Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1999, February 19, 2016   
      
   Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1999 with a release date of Friday,    
   February 19, 2016 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.   
      
   The following is a QST. Orlando Hamcation is over, but hams are still    
   talking about it. Hams in Minnesota activate a frozen lake - yes, a very    
   icy one. Ohio hams open state borders for Antenna Day. And a mock    
   earthquake shakes things up in Utah. All this and more in Amateur Radio    
   Newsline Report 1999 coming your way right now.   
      
   (Billboard Cart Here and Intro)   
      
   **   
      
   JIM/ANCHOR: We begin this week's newscast with a look back at this    
   month's Orlando Hamcation, the second largest gathering of amateurs    
   after Dayton Hamvention. It wasn't just the 70th such Hamcation; it was    
   also the 2016 ARRL National Convention. And it was so much more - as we    
   hear now from Amateur Radio Newsline's Gordon West, WB6NOA, who clearly    
   had a great time.   
      
   [GORDON'S REPORT]   
      
      
   **   
      
   JIM/ANCHOR: Of course, if you prefer some place a little bit cooler than    
   sunny Florida, consider the spot chosen by hams during the recent long    
   Presidents Day weekend. It was a frozen lake. In frozen Minnesota.    
   Amateur Radio Newsline's Kent Peterson, KC0DGY, breaks the ice with that    
   hardy bunch:   
      
      
   [KENT'S REPORT ON FROZEN LAKE ELMO]:   
      
      
   **   
      
   [ANCHOR/JIM:] Moving on to Ohio, there's something decidedly different    
   about this year's Antenna Day being held there - and organizers are    
   hoping for far-reaching results. Amateur Radio Newsline's Stephen    
   Kinford, N8WB, explains:   
      
   [STEPHEN KINFORD's REPORT]:   
      
   The Near Vertical Incidence Skywave Antenna Day in Ohio isn't    
   necessarily just an Ohio event anymore. ARRL's Ohio Section Emergency    
   Coordinator Stan Broadway, N8BHL, wants the April 23 ARES event opened    
   up to include stations in neighboring states. He's also hoping to set up    
   anchor stations around Ohio so consistent signal reports can be offered    
   to others participating in the public safety prep exercise.   
      
   Broadway explained that Antenna Day is more of a research exercise than    
   a contest, Last year's event attracted a number of operators and EOCs,    
   working to establish which NVIS antennas were the best to use for    
   emergency communications. This year's event begins at 1500 UTC on April    
   23, allowing teams to contact one another and compare the performance of    
   their antennas. At the conclusion of the event, participants will file    
   reports with call sign, location, operators, number of contacts, and all    
   antenna design and deployment details.   
      
   Broadway said [QUOTE] "We would really like to make this a regional    
   event in 2016, with stations in their state EOCs and around the Ohio    
   border to test their own capabilities." [ENDQUOTE]   
      
   NVIS antennas are growing in popularity for emergency regioanl    
   communication because of their close-up radiation patterns on HF.   
      
   For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Stephen Kinford, N8WB, in Wadsworth, Ohio.   
      
      
   **   
      
   SILENT KEY: CAPT. DAVID LEFAVOUR, W7GOX   
      
   The amateur community is mourning the death of David Lefavour, W7GOX, of    
   Los Lunas, New Mexico, who was a member of the Hurricane Watch Net for    
   more than 20 years, and who served as its net manager between 2006 and    
   2009. He had also served as a net controller for the Maritime Mobile    
   Service Network.   
      
   In 2013, he was given the status of receiving manager emeritus for the    
   Hurricane Watch Net. The Net manager, Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, credited him    
   for his effective leadership on the air. He said QUOTE "Dave was one of    
   the few I've met who had a very calming and reassuring voice during any    
   emergency situation." ENDQUOTE   
      
   The former Navy fighter pilot was 82 at the time he became a Silent key    
   on Feb. 8.   
      
      
      
   **   
      
   BREAK HERE:   
      
   Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio    
   Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including the 16    
   repeaters of the Peak Radio Association   
   serving Western Oregon's my513 Net.   
      
      
   **   
      
   JIM/ANCHOR: It's no secret that sometimes being a ham brings out the    
   very best in a person. We hear now about an amateur from Spain who's    
   being recognized for being the very best that he can be - as a ham and a    
   humanitarian. Here's Amateur Radio Newsline's Jeremy Boot, G4NJH:   
      
      
   [JEREMY'S REPORT]:   
      
      
   In the eyes of the ARRL, Antonio Gonzalez, EA5RM, isn't just a noted    
   DXer but a very notable humanitarian. So when it was time for the ARRL    
   Programs & Services Committee to recommend someone for the league's 2015    
   International Humanitarian Award, there was no question the panel would    
   put Senor Gonzalez's name in for consideration before the board of    
   directors. Senor Gonzalez was originally nominated by Paul Ewing, N6PSE,    
   president of the Intrepid-DX Group. Ewing wrote this about Senor    
   Gonzalez: QUOTE "He is a devoted family man and public servant in Spain.    
   He is a keen DXer, and he regularly organizes DXpeditions to remote and    
   rare places. Antonio pays for all of this travel from Spain to Bolivia."    
   ENDQUOTE   
      
