<*>[Attachment(s) from James KB7TBT included below]   
      
   Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2048 for Friday, January 27,2017   
      
   Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2048 with a release date of Friday,   
   January 27,2017 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.   
      
   The following is a QST. There's a new leader at the helm of the FCC. The   
   Amateur Radio Parity Act scores a victory in the House -- and in Missouri,   
   state lawmakers consider their local version of the federal bill. All this   
   and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2048 comes your way right now.   
   	   
   **   
   BILLBOARD CART   
      
   ***   
   AMATEUR RADIO PARITY ACT PASSES IN HOUSE   
      
   NEIL/ANCHOR: Our top story is the Amateur Radio Parity Act. Only days after   
   its introduction on Capitol Hill, the bill, also known as H.R. 555, was   
   passed by the House of Representatives on unanimous consent under a   
   suspension of House rules. Under the measure, FCC rules would prohibit deed   
   restrictions by groups such as homeowners associations that bar amateur radio   
   communications.   
      
   ARRL Hudson Division Director Mike Lisenco N2YBB said in an email message to   
   members that he was encouraged by the swiftness of the lawmakers' action. The   
   measure moves next to the Senate, where its predecessor H.R. 1301, died last   
   year after overwhelmingly winning approval in the House. Lisenco, who has   
   been involved in the legislative push, urged hams to raise their voices once   
   again for its passage by sending supportive emails to Congress.   
      
   In an email to members, ARRL President Rick Roderick K5UR pressed hams to   
   strengthen the grassroots effort nationally. He wrote in an email message   
   sent to members: QUOTE "Keep going. Now is the time to charge forward with   
   that same momentum to the Senate. We can do it!" ENDQUOTE   
      
   (ARRL)   
   **   
      
   MISSOURI LAWMAKERS CONSIDER STATE PARITY ACT   
      
   NEIL/ANCHOR: Meanwhile, Missouri lawmakers have been holding hearings on a   
   state version of the parity act as we learn from Amateur Radio Newsline's   
   Christian Cudnik K0STH.   
      
   CHRISTIAN: House Bill 136, also known as the Missouri Amateur Radio Parity   
   Act, was before a committee hearing on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2017. It was the   
   third hearing scheduled at high noon. Roughly, twenty Missouri hams came to   
   the Capital prepared to speak on behalf of the bill.   
      
   Due to time constraints, only four licensed amateurs were allowed to testify   
   -- one of which was Ward Silver NOEAX.   
      
   Rep. Mike Moon, from District 157, voiced his basic support for the amateur   
   radio service, but raised his concern about "violating" private land-use   
   agreements. Additional questions about the size of antennas were asked from   
   several district representatives.   
      
   Larry Scantlan, KE0KZ is one of the leading advocates of Bill 136. He said:    
   "I believe we could have done a better job in answering the questions about   
   antenna size. I believe that overall, the committee received the information   
   they needed to make a favorable decision to pass it out to their committee."   
      
   The HOAs were also represented. Jim Durham testified in opposition. However,   
   in the end, he stated that he believed that [quote] "something positive could   
   be worked out to satisfy everyone." [endquote]   
      
   Next, Bill 136 waits for the committee to bring it up for a vote.   
      
   In the meantime, organizers encourage Amateur Radio Operators in Missouri to   
   contact their representatives and ask for their support. This information,   
   other ham radio related resources and an interactive blog can be found at   
   marpa.us.   
      
   For Amateur Radio Newsline in Missouri, I'm Christian Cudnik K0STH.   
      
      
   **   
      
   NEW CHAIRMAN AT HELM OF FCC   
      
   NEIL/ANCHOR: Back in Washington, D.C., the federal Amateur Radio Parity Act   
   has already drawn praise from the nation's new top telecommunications   
   regulator, Ajit Pai, shortly after being named new chairman of the FCC by   
   President Donald Trump. Pai, the commission's senior Republican, had only   
   praise for the action taken by the House of Representatives in passing H.R.   
   555, calling it an important piece of legislation. Originally named to the   
   commission under President Barack Obama, Pai is an advocate of limited   
   government involvement and free-market forces. His first open meeting of the   
   FCC is set for Tuesday, Jan. 31.   
      
