Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2118 for Friday, June 1, 2018   
      
   Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2118 with a release date of Friday,    
   June 1, 2018, to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.   
      
   The following is a QST. In Montana and Maryland, hams respond to floods.    
   In Australia, amateurs take on on-air bullies - and South Africa awaits    
   use of 60 meters. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report    
   2118 comes your way right now.   
      
   **   
      
   BILLBOARD CART   
      
   **   
   YELLOWSTONE ARES STEPS IN DURING MONTANA STORM   
      
   NEIL/ANCHOR: We begin this week's newscast with reports of amateur    
   response to flooding. While most of the U.S. concentrated on their    
   holiday celebrations over Memorial Day weekend, hams in two parts of the    
   country dealt with crisis conditions. We begin in Montana with the    
   Yellowstone Amateur Radio Emergency Service. Here's Kent Peterson KC0DGY.   
      
   KENT: Amateur radio operators in the Billings, Montana area mobilized    
   over the Memorial Day holiday weekend as a "perfect storm" brought    
   massive flooding to the region brought on by melting mountain snowpack,    
   heavy rain and an anticipated crest of the Yellowstone River. There were    
   concerns too that the region's complex canal system that feeds local    
   farms could further complicate the scenario. As the holiday weekend    
   began on Friday, May 25th, Brad Shoemaker, Disaster and Emergency    
   Services Director turned to YARES, the Yellowstone Amateur Radio    
   Emergency Services. Ron Glass WN7Y, the ARRL's Emergency Coordinator for    
   Yellowstone County, activated a net, 23 hams checked in and staffing got    
   under way. Five hams went the next morning to sandbag centers where they    
   helped manage traffic and ensure that no one ran out of bags or sand. In    
   some cases, said Ron, the hams even helped residents load the sandbags    
   into their vehicles. Others staffed the Emergency Operations Center and    
   Net Control while still others served as "loggers" tracking callouts.    
   The weekend operation brought logistics challenges and long work shifts,    
   Ron told Newsline, but the hams kept their duties covered. By Monday, as    
   the anticipated rainstorm began to hit hard, hams were dispatched for    
   River Watch Duty and at roadway locations to identify any threatened    
   bridges, flooded roads and other trouble spots identified by the county.    
   The damage ultimately turned out to be less than predicted. Ron told    
   Newsline: [quote] "Even though the storm dropped over an inch of rain in    
   the first 15 minutes and we were driving through flooded streets the    
   rest of the day, the event was NOT as large as expected." [endquote] By    
   3 p.m. that same afternoon, the flood warning was dropped and the EOC    
   went into standby mode, said Ron. He told Newsline that YARES was    
   officially deactivated within the hour.   
      
   For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Kent Peterson KC0DGY.   
      
   (RON GLASS, WN7Y)   
      
   **   
   HAMS PREP FOR FLOODED MARYLAND MILL TOWN   
      
   NEIL/ANCHOR: Meanwhile, not quite two years after the historic mill town    
   of Ellicott City Maryland was nearly swallowed up by flood waters, it    
   was being described again as a "war zone." Memorial Day weekend storms    
   and flooding that affected other parts of Maryland brought particular    
   devastation to this Howard County community where there were reports    
   that one man had gone missing and a body was recovered two days later    
   from the water. Maryland hams wasted no time. Marty Pittenger KB3MXM,    
   the ARRL Maryland-DC Section Manager told Newsline that just as the    
   flood alerts started popping up in early evening on Sunday May 27th, the    
   ARES team activated. Marty said the word went out - "this is NOT a    
   drill" - and a half-hour later, at 7 p.m. when the governor declared a    
   state of emergency, stations had already been checking in. As they    
   remained on standby, hams began sharing weather information, agency and    
   SKYWARN reports and other situational details. According to Marty the    
   quickly-assembled team comprised 40 hams across five repeaters covering    
   an area of about 5600 square miles across six counties. Hams were also    
   monitoring EchoLink and conducted a quick test on 80 meters in case HF    
   was needed to pass messages.   
      
