Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2118 for Friday, June 1, 2018 Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2118 with a release date of Friday, June 1, 2018, to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a QST. In Montana and Maryland, hams respond to floods. In Australia, amateurs take on on-air bullies - and South Africa awaits use of 60 meters. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2118 comes your way right now. ** BILLBOARD CART ** YELLOWSTONE ARES STEPS IN DURING MONTANA STORM NEIL/ANCHOR: We begin this week's newscast with reports of amateur response to flooding. While most of the U.S. concentrated on their holiday celebrations over Memorial Day weekend, hams in two parts of the country dealt with crisis conditions. We begin in Montana with the Yellowstone Amateur Radio Emergency Service. Here's Kent Peterson KC0DGY. KENT: Amateur radio operators in the Billings, Montana area mobilized over the Memorial Day holiday weekend as a "perfect storm" brought massive flooding to the region brought on by melting mountain snowpack, heavy rain and an anticipated crest of the Yellowstone River. There were concerns too that the region's complex canal system that feeds local farms could further complicate the scenario. As the holiday weekend began on Friday, May 25th, Brad Shoemaker, Disaster and Emergency Services Director turned to YARES, the Yellowstone Amateur Radio Emergency Services. Ron Glass WN7Y, the ARRL's Emergency Coordinator for Yellowstone County, activated a net, 23 hams checked in and staffing got under way. Five hams went the next morning to sandbag centers where they helped manage traffic and ensure that no one ran out of bags or sand. In some cases, said Ron, the hams even helped residents load the sandbags into their vehicles. Others staffed the Emergency Operations Center and Net Control while still others served as "loggers" tracking callouts. The weekend operation brought logistics challenges and long work shifts, Ron told Newsline, but the hams kept their duties covered. By Monday, as the anticipated rainstorm began to hit hard, hams were dispatched for River Watch Duty and at roadway locations to identify any threatened bridges, flooded roads and other trouble spots identified by the county. The damage ultimately turned out to be less than predicted. Ron told Newsline: [quote] "Even though the storm dropped over an inch of rain in the first 15 minutes and we were driving through flooded streets the rest of the day, the event was NOT as large as expected." [endquote] By 3 p.m. that same afternoon, the flood warning was dropped and the EOC went into standby mode, said Ron. He told Newsline that YARES was officially deactivated within the hour. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Kent Peterson KC0DGY. (RON GLASS, WN7Y) ** HAMS PREP FOR FLOODED MARYLAND MILL TOWN NEIL/ANCHOR: Meanwhile, not quite two years after the historic mill town of Ellicott City Maryland was nearly swallowed up by flood waters, it was being described again as a "war zone." Memorial Day weekend storms and flooding that affected other parts of Maryland brought particular devastation to this Howard County community where there were reports that one man had gone missing and a body was recovered two days later from the water. Maryland hams wasted no time. Marty Pittenger KB3MXM, the ARRL Maryland-DC Section Manager told Newsline that just as the flood alerts started popping up in early evening on Sunday May 27th, the ARES team activated. Marty said the word went out - "this is NOT a drill" - and a half-hour later, at 7 p.m. when the governor declared a state of emergency, stations had already been checking in. As they remained on standby, hams began sharing weather information, agency and SKYWARN reports and other situational details. According to Marty the quickly-assembled team comprised 40 hams across five repeaters covering an area of about 5600 square miles across six counties. Hams were also monitoring EchoLink and conducted a quick test on 80 meters in case HF was needed to pass messages. Marty said that the nets remained active until instruction to stand down came at 10:15 p.m. Marty said there was ultimately no need for the hams to be deployed to assist. (CNN, Marty Pittenger KB3MXM) ** SLENT KEY: JIM SELLARS N0UAM NEIL/ANCHOR: Net control operators are the heart and soul of emergency response and one noted weather-watcher has become a Silent Key, as we hear from Geri Goodrich KF5KRN. GERI: Jim "Mad Dog" Sellars N0UAM became a Silent Key on May 22nd - but for all the years before he was an active radio amateur who lived, some might say, in the eye