The new mobile Emergency Operations Centre of the Manawatū District Council was years in the making. Recently unveiled to the public at Family Fun Day in Victoria Park, Feilding, the EOC was a concept in administrators' minds for quite some time. They recognised for a long time that a transportable EOC was essential for Civil Defence emergencies in a region that has a large rural population. Until now, the district's urban-based EOC was all everyone had.
The mobile EOC can be trailered from place to place and set up quickly - usually within a half hour. Once in place, it can accommodate as many as 40 people and shield them well from winds of up to 100km per hour, or about 62 miles an hour.
When discussions began years ago, Cyclone Gabrielle was on people's minds. Hawkes Bay, which is also on the North Island, suffered terribly during the 2023 storm but mobile coordination centres responded quickly there, creating a tent city for communications and other assistance.
The NZ Net newsletter quoted Mayor Helen Worboys, who praised the new EOC and the promise it brings in times of crisis. She said [quote]: "In times of emergency, every second counts, and having a mobile, highly equipped response unit like this will make a tremendous difference in our ability to coordinate effectively and deploy resources quickly.” [endquote]
As the newsletter editors also noted in their report, the new mobile EOC will be ideal for next year's Field Day operations.
SPECIAL EVENT STATION MARKS POLIO VACCINE ANNIVERSARY
Members of the Narwhal Amateur Radio Society are marking the 70th anniversary of the approval of the vaccine against polio, which was developed by the American physician and researcher, Dr. Jonas Salk. On April 12th, 1955, the US government permitted the use of Salk's injectable vaccine, which contains inactive forms of the virus. There had been several epidemics at the time of polio, a paralyzing virus also known as poliomyelitis.
Radio operators in a number of locations around the US will be calling "QRZ Salk" or "Polio on the Air" from the 5th through to the 19h of April and to ensure that everyone has a chance to make contact with the special event stations, they will be operating on HF, VHF and UHF. Operators will be using SSB, FT4, FT8, EchoLink and AllStar.
The hams will be using callsigns that spell out the word "Polio," so listen for W7P, W7O, W7L, W7I and W7O. Each station will be sending out individual QSL cards so there's an opportunity to collect all five.
The Narwhal operators are also looking for volunteer operators. Anyone who wants to participate or has questions about the event should send an email nars@narwhal.be
US NAVY COMMUNICATORS LOOK TO HAM RADIO TECHNOLOGY
Amateur radio has provided the inspiration for a new initiative within the Resilient Communications program at the US Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division in the state of Washington. Organizers in Keyport, Washington, are working to use ham radio's reliability as the backup for its emergency communications when there are disruptions to the Internet, computer function or mobile phone services.
Eric Seeley, the division's director of innovation in Keyport, said that the program embraces the technology of ham radio for this purpose and will be establishing a network of licensed hams to make use of amateur radio frequencies when the need arises. Organizers have also been encouraging nearby naval bases to join in their effort.
The Keyport team is reaching beyond the military too. Everyone needs an Elmer, so organizers have contacted local ham radio clubs as well as emergency responders to help with training the new operators to grow the network. Some members of the team have already obtained their GMRS license, for General Mobile Radio Service, but acknowledge that the next step is the FCC's Technician test to become a ham.
WORK AT REPEATER SITE COSTS WEST COAST HAM HIS COUNTY JOB
Repair work that a ham radio operator and fellow club members conducted on a shared repeater site in Washington State has cost the ham his government job.
Asotin County officials said that Russell Pelleberg KA7MPX was not authorized to give the other members of the Hells Gate Amateur Radio Club access to the secure site and that their work caused a communications outage and a power meter disturbance for other users of the site. County agencies operate two nearby radio repeaters and the local utility, Clearwater Power Co., also has facilities.
According to a report in the Lewiston Tribune, Pelleberg said he had discussed the work with county commissioners and they appeared to be supportive. He told investigators that he had even written a resolution for the county to vote on but there were delays producing the document. The newspaper report said he has apologized on behalf of the club for proceeding ahead of the necessary vote and that the hams meant no harm.