   Marty said that the nets remained active until instruction to stand down    
   came at 10:15 p.m. Marty said there was ultimately no need for the hams    
   to be deployed to assist.   
      
   (CNN, Marty Pittenger KB3MXM)   
      
   **   
      
   SLENT KEY: JIM SELLARS N0UAM   
      
   NEIL/ANCHOR: Net control operators are the heart and soul of emergency    
   response and one noted weather-watcher has become a Silent Key, as we    
   hear from Geri Goodrich KF5KRN.   
      
   GERI: Jim "Mad Dog" Sellars N0UAM became a Silent Key on May 22nd - but    
   for all the years before he was an active radio amateur who lived, some    
   might say, in the eye of the storm. An enthusiastic storm-chaser, Jim    
   was perhaps best known as Assistant Director of VoIP Hurricane Net    
   Operations and Net Control.   
      
   He most recently made a name for himself as a tireless net control    
   during the 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season which included Maria, Irma and    
   Harvey. He also played a big role in the National Weather Service    
   Springfield Missouri SKYWARN program.   
      
   The Springfield, Missouri resident had battled a heart condition for    
   years. He was 64 at the time of his death.   
      
   A certified meteorologist, Jim wrote his own obituary for the local    
   newspaper and described his final wishes: he wanted to be cremated and    
   then have his ashes scattered into a tornado. He wrote "that'll be fun."   
      
   For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Geri Goodrich KF5KRN.   
      
   NEIL/ANCHOR: There was a Final Call for Jim on May 26 just prior to the    
   WX4NHC annual test. Rob KD1CY was net control. Please listen to this    
   tribute on our website. Go to arnewsline.org and click on the "Extra"    
   tab on the left.   
      
   **   
   TIME TO TALK TO A MINESWEEPER   
      
   NEIL/ANCHOR: What are you doing on the air June 1st through June 3rd?    
   It's Museum Ships Weekend and you have a chance to work a Navy    
   minesweeper. Paul Braun WD9GCO talked to one of the team members.   
      
   PAUL: If there’s one thing that gets hams excited, it’s a special-event    
   station. And when you can combine a group of special-event stations into    
   a major happening, all the better. Such is the case with Museum Ships    
   Weekend, where groups of hams activate from various historic ships that    
   have been turned into museums. One of those ships is the USS Lucid, the    
   last of the ocean-going wooden minesweepers.   
      
   A group of YL’s from the Stockton-Delta Amateur Radio Club will be    
   activating the Lucid that weekend. I spoke with one of the members,    
   Emelia Seiferling KI6YYT about how they got involved:   
      
   SEIFERLING: My husband and I were presenting a program for the Stockton    
   radio club. It was concerning an activation that I had participated with    
   a YL group - KM6CIR - Ladies of the Net. They had organized a session on    
   the USS Hornet. And after the program, the president there, John, N6ZQ,    
   said, "Well, we should have something like that here in Stockton!" And    
   after a little talk over the next few days, it was decided to activate    
   the USS Lucid that the Stockton club is affiliated with and have a YL    
   afternoon on Museum Ships Weekend.   
      
   PAUL: Seiferling originally got involved with activating ships through    
   contacts she had made on a net:   
      
   SEIFERLING: When I retired, my schedule got flexible enough that I could    
   check into the 40 meter Ladies' Net, KM6CIR it's just a general net for    
   all YL's - all YL's are welcome. One of the first things they were    
   talking about after I started trying to check in on a regular basis was    
   an activation that they were doing at the USS Hornet because one of    
   their members had connections there. Then several months later we did an    
   activation on the Queen Mary, because again there was another member who    
   had some connections to get us permission to use the radio room. So,    
   when this thing came up with the Lucid, I contacted the ladies and    
   hopefully we'll have several people from our group show up.   
      
   PAUL: You can find out more details at the club’s website, triple-w dot    
   W6SF dot org. Museum Ships Weekend runs from June 1st through the 3rd.    
   The Lucid is the only ship of her kind left in the USA, so the hope is    
   that events like this will bring more attention to the restoration efforts.   
      
