ACTIVATOR LIST GROWS FOR CHURCHES AND CHAPELS EVENT

Few things are more powerful than the combined presence of two fellowships. Next week, many in the worldwide amateur radio community are going to church. They are calling CQ on the second Saturday of September, just as they first did in 2013. The popular event, Churches and Chapels on the Air, has its roots with the Huddersfield South Methodist Radio Club, G3LQK. It was there that the Rev. Arthur W. Shepherd, G3NGF, created an organisation that later came to be known as the World Association of Christian Amateurs and Listeners, an ecumenical group with the callsign M1CRA.

So many years later, the tradition continues. Outside the same venue in communities where congregants often bring their faith and their prayers, hams will be setting up portable stations on the 12th of September, from 10 am to 4 pm local time.

Event organisers are encouraging amateurs radio operators to talk to their vicars, ministers and church elders and request permission to activate there for the day. In some years, churches have even permitted antennas to be installed temporarily on their towers. Stations are encouraged to register for the one-day event. An email address for registration - and the event website - can be found in the text version of this week's newscast at arnewsline.org

RHODE ISLAND POTA ENTHUSIASTS PLAN 'ACTIVATION-A-THON'

How do you activate all 61 POTA-designated parks in the state of Rhode Island? You plan a POTA "activation-a-thon" - which is what Rhode Island Parks on the Air is calling the three-day event next month. This is a formal, organized challenge by the community-based group, which has its own website and schedule of activations, encouraging all US and DX stations to work as many of the parks as possible. The activity will be focused on September 11th, 12th and 13th but some operators will be on the air as early as the 10th.

Those watching the action will be able to monitor a realtime dashboard of who is on the air and see what parks will be activated next.

Visit the website r i p o t a.org for details or, if you happen to be in Rhode Island that weekend, be sure to register.

SWEEPING REVIEW PLANNED FOR FRENCH POTA DESIGNATIONS

In a statement that has been stirring global controversy, the POTA board has said that it has begun a review of thousands of French ZNIEFF-recognised parks which, according to board members, may not be qualified to continue under POTA's rules. The statement explained that the board is looking at the "legal and administrative authority behind the designation," which is the core argument behind the review. ZNIEFF, which stands for Zone Naturelle 'Intérêt Écologique, Faunistique et Floristique, is a national designation given to ecologically important sites featuring biodiversity.

According to the statement, if a park loses its designation, activations that have already taken place will remain credited for both hunters and chasers. The POTA board said, however, it has no intention of continuing to maintain former status for any parks that do not meet POTA's eligibility. The statement said: [quote] "Historical operating credit can be preserved without requiring an ineligible reference to remain active indefinitely." [endquote]

POTA said that France is not being singled out, as some public statements have suggested. Although different nations have different government frameworks and manage their parks differently, other countries' parks could likewise come under the same scrutiny. The board said that [quote] "the challenge is making sure that growth occurs within a framework that can be applied fairly and sustainably around the world." [endquote]

WHEN SOFTWARE GOES THE DISTANCE

The upload wasn't simple: The update had to travel 13 billion miles through deep space. When it reached its destination at NASA's Voyager 2, it went to work, deactivating some of the probe's higher-powered scientific instruments and substituting methods that consume less power. NASA said in a statement that conserving power means Voyager 2's instruments can continue operating for another year, if not longer. The probe has been on the job since its launch in 1977. NASA estimates that Voyager 2 and its twin, Voyager 1, now have about two-thirds of their original reserves of power which is drawn from radioisotope thermoelectric generators.

The software update mission, which NASA calls "Big Bang," isn't quite over yet. Voyager 1 is up next, and it's even farther away from Earth. In fact, in November it will have traveled the distance of one light-day. That means the update will need to travel 16 billion miles, or 26 billion kilometres, and hopefully won't need on-site tech support.