No criminal charges were filed or recommended. Pelleberg, who has worked in government for 35 years, was terminated from his job as the county’s public works director in late January.
SILENT KEY: WALTER CARLINGTON, VP9KD, FORMER NET DIRECTOR FOR CARIBUS NET
The callsign of Walter Carlington, VP9KD could be heard often at the family home in Bermuda when his son, Scott, was growing up. Walter, who became licensed in March of 1978, became devoted early on to operating in CW but soon added the joys of SSB to his repertoire.
Walter became a Silent Key at home on the 11th of March. According to his son, he had been diagnosed with cancer. The retired mechanical engineer belonged to the Radio Society of Bermuda, the International Sideband Society and the OMIK [OH MIKE] Amateur Radio Association, where his fist and his voice were well-known on a number of the group’s nets.
He had also been net director for the Friendly CARIBUS Connection Net on 2 metres.
Walter was 81.
YOUNG AMATEURS PREPARE FOR DX YOUTH ADVENTURES
The adventure promises to be twice as big for young amateurs participating in the Dave Kalter Memorial Youth DX Adventure experience in June and July. There are two trips planned.
The first trip takes a group of youngsters to one of the top contesting stations here in the US. The young hams will serve as a team operating special event station W-3-Y from June 13th to the 15th, hosted by the K-3-L-R Multi/Multi Contest Station in Pennsylvania.
In July, other young participants will be going to Curaçao to another super-contesting station to operate as P-J-2-Y. The program is being hosted for the fourth time by the Caribbean Contesting Consortium, P-J-2-T. This four-day activation will take place from the 17th through the 22nd of July.
Be on the lookout for applications for both of these trips. In the meantime, you can visit the team page to get more information. The website is youthdxa dot org. That's youthdxa - all one word - dot org.
These adventures reflect the spirit and support given the program by Dave Kalter, K-B-8-O-C-P, the youth adventure's cofounder. Dave became a Silent Key in November of 2013.
STRANDED NASA ASTRONAUTS RETURN TO EARTH FROM ISS
Tuesday night, March 18th, brought a safe splashdown at long last for Suni Williams KD5PLB and Butch Wilmore, the two NASA astronauts left stranded on the International Space Station for nine and a half months after their Boeing Starliner spacecraft malfunctioned. They splashed down inside the SpaceX Dragon Freedom capsule off the coast of Florida along with NASA astronaut Nick Hague KG5TMV and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. The 17-hour flight home ended a saga that began with what was supposed to have been only a short test flight aboard the Boeing Starliner in June.
(ABC NEWS, ASSOCIATED PRESS)
FCC SEEKS PUBLIC SUGGESTIONS ON POSSIBLE DEREGULATION
In related news, the FCC is looking for public input on what rules, regulations or other forms of guidance should be eliminated as part of the commission's efforts at deregulation. A public notice has set a deadline of Friday, April 11th for initial comments. Reply comments are due by Monday, April 28th. The commission is hoping to hear recommendations based on changes in technology and the market, cost-benefit considerations and regulations that are a barrier to entry in the communications marketplace. All filings must reference Docket Number 25-133. On its website, the FCC refers to the document as the "Delete, Delete, Delete" docket.
US GOVT TO SHUT VOA AND OTHER INTERNATIONAL NEWS SERVICES
Voice of America, a shortwave service launched in 1942 during the Second World to bring news to countries under authoritarian control, is among US-based news programming for overseas audiences targeted in a deep cut by the Trump administration. According to various media reports, VOA employees have been notified that they were all being placed on paid administrative leave with full benefits - effective immediately.
Cuts to VOA, as well as Radio Free Europe, Radio Free Asia, Radio Marti and others are the result of reductions taking place inside the US Agency for Global Media, where these programs originate. These cuts are part of the ongoing down-sizing of the US government. The agency operates with congressional funding to deliver news in 64 languages to listeners around the world via six networks, some of which were created during the Cold War. VOA’s first broadcast, made in 1942, was in German and was transmitted to German listeners to counter Nazi propaganda.
