VERMONT ENDS AMATEUR RADIO RACES SERVICE

Vermont state officials have ended the RACES program, calling the action taken November 1st [quote] "a move toward streamlining and modernizing our communications systems and volunteer programs to improve coordination and efficiency." [endquote]

Vermont RACES volunteers learned of the decision in a letter to them from Brett La Rose of the state's emergency management office. Hams were instead encouraged to join the state's Medical Reserve Corps program, which is part of the Vermont Department of Health. A number of Medical Reserve Units across the US have a communications component that engages hams in passing emergency radio traffic on behalf of hospitals and other healthcare institutions.

In a letter shared on Facebook by the Green Mountain Wireless Society and other Vermont ham clubs, La Rose wrote that the decision does not reflect on the quality of volunteers but was a move toward greater efficiency.

He added: [quote] "Your contributions to our state have been invaluable." [endquote]

REDESIGNED WEATHER WEBSITE DRAWS STORM OF PROTEST

Each year, more than 2.6-billion pairs of eyes check in for guidance in Australia on the government's Bureau of Meteorology website.

Lately, however, visitors to the "Bom," as it is nicknamed, have been declaring the site's redesign a "bomb." In a recent report carried by BBC News, users have weighed in publicly on the re-do, calling it everything from counterintuitive to an outright disaster.

The remake, which cost 96.5 million in Australian dollars, was the bureau's response to a 2015 cybersecurity breach.

A number of users became instant fans and praised the site for its cleaner front page. The bureau has even provided guidelines designed to help visitors navigate the site.

The BBC report said, however, that the majority of vocal visitors to the site have been clamouring for the bureau to roll it back to the old version or simply make it more user-friendly, with farmers in particular unable to find their location relevant weather as they could previously.

Worse for users is that the colour coding on the RADAR maps has changed!

Many users now are putting the letters REG at the beginning of the url which then reverts them to the original site.

Looks like stormy weather ahead for the Bom, at least for the immediate future.

INDIAN AMATEURS HELP WOMAN LOST IN BANGLADESH

An older woman, believed to have been begging on the streets of Bangladesh for survival for years, has reconnected with her family in India through the efforts of the West Bengal Radio Club, an organisation with a specialty in missing-persons cases.

The woman’s disappearance was traced to a religious pilgrimage she made nearly 20 years ago - an annual gathering near the Ganges River. With the volume of pilgrims at the event, known as the Gangasagar Mela, it is not uncommon for many attendees to get lost or to go missing. According to the club’s secretary, Ambarish Nag Biswas, VU2JFA, the woman, who is now about 70 years of age and from a village in India, somehow joined a group of pilgrims from Bangladesh. That is how she is believed to have taken a detour to Bangladesh instead of returning home.

News accounts said that she was soon living on the street, begging. Recently, ham radio contacts in Bangladesh reached out to the West Bengal hams asking them to intervene after they questioned her and she uttered one of the few words she could: “Sagar,” the name of the district she came from in India. Using photographs of her and their wide network of contacts, the West Bengal hams finally reached her surviving family members, according to a report in the Australia India News. She has two surviving sons in Delhi. Her husband and one son have since died. Attempts at uniting her with her sons were under way as Newsline went to production.

MARATHON QSO PARTY ENDING FOR SOUTH AFRICAN RADIO LEAGUE

It's been quite a year for the South African Radio League - but not as big a year as 1925, the year that the league came into being. SARL, which launched its Centenary Marathon QSO Party in January, is concluding it this month. At 23:59 UTC on the 31st of December, its participating callsigns - most notably ZS1ØØSARL - will be going QRT. Contacts have been made since the first of the year on CW, Phone, digital - and via satellites or repeaters. Contacts have been on HF, VHF and UHF. Even shortwave listeners have been involved, accumulating points and applying for different levels of awards.

Many of these modes did not even exist 100 hundred years ago when the league - formerly known as the South African Radio Relay League, became a reality thanks to the efforts of hams who decided amateur radio needed a unified voice to advocate for their interests.

The marathon recognises the growth and reach that SARL has attained through the ensuing decades.

Even if you're getting a late start in chasing the activators, there's still time. Visit mysarl.org.za [mysarl dot org dot zed ay] for details.

COMPUTING IN SPACE? STUDENTS FACE THE CHALLENGE

Whether students are beginners or more advanced at coding, there is a place for them in the European Astro Pi Challenge. The UK Space Agency and the European Space agency are offering the challenge to students up to age 19 with different levels of coding competency.

Beginners are invited to participate in the Astro Pi Mission Zero by designing a piece of pixel art for display to astronauts aboard the ISS on Raspberry Pi computers known as Astro Pis. Students capable of handling more complex code - in this case, programming in Python - are asked to be part of the Mission Space Lab instead. Their challenge is to calculate the speed of the ISS by utilising sensors or a camera with the Astro Pi.

