Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2160 for Friday, March 22nd, 2019 Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2160 with a release date of Friday, March 22nd, 2019 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a QST. Hams prep for floods in the American Midwest. A noted DXer becomes a Silent Key - and the team is Bouvet-bound at last! All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Number 2160 comes your way right now. ** BILLBOARD CART ** TOP STORY: BOUVET ISLAND DXPEDITION SETS SAIL STEPHEN/ANCHOR: We begin this week's report with word that the Three Y Zero Eye (3Y0I) Bouvet Island DXpedition has at last set sail aboard the MV Atlantic Tuna for its destination which the team expects to reach around March 26th, conditions permitting. The team departed South Africa on the 19th of March and has plans to stay between two and four weeks on the remote island, depending on various factors affecting safety. If you can't wait to get them in your log, listen for their call sign E51DOM/mm while they are enroute. There is information on their website at bouvetoya dot org (bouvetoya.org) about how to track their progress. The team notes that it will not be monitoring personal emails or any of the DX clusters during the activation. Expect their glacier camp on the island's southeast corner to provide an open view to Europe and Japan but mountains in the northwest direction to the U.S. They write on their website [quote]: "Stay tuned for further updates and cross fingers for us. History has begun!" (3Y0I DXPEDITION WEBSITE) ** RED RIVER VALLEY HAMS PREP FOR FLOODING STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Meanwhile, amateurs in the American Midwest are keeping an eye on the massive flooding expected soon on both sides of the Red River, expected to have serious impact on residents in North Dakota and Minnesota. Hams there have been using the advance weather warnings to brace - and to plan, as we hear from Kent Peterson KC0DGY KENT: Faced with a flooding emergency that could recall the massive rise of the Red River in 1997 and 2009, members of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service and the Red River Radio Amateurs club are meeting regularly to prepare for early April when overland flooding could overtake the flat valley as melting snow is trapped by ice dams directly to the north. Mark Jensen KK0V, the newly named Emergency Coordinator for the Amateur Radio Emergency Service and a member of the Red River Radio Amateurs club, said close to 50 hams gathered for a planning meeting on the 19th of March to work out logistics for cooperating with Emergency Operations Centers in Fargo and West Fargo in North Dakota and in Moorhead, Minnesota. Mark said the weather service has predicted "moderate to severe" flooding and hams have been instructed to check the condition of their emergency kits, charge all batteries, check their ID badges and spend more time monitoring the repeaters than normal in case they are called up to assist with communications. He said hams will also be coordinating with the Fargo Moorhead Ambulance Service which also maintains a ham shack. The hams, many of them veterans of many previous floods, reviewed their plan of action - from power outage response to assisting with sandbags - and expect to meet again soon and hope for the best. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Kent Peterson KC0DGY ** SILENT KEY: BRAZILIAN DXER ALENCAR PV8ADI STEPHEN/ANCHOR: The DXing community and amateurs worldwide are grieving the loss of a noted longtime amateur radio operator who died following a fall from one of his towers. Jeremy Boot G4NJH contacted Paulo PV8DX, a longtime friend of the Silent Key, and has this report: JEREMY: The accomplished and well-known DXer known as Alencar PV8ADI of Boa Vista in Roraima state, Brazil has become a Silent Key. He died just three days short of his 80th birthday, which would have been on the 20th of March. An active DXer, his full name is listed on QRZ as Clovis Pinheiro Barreto. He was often heard on 20 and 40 metres and was accomplished in CW. His friend Paulo PV8DX told Newsline that in the afternoon on the 17th of March he had fallen from the top of the very tower he had built himself. Paulo wrote in an email [quote] "We think the steel cable that he was repairing failed and he jumped." [enquote] Paulo said his friend was taken to hospital with an open fracture to his right arm and also with leg injuries but his heart stopped during surgery. He was revived once by the doctors but at 6:37 p.m. that evening his heart gave out. Paulo said Alencar had no family. He went on to say [quote] "He just lived for radio, morning noon and night." [endquote] and added that Alencar was worthy of all our admiration and was "heart and soul a radio ham." For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH STEPHEN/ANCHOR: A special tribute page has been set up honoring the memory of this Silent Key. Please visit l a b r e dash r r dot org (labre-rr.org) ** FCC OKS LICENSES ON EXPERIMENTAL SPECTRUM STEPHEN/ANCHOR: There's a new category of special radio licenses and a new spectrum of frequencies on which to use them in the United States. Jim Damron W8TMW has that story. JIM: New rules released by the Federal Communications Commission will enable experimentation and development by entrepreneurs and innovators on the frequencies between 95 GHz and 3 THz for a period of as much as 10 years. This will also better facilitate their marketing of radio equipment during that period. This part of the spectrum on the outermost portion of the usable range, has been considered particularly promising for new development and the FCC rules are considered the agency's recognition that communications above 95 GHz was needed to assist with development for use by data-intensive high-bandwidth applications. Known as the First Report and Order, the FCC's rules are designed to encourage U.S. industry to stay on the cutting edge through innovation. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jim Damron N8TMW. ** TOUGHER FCC SANCTIONS AGAINST CALIFORNIA AMATEUR STEPHEN/ANCHOR: In another FCC action, the agency has issued a Notice of Violation to a California amateur for operating outside the amateur radio bands. The FCC said that on January 31st of this year, Daryl Thomas KE6MWS of Carmichael, California was transmitting on 95.7 MHz on the FM broadcast band. The agency said that last November it had sent the Technican-class operator a Notice of Unlicensed Operation after a complaint that he had been transmitting on the same FM frequency one month earlier. The upgraded notice was sent on the 15th of March and the agency's Enforcement Bureau said the next step, if warranted, could be a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture in which a penalty may be proposed. ** GLOBAL NET WILL MARK WORLD AMATEUR RADIO DAY STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Organizers of a special VOIP net are getting ready to celebrate World Amateur Radio Day in April and all the connections ham radio has played a role in for so many decades. Dave Parks WB8ODF has been following that story. DAVE: When the International Amateur Radio Union was created in Paris in 1925, no one could have envisioned the changes that would shape the hobby so many decades later, including internet-linked modes such as EchoLink and IRLP. Using the special event call sign W2W, a 12-hour VOIP net will be among those "on the air" around the world marking the occasion, celebrating amateur radio and the friendships the hobby has built. This 12-hour net will begin taking check-ins on the 18th of April beginning at 1600 UTC. It is accessible via IRLP 9251, the World Conference Server. For the first time, check-ins will also be possible from Allstar Node 47620, the World Conference Hub. John DeRycke W2JLD said a special World Amateur Radio Day 2019 QSL Card will be available for all participants who contact one of the 10 different net controllers during the event. John said that first timers are especially welcome. He said the event will be recorded for later transmission and will be available as well on Broadcastify through the Friends Conference Server. Technology may have changed since 1925-- but ham radio friendships endure. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Dave Parks WB8ODF ** AMATEURS IN GREECE GET NEW 60 METER PRIVILEGES STEPHEN/ANCHOR: You can count on hearing more amateurs calling QRZ on 60 meters under a new frequency allocation table that gives hams in Greece the WRC15 band between 5351.5 kHz and 5366.5 kHz. Greek hams have been approved for use of that portion of the band on a secondary basis at 15W EIRP. Officials in Greece published the new frequencies in the March 5 government gazette, which contained a new frequency allocation table. (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 KB9LPP repeater in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin on Saturdays. The repeater is DMR enabled on the Brandmeister Network. ** REPORT SAYS FT-8 GAINS POPULARITY AS PROPAGATION FLAGS STEPHEN/ANCHOR: If you're new to FT-8, you apparently have a lot of company around the world, according to a report just released by the ARRL. Neil Rapp WB9VPG has those details. NEIL: While HF propagation may not be going strong lately, the FT-8 digital mode is. Is there a connection perhaps? According to an ARRL report, a survey by Michael Wells G7VJR of Club Log found a 12 percent growth in FT-8 users between 2017 and 2018. He said the log's users, representing about 270 of the world's 287 DXCC entities, uploaded 41.3 million contacts in 2018, growth he called significant. Wells noted in the report that he credited the continued decline of the solar cycle for the mode's gains. He noted too that hams living in restricted residential areas or on small parcels of property have likely also benefitted from FT-8. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Neil Rapp WB9VPG ** A WAY TO MAKE SOME NOISE ABOUT QRM ISSUES STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Encouraging hams to cooperate with one another to help locate and handle sources of interference, the Radio Amateur Society of Australia has released a free online resource as a tool to assist them. The amateur group describes the tool, QRM dot guru (QRM.guru) as an internet-based educational and reference resource. RASA states there are no commercial interests in the service, which was built with content from developers, the public domain and credited published works. The website is interactive, providing guidance in locating, reducing or eliminating interference. It also offers tips on how to choose consumer products that do not emit unwanted RF noise. One of its developers, Chris VK3QB, says in a press release [quote] “For the first time and in one place, QRM.guru provides