The Agency for Global Media's mission statement reads [quote] "to inform, engage and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy." [endquote]
On Friday the 15th of March, Trump signed the executive order for the cuts, noting in the language of the order itself that the services earmarked for reduction have been deemed [quote] “unnecessary.” [Endquote]
HELLO, MOON TO EARTH? ANYBODY HOME?
That much-awaited wireless call from the Moon to the Earth will just have to be put on hold - for now. Nokia's 4G LTE network was expected to be put through its paces from the south pole of the lunar surface following the March 6th landing of the Athena Lander, built by the private Houston, Texas-based company, Intuitive Machines.
Athena arrived with Nokia's Network in a Box, or NIB, on board. Like its predecessor lander - also built by Intuitive Machines - the lander tipped over upon arrival and, with its solar panels blocked from receiving the necessary recharge from the sun, the mission was quickly declared over.
Undaunted, Nokia pointed out that the company did successfully deliver the moon's first cellular network and powered it up for 25 minutes to transmit data and receive commands from the Earth. Hopes were high, though, that there would be more to report. After all, this mission was supposed to help facilitate communications in 2027 aboard Artemis III. That mission is to be NASA's first human spaceflight to the moon since 1972 and astronauts are expected to be wearing spacesuits that have integrated 4G LTE capabilities courtesy of Nokia and Axiom Space.
Of course that's still two years away so....until then, hold all calls, please.
HAMS UNITE TO MARK 200TH ANNIVERSARY OF ERIE CANAL
September can’t come soon enough for the Warren County Radio Club W2WCR, whose members are planning a club picnic and POTA activation to mark the bicentennial of the Erie Canal. The club’s president Bernie N1NDN told Matt K2EAG and Mike N2MAK that the POTA event the two have organized from the 16th through to the 25th of September provides a perfect opportunity for everyone to try operating a portable station while celebrating the historic canal.
While most of the portable stations are likely to be at various points along the route known as the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor, not all the activations are likely to be on dry land. Matt said that the Radio Association of Western New York W2PE hopes to operate aboard the museum ship USS Little Rock CLG4 in Buffalo while, at the opposite end of the canal in Albany, hams are hoping to activate another museum ship, the USS Slater WW2DEM. Matt and Mike are looking for as many individual hams and clubs as possible to sign up. Meanwhile, there’s plenty of room along the corridor, which has the POTA designation of US-6532. The radio event is timed to coincide with the World Canal Conference that kicks off on the 21st of September in Buffalo.
If you’d like to help honor the canal’s history, contact Matt at the email address in the text version of this week’s newscast script at arnewsline.org - or look for him on the Facebook page of Upstate New York Parks on the Air.
NAVIGATION SYSTEM TRACKS LANDER ON LUNAR SURFACE
When an Earth-based navigation system successfully tracked a lander on the surface of the moon on March 3rd, the interaction was hailed as a triumph. It was a "first" for the Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment, known as LuGRE, a joint project of NASA and the Italian Space Agency. This unprecedented ability to have Earth-based navigation track movements on the moon bodes well for high-altitude explorations such as NASA's planned Artemis missions. Observers view it as a gateway to even more advanced navigation systems which could be applicable to missions headed for Mars.
The contacts between LuGRE and the two navigation systems - GPS and Galileo - achieved success some 225,000 miles from Earth, determining position, velocity, and time autonomously.
This is a first for the Italian Space Agency and a nod to the work of Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, who was a consultant on the LuGRE moon lander package. Frank, the executive director of ARISS, had experimented more than 20 years ago with using the satellite AO-40 to measure the signal strength of the GPS satellite constellation at high altitudes. That experiment was credited with helping improve GPS and its applications -- and experts note that it ultimately led to the ability for such navigation at even higher-earth orbits.
FCC RULE OPENS UP 6 GHz BAND TO MORE UNLICENSED VLP DEVICES
In the US, the entire 6 GHz band will be opened up to a greater operation of unlicensed VLP, or very low power, devices under an FCC final rule that takes effect on May 5th.The band, which comprises frequencies between 5.925.7 and 7.125 GHz, is used by mobile service, fixed service and fixed satellite service across four sub-bands. VLPs, which include wearable devices, augmented-reality devices and health-care monitors, typically have an integrated antenna and cover short distances.
