[continued from previous message]

for what was once the main form of radio communication back when steam
trains ruled the rails.

This is Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.

(QUA, THE FRANKLIN AMATEUR RADIO CLUB NEWSLETTER)

**
WORLD OF DX

In the World of DX, listen for special event station GB2ZL in Scotland
operating CW from the 1st to the 28th of October marking the centennial
of the first amateur radio contact between Great Britain and New
Zealand. The actual anniversary date is the 18th of October, 1924. QSL
via LoTW only. See QRZ.com for more details.

Dale, W4AUV and Bob, K4RLC will operate from St. Kitts, IOTA Number
NA-104, from the 1st to the 12th of October. Dale, operating as
V4/W4AUV, will be using mainly CW on 40m. Bob, using the callsign
V4/K4RLC, will be operating QRP CW on 20 metres from the island's three
POTA sites. QSL via LoTW.

Expect to hear Gunter, DK2WH on the air from Namibia as V51WH until
early November. Gunter is operating from a farm near Omaruru. Listen
for him on 160-10m, including 60m. He will also participate in the CQ
WorldWide RTTY and SSB contests as V55Y. See QRZ.com for more details.

Fred, DH5FS, is operating holiday style on various HF bands as E6FS
from Niue, IOTA Number OC-040, until the 30th of September. QSL via his
home call.

(425 DX BULLETIN, WIA)

**
KICKER: A HEALTHY DOSE OF EYEBALL QSOS HAS BENEFITS

DON/ANCHOR: Our final story takes a look at eyeball QSOs - those
in-person visits we love so much. True, there are no QSL cards but
there may be other benefits, as we hear from Randy Sly W4XJ.

RANDY: It's no secret that amateur radio can be good for your health.
The Radio Society of Great Britain and the UK's National Health Service
teamed up at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to launch Get on the
Air to Care, a program to decrease social isolation and improve mental
well-being, as hams reached out to hams to check on one another.

Only a few years later, Grouper, a wellness advocacy company here in
the US, has partnered with the ARRL with a somewhat similar intent:
While the ARRL has always encouraged lots of QSOs, Grouper encourages
-indeed, Grouper actually rewards - lots of eyeball QSOs. Think of this
program as a way to "Care While You're Off the Air."

Originally founded as Element3 Health, the Boston company's recent
name-change to Grouper reflects its accelerated desire to help people
achieve so-called "social fitness" through in-person interaction.
Grouper says it is tackling the health crisis of social isolation and
loneliness - formally declared to be an epidemic last year the US
Surgeon General. The ARRL-Grouper partnership, in this case, focuses on
older radio amateurs who are enrolled in Medicare, under either the
Medicare Advantage or one of the Medicare Supplement plans. Eligible
hams 65 and older who can prove they are active in in-person amateur
radio activities  may have some of their dues and other activity costs
covered under the program.

The ARRL said in a press release that it hopes the new program will
[quote] "enhance the health of ARRL members by providing acess to
benefits that support staying active and engaged." [endquote] It also
shows that not all lasting connections made in amateur radio are
necessarily only ones that have been soldered.

This is Randy Sly W4XJ.

(ARRL, GROUPER, RSGB)

**
HAIKU FOR YOU

Don't forget the Amateur Radio Newsline haiku challenge. If you're not
too busy tuning your antennas or chasing the latest DXpedition, pick up
a pencil and share your experience by sending an original haiku to us
here at Newsline. Use the entry form on our website, arnewsline.org and
please follow the rules for writing your three-line haiku -- sorry but
we cannot accept any entries that aren't written in traditional haiku
form. Share with fellow listeners the poetry that is inspired by your
ham radio experience!

NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Amateur Radio Weekly; AMSAT News
Service; APRS Foundation; ARRL; Australian Communications and Media
Authority; David Behar K7DB; 425DXNews; Grouper; NZ Net Newsletter;
QRZ.com; Radio Orienteering Championship website; Radio Society of
Great Britain; Roger Harrison, VK2ZRH; shortwaveradio.de; YLRL
Harmonics; and you our listeners, that's all from the Amateur Radio
Newsline.  We remind our listeners that Amateur Radio Newsline is an
all-volunteer non-profit organization that incurs expenses for its
continued operation. If you wish to support us, please visit our
website at arnewsline.org and know that we appreciate you all. We also
remind our listeners that if you like our newscast, please leave us a
5-star rating wherever you subscribe to us. 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. As
always we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is
Copyright 2024. All rights reserved.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
 * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)