   For Amateur Radio Newsline, I’m Paul Braun, WD9GCO.   
      
   **   
      
   SCOTLAND's 'UNICORN' TO LAUNCH FROM ALASKA   
      
   NEIL/ANCHOR: Do you believe in unicorns? Some hams in Scotland do - and    
   Jeremy Boot G4NJH tells us why.   
      
   JEREMY: Radio amateurs in Scotland are going to be mighty proud later    
   this year. The PocketQube satellite they constructed at Alba Orbital in    
   Glasgow is being prepared for launch sometime during the third quarter    
   of this year. It will be sent into space from Kodiak, Alaska on board a    
   Vector Launch Inc. rocket for a mission that is expected to last about    
   45 days.   
      
   The launch is considered a milestone for Scotland's space industry and    
   will mark the first time an orbiter built in that country has not been    
   piggybacked aboard another launch vehicle. Alba Orbital has collaborated    
   on the project with the University of Aachen in Germany as well as its    
   amateur radio club DL0FHA.   
      
   The satellite has been named the Unicorn-2A and it will have downlinks    
   in both the 437 MHz and 2400 MHz bands and one of its transmission modes    
   will be LoRa, a long-range, low-power wireless platform. The Unicorn is    
   the creation of amateurs Constantin Constantinides MM6XOM, Alejandro    
   Gonzalez Garrido EA7KDU and Sajimon Chacko 2M0DSY.   
      
      
   For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH.   
      
   (BBC)   
      
   **   
      
   BREAK HERE:   
   Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline    
   heard on bulletin stations around the world including the WB0QXW    
   repeaters in St. Louis Missouri on Monday nights following the World    
   Friendship Net which begins at 7 p.m. local time on EchoLink.   
      
   **   
      
   NEW 100 kHz ALLOCATION ON 60 METERS for SOUTH AFRICA   
      
   NEIL/ANCHOR: South African hams are getting some new frequencies for    
   their QSOs as we hear from Robert Broomhead VK3DN.   
      
   ROBERT: There's encouraging news for amateurs in South Africa waiting to    
   get on 60 metres. Hams have been granted access to the band between 5350    
   and 5450 kHz on a shared non-interference basis. They have also been    
   given 5290 kHz for a South African Radio League propagation research    
   project involving WSPR beacons. The South African Radio League reports    
   that the Council will publish a band plan as soon as possible,    
   permitting the start of 60-metre operations on the new allocation. The    
   Independent Communications Authority of South Africa published the good    
   news in the new National Radio Frequency Plan on Friday, May 25th. The    
   South African Radio League Council has meanwhile issued a special appeal    
   to hams, reminding them to guard against misconduct on the air. The    
   message from SARL President Nico ZS6QL was issued following the    
   resolution of a situation of abuse reported on 20 metres by the Namibian    
   Amateur Radio League.   
      
   For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Robert Broomhead VK3DN.   
      
   (SOUTHGATE, SARL)   
      
   **   
   NO ROOM FOR AMATEUR RADIO BULLIES   
      
   NEIL/ANCHOR: On the subject of on-air behavior, an unfortunate side to    
   our hobby is the bullying and trolling that happens on the air. One ham    
   in Australia is trying to help others make the best of a tough    
   situation. Here's Jim Meachen ZL2BHF with that report.   
      
   JIM MEACHEN: Yes, there are bullies on the air. Onno Benschop VK6FLAB    
   discovered this first-hand as a beginner licensee in December 2010 when    
   he said he was regularly harassed by amateurs with more advanced    
   licenses and subjected to rude remarks. For the past few years, the ham    
   and amateur-radio podcaster has spent time trying to provide guidance    
   for all those who've had to endure that same painful experience. In    
   addition to speaking locally at amateur radio classes about ways to    
   deflect the abuse rather than engage it, Onno provides suggestions and    
   confidence and hosts a weekly net for new and returning amateurs.   
      