PENNSYLVANIA AMATEURS ADD STRENGTH TO RED CROSS EFFORTS

Emergency response and emergency preparedness go hand-in-hand when it comes to public events, and facing a busy calendar of sports matches, celebrations and public events throughout the region, Red Cross Southeastern Pennsylvania disaster operators reached out to even more local hams than ever. Members of the Philadelphia Amateur Radio Emergency Service were, of course, there as always, serving as partners in communication, but the Red Cross extended its call for assistance to other ARES groups. According to a recent blog on the American Red Cross website, the call for help cast an even wider net and hams from the nearby counties of Delaware, Chester, Montgomery and Bucks answered that call. The Red Cross and the ARES teams gained additional support from the many amateurs who belong to the Red Cross Disaster Services Technology team, led by Cliff Hotchkiss KC3PGT.

This was especially critical on the 22nd of June when the FIFA World Cup came to the Philadelphia Stadium - and it was true for the five matches that followed in that host city. Cliff said that there were concerns that the size of the crowd at the stadium could overload and interrupt cellular communication.

As the Red Cross noted in its blog: [quote]: "Their mission was simple but important: ensure reliable communications remained available if emergency responders and Red Cross teams needed them." [endquote]

SILENT KEY: AUTHOR, ANTENNA INNOVATOR JOHN PORTUNE, W6NBC

Many hams who have wanted to get more out of their antennas - or simply learn more about them - no doubt turned to the words and writings of John Portune, W6NBC. The retired KNBC TV broadcast engineer, an experimenter and an innovator, was always generous with his time and wisdom on the subject.

John became a Silent Key on the 6th of July. Born in 1938, he had been a ham since 1965.

The Los Angeles, California native was a frequent presence - either via Zoom or in person - at club meetings and ham expos needing his expertise on everything from mag loop antennas to stealth antennas that went undetected by homeowner associations.

He was a prolific writer, with bylines in QST and On the Air magazine to his credit. He was also the author of a number of books, including "Slot Antennas for Ham Radio: the Forgotten Antenna." Many hams turned to John for his advice on how to get on the air from homes in communities governed by home owner associations' antenna restrictions. He was also known for hosting informal Monday morning chats on Zoom, open sessions where friends gathered to compare notes and, of course, ask questions. Or, as John wrote on his website: "Just fun."

John was 88.

CUBESAT RECEIVES CANADA'S FIRST OSCAR DESIGNATION

MARMOTSat, a CubeSat built by students and researchers at the University of Victoria's Centre for Aerospace Research in British Columbia, was launched in early July. It is now known as Canada OSCAR 128. OSCAR is an acronym for Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio. Its mission is to study the ionosphere to gain deeper knowledge of how people's actions affect climate change. It will take measurements using transionospheric sounding.

The OSCAR designation is a significant one. It comes as AMSAT Canada takes its place as an AMSAT affiliate and begins inviting members to help grow the organisation. AMSAT Canada was incorporated as a nonprofit in late 2023 and is the 28th affiliate of the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. More details can be found on its official website. Find a link in the text version of this week's newscast script at arnewsline.org

'FOUR DAYS IN AUGUST' RETURNS TO HUNTSVILLE

The temperature is a little warmer than it was in Dayton, the venue is a bit farther south and the format is as informal as it can be, befitting an Alabama State Park. Four Days in August is coming back to Monte Sano State Park in Huntsville, opening to RV'ers, campers and other visitors who are coming to town a few days before the big hamfest and ARRL convention.

The organizer of Four Days in August, Steve KM9G, describes on his YouTube channel how the customary informality of the activities is part of its big draw. It's part camp-out, part POTA, part SOTA -- a little bit of astrophotography - and lots of hands-on building under the guidance of an Elmer or two.

Steve said that not every activity will take place under the trees or on a park summit. Trips are also being scheduled to the US Space and Rocketry Center and the Planetarium there as well as the Signals Museum, where the group is hoping to host a soldering class.

In short, there will be plenty of amateur radio "rabbit holes" to disappear down - but be sure to emerge in time for the Huntsville Hamfest, which opens on Saturday the 22nd of August.

To hear Steve give all the details, and to learn of any updates, visit his YouTube Channel, which is called Temporarily Offline..

