Amateur Radio NewslineT Report 1816 - June 1 2012 Note: This week is an extended Amateur Radio Newsline report running 35 minutes, 37 seconds and contains three breaks at 9:56, 19:12 and 25:46 respectively. Actual newscast begins now: -- Cue tone -- Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1816 with a release date of June 1, 2012 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a Q-S-T. The following is a Q-S-T. Italian hams called out as earthquakes hit near the city of Bologna; South African hams ready to respond after mine disaster, more on Icom's support of the Boy Scouts of America and a new plateau in solar energy is reached down-under. Find out the details are on Amateur Radio NewslineT report number 1816 coming your way right now. (Billboard Cart Here) ** RESCUE RADIO: HAMS RESPOND AFTER QUAKE HITS ITALY It has been called the region's worst quake since the 1300's. Amateur radio was one of the services requested to help in the quake's aftermath. Amateur Radio Newsline's Heather Butera-Howell, KB3TZD, reports: -- Striking on Sunday, May 20th at 4.04 am local time the quake's epicenter was located about 35 kilometers north of the Italian city of Bologna at a relatively shallow depth of 5 kilometers. Its intensity measured a 6.0 on the Richter scale as it shook the nation's densely populated northeast region. Homes, factories and some historic church steeples were all felled by the force of the temblor. There was a 5.8 magnitude aftershock on Tuesday, May 29th at 9 am local time in the province of Modena, about 22 miles north-west of Bologna. This aftershock caused more buildings to collapse across the region, leaving at least 17 people dead, more than 350 injured, and 12 people reported missing. Jim Linton, VK3PC, is the Chairman of the IARU Region 3 Disaster Communications Committee. He relays an IARU Region 1 report that Italian radio amateurs were called on to responded in the wake of the disaster. According to VK3PC, the voluntary group RNRE was requested to make several mobile units available to respond as needed, due to the continuing seismic activity. No H-F frequencies were in use during the initial quake with all communications apparently taking place on the VHF and UHF bands. IARU Region 1 now reports that 7060 KHz is in use by IQ1HQ which is the RNRE and IQ0TK which is the Rome Civil Protection Department. There are also VHF links in the area at this time. Following a request from the Italian Civil Protection department, the RNRE have sent one mobile unit with five radio amateurs to the affected area and two more units are ready to go if requested. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Heather Butera-Howell, KB3TZD, near Berwick, Pennsylvania. -- As if this quake was not enough, another 4.3-magnitude earthquake was registered on May 28th in Southern Italy. The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre reports the epicenter was located 9 kilometers west of the town of Castrovillari. At airtime, There is no information about any injuries or damages caused by the latest earthquake. (VK3PC, G0DUB, KB3TZD) ** RESCUE RADIO: HAMNET NORTHERN CAPE RESPONDS TO MINE DISASTER Hams from South Africa's Hamnet are being asked to prepare for activation in the wake of a mining disaster in that region. Carel Oberholzer, ZS3OBE, of Hamnet Northern Cape says they are potentially in need of assistance to provide communication support for the operation to rescue the trapped miners or remove their remains from a diamond mine near Kleinzee. According to ZS3OBE, communications to Springbok which is the nearest urban hub is problematic and Hamnet has been requested to assist. Oberholzer says that operators are needed to assist in providing communications between Springbok and the Kleinzee mine location. This is a distance of about 80 kilometers. If activation occurs, the operation is expected to last for two to three weeks. Hamnet will likely two person teams on a rotational basis to man a relay point on a high point somewhere in between the mine and the city. Oberholzer describes the situation as fluid at this stage. As such the Hamnet response is only in the preparation phase. We will have a follow-up on this story in a future Amateur Radio Newsline report. (Hamnet) ** HAMVENTION 2012: TRULY A MIND BLOWING EVENT The numbers are in and this years Dayton Hamvention was once again a mind blowing event with some 25,000 hams attending to see new product launches from most of the major amateur radio suppliers. Amateur Radio Newsline's Don Wilbanks, AE5DW, was on scene and has more: -- When Hara Arena opened its doors at 9 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Friday, May 18th thousands of hams swarmed in. All were eager to see the latest and greatest gear that manufacturers and vendors had to offer. And they