   (NPR)   
      
   **   
      
   D-STAR BECOMES FIREFIGHTING TOOL   
      
   NEIL/ANCHOR: Firefighting and ham radio operation are not a new combination   
   but in one Texas community, firefighters are going a step further. Here's   
   Amateur Radio Newsline's Paul Braun WD9GCO.   
      
   PAUL: Most hams are aware of how ARES and RACES coordinate with local   
   emergency services to provide communications assistance in the event of a   
   disaster. The Howard County Volunteer Fire Department in Big Spring, Texas,   
   took a much more proactive approach. I spoke with Tommy Sullivan, KG5HRK,   
   department chief about their program:   
      
   SULLIVAN: W5AW, the Big Spring Amateur Radio Club's been in existence in   
   Howard County for twenty to thirty years. Lloyd Duck was the president of the   
   club and he approached me about joining in or helping them to buy new D-STAR   
   equipment where they could do D-RATS and all of that, and then we discussed   
   how the fire department could help them get that and how would the fire   
   department benefit. And after we discussed it, and really looked at it and   
   saw that in a major disaster where we lose our radio tower and all of that   
   with this D-STAR and the amateur radio club we could still communicate, we   
   could still transmit our ICS forms, could transmit pictures from the scene to   
   the emergency operations center here in Howard County and also to the state   
   operations center in Austin.   
      
   PAUL: Sullivan said that the program's been successful so far:   
      
   SULLIVAN: Out of fifty firefighters I've got twelve now that are licensed   
   amateur radio operators to help supplement the fire department with the   
   amateur radio and vice-versa because everybody succeeds better when we all   
   work together. I didn't want to wait until the disaster and try to figure out   
   another backup plan. I want to go into it where we already have this in place   
   and everything operational, plan for the worst and hope for the best.   
      
   PAUL: Sullivan is hoping their program will serve as a model, since he feels   
   this is a very important idea:   
      
   SULLIVAN: Maybe other fire departments will take our lead. We don't have a   
   chance of failing this - we've got to succeed the first time. If we walk into   
   it and go, "Hey - our system's impenetrable and infallible" then we're   
   thinking in the wrong direction.   
      
   PAUL: And yes, Sullivan was talking to me from an active fire scene, although   
   one that his crew had under control.   
      
   For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Paul Braun, WD9GCO   
      
   **   
      
   HAM AND EGGS, BUT MOSTLY HAMS   
      
   NEIL/ANCHOR: We radio operators love to chew the rag but there's nothing like   
   chewing on a waffle or some flapjacks in the company of friends - as we hear   
   from Amateur Radio Newsline's Mike Askins KE5CXP.   
      
   MIKE'S REPORT: The Willits Amateur Radio Society W6MMM has enjoyed 1,250 days   
   of ham for breakfast. That's right, the Willits, California club, founded in   
   1992, considers itself one of the more social clubs out there. So when they   
   gathered on Saturday, January 14 for the latest in a long series of   
   breakfasts, eggs, pancakes, sausage and coffee were on the agenda. The club   
   has more than 50 members and its constitution states that the group's   
   objective is to promote interest in fellowship and fun in amateur radio and   
   to further the cooperation between Mendocino County amateur radio operators.   
   Members take part in health care drills too, testing radios throughout the   
   county and responding when the Offices of Emergency Services needs help   
   getting messages through during storms and other events.   
      
   Of course, there are also those breakfasts at a place called Lumberjack's   
   Restaurant, right there in Willits. As the club notes on its Facebook page,   
   you don't need to be a ham to join the group and share some ham and eggs.   
      
   For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mike Askins KE5CXP.   
      
   (WILLITS AMATEUR RADIO SOCIETY)   
      
      
   **   
      
   STRONG TALK ON WEAK SIGNALS FROM NOBEL LAUREATE   
      
   NEIL/ANCHOR: If you use JT65 or WSPR, you probably know about Joe Taylor   
   K1JT. Now some hams in Puerto Rico will get to know him in person. Amateur   
   Radio Newsline's Heather Embee KB3TZD has that story.   
      