FCC CHARGES GMRS NETWORK FOUNDER WITH VIOLATIONS

The FCC has taken action against the operator of a GMRS repeater network serving Georgia and Tennessee, saying his internet-linked system violated regulations that ban the simultaneous retransmission of voice messages across numerous repeaters.

The founder of the North Georgia GMRS radio network, Gary Beckstedt, holds the GMRS license WQYU407. An amateur radio operator with the callsign WB4GMB, he says on his QRZ page that more than half of the members of his GMRS network are also licensed hams and that its paid membership is rapidly growing. With more than 30 repeaters in the system, it is "the largest GMRS network in the US," according to the website.

FCC rules permit GMRS repeaters to be connected to other networks solely for remote-control operation. According to a Notice of Violation on the FCC website, on February 11th of this year, agents documented the violation, confirming that the UHF repeaters' Internet connections were being used to carry the same message to several repeaters for transmission over the air. The Notice of Violation released on August 5 states that such use of so many linked repeaters over a wide area is not in the public interest because it monopolizes a limited spectrum resource and increases the potential for interference.

The network's website, which promotes annual membership starting at $90 a year, said that it is encouraging radio growth and education, adding: [quote] "We have built a reputation of fostering our membership and guiding them towards the Amateur Radio Community. After all, radio is radio and it offers so much for those who choose to expand and grow in the knowledge of radio communications." [endquote]

Beckstedt was given 20 days to respond to the FCC.

AMATEUR RADIO RESPONDS TO COLOMBIAN EARTHQUAKE

The death toll continued to rise past 200 in western Colombia after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake shook towns and cities on Monday the 10th of August, causing nearly 2,000 buildings to collapse and injuring nearly 3,000. It was the strongest earthquake to strike Colombia in 100 years and came only weeks after two earthquakes shattered Venezuela in June.

Updates were provided to Newsline by Greg Mossop GØDUB, emergency communications coordinator for IARU Region 1 and posted on the Region 1 website.

Members of the Colombian Amateur Radio League Amateur activated in support of the Colombia Red Cross. Carlos Alberto Santamaria Gonzalez, CO2JC, the IARU's Region 2 emergency coordinator said that Faber Mosquera, HK6F, the league's emergency coordinator was coordinating operations with the National Disaster Risk Management System. Faber Mosquera also joined the Urban Search and Rescue unit of the Colombian Red Cross which was headed to the city of Cali.

IARU Region 2 asked hams to monitor league frequencies on 80, 40, 20, 17 and 15 metres as well as 2 metres simplex and to keep those frequencies clear of transmissions.

In Risaraldo, the Radio Amateurs from the Coffee Axis Amateur Radio Association, HK6REC, made their repeaters and other resources available to support the hard-hit city of Pereira. Association president Nahir Rios, HK6JSP, was directing his volunteer radio operators to assist where needed. There had been assistance from the LRM, the Liga Radio Manizales, HK6RM, as early as Monday evening, following the quake, The group added their Echolink system to the national frequency to provide more communication resources.

CAMPERS IN AUSTRIAN ALPS REACH NEW HEIGHTS

By bus, by hiking and even by cable car, young campers representing 29 countries enjoyed a view from the Austrian Alps and a taste of activating Summits on the Air on the 31st of July, after almost a full week of a Youngsters on the Air camp. They field-tested the QRP rigs they had built in a workshop and they simply took in the panorama, some 2,000 metres above sea level.

Although they found the vistas breathtaking, the highest-altitude experience during their week at the camp was already behind them: Two days earlier, the 94 campers made contact with astronaut Sophie Adenot, KJ5LTN, aboard the International Space Station with the help of the VK1 ISS telebridge station in Australia.

Their camp stay included a visit from another prominent figure - this time, back home on Earth: Hans Summers, GØUPL, founder of QRP Labs, spent time guiding the campers in a workshop where they built his company's QMX+ transceivers.

Campers spent their final day fox-hunting in search of five hidden transmitters with the help of the Austrian ARDF team. Perhaps too, with a full week of YOTA behind them, the campers also found something else: a bigger place in the world of amateur radio.