were not disappointed. Last week we covered a couple of the new radios from Kenwood and Heiberling. This week we will take a look at what Yaesu had to offer. In their case it was both a new HF transceiver and a new method of digital audio for use on VHF and UHF bands. Dennis Motschenbacher, K7BV, is Yaesu's spokesman: -- K7BV: "The surprise that no one knew about including me was the FTDX-3000 which is an HF and 50 MHz 200 watt radio that uses the fantastic receiver that we developed for the FTDX- 5000. So now for $3000 someone can have the receiver performance of a $5000 FTDX-5000. Of coarse you don't get the second receiver and you don't get 200 watts; you only get 100; but there's that rig that so many people have been waiting for." -- But that was not all. For the world at 2 meters and above Yaesu introduced its long awaited digital audio hand-held that uses a different modulation scheme from either Icom's D- Star or Alinco's ITU-TV.32 protocols. Again, Dennis Motschenbacher, K7BV: -- K7BV" "We have a new digital handheld that uses C4FM FFDMA protocol and its going to be a whole new venture of digital into amateur radio with many, many of the capabilities that some of the other existing services can't offer. We introduced the hand held for that today and the repeater and the mobile will be coming later on in the year." -- In simpler terms, the introduction of the new Yaesu digital radio is kind of the ham radio equivalent of the 1970's Betamax versus VHS clash, but this time it will be at least 3-way affair. Four ways if you count the proponents of the P-25 protocol with recycled police and fire radios that has an ever growing following among the technical experimenters in the hobby. Turning to the social aspect of Hamvention, the theme of the 2012 Hamvention was Internationally Connected with Germany's Deutscher Amateur Radio Club having been selected as the 2012 Hamvention Club of the Year. Mitch Wolfson, DJ0QN, a former California ham who moved to Germany more than three decades ago was one of several DARC representatives who came to Dayton: -- DJ0QN: "Well that was quite a surprise. We were really pleased to hear that DARA selected us as the Club of the Year. We haven't done anything different the past couple of years that we have done the last 40 years. We have continued to represent Germany and also help amateur radio in all of Europe and all of IARU Region 1. We did a lot of work into making sure that we supported amateur radio in Germany by supporting it against issues like RFI problems that have been caused by new devices such as PLC and have done a lot of work in that area." -- Also on hand for this year's international event were representatives of the Japan Amateur Radio League, the Qatar Amateur Radio Society and the Radio Society of Great Britain. In addition, some of the leaders of the International Amateur Radio Union were on hand. This included IARU President Tim Ellam, VE6SH, Vice President Ole Garpestad, LA2RR, and Secretary Rod Stafford, W6ROD. They were there to meet and greet visitors. All of the international societies were located in the ARRL EXPO in the Ballarena Hall that also housed more than 20 exhibits staffed by ARRL representatives. Among the new ARRL booths for 2012 was an exhibit introducing the digital edition of QST magazine. We wish we had more time to tell you about Hamvention 2012,. But there are other stories we have to cover. So for now, I'm Don Wilbanks, AE5DW, in Southern Mississippi, for the Amateur Radio Newsline. -- For a visual highlight tour of Hamvention 2012 we suggest that you visit twit.tv/hn and watch Episode 49 of Bob Heil's show Ham Nation called the Dayton Experience. Also there are two new Hamvention 2012 music videos on You Tube produced by kit building expert Joe Eisenberg, K0NEB. One is called Hamvention 2012 "Band On The Run" and the other is titled Hamvention 2012 "Gimme Dat Ding." To find them just put the word joehusker into the search YouTube search line. We think you will enjoy them both. (ARNewsline, RSGB, others) ** BREAK 1 From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including the WM7K repeater serving Grants Pass, Oregon. (5 sec pause here) ** RADIO FOR YOUTH: MORE ON THE BSA AND ICOM ALLIANCE As we mentioned briefly last week, one of the biggest surprises to come out of Hamvention 2012 was an announcement that Icom and the Boy Scouts of America are joining forces to give scouts a new and exciting access point to ham radio. Amateur Radio Newsline's Mark Abramovich, NT3V, is here with some more information on this new alliance: -- While some might say the new partnership between Icom and the BSA is historic, the key players who hammered out the deal simply say it was a natural progression that will expose tens of thousands of Scouts and their leaders to the fun, the