This latest action by the commission, published in the Federal Register on March 6th, provides greater spectrum for various portable devices operating with the same power levels and operational requirements of other VLP devices.
STATION IN AUSTRIA ADDS RADIO DARC PROGRAM
If you've been listening to Radio D A R C’s shortwave programmes broadcast on the 31-metre band from Woofferton, England or from Ingolstadt, Germany on Radio Channel 292 – a ham-owned AM broadcast station - you now have another option. The programme produced by Germany's national amateur radio society is now being carried on a test basis by the "Museums Radio Plattenkiste" transmitter in Bad Ischl, Austria run by OE5TPM. During the month of March you can listen from 1900 to 2000 CET on Saturdays on 1476 kHz. The D A R C welcomes reception reports for the 1 kW station, and these should be emailed directly to radio at D A R C dot de.
NEWSLINE'S NEIL RAPP, WB9VPG, AND 3 OTHERS ARE HAMVENTION HONOREES
In bringing you this next story, Newsline indulges in a bit of personal pride. The Hamvention Awards committee has chosen our own Neil Rapp WB9VPG, as Amateur of the Year. You may know him as a Newsline anchor and correspondent -- and as creator and host of the former HamTalk Live! webcast - but the ham world first heard from Neil at the age of 5 when he became one of the youngest licensed hams ever in 1976.
A visiting professor of chemistry at Xavier University and a former high school chemistry teacher, Neil has a long commitment of bringing ham radio to kids - first as a school ham club sponsor and as cofounder and camp director of Youth On The Air Americas. Neil is a contributing editor at the National Contest Journal and a member of the ARISS USA Education Committee
We are so proud of you, Neil!
Neil will share the stage in May during the Hamvention Awards in Xenia, Ohio, with three other recipients: One of them, Dr. Kristina Collins, KD8OXT, is chief operations scientist for the HamSCI Personal Space Weather Station Network. She is being given the Technical Achievement Award. Julio Ripoll, WD4R, is being given the Special Achievement Award. Julio is co-founder of amateur radio operations at the National Hurricane Center and is assistant coordinator. He has managed emergency communications during Caribbean hurricanes and the Haiti earthquake of 2010. The Club of the Year award recipient is the RV Radio Network, which has more than 450 members who combine amateur radio with the joy of travel in recreational vehicles, hosting educational forums, rallies and seminars along their journeys.
HAM RADIO BECOMES TOOL FOR FARMERS, FISHERMEN IN INDIA
In West Bengal, India, hams responding to natural disasters in the coastal region of that state have long witnessed the struggle of farmers and fishermen in the aftermath of each of these cyclones and other disturbances. While the radio operators’ response has traditionally been to initially step in and assist with emergency communications, the West Bengal Radio Club knew its members had to do something more - and could.
At a one-day seminar this month at Neotia University in cooperation with agriculture and communications department officials, three speakers from the club gave insights and instruction to those who work the land and the sea. They learned how they might use radio to better prepare in protecting their livelihoods in this difficult climate.
Club secretary Ambarish Nag Biswas VU2JFA told Newsline that after conducting the awareness program and instruction, the hams will assist with the installation of community radios, with the support of government officials. More than 350 students from eight states and 17 districts attended the one-day seminar and workshop.
RADIO EYED AS ESSENTIAL COMMUNICATION AGAINST WILDLIFE RAMPAGE
A handful of villages on the edge of the Buxa Tiger Reserve now have additional assurance that they will be better informed about dangers posed by wildlife on the move. The North Bengal Amateur Radio Society has assisted a group of youths from five villages near the tiger reserve so, as licensed hams, they can watch out for potential deadly encounters between humans and animals.
The young amateurs began this effort after the last monsoon in which two young villagers were attacked and killed by elephants in a remote village of Chepani, according to a report on the website of the Indian publication, the Telegram. The young team received guidance from Swarup Saha, VU3KOX, secretary of the North Bengal ham society. Mobile connectivity is unreliable in remote areas of the region and villagers were often unable to warn one another about dangers to their homes, their crops and their lives.