GOVERNMENT GRANTS ACCESS FOR TOKELAU DXPEDITION

The Tokelau DXpedition team has received the necessary written permission to bring the team to the New Zealand island territory in November. The Perseverance DX Group and the Western Washington DX Club made the announcement in late July, saying that plans are going forward for the 14-day activation on the atoll, where the operators will be on the HF bands using CW, SSB, RTTY and FT8 in fox/hound mode. This will be the first DXpedition to Tokelau since the ZK3A activation in 2019.

Organisers said that they are now coordinating with the government to handle the logistics for sleep and meal accommodation as well as their operating location. A callsign has not yet been announced. Tokelau is about 480 kilometres, or 300 miles, north of Samoa.

AMAZON EYES SATELLITE SERVICE FOR SMARTPHONES

Using a constellation of more than 5,000 low-earth orbit satellites, Amazon is looking to provide global mobile network services, delivering direct-to-device connection via the Globalstar spectrum. The company has filed an application with the FCC, seeking approval for use of spectrum bands at 1.6 GHz and 2.4 GHz for mobile phones and the Internet of Things devices. Satellite tracking, control and telemetry, as well as links to gateways, would be provided via the Ka- and V-band spectrum.

The filing on July 24th was made on behalf of what is called the Amazon Leo D2D System and has a primary purpose of filling in gaps in areas where terrestrial coverage does not exist.

In a deal announced in April and expected to close in 2027, Amazon will be acquiring Globalstar for $11 billion.

In the US, the UK and Europe, increasing numbers of providers are rolling out direct-to-device capability. Carriers currently covering the US include Verizon and T-Mobile.

SATURDAY MEET-UPS TO CONNECT RADIO TO HISTORICALLY BLACK CAMPUSES

The OMIK [OH MIKE] Amateur Radio Association will be meeting on Saturdays on both Echolink and Zoom to continue the group's initiative to build connections with Historically Black College and Universities throughout the United States. The weekly sessions will be at 1800 UTC, which is 2 p.m. Eastern Time. Guests are encouraged to attend to help OMIK [OH MIKE] fulfill its commitment to the campuses, faculty, students and friends and to support amateur radio and STEM activities on the various campuses. Hams can check in via the Echolink conference at Node 9 9 6 3 0 5. Guests who are not yet licensed amateurs can check into Zoom using the room number and passcode that appears in the text version of this week's newscast script at arnewsline.org

RADIO D A R C MARKS 600TH EPISODE

We at Newsline offer our congratulations to Radio D A R C, the weekly news program produced by Germany's national amateur radio society. Radio D A R C has released show number 600. Listeners throughout Europe and the Middle East are able to hear the music and news broadcast via the program's primary distribution medium, good old fashioned Shortwave Broadcast AM, transmitted out of England and Germany. The show can also be heard on local FM or DAB+stations as well as via a podcast

TEN-YEAR-OLD YL CELEBRATES CQ DX MARATHON CHAMPIONSHIP

Announcing the championship achievement of Nahla Aila Varisha, YD1NAV, the administrators of the CQ DX Marathon Program said [quote] "her accomplishment demonstrates that age is no barrier to success in amateur radio and international DXing." [endquote]

Nahla, who is 10 years old, is being recognised for her achievements throughout 2025, in which she worked the most DXCC entities and CQ Zones during the 12-month period. She will receive a Youth Winner plaque, which is being sponsored by Ann, WA1S of the Young Ladies Radio League.

This award to an especially young operator is one of numerous awards conferred during this annual operating event. The committee said that it hoped Nahla's accomplishment would inspire other youngsters.

SCHOOL FOR DEAF IN PAKISTAN HOSTS EMERGENCY RADIO TRAINING

The training session conducted in late July was a first for the Pakistan Amateur Radio Society. Although the national ham radio organisation fulfills its role frequently at universities by giving instruction in emergency communications and preparedness, this workshop was different.