a coordinated set of resources and self-help for amateurs to find out about QRM issues and techniques in resolving them.” To gain access, visit QRM dot guru and click on the words "start here." The amateur radio society is also asking that suggestions and comments be sent via email to feedback at qrm dot guru (feedback@qrm.guru) (RADIO AMATEUR SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA) ** NETS OF NOTE: YOUNG OPERATORS DIGITAL VOICE NET STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Our occasional series "Nets of Note," looks at creative ways hams get together on the radio to share their interests. This week we hear about a very young group of amateurs - and would-be amateurs - who are discovering friendships over a net on DMR. Mike Askins KE5CXP tells us more. MIKE: On Sunday nights at 7 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time, some of the world's youngest radio enthusiasts are taking time out to get to know one another better. This is the Young Operators Digital Voice Net and it's hosted on the Quadnet Array which draws operators from DMR, D-STAR and Yaesu Fusion. At the helm is 10-year-old Danielle Edgington KE8JNU, daughter of Dan N8YMD and Cindy KE8JNT. Though Danielle is a relatively new ticket holder her enthusiasm for radio dates back to all those car rides listening to her father's scanners and radios. Now she's spreading that enthusiasm with other new licensees - or license candidates who check in as a third-party using the call sign of a nearby parent. Danielle told Newsline they including Katie in Alabama, whose father Russell KV4S, helps her participate and who might become net control one day too. They recently included seven-year-old Carson who checked in from Georgia with his father Aaron N4ARY coaching him. The net has even had DX from young hams in Trinidad & Tobago, the Philippines and England. Danielle told Newsline that even if the kids start out a little nervous - as they often do - they always check out knowing they are very welcome. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mike Askins KE5CXP STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Youngsters wishing to check in should visit the Quadnet Array Website at openquad dot net for details on how to gain access via Yaesu Fusion, D-STAR, EchoLink, DMR and even the Peanut app on Android smartphones. ** IN SEARCH OF OUR YOUNG HAM OF THE YEAR STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Young hams are our hobby's future. Amateur Radio Newsline honors outstanding youthful amateurs with its Young Ham of the Year Award named in memory of Newsline's Bill Pasternak WA6ITF. This is a reminder that we have opened up the nomination period once again and are in search of candidates for this year. Award recipients offer the amateur community and the community-at-large the best of their talents. All information about eligibility is available on our website, arnewsline.org, under the YHOTY tab. You'll be able to download a nomination form which is due back to us before midnight on May 31st. The award will be presented on August 18th at the Huntsville Hamfest in Huntsville Alabama. *** WORLD OF DX In the World of DX, be listening for Elvira, IV3FSG on the air as 6W/IV3FSG from Senegal until the 14th of April. QSL via Club Log's OQRS, LoTW or via IK3GES. Chris, VK2YUS will be active as YJ0CA from Vanuatu from the 26th of March to the 2nd of April and will also be in the CQ WW WPX SSB contest. Listen for Chris on 40, 20 and 15 metres. QSL direct to VK2YUS. Listen for Jacques, F6HMJ on the air as 6W7/F6HMJ from Senegal until the 28th of April. He will be on SSB and CW on 80-10 metres. Be listening as well for Masa, JA0RQV using the call sign A35JP in Tonga through to the 27th of March. He will be on the air during his spare time using SSB, CW and FT8 on 80-6 metres. QSL via Club Log's OQRS, LoTW, or via his home call sign. (OHIO PENN DX) ** KICKER: INDIAN AMATEUR'S RECOGNITION WAS IN THE CARDS STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Finally, we all know that listening to the radio pays off, sometimes even more than keying the mic. For one ham in India, however, four decades of listening have paid off with a lifetime achievement. Here's Jim Meachen ZL2BHF with that story. JIM M: Congratulations to Jose Jacob VU2JOS. Jose, the assistant director of the National Institute of Amateur Radio in Hyderabad India is an accomplished DXer of a very different sort. His hobby, even before amateur radio has been broadcast DXing, or BCDXing. More than four decades later his BCDXing has landed him in the Limca Book of Records for 2019. Jose has received the most certificates of reception - QSL cards - from stations that are part of All India Radio: a total of 132. His QSL cards came from short wave, medium wave and VHF FM stations beginning with his first confirmed reception in 1976 when he was 17. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jim Meachen ZL2BHF. (TELANGANA TODAY) ** NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Alan Labs; Amateur News Weekly; the ARRL; CQ Magazine; the FCC; Hap Holly and the Rain Report; Ohio-Penn DX Bulletin; QRZ.COM; Southgate Amateur Radio News; Ted Randall's QSO Radio Show; Telangana Today newspaper; 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 Stephen Kinford N8WB in Wadsworth Ohio saying 73 and as always we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2019. All rights reserved.