   HEATHER: Software developer Joe Taylor K1JT will be an honored guest at the   
   Fifth Annual ARRL Puerto Rico State Convention where he will talk about DXing   
   with weak signals. The convention is taking place Friday, January 27th   
   through Sunday the 29th. Joe, a Nobel Laureate and a DXer, was the Dayton   
   Hamvention Amateur of the Year in 2016. The Princeton, New Jersey ham has   
   developed and improved digital protocols for weak-signal communication on the   
   ham bands using such modes as JT65 and WSPR. In 1993, Joe won the Nobel Prize   
   in Physics for discovering a new type of pulsar which had impact on the study   
   of gravitation. He is a professor emeritus at Princeton University.   
      
   The convention was organized by the Caribbean Amateur Radio Group and the   
   Puerto Rico Amateur Radio League. If you can't be there in person to hear   
   Joe, be listening for Special Event station W1AW/KP4 which will be on the air   
   while the convention is going on.   
      
   For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Heather Embee KB3TZD.   
      
   (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 West Chester   
   Amateur Radio Club repeater WC8VOA in West Chester, Ohio, on Monday nights.   
      
      
   **   
   AN HF HOMECOMING ACROSS THE MILES   
      
   NEIL/ANCHOR: Yes, you CAN go home again - especially if you're a ham and your   
   far-away hometown is Hull, in the North of England. Amateur Radio Newsline's   
   Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT has that story.   
      
   CARYN: What attracts the interest of a well-travelled ham when tuning around   
   the bands? How about a special event station celebrating his town of birth?   
   That's what happened this week to Amateur Radio Newsline's correspondent Ed   
   Durrant DD5LP, who shares that experience with us.   
      
   +++++ GB0HCC contact audio +++++++   
      
      
   ED'S REPORT: As you heard towards the end of my QSO band conditions and QRM   
   were not the best however I was glad to get the QSO with the Hull, UK-based   
   special event station GB0HCC which is celebrating the city of Hull in the   
   north of England being the UK's city of culture for 2017. Hull was originally   
   the UK's largest fishing port but later developed many industries, small and   
   large. It's where I grew up and got my Amateur Radio license in the   
   seventies. It is great to see the latest changes to this adaptive city and to   
   see the recognition of the Arts in the award of the UKs city of culture 2017.   
   Good luck to the various Amateur Radio groups who will use the GB0HCC   
   callsign around the Hull area through the year. For further details please   
   checkout the GB0HCC page on qrz.com.   
      
   Also heard on the bands this week was a station we announced on ARNewsline a   
   few weeks ago. VE100VIMY is a Canadian special event station to commemorate   
   the battle of Vimy Ridge in World War one, some 100 years ago. The call sign   
   will move around Canada. when I contacted it, it was in the VE3 prefix area   
   being kept very busy with calls.   
      
   +++++++++ VE100VIMY contact audio ++++++   
      
   Finally Tom, OH6VDA from Finland would like all to know that the "OF" call   
   signs coming from Finland during 2017 are to celebrate 100 years of   
   independence for Finland. All Finnish stations may change their "OH" prefix   
   to "OF" so Tom was operating the OH2K station as OF2K when I contacted him.   
      
   ++++++++++ OF2K contact audio +++++++   
      
   So even when atmospheric conditions are not good it's always worth tuning the   
   bands. You never know what you might find.   
      
   This is Ed Durrant DD5LP for ARNewsline.   
      
   **   
      
   MORE ACTIVATIONS FOR K2BSA   
      
   NEIL/ANCHOR: Radio Scouts are finishing up the month of January with some   
   more activations, as we hear from Amateur Radio Newsline's Bill Stearns NE4RD.   
      
   BILL: This week in Radio Scouting we have 2 activations of the K2BSA   
   callsign, 1 activation from Scout Camps on the Air, and planning for the   
   National Scout Jamboree and Jamboree on the Air.   
      
   Bryan Gonderinger, AF0W, will be activating K2BSA/0 at Merit Badge College in   
   Longmont, CO, on January 28th.  Scouts will be working on their Radio Merit   
   Badge along with many other opportunities for scouts to earn badges at the   
   Mountain View District's event.   
      
   Thomas Schuessler, N5HYP, will activating K2BSA/5 at a Radio Merit Badge   
   workshop at the National Scout Museum in Irving, TX, on February 4th.  This   
   is an exciting opportunity for scouts to visit this active station and the   
   museum.   
      
   Over on the Scout Camps on the Air site, we have Thomas Kisner, KN6Q, will be   
   activating KE5BSA at the SilverStar Merit Badge College in Fort Worth, TX, on   
   February 4th.  Thomas will be active on 20 meters on 14.290 plus or minus the   
   QRM.   
      
