Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1989, December 11, 2015   
      
   Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1989 with a release date of Friday,    
   December 11, 2015 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.   
      
   The following is a QST. Hams in India struggle to help the nation's    
   flooded south. The founder of Ham Radio Outlet becomes a Silent Key.    
   Boston area amateurs are already planning for the city's big marathon.    
   And get ready to do some real DXing with Pluto, the so-called "dwarf    
   planet." All this and more in Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1989 coming    
   your way right now.   
      
   (Billboard Cart Here and Intro)   
      
   **   
      
   HAMS CHALLENGED BY INDIA'S FLOODS   
      
   We open this week's newscast with a developing story, as flood-soaked    
   Chennai, the fourth largest city in India, struggles in the aftermath of    
   devastating floods -- and the hams who've been looking to give    
   assistance are struggling too. Even radio amateurs who have been able to    
   travel to the area to provide emergency communications are being    
   challenged by a scarcity of available power, as many of the batteries in    
   their portable gear have long since discharged. The International    
   Amateur Radio Union in India told the ARRL that an emergency net was    
   established on 7.070 MHz, and amateurs who are able to have also been    
   making use of some local repeaters. Some news reports indicate that the    
   band at 14.160 MHz has also been put into use for contact with the    
   National Institute of Amateur Radio, with the special call sign AU2MTT.   
      
   The president of the Amateur Radio Society of India, Gopal Madhavan,    
   VU2GMN, reported, however, that with so many areas surrounding the city    
   being underwater and cut off, ground transportation has been impossible    
   and even hams who want to travel to give assistance have been unable to    
   get out. Madhavan told the ARRL that QUOTE"efforts are being made to    
   garner more hams into relief activity as soon as they are able to move    
   out of their locales,"ENDQUOTE, adding, QUOTE"the situation is    
   grim."ENDQUOTE.   
      
   He was optimistic at midweek that, with the floodwaters receding, the    
   hams will soon be able to do more.   
      
   (SOUTHGATE AMATEUR RADIO NEWS, ARRL, HINDUSTAN TIMES)   
      
   **   
      
   SILENT KEY: HAM RADIO OUTLET FOUNDER ROBERT FERRERO, W6RJ   
      
   [JIM/ANCHOR:]   
      
   The amateur radio community has lost a businessman, a friend and a    
   devoted advocate and DXpeditioner: Robert Ferrero, W6RJ, the founder of    
   the national Ham Radio Outlet chain, became a Silent Key on Dec. 4.    
   Amateur Radio Newsline's Don Wilbanks, AE5DW, talked to Ferrero's    
   longtime friend and associate, Chip Margelli, K7JA.   
      
   [DON'S REPORT]   
      
   **   
      
   MAKING A MARATHON EFFORT   
      
   Even with the Boston Marathon still months away, local hams have already    
   gone into training to build up some endurance of their own. The April    
   18, 2016 event will rely on the efforts of an estimated 300 Amateur    
   Radio volunteers who will cover the 26-mile course with the assurance of    
   reliable emergency communications.   
      
   The Boston Athletic Association's Communications Committee is already    
   warming up, and this year they'll be flexing some high-tech and digital    
   muscle. Committee member Matthew Forman, K6MCF, told Amateur Radio    
   Newsline in an email: "A major initiative of the Committee this year is    
   to bolster the technology we use on Marathon Monday. To do so, we're    
   forming a Technical Infrastructure Subcommittee and seeking Amateurs who    
   can offer current skills in Analog and/or Digital modes (UHF/VHF),    
   repeaters, and infrastructure.  We'd like to have the TIS consist of one    
   technically-seasoned member from Amateur Radio clubs in Massachusetts,    
   Southern New Hampshire, and the northern parts of Connecticut and Rhode    
   Island."ENDQUOTE   
      
   Committee member, Mark Richards, K1MGY, will work to get word out about    
   the subcommittee among clubs and other special interest groups.   
      
   By April, everyone should be in the running - especially the hams.   
      