excitement and the challenges found in amateur radio. Jim Wilson, K5ND, who coordinates the annual Jamboree on the Air for the Boy Scouts of America each October, was introduced to Ray Novak, N9JA, division manager for amateur and receiver products at Icom America in Seattle, by a past staff member at the K2BSA operations at the national Boy Scouts Jamboree. Wilson, who is coordinating the K2BSA operations for the 2013 BSA jamboree at The Summit in West Virginia, says he was initially looking for a commitment on equipment which Icom has been loaning the jamboree operations over the years. But Wilson had a different idea this time... "Donate the equipment, don't loan it to us, but donate it to the jamboree and after the jamboree, we'll move it to local councils so they can put it to use and it'll be in use year- round," Wilson says. Wilson says his dialogue with Novak explored other areas where the BSA and amateur radio are in sync - such as Radio merit badge and Jamboree on the Air. From that came the proposal from Icom's Novak to put HF radios, microphones and an antenna, in the hands of the BSA in the form of "loaner kits" to send out to Scout councils across the country. "One is a long-range loan of up to 12 months that a Scout council can put in place while they're developing donations to support a longer term station," Wilson says. "But, give them a station that they can show how it works, they can get the Scouts excited, they can get local donors excited. "And, then another type of loan station - which we're calling an event loan station. So, if you've got a Radio Merit Badge workshop where you'd like to put in place one of these stations, you can apply and we'll get it in the queue, see if it works out and get a station out there for a week or two weeks or what have you." Novak, who has been helping set up equipment needs for the past few national jamboree operations at Fort AP Hill in Virginia, says he didn't want to wait a year for the next jamboree to get gear into the hands of Scouts and leaders for special events like JOTA or camporee demos or Radio merit badge workshops. "I'm not as concerned about the Boy Scouts getting licensed as I am with them seeing that amateur radio is actually a fun thing and they take home with them and share with their parents and others what fun they had talking into a microphone and transmitting thousands of miles away to talk to another Boy Scout or another youth the same age instead of sitting there and texting," Novak says. The BSA's Wilson says he confided in Novak his vision for the new Scout jamboree location in West Virginia and the idea of eventually establishing a permanent footprint for amateur radio there. That turned into something Wilson described as unexpected - an offer of repeaters for the site. "A 2-meter repeater and 2, 70 centimeter repeaters," Wilson says of the Icom offer. "The 2-meter and 70 centimeter will be analog and we'll have a D-Star repeater also at 70 centimeters." And, Novak says there is more, much more being worked out for HF, VHF, EchoLink, Foxhunting, and antennas for the K2BSA operations and Radio merit badge for the 2013 jamboree. "Right now we're at just the very beginning of working out all the details and luckily we've got about a full year before we really need to have everything in place for the Summit and the jamboree," Novak says. "But that one year will go fast." Wilson, who is excited to see this vision unfolding for the BSA and amateur radio, says it wouldn't have been possible without the people at the local Scout councils who have contributed to a seven-fold increase in the number of Radio merit badges earned by Scouts in recent years. And, some of those Scouts, he says, are going on to the next level - thanks to the interest spurred by the merit badge... "There are some committed Scouters and amateur radio operators putting in place merit badge workshops, offering Jamboree on the Air experiences, getting youth engaged in amateur radio and then they're going on and earning their Radio merit badge," Wilson says. "And, I'll bet a fair percent of those are going on and earning their Technician licenses." For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mark Abramowicz, NT3V, in Philadelphia. -- All things considered, the agreement between the Boy Scouts of America and Icom could easily lead to a lot of new young voices on the air and that would be very good news for all of amateur radio. Also it begs the obvious question of whether or not it will lead to similar agreements between other equipment suppliers and youth groups here in the United States or possibly elsewhere in the world. On this one only time will tell. (ARNewsline, NT3V) ** RADIO LAW: OHIO ENACTS PRB-1 LIKE LAW TO PROTECT HAMS Good news for Ohio hams. They now have P R B One-like antenna protection. Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, is in the Newsroom with more: -- Ohio hams now have antenna and support structure assurance. On May 15, Ohio Governor John Kasich signed a bill, granting comprehensive protections and rights to amateur radio operators in that state. HB 158 codifies the federal restrictions on the local zoning of amateur station antenna structures, thereby preserving Amateur Radio Service communications as a Homeland Security resource. It also places the burden of proof for compliance on the zoning authority. The new law states that: "Any legislative authority that denies an application for approval of an amateur station antenna structure shall state the reasons for the denial and shall, on appeal, bear the burden of proving that the authority's actions are consistent with this section." For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, in the newsroom in Los Angeles. -- This language of the new Ohio law removes the burden of proof from the amateur radio operator and places it on the legislative authority. And that's very good news for hams living in the Buckeye State. (ARRL) ** RADIO LAW: NEW FCC COMMISSIONERS SET TO WORK New FCC Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Ajit Pai have been sworn-in and have officially begun their work. Rosenworcel, a Democrat, takes the seat held by former Commissioner Michael Copps. Pai, a former Senate staffer as well who most recently worked at Jenner & Block, is a Republican who takes the seat vacated last spring by former Commissioner Meredith Baker. Pai has already announced his personnel with Matthew Berry as his chief of staff. In the past Berry has been the FCC's general counsel. He was most recently at the law firm of Patton Boggs. Gene Fullano has been named acting legal advisor for Commissioner Pai. He was most recently associate chief of the FCC's Public Safety & Homeland Security Bureau. (RW) ** RADIO LAW: KAPLAN TO LEAVE FCC WTB CHIEF POSITION The Genachowski lead FCC is losing another bureau chief. This with word that Rick Kaplan is stepping down as chief of the regulatory agency's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. Kaplan has been at the FCC since 2009, working in several posts. This included a stint as Chief of Staff to Commissioner Mignon Clyburn. According to a report from Radio World, Ruth Milkman, who preceded Kaplan as chief, will return to the bureau in that role after a year as special counsel to the chairman for Innovation in Government. The changes are effective in mid-June. (RW) ** BREAK 2 This is ham radio news for today's radio amateur. From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline with links to the world from our only official website at www.arnewsline.org and being relayed by the volunteer services of the following radio amateur: (5 sec pause here) ** RESCUE RADIO: TOO MANY CB SETS CAUSES HOUSE FIRE Tampa Bay Online reports that having too many CB radios connected to one power source likely sparked a fire. One that caused tens of thousands of dollars of damage at a St. Petersburg, Florida home. Fire investigators think the blaze was started by too many citizens band radios connected to an overloaded extension cord. Damage is estimated at $35,000 to $50,000. The owner of the home told the newspaper that he and his family were watching television when the fire started. They evacuated and no one was injured. The Red Cross helped the family find temporary lodging. And less we forget, investigators say that the home where the fire occurred reportedly had no working smoke detectors. More is on-line at tinyurl.com/cb-house-fire. (KB5TJI) ** WORLDBEAT: CB RADIO BOMB SCARE IN THE UK The BBC reports that a suspicious electronic device triggered a bomb alert in the city of Surrey. According to the news agency, the device was found after reports of suspicious activity near the Maultway, Camberley at about 10:00 British Standard Time on Monday, the 21st. Following examination by army bomb disposal experts Surrey police issued a statement saying that the unit turned out to be a pirate radio F.M broadcast transmitter or repeater for a citizen or pirate band radio station. You can read the entire story on-line at tinyurl.com/cb-bomb-scare. (BBC) ** RADIO READING: NEW E-BOOK FOR NEWCOMERS OR RETURNING HAMS 21 Things to Do After You Get Your Amateur Radio License is a new book by Daniel M Romanchik, KB6NU, that is now available for electronic reading on the Kindle and Nook. Written for the new ham or those amateurs who have not really been all that active late, its 21 chapters cover just about every aspect of the hobby as it is today. Included are such topics as how to locate an Elmer, how to buy a radio, set up a shack and much more. Also covered are the social aspects of the hobby including participation in