs to Logbook of The World.   
      
   Haru, JA1XGI, will be operating through Dec. 10 in the South Cook    
   Islands as E51XGI. He will work all HF bands, CW, SSB and digital. Send    
   QSL cards to his home call sign   
      
   Antoine, 3D2AG, will be using the call sign 3D2AG/P while he operates in    
   Rotuma from mid-December until mid-January. He will be using solar power    
   and a Spiderbeam/wire antenna and will work all bands from 80m to 6m.   
      
   And look for Freddy, F4HEC, as he travels through the Pacific region    
   this month. He will operate as KH2/F4HEC from Guam through Dec. 9, and    
   then travel to Saipan, where he will work the bands from Dec. 10 to Dec.    
   13 as KH0/F4HEC.   
      
   (OHIO PENN DX NEWSLETTER)   
      
   **   
      
   KICKER: THEIR MUTUAL SALVATION   
      
   Working phone during a special event is almost second nature to most    
   veteran hams. But when "phone" is actually a conventional landline and    
   the radio transmitter belongs to a commercial FM station doing a    
   fundraiser for the Salvation Army, "working phone" is more of a    
   transmission with a mission.   
      
   As it did last year, the Marion County, Indiana ARES group is jumping in    
   on Friday, Dec. 4 and Saturday, Dec. 5 to do its part during FM station    
   WIBC's radiothon to raise money for the Bed and Bread program of the    
   Salvation Army's Indiana Division: Hams will be ringing bells at the    
   trademark red kettles, answering the telephone when listeners call in    
   with pledges - and even loading trucks with donated goods.   
      
   Matthew Bechdol, W9SOX, the Emergency Coordinator for Marion County    
   ARES, told Amateur Radio Newsline that the partnership is a good one for    
   this group of community-minded amateurs. Bechdol said in a recent    
   telephone chat, QUOTE"we are both committed to each other and our end    
   goals. They have their mission - and our mission is to help them with    
   theirs."ENDQUOTE   
      
   It's all part of being good citizens, he added.   
      
   ARES members, of course, are more accustomed to being mobilized during    
   moments that follow public disasters. But by volunteering to ring a bell    
   or answer one, Marion County ARES members may actually be doing more to    
   prevent some private calamities.   
      
      
   (MARION COUNTY ARES)   
      
      
   **   
      
   NEWSCAST CLOSE   
   With thanks to Alan Labs; the Aiken, S.C., Standard; the ARRL; CQ    
   Magazine; Hap Holly and the Rain Report; the Hindu newspaper; the Indian    
   Express; Marion County ARES; Michigan Live; Newport County Radio Club;    
   the Ohio-Penn DX Newsletter; QRZNOW; the Radio Society of Great Britain;    
   Southgate Amateur Radio News; TWiT TV; 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 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.   
      
      
   ***   
      
   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   
   (text/plain utf-8 quoted-printable)   
      
      
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