Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2076 for Friday, August 11, 2017 Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2076 with a release date of Friday, August 11, 2017 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a QST. Amateur radio celebrates Radio Caroline's return to the air. The Radio Club of America honors hams for their ingenuity and selflessness -- and organizers of the Boy Scouts' National Jamboree count their QSOs and their successes. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2076 comes your way right now. ** BILLBOARD CART ** REVIVAL OF RADIO CAROLINE CHRISTIAN/ANCHOR: We begin this week's report with news that offshore radio is making a comeback in the UK with Radio Caroline. Its recent special event station has something to celebrate as we hear from Ed Durrant DD5LP. ED'S REPORT: Last weekend the Martello Tower radio group from Essex, England, were once again on board the Ross Revenge, the last Radio Caroline ship, to celebrate 50 years of offshore broadcasting. This year is a little more important than last year with the news that Radio Caroline will soon be back on Medium wave rather than just the Internet. Ofcom the UK regulator issued Radio Caroline on May 17th. this year a license to run a 1KW ERP local community broadcast station on 648 KHz to cover Essex and Suffolk. On August 13th. The Radio Caroline group are holding a celebration of exactly 50 years to the day before the British Government brought in the "Marine Broadcasting (Offenses) act" effectively making operation of off-shore radio illegal and closing down most but not all of the radio ships. Radio Caroline is the most notable station, that stayed on the air despite the new law. The celebration being held at the Princes Theatre in Clacton, Essex as well as having historic displays, talks and short films will also have an update on how plans are going to get the new 648KHz Radio Caroline station on the air, which is expected to happen before the end of 2017. Even with simple wire and vertical antennas, that salt water ground plane of the River Blackwater under the MV Ross Revenge made sure their 400w signal was easy to hear around Europe and at the right times, the world. Here's a clip of some of the pile-up the Martello Tower group enjoyed during last weekend's special event. [ insert GB5RC.MP3 clip here] - For Amateur Radio Newsline, this is Ed Durrant DD5LP CHRISTIAN/ANCHOR: If you happened to be on the receiving end of their shortwave signal, be sure to send GB5RC your SWL report, giving the exact frequency and time and a list of two of the stations you heard operators talking to. ** THE NEWEST CLUB IN TOWN CHRISTIAN: Ham radio clubs love to welcome newcomers -- but what happens when the newcomer is the club itself? That's just what's happening in London, as we hear from Jeremy Boot G4NJH. JEREMY's REPORT: Visitors to the QRZ page can plainly see that the Hammersmith Amateur Radio Society M0XHS is stirring up a bit of excitement. The radio club in the heart of West London has just received its license and all that remains now are for amateurs in and around that part of the city to get in touch and help get things rolling. Selim M0XTA has established the club and is hoping area hams who are looking to share radio projects and other aspects of the hobby will enjoy finding a convenient meeting place and set an agenda. Selim is an IT professional who has been an active ham since 2003 when he got his Foundation license. He is also a newsreader for GB2RS. If you're interested in becoming part of this new startup amateur radio society, reach out to Selim by email at M0XTA-at-outlook-dot-com. (M0XTA@outlook.com) For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH. ** RADIO CLUB OF AMERICA HONORS AMATEURS CHRISTIAN/ANCHOR: Amateurs are known for giving of themselves to the on-air community but nothing feels quite so rewarding as formal recognition. Heather Embee KB3TZD tells us who's been chosen for this year's prestigious honors from the Radio Club of America. HEATHER'S REPORT: A number of radio amateurs are listed among the winners of this year's awards and fellowships from the Radio Club of America, the world's oldest professional wireless communications group. The awards will be presented November 17 in Pittsburgh. Winners include Dayton Hamvention spokesman Michael Kalter W8CI, recipient of the Barry Goldwater Amateur Radio Award. Michael was a prime mover behind Hamvention's move this past spring to the Xenia, Ohio fairgrounds following Hara Arena's closure. Michael is also treasurer of the Dayton Amateur Radio Association. Other recipients include Ulrich Rohde N1UL of Florida, who received the Lifetime Achievment Award and antenna designer and university professor James Breakall WA3FET of Pennsylvania, the recipient of the Sarnoff Citation. The Fred M. Link Award has been given to Peter J. Madsen, K2PM of Michigan for his work in land-mobile radio communications. Another radio amateur, Robert Hobday, N2EVG of New York, who had been named RCA Fellow in 2016, was awarded the Jack Poppele Award for his work in radio broadcasting. Fellow ham Charles Kirmuss, W0CBK of Colorado was given the RCA's Special Services Award recognizing his involvement in the RCA's Youth activities Program. A number of hams were also announced as RCA Fellows: they are David P. Bart, KB9YPD; Nathan Cohen, W1YW; Brent Finster, K6BEF; James M. Roden, W5JR