Mission Zero's deadline is the 23rd March 2026 and Mission Space Lab's deadline is 16 February 2026. Resources are being provided to the Educators by the project.

Astro Pi's ambassador is ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot, KJ5LTN, who will be undertaking her first mission to the ISS in early 2026.

UNIVERSITY STUDENTS LAUNCH 'LIGHT SAIL CHIPSATS'

Students and their professors at Cornell University are hoping for smooth sailing for a project known as the Alpha CubeSat mission – but they’re looking for ham radio assistance to help them track its progress.

Their project has deployed what are known as Light Sail ChipSats, small free-flying flight computers in low Earth orbit, to transmit telemetry on 437.4 MHz at 100 mW of power using LoRa transceivers. The ChipSats are mounted on a retro reflective laser sail. The project, which relies only on solar power, was sent to the International Space Station aboard 1U CubeSats developed by students at the school’s Space Systems Design Studio.

The project website explains the short time window saying [quote] “Between the sunlight-only, low power and short orbital lifetime, we need all the help we can get to collect telemetry from the sail and establish LEO-to-ground communications for this new generation of tiny spacecraft.” [Endquote]

For details on how to participate, follow the link in the text version of this week’s Newsline report at arnewsline.org. You can also contact Joshua KD2WTQ at the email address jsu4@cornell.edu

SILENT KEY: GANESH SUBRAMANIAM, VU2TS

As Newsline went to production we also learned of the death of Ganesh Subramaniam, VU2TS, an influential ham in Bangalore and beyond. Ganesh became a Silent Key on the 2nd of December, reportedly after a brief illness.

In online posts on Facebook and websites, many remembered him as an enthusiastic CW operator who embraced the code from the very start. In an October 2019 interview on the QSO Today podcast, he spoke about his enthusiastic radio beginnings as a shortwave listener, culminating in taking his exam in 1960 at a time when amateur radio operators were few and far between in India. He said he did not receive his licence - a Grade 1 licence - until April of 1965 at the age of 29. He learned he had just become the 350th ham in India.

Always active and enthusiastic, he became the founder and net control operator of the Charminar Net and a life member of the Bangalore Amateur Radio Club. He was also an avid contester and had served for a time as editor of Ham Radio News, the Amateur Radio Society of India's magazine.

Ganesh was 90.

To hear Ganesh tell his story on the QSO Today podcast, visit qsotoday.com and type his name in the search bar.

SILENT KEY: EDITOR, AUTHOR, EDUCATOR JOHN WALKER, ZL3IB

ohn Walker ZL3IB, was a prominent editor and author of articles and publications devoted to amateur radio in New Zealand and beyond. He had served as acting editor of the Christchurch Amateur Radio Club newsletter, HamLarks and 18 years as editor of Break-In, the official journal of New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters. John received his callsign in 1971.

He became a Silent Key in Christchurch on the 2nd of November.

When it came to amateur radio, John didn't just believe in operating; he believed in educating - a natural motivation for him because education was his career: He had been a professor of botany at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch. He was a founding trustee of the Radioscience Education Trust in 1998. The trust, which is part of NZART, supports persons wishing to advance their education in radio science.

John was also the widely published author of dozens of technical articles and columns on amateur radio and equipment.

He was made an honorary life member of NZART in 2014.

John was 92, just three weeks shy of his 93rd birthday when he became a Silent Key.

NEW RESTRICTIONS FOR SHORT-RANGE UHF RADIOS IN GERMANY

PMR446, the popular short-range UHF radios enjoyed in much of Europe, could be enjoyed much less in Germany this month after changes enacted by the regulator BNetZa. The regulator will prohibit operators from using any external antennas with their radios and from using the radios as base stations.

PMR operators will also lose the ability to use their radios as repeaters or as Internet gateways -- two functions widely available to amateur radio operators. The PMR radios, which operate on 16 frequencies within the 446 MHz band, will be only be permitted to be used for so-called "peer-to-peer" or person-to-person mode.

Explaining these changes on his YouTube channel Funkwelle - the German word for "radio waves" - Art Konze DL2ART told viewers that he expected PMR operating to drop off, saying [quote] "the only alternative that remains is to get into amateur radio." [endquote] He said that holders of the new N-class entry level licence have the ability to use relays and Internet gateways and can communicate worldwide. Art reminded viewers that these changes closely follow similar restrictions placed earlier this year on Freenet, Germany's licence-free personal mobile 2-way radio service.

INDIAN SPECIAL EVENT IS A TRIBUTE AND AN EXPERIMENT

Jagadish Chandra Bose would probably approve of this year’s tribute to him by Datta VU2DSI. Datta is using the callsign AU2JCB through to the 15th of December honouring the scientist known in India and beyond as a pioneer in wireless communication.