   Senor Gonzalez, who has been a volunteer with Radio Amateurs Without    
   Borders, helping them build, test and maintain solar-powered HF amateur    
   radio equipment in the remotest spots in Bolivia since 2007. He has also    
   visited the Bolivian Amazon six times supporting the introduction of    
   medical assistance and sanitation facilities. The well-known Dxer has    
   served as chief pilot station for the VP8STI/VP8SGI DXpedition to South    
   Sandwich and South Georgia.   
      
   The award is considered a recognition of a radio amateur's effort to    
   help the welfare of others.   
      
   Upon learning he would receive the award, Gonzalez was quoted as simply    
   saying "What a surprise!"   
      
   For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jeremy Boot, G4NJH, in Nottingham, the UK.   
      
      
   (ARRL)   
      
   **   
      
   QUAKE WAS FAKE BUT RESPONSE WAS REAL   
      
      
   JIM/ANCHOR: The only thing real about the earthquake in Utah earlier    
   this month was the response it got from hams and other emergency team    
   members. But that's what made the mock drill such a success. Amateur    
   Radio Newsline's Bobby Best, WX4ALA, has this report:   
      
   [BOBBY's REPORT:]   
      
   For more than just a moment, no one had trouble believing that an    
   earthquake with a magnitude of 7.7 had just rocked Cedar City, Utah.    
   Responders from Iron County Emergency Management joined the Utah    
   National Guard 213th Forward Support Company, area fire and police    
   departments and radio amateurs at various locations in distress. And on    
   Wednesday, Feb. 3, the scene was set.   
      
   But it was only a scene, after all - it was a mock 3-day drill called    
   "Operation Seismos" that was designed to test emergency response. As    
   various responders turned up, so too did some 160 members of the Rainbow    
   Canyon's Amateur Radio Club, ready to relay messages from the scene of    
   the fictional disaster: the interstate was to have buckled in two spots,    
   a fire station was to have collapsed, and building fires were scattered    
   throughout the area.   
      
   Don Blanchard, WA7GTU, of the Rainbow Canyon's Amateur Radio Club, said    
   in news reports that the club's teams gave damage assessments from    
   various simulated problem sites, reporting some of their findings by    
   voice, others by digital mode, entering the details directly into the    
   necessary government forms by email.   
      
   Emergency Management Coordinator John Higley called the hams' use of    
   digital communications via email "groundbreaking." He told the St.    
   George, Utah, news "we are doing things not done elsewhere in the world    
   as far as communications with our ham radio operators. We are not just    
   practicing voice communication, but they are using digital communications."   
      
   He said this was the first time the technique was used in an emergency    
   simulation setting but it won't be the last: Another drill is set for March.   
      
   For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bobby Best, WX4ALA.   
      
   (IARU, the St. GEORGE NEWS)   
      
      
   **   
      
   FIELD DAY IN AUSTRALIA   
      
      
   The Central Coast of Australia is having a field day. Or rather, the    
   hams there are. It's set for Sunday Feb. 28, 2016 at the Wyong Race    
   Course in New South Wales, and is considered one of the major gatherings    
   of radio amateurs in Australia, offering  seminars, workshops and, of    
   course, license assessments for all amateur grades. The all-important    
   Foundation license class itself will be held the day before, on Saturday    
   the 27th.   
      
   Seminars are being held on the first floor of the main building at the    
   race course, covering a range of topics from power supplies to DXPeditions.   
      
   Admission is $15 for all amateurs older than 17. No admission is charged    
   for hams younger than 17.   
      
   For more details, visit the website www.fieldday.org.au.   
      
      
   (CENTRAL COAST AMATEUR RADIO CLUB, WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA)   
      
   **   
      
   AUSTRALIA'S CALLING ALL HAMS AND HOPEFUL HAMS   
      
      
   JIM/ANCHOR: Speaking of hams in Australia, the Wireless Institute of    
   Australia wants to see and hear more of them. Lots more of them. So it's    
   been busy attracting new and returning licensees by sending out a    
   message that says, at least in spirit, "you can run but you cannot    
   hide!" Here's more from Amateur Radio Newsline's Graham Kemp, VK4BB.   
      
      
   [GRAHAM's REPORT:]   
      
   Once a ham, always a ham. Right?   
   Well, the Wireless Institute of Australia believes this is true, and has    
   been casting a wide net to encourage and attract radio returnees -    
   people they are calling "lapsed" radio amateurs.   
      
   In a way, the WIA is calling CQ.   
      
