Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2060 for Friday, April 21, 2017 Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2060 with a release date of Friday, April 21 2017 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a QST. VHF's back on board the International Space Station. Australia prepares for a new shortwave service -- and YLs in Japan are marking a milestone event. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2060 comes your way right now. ** BILLBOARD CART HERE **** VHF PACKET DELIVERS ON THE SPACE STATION PAUL/ANCHOR: We open this week's report with cause for rejoicing to the skies. So if you follow the International Space Station - or are hoping for a contact someday with one of its astronauts - listen carefully to this report from Amateur Radio Newsline's Neil Rapp WB9VPG. NEIL: There's good news from outer space! The International Space Station is back on the air on VHF from the Columbus module! After a failure of a VHF handheld in October, a UHF replacement was retrieved from storage and put into use temporarily. Because failure is not an option, the ARISS team began the process of getting the 17-year-old replacement handheld radio up to the space station until the new mobile radio is ready and certified. At the end of February, the SpaceX 10 launch vehicle, Dragon, flew to the ISS with the HT on board. On Friday, April 14th, it was finally unpacked. Rosalie White, K1STO, ARISS International Secretary, shared the good news with us the day it happened. ROSALIE: The ARISS team was notified this morning that the radio was set up and turned on to 145.825 as the crew just found time finally after unpacking that 5,500 pounds of cargo that got delivered. So we're back in business again! NEIL: Followers of ISS Fan Club have already posted that they've heard and used VHF packet and are thrilled to have it again! Rosalie reminds us that they don't know how long the radio will last and work is still progressing on a permanent replacement. ROSALIE: The Ericsson that we sent up was the very last one that was in storage at Houston. It's only 6 watts, and our new system that we're developing is 25 watts. It's going to make it so much nicer. The audio will be so much better for the school kids. And that system is in the works. We've got the Kenwoods, but the power supplies are in the process of being built, and because they have to be space-certified parts inside, they are extremely expensive. So if anyone is interested in helping out with some of those costs, they can go to the AMSAT website www.amsat.org or the ARISS www.ariss.org site and contribute. If you are enjoying the use of the packet, we hope to be able to continue that for you and could sure use a hand. NEIL: So if you need your space... consider donating to the cause. Reporting for Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Neil Rapp, WB9VPG. ** IN CORNWALL, FROM TITANIC TO MARCONI PAUL/ANCHOR: As hams in Cornwall, England prepared for International Marconi Day on Saturday, April 22nd, they were already deeply involved in operating for another on-air commemoration: the 105th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, the ill-fated ocean liner that had a Marconi station on board. Amateur Radio Newsline's Ed Durrant DD5LP worked Cornwall special event station GB2GM and shares this report. ED'S REPORT: April 22nd is a very special day in the world of radio. It's the day that we celebrate the birth of the great inventor, Marconi, without whom radio communications would not be what it is today. There are many stations around the world who will take part in INTERNATIONAL MARCONI DAY. One of those stations I happened to come across on Good Friday commemorating another historical event where Marconi radio operators were involved. The sinking of the Titanic happened when it hit an iceberg 105 years ago. GB2GM is the special event station run by the Poldhu Radio Club from the Marconi Centre in Poldhu, Cornwall, England. Here's my short conversation with Malcolm GM0DBW while he was operating the club station. ------ Audio clip from IC-7300 of QSO in here------ ED: So, when tuning around on April 22nd if you hear GB2GM GB2 Golf Mike on the bands give them a call and you'll be talking to the museum located in the old Marconi station hut in Poldhu, Cornwall, the site of the first ever transatlantic wireless communication! Full information about the Poldhu Radio Club can be found on their web site at GB2GM.ORG. For Amateur Radio Newsline, this is Ed Durrant DD5LP. ** NO SHORTAGE OF SHORTWAVE PAUL/ANCHOR: Shortwave service is back in Australia but it's not what you think. Here's Amateur Radio Newsline's Graham Kemp. GRAHAM: With Radio Australia having ended its shortwave transmissions in January, some of the gap is about to be filled by a North Queensland radio operation starting in May. Radio 4KZ Innisfail will run its 1.5 thousand watts into an inverted V antenna and will simulcast station 4KZ which is an AM/FM operation. The shortwave simulcast will be on 5055kHz seven days a week between 4 p.m. and 9 a.m. local time. The new shortwave service was reported on the website SWLING.COM and credited the general manager of NQ Radio, Al Kirton, VK4FFKZ, with creating this to provide service to some areas left without radio when Radio Australia went off the shortwave bands earlier this year. Meanwhile in Parliament, there's a measure by Senator Nick Xenophon which would reinstate Radio Australia's shortwave service if it passes. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Graham Kemp VK4BB PAUL/ANCHOR: Al Kirton VK4FFKZ told Amateur Radio Newsline in an email that listeners will receive an attractive QSL card if they send in reception reports. He said the first two weeks of shortwave will be a trial-run operation. (WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA, Al KIRTON VK4FFZ, SWLING.COM) ** STILL TIME TO NOMINATE YOUNG HAM OF THE YEAR PAUL/ANCHOR: And now, another reminder that nominations are open for our Amateur Radio Newsline Bill Pasternak Young Ham of the Year Award. What does it all mean? Let's hear from a past winner. CHRISTOPHER: I'm Christopher Arthur NV4B, the 2000 Newsline Young Ham of the Year. Being chosen Young Ham of the Year remains one of the greatest honors I have ever received. It showed me that the amateur radio community appreciates leadership among the youth in our hobby. My early success in amateur radio has translated to a ten-plus-year career in computer engineering. I have remained active in the hobby since I won the award and I am currently an active member of the Muscle Shoals Amateur Radio Club where I am involved in technical projects and presentations, Field Day, VHF contesting and education and testing of new hams. The yaesu FT-847 I was awarded has been used to make over 20 thousand QSOs since 2000. I hope that number continues to grow as I remain active in the years to come. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Christopher Arthur NV4B. PAUL/ANCHOR: If there is a young radio operator who particularly impresses you, visit our website for details at arnewsline.org. Find application forms under the "YHOTY" tab. Nominations close May 31. Yes, that's barely a month away! ** BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including W3BN, the 2-meter repeater of the Reading Radio Club in Reading, Pennsylvania on Friday evenings at 8 p.m. local time. ** GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE TECH PAUL/ANCHOR: Girls are very much the focus of the International Telecommunications Union, which is getting ready to mark yet another International Girls in Information and Telecommunication Technologies Day. That would be April 27. The annual program is the UN agency's global effort to open up the world of science and tech to girls who might someday be employed in the sector. Companies, schools, government agencies and other ICT affiliates aroudn the world will be hosting workshops, career fairs and hands-on activities. The daylong event acknowledges amateur radio as one gateway into the sector and encourages girls' involvement. Since ICT Day's establishment in 2011, more than 240 thousand girls and young women haave been involved in 7,200 events in 160 countries around the world, according to the ITU. (ARRL, ITU) ** TIME TO PARTY IN NEW ENGLAND PAUL/ANCHOR: The New England QSO Party is coming up fast, and organizers are asking hams to come out and represent their counties. We hear more from Amateur Radio Newsline's Geri Goodrich KF5KRN. GERI'S REPORT: If you can't visit New England, the next best thing is to WORK New England, and you'll get your chance on the 6th and 7th of May during the New England QSO Party. Organizers are working hard to get every county in every New England state represented. So if you're already in New England, consider this your invitation to the 20-hour-long party, for however many hours you can participate. Yes, there will actually be a sleep break between 1 a.m. Sunday and 9 a.m. Sunday local time to relax and recharge. The rest of the time hams can operate using CW, SSB and digital modes on 80/40/20/15 and 10 meters. Last year the party had a turnout to be proud of: 179 stations in New England and 300 more participating from around the country and the world. If you're in New England, register by emailing info-at-neqp.org If you're anywhere else, be ready starting Saturday May 6 at 20:00 UTC. Visit neqp.org for more details. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Geri Goodrich KF5KRN. (NEW ENGLAND QSO PARTY) ** GETTING LUCKY IN KENTUCKY PAUL/ANCHOR: If you're proud to drive a vehicle that has your callsign on its license plate, you'll understand why hams in Kentucky want to give their own state license plates a second look. Amateurs there are considering a remake that perhaps offers a little higher wattage. This report comes to us courtesy of Amateur News Weekly's Jack Prindle AB4WS. JACK'S REPORT: In Kentucky, our amateur radio vehicle registration plates are very plain: a white background and your call sign in blue and the words "amateur radio" make up the plates. Many would like to see the commonwealth update these plates. What do YOU think? Please email your ideas