and Bruce Roloson, W2BDR. Congratulations everyone! For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Heather Embee KB3TZD. (RADIO CLUB OF AMERICA) ** K2BSA HAD JAM-PACKED TIME AT JAMBOREE CHRISTIAN/ANCHOR: While Scouts are resting up after a very full week at their National Jamboree, organizers are counting the QSOs and the merit badges. Here's more from Bill Stearns NE4RD. BILL'S REPORT: This week in Radio Scouting we are reporting that the Boy Scouts of America National Jamboree was a great success. While our full after-action report is not available at this time, I can happily report that we feel our goals were met. Our entire team of volunteers really pulled it together to produce a great event. The tentative numbers that I have are that 2,457 scouts visited the demonstration station, 305 radio merit badges were earned, 1,259 contacts on HF and VHF were made, 2 balloons were launched with APRS payloads, 3 SOTA activations of Garden Ground Mountain were completed, 140 satellite contacts were made, and 198 unique callsigns on our nightly net were logged. While the final numbers from the BSA have not been released, we feel that we did meet our planned goals for the station and merit badges. All of the gear provided by our sponsors worked extremely well in spite of poor band conditions. We thank the many operators on the other end of the QSOs that helped provide the scouts the opportunity to make a contact that met the requirement of their merit badge or provoked an interest in the hobby. QSL cards are already going out for the event. Our second balloon launch was picked up over the Dominican Republic this weekend, but our first balloon is still missing in action. Please visit our website for QSL information and balloon tracking. For more information on radio scouting, please visit www.k2bsa.net. For Amateur Radio Newsline and the K2BSA Amateur Radio Association this is Bill Stearns, NE4RD. ** NEWCOMER OPERATING NEAR FIRE ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE CHRISTIAN/ANCHOR: New York's Fire Island Lighthouse is going to be a busy place during International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend -- and a new call sign will be operating there, as we hear from Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT. CARYN'S REPORT: The Great South Bay Amateur Radio Club W2GSB has activated the Fire Island Lighthouse since the beginning of the International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend in 1997. On August 19th and 20th, the suburban New York club is getting a friendly neighbor operating less than a thousand feet away from their setup at the lighthouse. The Fire Island Lighthouse Radio Annex Memorial Club W2NMY will be on the air in the nearby annex building used as the park rangers' official residence. While W2GSB will operate on single sideband, W2NMY will be sending CW. The lighthouse club was created about two months ago by Howard WB2UZE so that its annex activation could call attention to the role the building played in naval communications right up through 1973. Walter KA2CAQ, who also works as a volunteer at the lighthouse, said both clubs will be operating until 6 p.m. local time on both days.The two clubs won't just be sharing space at the beach - they also share some of the same members and a purpose: to keep lighthouses out there in the spotlight. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT ** BREAK HERE Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including W5NWA/R, a DMR repeater in Harrison, Arkansas, on Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. local time. ** JOHNSON SPACE CENTER HAMS LAUNCH 50TH ANNIVERSARY CHRISTIAN/ANCHOR: Few things are more exciting than space - except, of course for ham radio. Combine the two, add in a 50th anniversary, and you have the makings of a special event station at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Paul Braun WD9GCO spoke to the club's spokesman about this year's big event. PAUL'S REPORT: Everybody loves a good special-event station. And a lot of us love all things related to space exploration and the Space Program. Coming up in mid-October, both of those things come together as the Johnson Space Center Amateur Radio Club celebrates its 50th anniversary. I spoke with club spokesman Ken Goodwin, K5RG, about the club’s plans for the weekend: GOODWIN: In conjunction with our 50th year we’re going to have a special event station using our club call, W5RRR, which will be operating the weekend of October 13th, 14th and 15th. We’ll have the station on air with a number of dignitaries and club members, and we’ve gotten support from the astronaut office - nowadays most of the astronauts have their amateur radio license in support of amateur radio onboard the International Space Station, the ARISS project. So we’ll have the center director who is also an amateur licensee and come out and just have contacts during that weekend. PAUL: I mentioned to Goodwin that I was definitely going to try for a contact because I wanted their QSL card, and Goodwin told me: GOODWIN: That’s generally why we chose not to apply for a special call - we get lots of business with the station’s call, being associated with the Space Program which we’ve actively supported since 1967. PAUL: The club is planning to work the General portions of 80 through 10 meters on all three days. The club has three HF stations and a