   And yes, that call is being heard. Former licensees are finding their    
   way back home to the bands, as the WIA reports that it has seen in    
   recent months what it's deemed a "small avalanche" of callsign    
   recommendations from returnees.   
      
   But that hasn't stopped the WIA from calling. Its awareness campaign has    
   touched the very young and those much, much older - from the schools and    
   professional organizations to the Grey Nomads as they hit the open road    
   in search of adventure on the vast Australian landscape. The WIA has    
   also sought publicity in the Rotary and Lions, as well as the    
   newsletters of the Returned and Services League of Australia.   
      
   In short, the WIA wants hopeful hams and returnees to know that it's    
   never too late to get a license and start calling CQ themselves. You    
   never know who'll answer.   
      
   For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Graham, Kemp, VK4BB.   
      
   **   
      
   A HAND FOR HAMS IN INDIA   
      
   Australia isn't the only country hoping to bring more amateurs onto the    
   air. In India, the Indian Institute of Hams has, likewise, begun an    
   awareness campaign that reaches out specifically to youngsters in the    
   port city of Mangaluru, in the Indian state of Karnataka (car-NOT-a-kah).   
      
   The institute's director, S. Sathyapal, said that it makes sense to have    
   more active radio amateurs in a coastal location such as this, which is    
   vulnerable to flooding and other disastrous conditions. He said only 100    
   hams are registered in Mangaluru and, of those, only 30 radio amateurs    
   are considered active.   
      
   Even though disaster communication is a priority, the institute is    
   stressing, among young recruits, radio's opportunities for global    
   friendship and communication, as well as learning technical skills. In    
   India, youngsters 12 and older are eligible to become licensed amateurs.   
      
      
   (THE TIMES OF INDIA)   
      
      
   **   
      
   Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio    
   Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including the    
   W8GK repeater in Charleston, West Virginia.   
      
      
   **   
      
   THE WORLD OF DX   
      
   The Italian DXpedition Team is operating as 3-X-Y-ONE-T (3XY1T) from Los    
   Island off the coast of Guinea in West Africa until March 4. They are on    
   all bands 160m to 6m on SSB, CW and RTTY.   
      
   A team of 9 operators from North America is active as A35T from the    
   island of Tonga until Feb. 28. QSLs are being handled by M-ZERO-URX (M0URX).   
      
   A number of stateside operators will be operating from Guantanamo Bay    
   starting Friday, Feb. 19, through March 4. Look for the callsigns KG4BP,    
   KG4EU, KG4HF, KG4HP and KG4WV.   
      
   In March, start looking for Don, VE7AQA, who will be calling as E51AQA    
   from Raro- Tonga Island. He'll be on the air between March 4 to March    
   19, working holiday style on the HF bands using SSB. Send QSLs via VE7AQA.   
      
      
   (IRISH RADIO TRANSMITTER SOCIETY)   
      
   **   
      
      
   KICKER: AT DAYTONA 500, HAMS ARE UP TO SPEED   
      
   And finally, looking at the noted Daytona 500 race on Sunday, Feb. 21 in    
   Florida, let's keep in mind a few basic things: speed is good, awards    
   are prestigious and pileups are very, very bad.   
      
   By the way, we're not talking about the race itself here - or even the    
   racecar drivers - but the Special Event amateur radio station    
   commemorating the 58th such race. The Daytona Beach Community Emergency    
   Response Team Amateur Radio Team, N4DAB, took to the air with pride from    
   Feb. 17 to be working right up through race day on Feb. 21. For the    
   third such event, the club showed the same pride it's always had,    
   whether providing backup communications during special events or helping    
   out during natural disasters.   
      
   The club is still a month away from its next special event, activating    
   the Canaveral National Seashore on Saturday, March 19, for National    
   Parks On The Air. No, they're not quite ready to look skyward yet,    
   because racecars and more terrestrial competitions are on their minds.   
      
   So this month, it's all about the phrase: "Gentlemen, start your    
   engines." Or rather, "OMs and YLs, fire up your rigs." Yes speed does    
   count - and those pileups should be avoided at all costs.   
      
   (N4DAB WEBSITE)   
      
      
   **   
      
   NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Alan Labs; the ARRL; The Bryan-College    
   Station Eagle; Central Coast Amateur Radio Club; The Chicago Tribune;    
   Chicago Sun-Times; CQ Magazine; DX.NET; Hap Holly and the Rain Report;    
   Irish Radio Transmitter Society; the Stillwater Amateur Radio    
   Association, the Times of India; the Ohio-Penn DX Bulletin; QRZ.COM.,    
   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.   
      
   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 2016. All rights reserved.   
      
   ***   
      
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   world, this Amateur Radio Newline(tm) message has been gated from the   
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   We hope you enjoyed it!   
      
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   Thank you and good day!   
      
   -73- ARNTE-0.1.0-OS2 build 42   
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