   Since July 2014 he has also maintained a bully reporting form at vk six    
   dot net (vk6.net), the NewsWest website. Hams who've felt bullied can    
   use the online form to report all the details. There are also links to    
   articles and sources of additional support, including directions on how    
   to report any recording of the incident. The website indicates that any    
   pattern of repeat offenses is turned over to the ACMA with    
   recommendations that official action be taken.   
      
   Onno told Amateur Radio Newsline in an email that while bullies may    
   always be out there in the world, these efforts provide victims with    
   recourse and support. He told Newsline [quote] "they have given new    
   entrants a level of confidence that was simply not available when I    
   started." [endquote]   
      
   For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.   
      
   **   
      
   OHIO HAMS KEEP THAT HAMVENTION FEELING ALOFT   
      
   NEIL/ANCHOR: A team of hams in Dayton has discovered that even though    
   Hamvention is over, there's a really good way to keep that Hamvention    
   feeling aloft: Launch a balloon! Andy Morrison K9AWM explains.   
      
   ANDY: It's helium-filled, it's high-flying at 30 thousand feet and it's    
   communicating with the world via APRS as it circumnavigates the globe.    
   This is the balloon that was launched just outside Building 5 on the    
   Greene County Fairgrounds on Saturday, May 19, during Hamvention. One    
   week later the Mylar balloon and its 13-gram payload, which includes a    
   25 mW solar-powered transmitter, headed toward Morocco and points    
   beyond. These launches are nothing new said Joe Muchnij N8QOD, the    
   committee chairman for the Dayton Amateur Radio Association. In fact,    
   Bill Brown WB8ELK, who oversaw the technical side of the beacon's    
   launch, has sent quite a few ballons into space - including one launch    
   for a school in which the balloon has already gone around the world four    
   times, Joe said. Reports have already come in from Nova Scotia, the    
   Azores and the Canary Islands as the ballon, traveling at 55 miles an    
   hour, travels powered by the wind and that Hamvention spirit. Keep    
   listening!   
      
   For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Andy Morrison K9AWM.   
      
   **   
   FRIEDRICHSHAFEN LETS HAMS OPERATE AERONAUTICAL MOBILE   
      
   NEIL/ANCHOR: The Dayton high altitude balloon is not the only Ham Fair    
   that's up in the air as we hear now from Ed Durrant DD5LP.   
      
   ED: That's right! Some lucky visitors to the Ham Radio Friedrichshafen    
   event this weekend have already booked their seats in one of two    
   chartered Zeppelin Airship flights leaving from the airport next to the    
   show grounds where, as well as getting some great views of the area,    
   they will also be able to operate Aeronautical Mobile!   
      
   Great as that may be there's more happening in Freidrichshafen this    
   weekend....   
      
   Dib Dib Dib or Dot Dot Dot ? This years Ham Radio event at    
   Friedrichshafen Germany has the theme of Amateur Radio working with The    
   Scouting Association. There has long been links between Scouting and Ham    
   Radio and this year, the 43rd. International Ham Radio exhibition wants    
   to celebrate Radio Scouting. There will be radio Fox Hunts, a youth tent    
   camp within one of the Zeppelin sized halls and several related free    
   teacher training forums for school teachers and scout leaders. This year    
   will see a two day "Ham Camp" with Ham Radio activities including    
   Quizzes, kit building (this year it's the "Ham Camp Bell"), telecoms    
   experiments, radio operation,  go-kart racing and Morse code.   
      
   As well as the Radio Scouting theme there will of course be the usual    
   large inside Flea Market, the regional Makers Faire and 180 exhibitors    
   and traders from 30 countries making this Europe's largest and the    
   worlds third largest hamfest after the Tokyo Ham Fair and Dayton.   
      
   Exam tests for both German and US licences will take place. Food is    
   available either inside or outside in the Beer Gardens. We'll see what    
   the weather brings but forecasts are good at the moment both for sunny    
   weather and the fun and excitement at Ham Radio Friedrichshafen 2018!   
      