satellite station in a building supplied by the Johnson Space Center. Details will be published in QST prior to the event, and you can follow them on the club’s website, www.W5RRR.org. I don’t know about you, but I’m hoping that by the end of that weekend, I’ll be able to say, “Houston, we’ve got a contact!” For Amateur Radio Newsline, I’m Paul Braun, WD9GCO ** VIGILANT GUARD TESTS EMERGENCY READINESS CHRISTIAN/ANCHOR: Emergency response teams mobilized recently for an important drill in the region around Altus, Oklahoma. Mike Askins KE5CXP tells us how things went. MIKE's REPORT: The exercise was called Vigilant Guard. It was a Federal Emergency Management Agency test of how to best manage emergency radio response in the region surrounding Altus, Oklahoma. The exercise, which took place between August third and sixth went well, according to Lloyd Colston KC5FM, Altus Emergency Management Director. Radio operators used remotes, WEBSDR receivers and other equipment through the region in Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma and points beyond. Lloyd said the drill helped fine-tune emergency response access to offices at the state and federal levels, a necessary ingredient for effective communications management in the case of an earthquake or other disaster. Citizens who were not radio operators even got to listen in too using the broadcastify website. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mike Askins KE5CXP. (LLOYD COLSTON KC5FM) ** SENATE CONFIRMS FCC NOMINEES CHRISTIAN/ANCHOR: The Senate has confirmed two commissioners to fill the empty seats on the FCC. One of them is a returnee. With that story, here's Stephen Kinford N8WB. STEPHEN: Former FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democrat, is returning to the commission and Republican Brendan Carr, the FCC's general counsel, is joining the panel following the two presidential nominees' confirmation by the Senate this month. The FCC now comprises two Democrats and three Republicans, filling the panel's two longstanding vacancies. Jessica Rosenworcel's previous five-year term ended in late 2016 when the Senate did not act on her renomination by then-President Barack OBama. The two join Republican Michael O'Rielly and Democrat Mignon Clyburn as well as Chairman Ajit Pai (PIE) in Washington. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Stephen Kinford N8WB. (REUTERS) ** THE WORLD OF DX In the world of DX be listening for Alex F4GHS operating holiday style from the South Cook Islands until the 25th of August using the call sign E51GHS. Send QSLs via his home call. Listen on SSB and CW for a group of South African operators active as ZS9V from Robben Island until the 13th of August. Robben Island is where the late South African activist and former president Nelson Mandela had been held in prison until his release in 1982. Its IOTA reference number is AF-064. Send QSL cards via M0OXO OQRS. Be listening for the call sign 4L0GF operating in Georgia by members of the Black Sea Contest Group. They will be on all the bands between 160 and 10 meters, operating SSB, RTTY and CW. Send QSL cards to F5RAV. Mike VE7ACN is activating two Alaskan IOTA islands. He will be on Hinchinbrook Island (IOTA reference NA-042) operating as AL3/AA7CH until August 15th. He will then move to Kayak Island (IOTA reference NA-157) and operate as NL6/AA7CH from August 18th through the 28th. Send all QSL cards to his home call in Canada. (IRISH RADIO TRANSMITTERS SOCIETY) ** KICKER: FOR WHOM THE BELL DOESN'T TOLL CHRISTIAN/ANCHOR: Our final story this week is about working phone during an emergency - namely an outage of another kind of phone, the telephone. Kevin Trotman N5PRE explains. KEVIN: How can you hear a call coming in when the phones aren't even working? Ask residents, retailers and emergency responders in Atlantic Canada. Phone service on Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia recently suffered a massive outage after two of the fiber-optic lines became damaged, cut off accidentally by construction workers. Companies affected included Telus, Virgin, Koodo and Bell Aliant. So what did that leave? Amateur radio, of course. Jeremy Fowler VE1JHF of the Halifax Amateur Radio Club and Chris Vessey VY2CRV a Prince Edward Island amateur were among the hams ready to respond in case of an emergency. Vessey told the Canadian Broadcasting Company that he and other radio operators were on standby. It's what hams do, after all. The outage, as it turns out, didn't last more than a few hours -- but as Vessey noted, after this, it might pay for more people to think about getting their licenses and then getting some radios. Even without any phones ringing, the few hours of that outage surely brought the most important kind of call -- a wake-up call. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Kevin Trotman N5PRE. (CBC NEWS) ** NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Alan Labs; Amateur News Weekly; the ARRL; CBC News; CQ Magazine; the Great South Bay Amateur Radio Club; Hap Holly and the Rain Report; Irish Radio Transmitters Society; K2BSA; Lloyd Colston KC5FM; Radio Club of America; Reuters; Southgate Amateur Radio News; Ted Randall's QSO Radio Show; 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 Christian Cudnik K0STH in St. Louis, Missouri saying 73 and as always we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2017. All rights reserved.