Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2155 for Friday, February 15th, 2019 Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2155 with a release date of Friday, February 15th, 2019 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a QST. The OSCAR 100 satellite goes live online. A U.S. Navy classroom covers ham radio basics -- and the search is on for young amateurs who have a charitable spirit. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Number 2155 comes your way right now. ** BILLBOARD CART ** TOP STORY: 1ST GEOSTATIONARY SATELLITE GOES LIVE ONLINE JIM/ANCHOR: We begin our report this week with big news from the sky. If you've had your eyes on Qatar (Kat-R) OSCAR-100 since the satellite's launch last year in the U.S., here is another way to keep in touch from anywhere in the world. Graham Kemp VK4BB has the latest. GRAHAM: Things just got a little more exciting for fans of Qatar (Kat-R) OSCAR-100, which is carrying the first geostationary amateur radio payload in history. Its two transponders have been inaugurated and have gone live online. A WebSDR for the narrowband segment and a spectrum viewer for its wideband segment are being operated by the British Amateur Television Club and AMSAT-UK. The OSCAR-100 project has the support of Goonhilly Earth Station which is hosting the ground station facility in Cornwall in the UK. Meanwhile, up above the earth, Oscar-100 can be found in its geostationary orbit aboard the Es'hail-2 (S-HALE-TWO) communications satellite at 25.9 degrees East. The satellite was launched on a Falcon 9 rocket from SpaceX at Cape Canaveral on November 15th of last year. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Graham Kemp VK4BB. (AMSAT-DL.ORG, ESHAIL.BATC.ORG.UK) ** SATELLITES NOT JUST ACADEMIC ON VILLANOVA CAMPUS JIM/ANCHOR: Back here on earth, satellites have landed at a Pennsylvania college - in the form of a campus club. Here's Heather Embee K-B-3-TEE-ZED-DEE with those details. HEATHER: There's a new club on campus at Villanova University in Pennsylvania and its ambitions are lofty - with good reason. The school's College of Engineering is now home to a CubeSat Club, focusing on amateur radio nanosatellites. Its faculty advisor is Alan Johnston KU2Y, an associate teaching professor of electrical and computer engineering. The advisor's role is a natural for him; Alan is vice president for educational relations for AMSAT, a voluntary position he holds within the radio amateur satellite corporation. Alan was named to his position at AMSAT in May of 2018 and was given the assignment to boost educational outreach and the role of amateur satellites as teaching tools. Club meetings, which are held on Wednesdays, provide students with what is often their first glimpse at satellite technology and the little CubeSats. According to the university's website, the ultimate goal of the club might be to launch its own mission to space, perhaps as a joint effort with another organization or university. For the meantime, club members already have a busy agenda here on Earth, building a CubeSat simulator based around a Raspberry Pi computer with a 3-D printed frame and establishing a satellite ground station to be part of an automated open source global network. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Heather Embee KB3TZD (VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY; AMSAT NEWS SERVICE) ** HONORING YOUNG HAMS WHO LEND A HAND JIM/ANCHOR: Even the youngest hams among us know that there's more to amateur radio than just the radio itself. Paul Braun WD9GCO tells us how we can honor our hobby's most junior operators. PAUL: The Quarter Century Wireless Association and the Radio Club of America are again sponsoring the "Young Ham Lends a Hand" contest which honors the spirit of community service that is a tenet of ham radio. Carole Perry WB2MGP chairs the Youth Activities for both groups and oversees this informal contest for licensed hams 19 and younger: CAROLE: If you encounter a youngster who is giving back to his neighborhood, to his community, participating in local events, volunteering at marathons, helping out in emergency situations - or it could be something like, in their particular neighborhood they are assisting elderly people by volunteering, assisting military personnel in some way or they could be involved in recruiting other young hams and then tutoring them. PAUL: The winner of the $100 check is announced at Dayton Hamvention's Youth Forum in May whether or not the winner is present. CAROLE: I have been been told by many parents that it looks mighty good on a college application so we're all for it. PAUL: Along with the youngster's call sign and age, send a short summary paragraph saying why you think he or she is a candidate for this award. Send it to Carole at WHISKEY BRAVO 2 MIKE GERMANY PAPA at gmail dot com (wb2mgp@gmail.com) no later than April 1st. Speaking of awards, Carole just got back from Hamcation in Orlando, Florida and the veteran educator came back with one to call her own -- as the first recipient of the Carole Perry Educator of the Year Award. CAROLE: To say I was overwhelmed, honored and 100 other adjectives I could come up with is an understatement. It is a legacy award and the beauty of that is that it ensures the work will go on - and the fact that the legacy will go on is an amazing wondrous thing to me and I could not be more proud. PAUL: We here at Newsline are proud of you too, Carole, keep up the good work. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Paul Braun WD9GCO. ** ICELANDIC HAMS PRESS FOR LICENSE EXAM IN MAY PAUL/ANCHOR: This spring there just might be a long-awaited test in the future for amateurs hoping to upgrade their licenses in Iceland. Jeremy Boot G4NJH has that update. JEREMY: Icelandic Radio Amateurs, that country's national association of hams, is hoping to ask the Post and Telecom Administration to approve a licence examination in May and wants members to weigh in with their interest. The group's president Jónas Bjarnason TF3JB told Newsline that despite the cancellation of a planned amateur radio course that was to have begun this month, the Icelandic group believes there are enough experienced hams with enough knowledge to sit for the examination without having taken the scheduled coursework. Jonas said that the popularity of the hobby has led the amateur group to offer the pre-exam course as frequently as four times a year during the last two years so there are plenty of hams who might be candidates for a licence upgrade. Exams are given at the University of Reykjavík in both English and Icelandic and although candidates are accepted on a walk-in basis, registration is recommended at least a week in advance. He said that meanwhile, another course is being planned for later in the year - this time, in October. He said that by early September, the Icelandic ham group will be advertising the classes on Facebook, at the university and elsewhere. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH. ** NORWAY LICENSE IDs ARE NOT IN THE CARDS PAUL/ANCHOR: In Norway, licensees are discovering that their identification is about to get a different look soon. Ed Durrant DD5LP has that report. ED: Goodbye, Norwegian amateur radio licence cards. If you're a ham in Norway who's accustomed to having the standard plastic license card that was issued previously by the National Communications Authority, NKOM, welcome to the digital age. NKOM has announced that as a result of its recent digitization, amateurs who have passed their exams will now receive their licence letter accompanied by a licence card in PDF format which can be cut, folded and laminated, by e-mail. The old plastic cards are still valid but any replacements will be sent using the new method. For those unable to receive e-mail NKOM is still able to send the licence letter via conventional mail on request. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Ed Durrant DD5LP. (SOUTHGATE) ** BRAZILIAN REGULATOR AFFIRMS HAMS' SAFETY CRITERIA JIM/ANCHOR: Brazil's communications regulator ANATEL has accepted recommendations that had been made by LABRE, the national amateur radio society, on regulations concerning human exposure to electromagnetic, electric and magnetic radiation. ANATEL had been reviewing distance calculations contained in an earlier resolution which sets outs specific conditions that are relevant to radio amateurs. The Brazilian amateur group asserted, in its input, that it supported the continuation of those criteria and that no changes were necessary. ANATEL has concurred. (SOUTHGATE) ** BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including the K5VOM repeater in Greenville Texas on Monday nights at 7:30. ** DOWN TO HAM BASICS AT NAVY BASE JIM/ANCHOR: In one California classroom recently, the students were from the military but the curriculum was totally amateur....radio, that is. Here's Dave Parks WB8ODF with more. DAVE: Amateur radio operators and the United States military are old friends, dating back to the first World War. Once again the two recently became classmates as well. This time, the teacher and students were in Point Mugu, California, home of a U.S. Naval Air Station. The classroom of Brian Hill KF4CAM was filled with 23 software engineers and developers from the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division. They were there to prep for their amateur radio Technician test. Organizers were quoted in published reports as saying that the one-week immersion session included a curriculum in RF propagation, antennas and signal modulation. The instruction designed by Brian, who's been a ham since high school, had been crafted to supplement these students' computer science backgrounds by adding some relevant radio theory. The Navy personnel, rookies in amateur radio, are experts in electronic warfare where a lot of this theory has relevance. It even piqued the interest of a fellow amateur Ian Mann KI6YVO, the head of the division's target design engineering branch, who is also pressing for the schooling to be expanded. The students recently passed their final exam - the FCC licensing test. Organizers say their next activity might well be something like a school field trip. It will likely be a fox hunt - one in which they design and build their own directional antennas and then go off in search of an RF beacon hidden somewhere on the base. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Dave Parks WB8ODF. (C4ISRNET, SIGHTLINE MEDIA GROUP) ** FCC SEEKS COMMENT ON PETITION TO CHANGE STATION ID RULES JIM/ANCHOR: The FCC is looking for comment on an Ohio ham's petition to amend station identification rules during emergency operations. The petition from Robert Dukish, KK8DX, would like net control stations or others in an emergency communications to announce the call signs of all participants every 10 minutes from a single point using automatic ID by CW at speeds of no more than 25 wpm. The petition argued that current rules could prove [quote] "burdensome and can hinder the flow of emergency traffic on the channel." [endquote] The same petition was filed in 2005 and 2006 but the FCC did not adopt his suggested changes. Hams wishing to comment are advised to use the FCC Electronic Comment Filing Service or ECFS. (FCC.GOV) ** HOPING FOR A BOUNCE FROM THE MOON JIM/ANCHOR: A team of Swiss amateurs is moonstruck - so much so that they're planning their next DXpedition, preparing for some EME action on Crete. We learn more from Jim Meachen ZL2BHF. JIM M: Get ready for yet another microwave DXpedition -- this one on Crete. Sam HB9COG and Dan HB9CRQ are preparing now to set off in May and expect to be on the air from the 10th through to the 17th. The Swiss operators plan to be on the bands between 23 cm and 3 cm using EME. The trip follows just months after the team's successful activation in Liechtenstein in late November and early December. During that activation, members Mark, HB9DBM and Dan, HB9CRQ operated on 23, 13, 9, 6 and 3cm and according to their website they completed 131 QSOs and 108 first-time contacts on 5 bands in 5 moon-passes. That adds up to one pass per band. Their QSOs included 25 using CW. As noted on their website, their terrestrial station makes use of WSJT software from Joe K1JT and by using WSJT-X the team has been able to make use of new modes such as QRA64 for 6 and 3 cm EME and some additional features such as Doppler-Compensation. The team was founded in 1998 by Dan, Sam and Mark in Reinach Switzerland to operate DX with an emphasis on EME. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Meachen ZL2BHF. (HB9Q TEAM) ** WORLD OF DX In the World of DX, Willy, ON4AVT, is on the air as 6W7/ON4AVT from Senegal, between February 20th and March 30th, operating on 40/20/10 meters using CW, SSB, PSK31 and PSK63. He will possibly be on 60 meters as well. QSL via his home callsign. In St. Mary, Jamaica, Neil, G0RNU, is operating until the 26th of February as 6Y/G0RNU and can be heard on 80 through 6 meters depending on propagation and other factors. Visit his QRZ.com page for more details. QSL via eQSL. In Austria, the International Amateur Radio Contest DX Club 4U1A, is using the special callsign 4U0R from the Vienna International Center through to the 28th of February. The station is marking World Radio Day, February 13th. Listen for the station on various HF bands using CW and SSB. QSL via UA3DX, direct, by the Bureau or ClubLog's OQRS. (OHIO PENN DX) ** KICKER: WHEN IMAGINATION AND SOME CANDY ARE KEY TO THE KEYER JIM/ANCHOR: We conclude this week by asking: What is the REAL key to a CW lover's heart? Here's Neil Rapp WB9VPG with an answer that you may find we've....sugar-coated a bit. NEIL: For Jari OH6DC, a CW enthusiast in Finland, having an imagination is key. Actually, having a key that's imaginative is more the point. Over the years, Jari's own style of homebrew CW keys has included bananas, a chocolate bar and even lollipops among their components. Take chocolate - which of course, he has. Rather than devour an entire bar of sweet temptation he has found a way to make it the main ingredient in a straight key. He shared his recipe with Newsline: Find the firmest chocolate possible and leave the smallest practical distance in the gaps between the contacts. He adds a wooden knob instead of a chocolate egg to avoid sticky fingers. Melting and breakage are always dangers, he said and yes, he has unfortunately broken the key while using it - once during the Scandinavian CW Activity Group's Straight Key Day. He told Newsline [quote] "Spare chocolate is handy when those accidents take place." [endquote] Well, if you're out of chocolate, there's also Jari's "dual banana CW paddle," featuring some curved yellow produce ripe for action. That fruit of his efforts can be seen on his QRZ.com page. With Valentine's Day just on the calendar recently, one would think a chocolate CW key might have set some YL's heart to melting -- but no, Jari had other plans for that occasion. He built a special edition "Valentine's Day Lollipop CW Key," which he displayed on his website along with the lyrics of the Pointer Sisters song "Telegraph Your Love." There's also a short video showing how the paddles work. No doubt the lollipop key will store better over time than the chocolate straight key did. Two years after creating the chocolate key, Jari opened the box where it was stored and found that it had turned grey. He told Newsline he didn't want to eat it -- so he threw it out. Success, like chocolate, can be bittersweet. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Neil Rapp WB9VPG. ** NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Alan Labs; Amateur News Weekly; AMSAT News Service; the ARRL; CQ Magazine; Hap Holly and the Rain Report; C4ISRNET; HB9Q Team; Ohio-Penn DX Bulletin; QRZ.COM; Sightline Media Group; Southgate Amateur Radio News; Ted Randall's QSO Radio Show; Villanova University; 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 Jim Damron N8TMW in Charleston West Virginia saying 73 and as always we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2019. All rights reserved.