of the storm. An enthusiastic storm-chaser, Jim was perhaps best known as Assistant Director of VoIP Hurricane Net Operations and Net Control. He most recently made a name for himself as a tireless net control during the 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season which included Maria, Irma and Harvey. He also played a big role in the National Weather Service Springfield Missouri SKYWARN program. The Springfield, Missouri resident had battled a heart condition for years. He was 64 at the time of his death. A certified meteorologist, Jim wrote his own obituary for the local newspaper and described his final wishes: he wanted to be cremated and then have his ashes scattered into a tornado. He wrote "that'll be fun." For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Geri Goodrich KF5KRN. NEIL/ANCHOR: There was a Final Call for Jim on May 26 just prior to the WX4NHC annual test. Rob KD1CY was net control. Please listen to this tribute on our website. Go to arnewsline.org and click on the "Extra" tab on the left. ** TIME TO TALK TO A MINESWEEPER NEIL/ANCHOR: What are you doing on the air June 1st through June 3rd? It's Museum Ships Weekend and you have a chance to work a Navy minesweeper. Paul Braun WD9GCO talked to one of the team members. PAUL: If there’s one thing that gets hams excited, it’s a special-event station. And when you can combine a group of special-event stations into a major happening, all the better. Such is the case with Museum Ships Weekend, where groups of hams activate from various historic ships that have been turned into museums. One of those ships is the USS Lucid, the last of the ocean-going wooden minesweepers. A group of YL’s from the Stockton-Delta Amateur Radio Club will be activating the Lucid that weekend. I spoke with one of the members, Emelia Seiferling KI6YYT about how they got involved: SEIFERLING: My husband and I were presenting a program for the Stockton radio club. It was concerning an activation that I had participated with a YL group - KM6CIR - Ladies of the Net. They had organized a session on the USS Hornet. And after the program, the president there, John, N6ZQ, said, "Well, we should have something like that here in Stockton!" And after a little talk over the next few days, it was decided to activate the USS Lucid that the Stockton club is affiliated with and have a YL afternoon on Museum Ships Weekend. PAUL: Seiferling originally got involved with activating ships through contacts she had made on a net: SEIFERLING: When I retired, my schedule got flexible enough that I could check into the 40 meter Ladies' Net, KM6CIR it's just a general net for all YL's - all YL's are welcome. One of the first things they were talking about after I started trying to check in on a regular basis was an activation that they were doing at the USS Hornet because one of their members had connections there. Then several months later we did an activation on the Queen Mary, because again there was another member who had some connections to get us permission to use the radio room. So, when this thing came up with the Lucid, I contacted the ladies and hopefully we'll have several people from our group show up. PAUL: You can find out more details at the club’s website, triple-w dot W6SF dot org. Museum Ships Weekend runs from June 1st through the 3rd. The Lucid is the only ship of her kind left in the USA, so the hope is that events like this will bring more attention to the restoration efforts. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I’m Paul Braun, WD9GCO. ** SCOTLAND's 'UNICORN' TO LAUNCH FROM ALASKA NEIL/ANCHOR: Do you believe in unicorns? Some hams in Scotland do - and Jeremy Boot G4NJH tells us why. JEREMY: Radio amateurs in Scotland are going to be mighty proud later this year. The PocketQube satellite they constructed at Alba Orbital in Glasgow is being prepared for launch sometime during the third quarter of this year. It will be sent into space from Kodiak, Alaska on board a Vector Launch Inc. rocket for a mission that is expected to last about 45 days. The launch is considered a milestone for Scotland's space industry and will mark the first time an orbiter built in that country has not been piggybacked aboard another launch vehicle. Alba Orbital has collaborated on the project with the University of Aachen in Germany as well as its amateur radio club DL0FHA. The satellite has been named the Unicorn-2A and it will have downlinks in both the 437 MHz and 2400 MHz bands and one of its transmission modes will be LoRa, a long-range, low-power wireless platform. The Unicorn is the creation of amateurs Constantin Constantinides MM6XOM, Alejandro Gonzalez Garrido EA7KDU and Sajimon Chacko 2M0DSY. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH. (BBC) ** BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline heard on bulletin stations around the world including the WB0QXW repeaters in St. Louis Missouri on Monday nights following the World Friendship Net which begins at 7 p.m. local time on EchoLink. ** NEW 100 kHz ALLOCATION ON 60 METERS for SOUTH AFRICA NEIL/ANCHOR: South African hams are getting some new frequencies for their QSOs as we hear from Robert Broomhead VK3DN. ROBERT: There's encouraging news for amateurs in South Africa waiting to get on 60 metres. Hams have been granted access to the band between 5350 and 5450 kHz on a shared non-interference basis. They have also been given 5290 kHz for a South African Radio League propagation research project involving WSPR beacons. The South African Radio League reports that the Council will publish a band plan as soon as possible, permitting the start of 60-metre operations on the new allocation. The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa published the good news in the new National Radio Frequency Plan on Friday, May 25th. The South African Radio League Council has meanwhile issued a special appeal to hams, reminding them to guard against misconduct on the air. The message from SARL President Nico ZS6QL was issued following the resolution of a situation of abuse reported on 20 metres by the Namibian Amateur Radio League. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Robert Broomhead VK3DN. (SOUTHGATE, SARL) ** NO ROOM FOR AMATEUR RADIO BULLIES NEIL/ANCHOR: On the subject of on-air behavior, an unfortunate side to our hobby is the bullying and trolling that happens on the air. One ham in Australia is trying to help others make the best of a tough situation. Here's Jim Meachen ZL2BHF with that report. JIM MEACHEN: Yes, there are bullies on the air. Onno Benschop VK6FLAB discovered this first-hand as a beginner licensee in December 2010 when he said he was regularly harassed by amateurs with more advanced licenses and subjected to rude remarks. For the past few years, the ham and amateur-radio podcaster has spent time trying to provide guidance for all those who've had to endure that same painful experience. In addition to speaking locally at amateur radio classes about ways to deflect the abuse rather than engage it, Onno provides suggestions and confidence and hosts a weekly net for new and returning amateurs. Since July 2014 he has also maintained a bully reporting form at vk six dot net (vk6.net), the NewsWest website. Hams who've felt bullied can use the online form to report all the details. There are also links to articles and sources of additional support, including directions on how to report any recording of the incident. The website indicates that any pattern of repeat offenses is turned over to the ACMA with recommendations that official action be taken. Onno told Amateur Radio Newsline in an email that while bullies may always be out there in the world, these efforts provide victims with recourse and support. He told Newsline [quote] "they have given new entrants a level of confidence that was simply not available when I started." [endquote] For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Meachen ZL2BHF. ** OHIO HAMS KEEP THAT HAMVENTION FEELING ALOFT NEIL/ANCHOR: A team of hams in Dayton has discovered that even though Hamvention is over, there's a really good way to keep that Hamvention feeling aloft: Launch a balloon! Andy Morrison K9AWM explains. ANDY: It's helium-filled, it's high-flying at 30 thousand feet and it's communicating with the world via APRS as it circumnavigates the globe. This is the balloon that was launched just outside Building 5 on the Greene County Fairgrounds on Saturday, May 19, during Hamvention. One week later the Mylar balloon and its 13-gram payload, which includes a 25 mW solar-powered transmitter, headed toward Morocco and points beyond. These launches are nothing new said Joe Muchnij N8QOD, the committee chairman for the Dayton Amateur Radio Association. In fact, Bill Brown WB8ELK, who oversaw the technical side of the beacon's launch, has sent quite a few ballons into space - including one launch for a school in which the balloon has already gone around the world four times, Joe said. Reports have already come in from Nova Scotia, the Azores and the Canary Islands as the ballon, traveling at 55 miles an hour, travels powered by the wind and that Hamvention spirit. Keep listening! For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Andy Morrison K9AWM. ** FRIEDRICHSHAFEN LETS HAMS OPERATE AERONAUTICAL MOBILE NEIL/ANCHOR: The Dayton high altitude balloon is not the only Ham Fair that's up in the air as we hear now from Ed Durrant DD5LP. ED: That's right! Some lucky visitors to the Ham Radio Friedrichshafen event this weekend have already booked their seats in one of two chartered Zeppelin Airship flights leaving from the airport next to the show grounds where, as well as getting some great views of the area, they will also be able to operate Aeronautical Mobile! Great as that may be there's more happening in Freidrichshafen this weekend.... Dib Dib Dib or Dot Dot Dot ? This years Ham Radio event at Friedrichshafen Germany has the theme of Amateur Radio working with The Scouting Association. There has long been links between Scouting and Ham Radio and this year, the 43rd. International Ham Radio exhibition wants to celebrate Radio Scouting. There will be radio Fox Hunts, a youth tent camp within one of the Zeppelin sized halls and several related free teacher training forums for school teachers and scout leaders. This year will see a two day "Ham Camp" with Ham Radio activities including Quizzes, kit building (this year it's the "Ham Camp Bell"), telecoms experiments, radio operation, go-kart racing and Morse code. As well as the Radio Scouting theme there will of course be the usual large inside Flea Market, the regional Makers Faire and 180 exhibitors and traders from 30 countries making this Europe's largest and the worlds third largest hamfest after the Tokyo Ham Fair and Dayton. Exam tests for both German and US licences will take place. Food is available either inside or outside in the Beer Gardens. We'll see what the weather brings but forecasts are good at the moment both for sunny weather and the fun and excitement at Ham Radio Friedrichshafen 2018! Looking forward to bringing you some highlights of the event in next weeks show, this has been Ed Durrant DD5LP for Amateur Radio Newsline. ** WORLD OF DX In the World of DX, listen for Thomas, F4HPX operating as FR/F4HPX from Reunion Island through the 15th of June. He is operating on SSB, digital modes and a little CW on 40 through 15 meters. QSL via LoTW, Club Log's OQRS or via home call (direct or bureau). The EIDX Group is preparing to activate ALL Irish IOTA Groups. Using the 'Echo Juliet' prefix, EJ0DXG will be active from IOTAs EU-006, EU-007, EU-103 and EU-121 this summer. The first activation will be "Little Saltee Island" which is EU-103 between June 15th and 18th. The group will be active on the HF and 6m bands using CW, SSB and the Digital modes. QSL via M0OXO. (DX WORLD, OHIO PENN DX) ** KICKER: BROWN UNIVERSITY'S LATEST "GRADUATE" IS A SATELLITE NEIL/ANCHOR: We end this week with a college story - and as Skeeter Nash N5ASH reminds us, graduates aren't all a university can launch. SKEETER: In this season of commencements, speakers often address the new graduates urging them to aim high - but there's one graduate of Brown University in Rhode Island that didn't need any encouragement to be launched: It's the EQUiSat satellite sent to the International Space Station and it was sent into the sky on May 20 from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Virginia. EQUISat was built by students at Brown and if you look real carefully into the sky you might even see the bright blinking LED lights that are on board as the satellite travels some 250 miles upward over the earth. The satellite will transmit a CW beacon and 4FSK 9k6 telemetry on 435.550 MHz. Its XDL Micro radio transceiver has the ability to communicate with radio amateurs as well as other ground stations, which can receive data from its sensors and current operation. The primary ground station for EQUISat is being built at the Ladd Observatory in partnership with the Brown Amateur Radio Club. The goal is for the satellite to depart the Space Station, enter orbit and using the earth's magnetic field, point its lights toward Rhode Island. Now that's a fitting homecoming for any college graduate. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Skeeter Nash N5ASH. (BROWNSPACE.ORG) * NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Alan Labs; Amateur News Weekly; the ARRL; BBC; Brownspace.Org; CNN; CQ Magazine; DX World; Hap Holly and the Rain Report; Marty Pittenger KB3MXM; Ohio-Penn DX Bulletin; Ron Glass, WN7Y; South African Radio League; Southgate Amateur Radio News; Ted Randall's QSO Radio Show; Wireless Institute of Australia; 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 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 Neil Rapp WB9VPG in Bloomington Indiana saying 73 and as always we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2018. All rights reserved.