and opinions to arrlky@yahoo.com Covering your amateur radio news in the Greater Cincinnati area and the commonwealth of Kentucky for Amateur News Weekly, this is Jack Prindle AB4WS in Big Bone Kentucky. PAUL/ANCHOR: That report was from Amateur News Weekly. To hear more news serving hams in Kentucky and the Greater Cincinnati area, visit amateurnewsweekly.com (AMATEUR NEWS WEEKLY) ** THE WORLD OF DX In the World of DX, the Tortugas CW Group will be operating as ED9T for the King of Spain CW Contest on May 21st and 22nd from the Spanish external territory of Melilla on the North African coast. They will mostly operate on CW however you may also hear them operating as EG9TOR on SSB and digital modes outside of the contest. QSL via EA4PN or use OQRS for a direct, LoTW, eQSL or bureau card. Listen for David, OK6DJ and Petr, OK1FCJ operating as 5V7P from Togo between April 21st and the 28th. Find them on 160 to 10 meters using CW, SSB and digital modes. QSL via OK6DJ, ClubLog's OQRS or LoTW. Next month, Tim LW9EOC will be operating as HC8/LW9EOC from the Galapagos Islands between May 15th and May 29th on 160 meters through 6 meters. He will focus mainly on 30, 17 and 12 meters using SSB, CW and RTTY. QSL via his home call, direct or LoTW. Listen also for Pasi, OH3WS, on the air as OJ0W from Market Reef on May 6th and 7th. Find Pasi on 20 to 6 meters using CW and SSB. Pasi will also try 60 meters on both CW and SSB, on 5354 kHz. QSL via his home call. Finally, despite likely very average propagation and busy bands with contests, the SOTA operators have planned their next Europe-to-North America - Summit to Summit activity for Saturday May 13th between 12:00 and 18:00 UTC. Likely bands are 20m and 17m CW and SSB; as always realtime spotting will be available at sotawatch.org. ** KICKER: HERE'S TO THE NEXT 60 YEARS IN JAPAN PAUL/ANCHOR: And finally, we look forward - and we look back - with a 60-year-old club for YLs in Japan. The Japan Ladies Radio Society has something special going on, as we learn in this week's final report, from Amateur Radio Newsline's Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT. CARYN: Special event station 8N60JLRS began operating in Japan on April 1 and the celebration won't stop until next March. What's going on? The Japan Ladies Radio Society is marking the long life it has enjoyed since three pioneering female amateurs founded it in 1957 to help that nation's small but rapidly growing population of YLs enjoy life on the amateur bands. According to Yukiko Maki 7K4TKB it was quite an adjustment. YUKIKO: Once YLs in Japan started to call CQ there were always huge pileups and heavy QRM and it wasn't easy and comfortable for them to have a relaxing conversation with other YLs in Japan. It was very difficult to do so at the time. That was the reason this club was founded. It was meant to be the place for Japanese YLs to meet and enjoy talking with other YLs. CARYN: Yukiko, who chairs the radio society's DX operations, said the group has 160 domestic and 40 DX members. She said the special event station is just one of many activities the YLs have had: there are two annual contests, there's an awards program and over the years, there's been some adventure. YUKIKO: The first one was a DXpedition in Maldives near India using callsign 8Q7YL in 1985 with 9 members and more than 23 thousand QSOs were made during the 5-day stay. Another one took place in 2007 to celebrate our fiftieth annivesary and at the time the QTH for this Dx was in the Palau Islands in the Pacific Ocean. We used our call sign was T80J with 18 members and at the time we did more than 2700 QSOs. CARYN: The group's 60th anniversary will also be celebrated at the general meeting of the Japan Ladies Radio Society in Tokyo this summer. Yukiko said it's going to be great catching up with everyone. If you can't get to Tokyo, there's always special event station 8N60JLRS now through March of 2018. The YLs will be calling CQ -- and listening. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT. ** NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Alan Labs; Al Kirton VK4FFZ; Amateur News Weekly; the ARRL; Hap Holly and the Rain Report; Japan Ladies Radio Society; New England QSO Party; QRZ.COM; QST Magazine; Southgate Amateur Radio News; Ted Randall's QSO Radio Show; Summits on the Air; SWLING.COM; Tufts University; WTWW Shortwave; and you our listeners, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline. Please send emails to our address at newsline@arnewsline.org. More information is available at Amateur Radio Newsline's only official website located at www.arnewsline.org. Also -- if you've going to Hamvention this year -- you can contact us in person! Just look for the Newsline crew at the HamNation booth in Xenia. We'll be wearing our distinctive blue polo shirts. We’d love to meet our listeners. For now, with Caryn Eve Murray, KD2GUT, at the news desk in New York, and our news team worldwide, I'm Paul Braun WD9GCO in Valparaiso, Indiana saying 73 and as always we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2017. All rights reserved.