      
   **   
      
   [JIM/ANCHOR:]  A new club for hams is starting up in the Ozarks of    
   Missouri and it promises to be a much-needed resource for local    
   amateurs. Matthew Chambers, N-R-ZERO-Q, has the details:   
      
   [MATTHEW CHAMBERS REPORT]: Radio amateurs in the Missouri Ozarks are in    
   the process of organizing a new amateur radio club. The Wright County    
   Outlaws Amateur Radio Club members met in November and elected a board    
   of directors and officers. They will meet again in January to vote on a    
   constitution and by-laws. Primary mission for the club will be SKYWARN    
   and Amateur Radio Emergency Services communications in Wright County,    
   Missouri. They will meet at the Wright County Emergency Management    
   Agency in Hartville, Missouri.   
      
   Reporting for the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Matthew Chambers NR0Q, in    
   Mountain Grove, Missouri.   
      
   **   
      
   FIRST OFCOM LICENSES REVOKED   
      
   The UK has 530 fewer licensed radio amateurs as of this month. Following    
   notice it gave to hams earlier this year, Ofcom has made good on its    
   warning and revoked the first batch of licenses that went without the    
   required validation process. The Ofcom website has a list of the call    
   signs affected, and a copy of those notices of revocation. The office    
   said there are at least 15,000 such licenses that still remain    
   unvalidated and will, over the course of time, also be revoked.   
      
   Ofcom requires radio amateurs to revalidate their license at least once    
   every five years. So if you want to stay on the air, be sure to check    
   that your license is current. And contact Ofcom for further details.   
      
   (SOUTHGATE)   
      
      
   BREAK HERE:   
      
   Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio    
   Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including    
   W-ZERO-E-F, the Twin City FM Club repeater in Plymouth, Minnesota,    
   Saturday mornings at 9:30.   
      
   **   
      
   SKYWARN: WEATHER OR NOT   
      
   [JIM/ANCHOR]:   
      
   No matter the weather, the sun is always shining on SKYWARN Recognition    
   Day which, this year, was Saturday, Dec. 5. At National Weather Service    
   locations around the country, volunteer radio operators connected with    
   other amateurs for 24 hours, reaffirming their commitment to keep the    
   lines of communication open when severe weather strikes. Forecaster Mary    
   Keiser (KI-ZER), KE5TXH, of the National Weather Service in Birmingham,    
   Alabama, told Amateur Radio Newsline's Hap Holly, KC9RP, about how this    
   special day underscores the important role hams play:   
      
   [HAP'S REPORT]   
      
   [JIM/ANCHOR]: That was Mary Keiser (KI-ZER) of the National Weather    
   Service talking to Hap Holly, KC9RP.   
      
      
   **   
      
   PLUTO: BIG EVENT FOR A DWARF PLANET   
      
   The Northern Arizona DX Association has come to think of Pluto as "the    
   little planet that could." Or, in this case, the downgraded planet that    
   still can. The radio amateurs are marking 2015 as the Year of Pluto and    
   are operating Special Event Station W7P through December 13. The station    
   will operate out of the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, the very    
   observatory from which astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto in 1930.   
   Although Pluto has since undergone a celestial demotion to "dwarf    
   planet," there's nothing small about the DX Association's    
   commemoration.  The astronomer's nephew, Doug Tombaugh, N3PDT, will be a    
   special guest radio operator -- and a number of others will be on the    
   air from the interior of the actual telescope dome where Pluto's    
   discovery was made. QSLs and a certificate will be available. For more    
   information, visit the NADXA website, www.nadxa.com. And on the outside    
   chance anyone snags a QSO from coming from Pluto itself, that would be    
   the ultimate DX.   
      
      
   **   
      
   PEOPLE IN THE NEWS: LARRY PRICE, W4RA   
      
   The Canadian Amateur Radio Hall of Fame has named Larry Price, W4RA, as    
   its inaugural honorary member. Price, president emeritus of the ARRL and    
   the International Amateur Radio Union, has been an active leader in the    
   amateur community for more than three decades. He was president of the    
   ARRL from 1984 to 1992, and president of the IARU from 1999 to 2009. He    
   is a Life Member of the ARRL and also belongs to the ARRL Maxim Society.    
   Last year he was named Amateur of the Year at the Dayton Hamvention.   
      
   The Canadian Hall of Fame Board of Trustees said him nomination by the    
   Radio Amateurs of Canada comes after many years of support to that    
   organization and amateur radio in Canada in general.   
      
   He will be formally inducted into the Hall of Fame early next year.   
      