From both a commemorative and scientific standpoint, the timing could not be more appropriate. Datta has activated this station every year for the past 19 years to coincide with the anniversary of Bose’s birth date on the 30th of November, 1858. This year the timing reflects the theory that Bose shared about electromagnetic radiation. In 1897 in London, he formally presented his theory to fellow scientists that the sun’s electromagnetic radiation had a definite impact on communication via radio waves. During this activation Datta is measuring the global impact of solar radiation, flares and storms on HF propagation from India at this key point in Solar Cycle 25.

Datta will share the callsign with Pramod VU2XPN, a university professor of electronics.

Details are available on the QRZ.com page of AU2JCB.

LINK CONFIRMED BETWEEN RADIO EMISSIONS, AURORAS

Scientists at the University of Southampton have confirmed what they consider to be an unmistakable cause-and-effect relationship between radio emissions and sudden auroral eruptions.

The international team’s findings, called unprecedented by the scientific community, have been published in the journal Nature Communications. The researchers speculate that this will alter the means by which space weather is forecast.

According to published reports, the use of advanced ground-based observatories made it possible for the researchers to detect and identify signature patterns of low-frequency radio wave emissions in the magnetosphere that were immediately succeeded – repeatedly – by auroral explosions.

This discovery provides a missing piece for physicists who, until now, were never certain of the immediate trigger behind the violent energy release that expresses itself as the northern and southern lights.

NEWS FROM A VERY JOLLY NET CONTROL STATION

We are ending this week's newscast with Santa Claus. OK, you may not believe in him but Newsline's reporters do - in fact, we've all been very, very good this year - except, maybe, for Don Wilbanks AE5DW. So here's Don now, on his very best behavior, talking with Big Red about this year's 20th annual Santa Net.

DON: Starting on Friday, November 28th, Santa will be calling CQ on 3.916 MHz starting at 7 pm Central Time. Are you ready for the pileups, Santa?

SANTA: Ho-Ho-Ho, I've been ready since December 26th of last year. It's all about the kids, Don. You know, the hams with the 3916 Nets are the elves who make it happen every night, right up until Christmas Eve. Check-ins begin a half-hour before the net starts. We're giving kids the gift of amateur radio because, as you know, radio creates the kind of magic that even us grown-ups can believe in. There are relay stations listening to make sure the kids get their contacts. Some of them are kids of hams who were kids themselves during our earliest Santa Nets. So, Don, would you tell everyone how to find out more?

DON: Sure, Santa!  For details about the Santa Net, visit the website CQSanta.com. You'll also find details on how to check in.

SANTA: Don?

DON: Yes, Santa?

SANTA: You know what? You're a good boy, after all.

DON: Gosh thanks! Now about that nice new SDR transceiver......? This is Don Wilbanks AE5DW.

ANNUAL 'AM NIGHT' REKINDLES HISTORY FOR CINCINNATI HAMS

Rigs of every vintage - and quite a few new ones - will be tuned to 1.936 MHz on December 18th for pre-net check-ins at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time. This will be a very special edition of the Greater Cincinnati Amateur Radio Association 1936 Net. It was, in fact, October of that year when the then-newly-formed association started hosting this regular net.

The popular on-air activity came to a halt with the start of second World War and did not resume until 1986 - the year that club members decided to revive it and mark the association's 50th anniversary. The net managers are Jay, K8CJY and Geoff W8GNM. Bill, NM4A, is the net control operator and an average of 65 stations check-in each week.

This special net is expected to last two hours. After pre-net check-ins, the net iself gets going at 9 p.m. Eastern.

Hams around the US are invited to fire up their rigs - any rigs. Tom KDØIEL told Newsline in an email: [quote] "This is a great opportunity to hear some classic AM rigs, heavy metal, military, broadcast AM transmitters, state of the art software-defined radio...and virtually any ham radio capable of AM mode." [endquote]

ARRL SCHOLARSHIP DEADLINE APPROACHES

The deadline to apply for an ARRL scholarship to be given in 2026 is fast approaching. Applicants have until noon on December 30th.

The ARRL Foundation makes more than 150 scholarships available in amounts ranging from $500 to $25,000. Recipients must be active, FCC-licensed young radio operators.

Different scholarships have different criteria, however, and some awards, such as the Amateur Radio Digital Communications scholarships, are available to active licensed hams outside of the US.

There are also three 10-10 Scholarships available to all radio amateurs who are not necessarily US citizens, residents nor holders of a US license.