   Looking forward to bringing you some highlights of the event in next    
   weeks show, this has been Ed Durrant DD5LP for Amateur Radio Newsline.   
      
   **   
   WORLD OF DX   
      
   In the World of DX, listen for Thomas, F4HPX operating as FR/F4HPX from    
   Reunion Island through the 15th of June. He is operating on SSB, digital    
   modes and a little CW on 40 through 15 meters. QSL via LoTW, Club Log's    
   OQRS or via home call (direct or bureau).   
      
   The EIDX Group is preparing to activate ALL Irish IOTA Groups. Using the    
   'Echo Juliet' prefix, EJ0DXG will be active from IOTAs EU-006, EU-007,    
   EU-103 and EU-121 this summer. The first activation will be "Little    
   Saltee Island" which is EU-103 between June 15th and 18th. The group    
   will be active on the HF and 6m bands using CW, SSB and the Digital    
   modes. QSL via M0OXO.   
      
      
   (DX WORLD, OHIO PENN DX)   
      
   **   
   KICKER: BROWN UNIVERSITY'S LATEST "GRADUATE" IS A SATELLITE   
      
   NEIL/ANCHOR: We end this week with a college story - and as Skeeter Nash    
   N5ASH reminds us, graduates aren't all a university can launch.   
      
   SKEETER: In this season of commencements, speakers often address the new    
   graduates urging them to aim high - but there's one graduate of Brown    
   University in Rhode Island that didn't need any encouragement to be    
   launched: It's the EQUiSat satellite sent to the International Space    
   Station and it was sent into the sky on May 20 from NASA's Wallops    
   Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Virginia.   
      
   EQUISat was built by students at Brown and if you look real carefully    
   into the sky you might even see the bright blinking LED lights that are    
   on board as the satellite travels some 250 miles upward over the earth.    
   The satellite will transmit a CW beacon and 4FSK 9k6 telemetry on    
   435.550 MHz. Its XDL Micro radio transceiver has the ability to    
   communicate with radio amateurs as well as other ground stations, which    
   can receive data from its sensors and current operation.   
      
   The  primary ground station for EQUISat is being built at the Ladd    
   Observatory in partnership with the Brown Amateur Radio Club.   
      
   The goal is for the satellite to depart the Space Station, enter orbit    
   and using the earth's magnetic field, point its lights toward Rhode    
   Island. Now that's a fitting homecoming for any college graduate.   
      
   For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Skeeter Nash N5ASH.   
      
   (BROWNSPACE.ORG)   
      
   *   
      
   NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Alan Labs; Amateur News Weekly; the ARRL;    
   BBC; Brownspace.Org; CNN; CQ Magazine; DX World; Hap Holly and the Rain    
   Report; Marty Pittenger KB3MXM; Ohio-Penn DX Bulletin; Ron Glass, WN7Y;    
   South African Radio League; Southgate Amateur Radio News; Ted Randall's    
   QSO Radio Show; Wireless Institute of Australia; WTWW Shortwave; 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 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 2018. All rights reserved.   
      
      
   --    
      
      
      
   73   
   James-KB7TBT   
   www.arnewsline.org   
   www.ylsystem.org   
      
      
      
      
   -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-   
   Groups.io Links:   
      
   You receive all messages sent to this group.   
      
   View/Reply Online (#1032): https://groups.io/g/ARNewsline/message/1032   
   View All Messages In Topic (1): https://groups.io/g/ARNewsline/topic/20810411   
   Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/20810411/929223   
   New Topic: https://groups.io/g/ARNewsline/post   
      
   Change Your Subscription: https://groups.io/g/ARNewsline/editsub/929223   
   Group Home: https://groups.io/g/ARNewsline   
   Contact Group Owner: ARNewsline+owner@groups.io   
   Terms of Service: https://groups.io/static/tos   
   Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/ARNewsline/leave/2103143/629458047/xyzzy   
   -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-   
      
      
   ***   
      
   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)   
      
      
    * Origin: (1:3634/12)