   We here at the K2BSA group are actively scheduling our transportation and   
   arrivals to the National Scout Jamboree to be held in July from the 15th to   
   the 28th.  We are very excited about the opportunity to work with scouts and   
   our sponsors on making Radio Scouting a part of this great adventure for the   
   youth.  Details of the operation are well into the planning stages and expect   
   K2BSA to be on the air on most bands and  on satellite throughout the event.    
   We'd like to thank Icom America, DX Engineering, and MFJ Enterprises for   
   their support of this event.   
      
   With February approaching, it's time to start locking in the location for   
   your JOTA event.  Recruit a champion to continue the dialog of JOTA at   
   district committee meetings and round tables.  Join us on the Radio Scouting   
   net the 2nd Thursday of the month on EchoLink in conference *JOTA-365* or   
   node number 480809 at 9pm Central.   
      
   For more information on K2BSA and Radio Scouting, please visit   
   http://www.k2bsa.net/.   
      
   For Amateur Radio Newsline and the K2BSA Amateur Radio Association, this is   
   Bill Stearns NE4RD.   
      
   **   
      
   THE WORLD OF DX   
      
   Listen for the call signs J5UAP and 6W2SC as Peter HA3AUI visits   
   Guinea-Bissau and Senegal between now and early March. He is operating on CW.   
   QSL cards should be sent directly to his home call.   
      
   A group of German operators is activating TU5MH from the Ivory Coast through   
   the 2nd of February. They have three stations and can be found on 80m to 10m   
   on CW, SSB and RTTY. Send QSL cards via Club Log OQRS. Logs will also be   
   uploaded to Logbook of The World.   
      
   Members of a Dominican Republic club have put Beata Island on the air until   
   the 1st of February. Be listening for their callsign HI1UD. The IOTA   
   reference is NA-122. The expedition's QSL Manager is W2CCW.   
      
   (IRISH RADIO TRANSMITTERS SOCIETY)   
      
   *   
   KICKER: USING CODE IN A FLASH   
      
   NEIL/ANCHOR: It wasn't a straight key, or even a bug, but a flashlight - also   
   known as a torch - that helped rescue an injured Army reservist recently when   
   he was visiting Seatown in Dorset in the UK. Amateur Radio Newsline's Jeremy   
   Boot G4NJH has that story.   
      
   JEREMY: Sgt. Tim Robinson broke his leg after slipping on some seaweed during   
   a walk on the Jurassic Coast, east of Lyme Regis. Without a mobile phone, he   
   could not telephone for help. According to some media accounts, he crawled   
   and staggered in the direction of his hotel for about two hours. As darkness   
   crept in, however, the injured reservist realized he still had one reliable   
   means of communication - his pocket flashlight. He signaled "SOS" in Morse   
   Code in the direction of the hotel where the Derbyshire couple were staying   
   more than a mile away. He had hoped that's where his wife Paula would be   
   looking for him.   
      
   He repeated the Code message three more times. His wife, who was at a car   
   park, followed the signals and responded. The couple exchanged signals five   
   more times until she located him. After she summoned help, a lifeboat   
   transported him to Lyme Regis and he was transferred there to a hospital. He   
   later told his rescuers "I've had two tours of Afghanistan and one in Iraq   
   and there were a few incidents over there, but nothing quite as dramatic as   
   what happened on this beach".   
      
   For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH   
      
   (BBC, THE MIRROR)   
      
   **   
      
   NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Alan Labs; the ARRL; BBC; CQ Magazine; Hap   
   Holly and the Rain Report; K2BSA Amateur Radio Association; The Mirror;   
   National Public Radio; Ohio-Penn DX Bulletin; QRZ.COM; Southgate Amateur   
   Radio News; Ted Randall's QSO Radio Show; Willits Amateur Radio Society; WTWW   
   Shortwave; the YL International Single Sideband System; and you our   
   listeners, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline. Please send emails to   
   our address at 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 Neil Rapp WB9VPG in Bloomington Indiana saying 73   
   and as always we thank you for listening.   
      
   Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2017. All rights reserved.   
      
      
   ***   
      
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   Thank you and good day!   
      
   -73- ARNTE-0.1.0-OS2 build 42   
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