   (ARRL)   
      
   **   
      
   NEW ZEALAND JOINS SOTA   
      
   Amateur radio has achieved a new summit in New Zealand -- or several new    
   summits - literally. The nation's hams are now able to participate in    
   this worldwide activity, following the mapping and checking of summits    
   for the North Island. South Island summits will follow next.   
      
   Warren Harris, ZL2AJ, the association manager for SOTA New Zealand, has    
   encouraged all hams to climb to the heights, even if they're not    
   necessarily mountaineers. In urging the amateur community to get on    
   board with this worldwide activity, he said recently: QUOTE"I am keen to    
   encourage SOTA activity. I am available to give some branches a talk,    
   and to provide advice and encouragement to fellow hams."ENDQUOTE  There    
   is also a Yahoo Group that supports interested hams in New Zealand.   
      
   He asks that hams wanting more information, write him directly at    
   warren@zl2aj.com   
   And then, climb on up.   
      
   **   
      
   THE WORLD OF DX   
      
   Joel, N5JR, will be working from Haiti as HH2/N5JR until Dec. 14. He    
   will focus primarily on the WARC bands but he can also be found on all    
   HF bands, 160m to 6m. Send QSL cards to his home address.   
      
   William, K2HVN, will be active from St. Barthelemy in the Caribbean from    
   Dec. 12 through Dec. 17, using the call sign FJ/K2HVN. He will be    
   working 40m through 10m, in both CW and SSB. Send QSL cards to his home    
   call sign.   
      
   In France, a special event station connected to the United Nations    
   Climate Change Conference is operating as F8DVD. The station will be on    
   the air until Dec. 13 and a special QSL card will be available.   
      
   Ravi,M-ZERO-XUU/VU3HPF, will be working from Kasane and Gaborone from    
   Dec. 22 through Dec. 30, working the bands primarily in the mornings or    
   evenings, holiday style. He will operate on CW and SSB across 40, 30, 20    
   and 17 meters. QSLs can be sent to his home call sign, M0XUU.   
      
      
   (IRISH RADIO TRANSMITTER SOCIETY, DX COFFEE)   
      
   **   
      
   KICKER: CHRISTMAS IS IN THE AIR   
      
   We end this week's newscast with more on-air adventures of Santa Claus,    
   whose Yule Log has been looking more and more like an amateur radio log    
   these days. It seems 2015 has presented more than a sack full of    
   opportunities to QSO with the big guy, thanks to amateurs with spirit,    
   imagination and a little creativity.   
      
   For the first time this year, the Battleship Iowa Amateur Radio    
   Association, using the call sign NI6BB, is providing a round-the-clock    
   connection to Santa's Shack in the North Pole, on December 16 and 17.    
   Organizers, who will be spending the night aboard the battleship museum,    
   say that Santa's own XYL, Mrs. Claus, may also put in an appearance on    
   the HF bands.   
      
   In New Jersey, the Santa's Workshop Special Event station, W2S, is on    
   the air through Dec. 23, with support from the South Jersey DX    
   Association and the Old Barney Amateur Radio Club. Never mind Christmas    
   cards -- this Santa is sending personalized QSL cards and Chuck, W2CCW,    
   is serving as Santa's QSL QS-ELF.   
      
   And although the Barrow Amateur Radio Club in Bethlehem, Georgia,    
   already concluded their special holiday event earlier this month, Old    
   Father 9 Christmas, OF9X, has just begun the long journey through the    
   Land of Santa again, starting at the Arctic Circle, for the benefit of    
   the Finnish Red Cross disaster relief fund. That journey doesn't end    
   until Dec. 28. So that's not QRN you're hearing through your headphones    
   -- it's jingle bells. Turn on your rigs: It's beginning to sound a lot    
   like Christmas.   
      
      
   ** **   
      
   NEWSCAST CLOSE   
   With thanks to Alan Labs; the ARRL; Bruce Sperka, KG7MXL; CQ Magazine;    
   Hap Holly and the Rain Report; the Hindustan Times; Matthew Forman,    
   K6MCF; Northern Arizona DX Association; the Ohio-Penn DX Newsletter;    
   QRZNOW; SOTA New Zealand; Southgate Amateur Radio News; TWiT TV; 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 Jim Damron, N8TMW, in Charleston, West    
   Virginia, saying 73 and as always we thank you for listening.   
      
   Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2015. All rights reserved.   
      
      
   ***   
      
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