Three months after the small team of hams was formed, radios have been set up in each small village near the tiger reserve. Villagers told the Telegram they were much more confident now that they will be better able to protect themselves and their homes.
QUESTIONS LOOM AFTER CUTS AT US WEATHER AGENCY
Published reports about the downsizing of a number of US federal agencies indicate that NOAA, the government's climate and weather agency, is bracing for another 1,000 job cuts on top of its recent loss of an estimated 1,300 staffers. The National Weather Service, which is part of NOAA, announced earlier this month that it was temporarily halting launches of some of its weather balloons because of staffing shortages. Data gathered by the weather balloons have been, among other things, an important source of data used by hams and others who regularly track the solar cycle.
Sources told the Washington Post that the government may not renew the leases for NOAA's weather and climate center in Maryland and for its radar operations center in Oklahoma.
According to a report in the New York Times, additional cuts will mean a reduction in NOAA's staffing by 20 percent. The Washington Post said that the National Weather Service now has fewer than 4,000 on staff, the smallest roster in recent history.
A number of amateur radio nets, including the Hurricane Watch Net and the Maritime Mobile Service Net, interact with the National Weather Service during storms and other emergencies, passing traffic and transmitting critical bulletins. It was unclear what impact these staffing cuts will ultimately have on amateur radio's role in safety communications during times of crisis.
ECHOES OF A DIFFERENT WAY TO LEARN CW
If you've ever wondered whether Echolink is a viable mode for teaching or learning CW, just ask Ted ZL1BQA, who is proud to have logged a respectable number of CW contacts during the recent Jock White Memorial Field Day in New Zealand. Studying CW for almost a year with the Franklin Amateur Radio Club, Ted was able to restart his long-ago code skills in sessions led by the club president Peter Henderson ZL1PX. It was done over Echolink.
Ted had enrolled last May along with three younger members who were first-time learners - Francois, ZL4FJ, Steve, ZL1TZP and Steve ZL1SPR. With only Ted able to copy Peter's signal over HF, the club followed a suggestion made by Gary ZL1GAC: try Echolink, a computer-based ham radio mode that incorporates VoIP technology. Loading CW software onto his computer, Peter was able to send the code intended for each session, confident that everyone had an equal chance of copying clearly.
Weekly sessions soon expanded to twice a week as the students concentrated on letters, then numbers - and eventually basic punctuation.
After a break in the action, the club is back on Echolink with CW sessions three nights a week. As for Ted, he's on a roll. Peter told Newsline in an email that he has resumed making CW contacts on a daily basis on HF using the Vibroplex that once collected dust instead of QSOs.
SILENT KEY: GERRY MURPHY, K8YUW, FOUNDER OF THE HURRICANE WATCH NET
It can be said that the seeds of the Hurricane Watch Net were planted in 1965 as Hurricane Betsy raged its way through the Bahamas, making landfall in the US that September. Gerald Murphy, K8YUW, who was stationed by the US Navy in Rhode Island at the time, was also handling messages and phone patches for the Intercontinental Amateur Radio Net. When hurricane-specific traffic started to overwhelm the regular net’s messages on their 20m frequency, Gerry suggested that those messages be handled 5 kHz higher. Marcy Rice, KZ5MM, who was in the Panama Canal Zone QSY’d with him up to 14.325 MHz and that was the genesis of the Hurricane Watch Net.
The net has become the backbone of a robust communications system during storm season. Trained hams share advisories, data and post-storm damage information in affected areas with national hurricane centers in the US and, when needed, Canada.
Gerry, who became a Silent Key on the 25th of February at the Ohio Veterans Home in Sandusky, leaves behind this vibrant legacy. He served as net manager from September of 1965 until February of 1988, staying on afterward as assistant net manager. Health issues compelled him to retire from the net in March 1991.
The Hurricane Watch Net has been planning an on-air special event in September to mark its 60th anniversary. Net manager Bobby Graves,KB5HAV, told Newsline [quote] "I was hoping and praying Jerry would make it to see his creation's 60th Anniversary this coming Labor Day....We will endeavor to make it even more special." [endquote]
Gerry was 88.