clubs, hamfests and the like. The Kindle edition priced under three dollars is available from amazon.com. (Southgate) ** NAMES IN THE NEWS: K6VVA IOTA NORTHERN LATITUDE OPERATION POSTPONED Some names in the news. Rick Hilding, K6VVA, has announced that his Northern Latitudes Islands on the Air DXpedition has been rescheduled for July of 2013. This in the hope of gaining better propagation during that time period. As explained in his announcement, the far Northern Latitude has additional propagation factor complications. So in evaluating the total picture, a pause was deemed necessary to maximize possibilities for all Islands on the Air chasers to make contacts. You can follow planning progress on-line at www.k6vva.com/iota/na172 (K6VVA) ** NAMES IN THE NEWS: GW8TGS CARRIES OLYMPIC TOURCH A big treat for a United Kingdom ham as William Williams, GW8TGS , had the honor of being the Olympic Torchbearer as part of the team carrying the flame through the city of Aberystwyth. Williams turn came on May 27th starting at around 18.14 GMT and arriving at Vicarage Fields half an hour later. Having taken part in several charity runs and raising over 15,000 Pounds for charities, GW8TGS was nominated by the Rotary Club of Aberystwyth for his fund raising and his other voluntary work. Williams says he feels honored have taken part in this once- in-a-lifetime event. (GB2RS, Southgate) ** NAMES IN THE NEWS: RESULTS OF ARRL SPRING 2012 SM ELECTION ANNOUNCED Of the nine Section Manager elections this spring, two were decided by member voting. Ballots were counted on May 22nd at ARRL Headquarters. The incumbent Indiana Section Manager, John Poindexter, W3ML decided not to run for a new term of office. Two radio amateurs vied for the open position, with Lou Everett Sr, WA5LOU, being declared the winner with 596 votes. His opponent Brian Jenks, W9BGJ, received 429 votes. In Northern Florida, incumbent Section Manager Paul Eakin, KJ4G, was re-elected with 627 votes. His opponent Gary Alberstadt, KA3FZO, received 434 votes. Eakin has served as Section Manager since 2008. California's Santa Clara Valley will also have a new Section Manager with Brandon Bianchi, NI6C, taking over from Phil Steffora, K6TT, who decided not to run for a new term of office. Bianchi is currently serving as an Assistant Section Manager and did not face an opponent for the Section Manager position. All other incumbent ARRL Section Managers running for re- election did not face opposition and were declared elected for their next terms of office beginning this July 1st. (ARRL) ** BREAK 3 This is ham radio news for today's radio amateur. From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline with links to the world from our only official website at www.arnewsline.org and being relayed by the volunteer services of the following radio amateur: (5 sec pause here) ** WORLDBEAT: CUBAN HAMS AWARDED NEW DIGIMODES Pavel Costa, CO7WT, says that following both a national debate followed by legal avenues that the government of Cuba has approved the use of new digital modes for all Cuban radio amateurs. With this regulatory change Cuban hams are now permitted use of Domino, Contestia, Olivia, M-F-S-K, J-T- 65, and almost all variants of PSK. More important says CO7WT, this approval has set up a mechanism to apply for other new digital modes by any Cuban hams. Previous legislation restricted Cuban radio amateurs early digital modes such as to PSK31, QPSK31, AMTOR, PACKET and RTTY. (CO7WT) ** WORLDBEAT: RSGB BACKS OFCOM IN PROPOSED ANTI INTERFERENCE LAW The Radio Society of Great Britain has offered a formal response in support telecommunication regulator Ofcom's inquiry on proposed new anti-interference regulations. Laws to provide the telecommunications regulator with powers to take action in cases of interference from non-wireless telecommunications apparatus. The RSGB says that while the immediate proposal is to implement the new regulations in time for the upcoming Olympic Games. It adds that this action by Ofcom highlights the point that the RSGB has advocated on many occasions. That being the need for Ofcom to have statutory powers in cases of serious interference to the spectrum from non- wireless apparatus. Ofcom has indicated that it intends to prepare these regulations for ongoing use after the Olympic Games. Part of the RSGB response emphasizes the need for such regulatory enforcement powers. (RSGB) ** HAM RADIO IN SPACE: HAMS WORLWIDE ASKED TO MONITOR FOR THE HORYU-2 SATELLITE Hams world-wide are being asked to monitor for Japan's HORYU- 2 satellites Morse code beacon and 1200-baud AX.25 packet telemetry at 437.375 MHz. Japan's HORYU-2 is a research satellite was launched May 17th as part of a mission that also included the JAXA climate observation satellite Shizuku. HORYU-2 was built by students at