For descriptions of all the scholarships and an online application form, visit the link the text version of this week's newscast at arnewsline.org

ENSURING DISABLED AMATEURS ARE NOT EXCLUDED IN THE UK

Having a disability of any kind should not keep an amateur, or a would-be amateur, off the air. Recognising this, the RSGB is seeking someone to fill a new volunteer role as Accessibility Champion. The best candidate will raise public awareness of challenges for radio operators with disabilities while connecting those amateurs with community groups, assistive technologies and other resources.

The RSGB's move comes just a few weeks after the IARU Region 1 announced an upcoming activity by its Program for Disabled Radio Amateurs. Organisers have declared a region wide campaign on the 3rd of December in connection with the United Nations International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Hams have been encouraged to host a special event station, an open house or a relevant educational forum.

Meanwhile, the RSGB is interested in hearing from candidates to fill their post. A description of the role can be found on the Society website, rsgb dot org (rsgb.org). The contact person is board director Nathan Nuttall, 2MØOCC

FUNCUBE, SATELLITE AO-73, MARKS 12 YEARS IN SPACE

The FunCube CubeSat known as AO-73, is not quite a teenager - but it's getting there. It just marked 12 years in space. Launched from Russia in November of 2013, the small satellite carries a full-time UHF to VHF linear transponder with an output of 300 mW PEP. Hams have been making good use of the FunCube for both CW and SSB. Its orbit takes it over the British Isles and Europe six times a day - with three passes each in the morning and evening.

According to AMSAT News Service, more than 11,631,536 frames of telemetry have been collected by ground stations - in many cases, schools - since the satellite first went into service. Happy birthday, FunCube!

FCC EYES REALLOCATION OF UPPER C-BAND

The Federal Communications Commission is exploring reallocation of part of the upper C-band in the US. In a unanimous vote at its November 20th meeting, the commission studied a draft version of a Notice of Proposed rulemaking which will guide its actions going forward. The FCC will be asking broadcasters and satellite users for comment on a number of options for reallocating 4.0 through 4.2 GHZ before it moves to the competitive-bidding stage no later than July of 2027.

The FCC will also be inviting comment from other users of the C-band who may be using frequencies near the portion being eyed for reallocation.

When the lower half of the C-band was reallocated five years ago, its use was assigned for wireless services. Broadcasters' satellite services were moved from there to the upper half of the band.

YASME GRANT BOOSTS BANGLADESH AMATEURS' CAMPUS OUTREACH

It's been a busy year for the Amateur Radio Association of Bangladesh whose members have been touring 24 university campuses as part of a formal programme to bring the science and the spirit of ham radio to students. The initiative recently received a grant from the Yasme Foundation to support the ongoing educational work. In July, the association spent time with students at the University of Liberal Arts in Bangladesh, working in collaboration with the school's Adventure Club. Other campus visits included the Canadian University of Bangladesh and ZNRF University, where the students were able to experience satellite communication. In October, Stamford University Bangladesh welcomed the amateur club. With the help of the school's Robotics Club and the IEEE [Eye Triple E] Student Branch, the amateurs presented a workshop that showcased fundamentals of RF, satellite communication and disaster response.

The not-for-profit, California-based Yasme Foundation supports initiatives that bring amateur radio to young people, especially in developing nations, by providing grants, awards and scholarships.

PROBE INTO COLLISION BETWEEN AIRLINER, WEATHER BALLOON

In the US, the National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the midair collision in late October between a United Airlines flight and a lightweight weather balloon over Moab, Utah that left the pilot injured and prompted an emergency landing in Salt Lake City.

According to a report on the KOMO TV News website, the Boeing 737 was flying at 36,002 feet when it crossed paths with a high-altitude balloon from WindBorne Systems of Palo Alto, California. News reports said that the lightweight global sounding balloon was launched a day earlier from Spokane, Washington. Global sounding balloons use radiosondes to transmit atmospheric conditions and other data gathered during their flights.

A statement on the WindBorne company website said that the incident was the only midair impact in the company's record of more than 4,000 launches. Media reports said the captain's right arm suffered minor cuts and some of the flight crew members were hit by glass from the first officer's shattered windshield.

No cabin pressure was lost and the plane was landed safely without further incident.

PIRATE RADIO BROADCASTER AGREES TO $7,200 PAYMENT

The operator of a pirate radio station in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, has agreed to pay $7,200 to the US Treasury as part of a consent decree with the FCC. According to a recent report on the RadioWorld website, the FCC said that the radio operator, Robert Bellinger, had been broadcasting on 93.1 FM without a license. The payment, which is part of his consent decree, was substantially reduced from the agency's original proposed forfeiture of $40,000 which it sought in 2024 in a notice of apparent liability. The RadioWorld report said that Bellinger responded to the notice at the time and told the FCC he was not able to pay the amount.

An FCC review of his finances resulted in an alternative solution -- a consent decree in which Bellinger admitted to his illegal broadcasts and a commitment to make the voluntary contribution specified.