Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2071 for Friday, July 7, 2017 Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2071 with a release date of Friday, July 7, 2017 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a QST. A new FCC commissioner gets nominated. We follow the trail of a pilot recreating the Amelia Earhart flight. Lighthouses are in the spotlight - and in our top story, a jury convicts an Illinois man in the killing of a ham two years ago. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2071 comes your way right now. ** BILLBOARD CART ** CONVICTION IN ILLINOIS HAM'S KILLING DON/ANCHOR: We begin this week's report with a courtroom conclusion to a gruesome case from two years ago: the killing of a ham radio operator in Illinois. There's been a verdict and Amateur Radio Newsline's Neil Rapp WB9VPG has the details. NEIL'S REPORT: A jury has convicted a Rockford, Illinois man of killing an amateur radio operator and his dog two years ago and then setting their house on fire. The verdict in the killing of Henry Murphy WB9TFX was announced June 30 ending a case that began with the discovery of the bodies on July 18, 2015. Prosecutors had said the killer, Delano L. Foreman, 31, first robbed Henry Murphy, then shot both him and his golden retriever before setting three fires inside the Winnebago County home. Silent Key Henry Murphy was also a veteran of the U.S. Army. Foreman's attorney has filed a defense motion for a new trial and is scheduled to reappear in court on Aug. 16 but will remain in the Winnebago County Jail without bond until that time. If the defense motion is denied, he will be sentenced immediately. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Neil Rapp WB9VPG (THE ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR, QRZNOW.COM) ** NEW FCC COMMISSIONER NOMINATED DON/ANCHOR: Meanwhile, the big news out of Washington is that there is a nominee to fill one of the vacancies on the Federal Communications Commission. We hear more from Amateur Radio Newsline's Stephen Kinford N8WB. STEPHEN'S REPORT: The FCC's general counsel, Brendan Carr, is considered the next likely candidate to fill one of two empty spots on the commission. President Donald Trump has announced he will nominate the Republican - a move applauded by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai in a public statement that praised his record. The appointment, if confirmed by the Senate, would still leave one remaining vacancy to be filled - a seat reserved for a Democrat. No more than three members of the FCC are permitted to belong to the same political party. On June 14, Trump named former Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democrat, to fill another vacant seat and she too must be confirmed by the Senate. She would be returning to the commission, following the expiration of her term last year. A third vacancy is being created by the departure of Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, another Democrat, whose term has just expired. Brendan Carr is viewed as a major supporter of Ajit Pai’s efforts to undo “net neutrality” rules that had been passed by the commission's Democratic majority. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Stephen Kinford, N8WB. (ARRL) ** BRIGHT TIME FOR LIGHTHOUSE ON PEI DON/ANCHOR: Coming off its 150th anniversary festivities, Canada has something else to celebrate - a very special lighthouse on Prince Edward Island. And who better to mark the occasion than amateur radio operators? Here's Amateur Radio Newsline's Heather Embee KB3TZD. HEATHER: Built in 1845, the Point Prim lighthouse was the first lighthouse on Prince Edward Island -- and there's no doubt that the things it has seen in the last 172 years would give it a lot to say. Soon, it will be doing just that, talking to the world: The Prince Edward Island Amateur Radio Group will be activating the lighthouse on Saturday, July 15 as part of the lighthouse's open house marking its acquisition last year by the Point Prime Lighthouse Society. Radio operators will be calling CQ on all the HF bands right through the late afternoon hours of Sunday, July 16. Modes will include SSB and PSK-31. Hams who collect lighthouse QSOs will be happy to know that Point Prim has been assigned the code CAN-809 by the Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society, which keeps track of 15,000 lighthouses worldwide. Islands on the Air also declares PEI as NA-029 in their list of islands around the world. Point Prim stands out among Canadian lighthouses as a brick structure with a distinctive round shape. It is, in fact, the only round brick lighthouse on Prince Edward Island. It is also one of seven lighthouses on the Island to be named on the National Heritage List. Now the lighthouse is about to distinguish itself with a reception featuring music, guest speakers, a barbecue, free tours and amateur radio. That should establish it as quite a beacon. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Heather Embee KB3TZD (GEORGE DEWAR VY2GF) ** LIGHTHOUSE-LIGHTSHIP WEEKEND REGISTRATION GROWS DON/ANCHOR: Speaking of lighthouses, it's almost time for amateur radio to celebrate the world's community of lighthouses and lightships, and the number of participating locations keeps growing. For that story, we welcome Amateur Radio Newsline's Kevin Trotman N5PRE, who is joining us on the air with his first report. KEVIN'S REPORT: Don't expect any certificates or prizes or other perks for contacts you may log next month during the International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend. The 20-year-old event is not a sprint, a contest or even an emergency drill. It's a celebration of these time-honored navigational aides. This year, the lighthouse activations will take place on the weekend of Aug. 19th and 20th. Lighthouse registrations were already at 240 and counting as of the first week in July -- with Germany and Australia in the lead. Many other nations will be participating as usual including South Africa, the U.S., Canada, Scotland and Wales. There are also some new countries where hams can count on hearing "CQ" - including Serbia, where you can listen for Alex YU1CA operating near the banks of the Danube River at the Tamis River West Lighthouse. What it comes down to is an event that's part fellowship, part public relations. The activations are designed to be visible to visitors who can stop by and see the hams in action. In a way that's keeping in the true lighthouse spirit - shining a little light, so to speak, on the amateur radio community. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Kevin Trotman N5PRE. (SOUTHGATE) ** HAM CLUB IN UK FIGHTS FOR SURVIVAL DON/ANCHOR: One amateur radio group in a rural part of the UK has been struggling to find creative ways to stay alive. Amateur Radio Newsline's Jeremy Boot G4NJH has that story. JEREMY'S REPORT: The club in the small town of Workington, Cumbria, announced on its website that all meetings at the Helena Thompson Museum have been cancelled until September but the September meeting will indeed be held - to talk about the club's future. The club website noted that a real action plan is needed in order to survive and build membership or the club may ultimately face shutdown. Alex Hill G7KSE, told Amateur Radio Newsline in an email that the club has enjoyed a strong record over the years in training new hams and had great success with DXpeditions, special events and contesting. He noted, however, that the membership has been aging and the club is now challenged about ways to attract an infusion of new amateurs to the club, which is in the Western Lake District. Alex said one option being explored is outreach to the Maker movement and code clubs as a way of boosting membership. As the club itself noted on a web page about its future: [QUOTE] "At this stage, no idea is a bad one." [ENDQUOTE] For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH (WORKINGTON and DISTRICT AMATEUR RADIO CLUB, ALEX HILL G7KSE) ** BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including WFBT, Wilmington's Big Talker in Wilmington, N.C. on Saturday ands Sundays starting at 8:30 a.m. ** ADVENTURE CONTINUES FOR AMELIA EARHART TRIBUTE PILOT DON/ANCHOR: The world has been watching as a ham from the U.S. navigates a flight in tribute to Amelia Earhart's final trip 80 years ago. At Newsline's production time, he was getting ready to depart Australia, where we hear from Amateur Radio Newsline's Graham Kemp VK4BB. GRAHAM's REPORT: Texas radio amateur Brian Lloyd WB6RQN continues his flight along Amelia Earhart's path and as Amateur Radio Newsline went to production, he was preparing to leave us here in Australia for the next leg of his journey. His arrival there on July 1, however, brought some welcome refueling for both Brian and his plane - and an eyeball QSO with Stuie VK8NSB. The Australian amateur had contacted the pilot on 20 meters and via satellite while he was still enroute from Indonesia and met him on arrival. Stuie didn't just greet him and provide overnight hospitality but, at departure time from Darwin, he was there to help refuel and see the aircraft off, adding a sticker of the Australian flag to the plane's wing. Other amateur radio contacts followed as Brian took to the air, enroute to Ayers Rock, Uluru. Brian's final stop in Australia was to be in Sydney and then he was off to Auckland, New Zealand, followed by a flyover of Howland Island. His plan was to drop a memorial wreath into the water there near the spot where Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan disappeared in 1937. As he continues his journey to Hawaii and beyond, be listening on SSB on 14.210, 14.346, 18.117 or 7.130 MHz. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Graham Kemp VK4BB. (JIM LINTON VK3PC) ** WORLD RADIOSPORT TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP PASSES TEST DON/ANCHOR: For volunteers who were testing equipment in Germany recently for next year's World Radiosport championship event, it was a dry run - well, not really quite so dry thanks to the weather. We hear more from Amateur Radio Newsline's Ed Durrant DD5LP. ED'S REPORT: The WRTC test and training days 2017 between the 23rd and 25th of June brought together more than 100 volunteers from all over Germany to the Jessen / Wittenberg region, to set up portable stations exactly as will be used next year. The Thursday before the tests brought devastating rain storms to the area but this did not stop the training of the antenna teams at the main campsite in Prettin on Friday. There were many new enthusiastic contesters between the ages of 20 and 80 who took part in the weekend alongside some well-known faces from the test day in 2016. Saturday was the main construction day, where the wind made the antenna erection somewhat more difficult but apart from that the weather was sunny and dry. Concentrated work was called for to ensure that all parts were correctly installed and after many hours of construction work, radio operation and exchange of experiences followed. Lessons learned were noted and changes included in planning for next year. The Ham Spirit shone through with the enthusiasm ensuring new friendships emerged and many new ideas were born. On Sunday morning the stations were all dismantled and by 3 pm everything was packed up and sent to the main storage warehouse. Thanks to excellent preparation and the spirit of all participants, the test and training days were a total success. The WRTC team is ready to welcome 63 teams to Germany in 2018. Before that however there is still work to be done, more finances are required and next weekend at HAM RADIO Friedrichshafen the WRTC 2018 team will have both a stand inside the halls and an example portable station setup outside to illustrate what the competitors should expect. The team will be looking for additional volunteers for next year's event as well as donations from supporters. An additional highlight announced just after the test day is that Honda Power Equipment have come on-board as a platinum sponsor of WRTC 2018 and will be supplying EU20i petrol generators for each team in next year's event. For Amateur Radio Newsline, this is Ed Durrant DD5LP. ** WORLD OF DX In the world of DX, be listening for Eric KV1J who is operating from the St Pierre & Miquelon Islands as FP/KV1J until July 18th. Listen for him on SSB and RTTY. Send QSLs to the home call. Geoff ZL3GA is operating holiday style from Vanuatu in the Pacific until July 13th. He will be using the call sign YJ0GA. His logs will be uploaded to Logbook of The World and also to Club Log. Be listening for the call sign RI0Z being used by a team of Russian amateurs in the Komandorskiye Islands. The Islands on the Air reference is AS-039. The team's QSL manager is RZ5D. (IRISH RADIO TRANSMITTERS SOCIETY) ** KICKER: MORSE CODE IN A NEW DIMENSION DON/ANCHOR: For this week's final story, we look at a bit of modern innovation. It's always nice when amateur radio can enter a new dimension. As we close out this week's report, we look at a Morse Code Key that is definitely in that category because it gets all three of its dimensions from a 3-D printer. Although that's where the key originates, its real roots are in the imagination of the 14-year-old son of the Texas radio amateur, Joe Delgado KC5ILR, who developed the key to make his son happy. Joe says on his website that his son wanted something "cool" and "colorful" for Morse Code and the 3-D printing of the key made him happy -- plus it sends code! Now if someone can find a way to print a 3-D noise filter to clean up the bands, we've got it made. (JERRY WRIGHT NK2C) ** NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Alan Labs; Alex Hill G7KSE; Amateur News Weekly; the ARRL; the Associated Press; CQ Magazine; The FCC; George Dewar VY2GF; Hap Holly and the Rain Report; Irish Radio Transmitters Society; Jerry Wright NK2C; Jim Linton VK3PC; QRZNOW.COM; the Rockford Register Star; ;Southgate Amateur Radio News; Ted Randall's QSO Radio Show; Stuart Birkin VK8NSB; Workington and District Amateur Radio Club; 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. For now, with Caryn Eve Murray, KD2GUT, at the news desk in New York, and our news team worldwide, I'm Don Wilbanks AE5DW saying 73 and as always we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2017. All rights reserved.