the Kyushu Institute of Technology and identifies using the call sign JG6YBW. Telemetry decoding software is available for download at tinyurl.com/horyu-software. This is an executable program so you might want to be certain that it will run on your computer before installing it. More about the Horyu satellite itself is on-line at tinyurl.com/horyu-sat. (ARRL, AMSAT) ** HAM RADIO IN SPACE: AMSAT SATELLITE PROPOSALS SUBMITTED TO NASA The AMSAT North America Board of Directors has announced that the organization was a partner in a pair of Phase-2 NASA Edison Program proposals that were successfully submitted on Tuesday May 22nd. Due to the highly competitive nature of this program, no additional information can be released at this time. However, if selected, these proposals would provide AMSAT and its partners with the funds to construct and launch new amateur radio satellites. NASA intends to announce the winning proposals in the Fall of 2012. (ANS) ** PROPAGATION: NEW UK TO NORTH AMERICA 2 METER BEACON GB3WGI COMING SOON A new United-Kingdom based trans-Atlantic beacon is coming to the 2 meter band. Located at Lough Navar Forest in Northern Ireland at a height of 1145 feet above average terrain, the GB3WGI beacon will have a clear take off over the sea toward North America. The system will radiate on 144.487MHz initially with an Effective Radiated Power 100 Watts relative to a dipole, with plans to increase this if licensing allows. This new propagation beacon is being made possible thanks to the generous donation of a transmitter by Brian Justin, WA1ZMS, the man behind the US 70MHz beacon, and United Kingdom Notice of Variation holder, Gordon Curry GI6ATZ who is providing the site and site services. No date has been announced for the installation of the beacon, but plans are well under way. The Notice of Variation is the U-K equivalent to a United States Special Temporary Authority. It was issued by telecommunications regulator Ofcom on May 18th. (G4BAO) ** DX In DX, UA4WHX, who just went QRT as JY8VB has been spotted with the Palestinian call E40VB on 12 meters. Details of the stay are not known. QSL via home call. OH2PM will be operating as TC2X from Istanbul at TA2KN which is the Turkish Scouting and Guiding Federation Club station in Umraniye. QSL this operation via OH2BH. ZL3CW is working as TX5CW from Noumea, French Caledonia. QSL via his home call as well. The special event station 8N1TDU is active from Japan's Tokyo Denki University Campus until December 31. QSL this one as directed on the air. Lastly, HA1ZH is active in all modes and on all bands until December 31st. This on the occasion of his 50th jubilee as a ham QSL information is at www.ha1zh.hu (Above from various DX news sources ** THAT FINAL ITEM: SOLAR POWER BREAKTHROUGH And finally this week, word of a major efficiency breakthrough in the field of renewable energy from the sun. Heres WIA Newsman Graham Kemp, VK4BB, with the details: -- The world's most successful solar cell breaks the 20% barrier Aussie researchers teamed with Sun-tech Power to create Pluto Technology. The solar cells reached a production capacity last year of 0.5 gigawatts, worth more than 1 billion US dollars a year. This is enough to power 300,000 average homes that typically have eight solar panels on them for at least 25 years. The Pluto Technology won a 2012 Collaborative Innovation Award Wednesday night at the Cooperative Research Centers Association conference in Adelaide. For the Amateur radio Newsline, I'm Graham Kemp, VK4BB, of the WIA News in Australia. -- Don't get your hopes up yet to replace your mains powered ham gear with these new solar cells. Further research and marketing is needed to make them a world-wide everyday home power source. (WIA News) ** NEWSCAST CLOSE With thanks to Alan Labs, AMSAT, the ARRL, the CGC Communicator, CQ Magazine, the FCC, the Ohio Penn DX Bulletin, Radio Netherlands, Rain, the RSGB, the Southgate News and Australia's W-I-A News, that's all from the Amateur Radio NewslineT. Our e-mail address is newsline(at) arnewsline (dot) org. More information is available at Amateur Radio Newsline'sT only official website located at www.arnewsline.org. You can also write to us or support us at Amateur Radio NewslineT, 28197 Robin Avenue, Santa Clarita California, 91350 Before we go a quick note that the nominating period for the 2012 Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year Award closed at midnight on May 30th. Over the coming days the submissions will be sent to the judging committee and a winner will be announced in a few weeks. For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors desk, I'm Fred Vobbe, W9HDU, in Lima, Ohio, saying 73 and we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio NewslineT is Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.