The instructor, Asad Ullah Marwat, AP2AUM, worked with managers, administrators and other team members at a social services group known as Deaf Reach, which assists deaf and hearing-impaired children and adults throughout Pakistan. Asad, the ham society's vice president, told Newsline that the training combined classroom instruction with practical demonstrations that included the setup of an off-grid, solar-powered communications network.The lessons were designed to help those at the school coordinate their emergency communications and make vital decisions during a crisis.

Asad told Newsline that because 10 of the 90 participants were deaf, training was also given in Morse Code through the use of lights - something that he said really sparked interest during the workshop. He said that there are plans to provide training to the students.

Deaf Reach was established in 1989 as an educational and vocational programme of the charitable organisation, the Family Educational Services Foundation.

HAM STATION HONORS BRAZILIAN PRIEST AS RADIO PIONEER

Even as Guglielmo Marconi was busy making headlines with his early experiments in radiotelegraphy, a Brazilian priest named Father Roberto Landell de Moura held fast to his belief in the power of radiotelephony, the wireless transmission of the human voice. The priest's successful work advanced wireless communications at the turn of the 20th century.

On the 25th of July, hams in his native Brazil celebrated his legacy with the inauguration of the Landell de Moura Memorial and its permanent on-site amateur radio station. The radio shack installation was the work of many members of the Sao Paulo chapter of the Liga de Amadores Brasileiros de Rádio Emissão, Brazil's amateur radio society, It is located inside a carefully curated memorial conceived and maintained by the priest's great-grandnephew, Sylvio Landell de Moura, It contains an array of educational displays of his inventions, patents and other scientific accomplishments. The memorial's ham radio curator is Edson, PY2FWM, a member of LABRE-Sao Paulo.

On inauguration day, the priest's unwavering vision of radio telephony and all its possibilities was alive and evident: The hams' QSOs included a 40-metre contact with Father Casimiro, PY5ZHP in Curitiba, southern Brazil; and a chat with Peter, KP2US, the donor of the station's equipment, who was contacted in Florida, USA, using DMR.

SPACE STATION LOGS HISTORIC FIRST ARISS CONTACT WITH KENYA

The voice from space belonged to astronaut Sophie Adenot KJ5LTN, using the callsign OR4ISS. Back here on Earth, the voices were those of students at a school in Nairobi, Kenya, selected earlier this year to be the first in an African country to participate in Amateur Radio on the International Space Station. It was hosted by the Kenya Space Agency on the 5th of August with the help of a telebridge via ON4ISS in Belgium.

The students posed 11 questions, ranging over a variety of topics.

The event was a big moment, not just for the students but Kenya's relatively young space agency, established in 2017 to advance that nation's agenda for using space technology to boost socioeconomic development.

To view the QSO, visit the link to the Kenya Space Agency's YouTube channel in the text version of this week's newscast at arnewsline.org.

CHANNELING THEIR FRIENDSHIP AND PERSPECTIVES

There is no doubt that Quin, K8QS, and Tom, WA9TDD, have Ham Radio Perspectives. For one thing, the friends, who have remained close since their Chicago high school years in the 1960s, have their individual voices and their definite views. For another thing, they have Ham Radio Perspectives because that's the name of YouTube channel they co-host. The heart, the humor and even the humility they bring to the task has been attracting about 2,000 new subscribers a month.

Like most hams, Tom and Quin are always investigating what makes things work - and so they look inside the culture of amateur radio - and yes, we do have a culture! Their lively podcasts have explored the evolution of hamfests and even the history of DXing, taking a somewhat anthropological view of DXers themselves as the "hunters and gatherers" of HF. Their positive approach extends to their viewers, who are invited to pose questions about antennas, grounding issues and even QSL cards. Viewers are also encouraged to send in funny or even embarrassing stories to match the ones they hear in the show.

Quin told Newsline during a recent video interview: [quote] "We are role models in what it means to have friends in the hobby," [endquote] The show's goal is to restore the personal element and humanity that was stripped from so many of our lives during the isolating years of the pandemic. Even as they laugh together, they're also solving problems together, or trying to.

They both told Newsline [quote] "We are friends no matter what." [endquote]

As to the question of what makes things work, well, they may have figured that out, after all.