Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2245 for Friday November 6th 2020 Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2245 with a release date of Friday November 6th 2020 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a QST. A triumph across seven summmits for Tokyo's Ham Fair. The ISS crew has reason to celebrate - and Peru's selling part of its amateur spectrum. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2245 comes your way right now. ** BILLBOARD CART ** JAPAN'S HAM FAIR OFFERS REAL-TIME SOTA EXPERIENCE NEIL/ANCHOR: We begin this week's report with yet another story of amateur persistence. Never let it be said that hams ever let their goals be thwarted even after COVID-19 cancelled such core events as Dayton Hamvention and Ham Radio Friedrichshafen this year. The massive Tokyo Ham Fair was also a casualty but like so many others, the show went on - virtually. Here's John Williams VK4JJW with those details. JOHN: The virtual doors were open in Tokyo on November 1st, as planned, even though no one was physically present at the Tokyo Hamfair 2020 for the seminars and workshops. The presentations went forward and one of them turned out to have a respectable showing "in person": It was the ham fair's scheduled in-depth look at Summits on the Air, or SOTA. Fortunately, SOTA, by virtue of its portable and socially distant operating environment, could keep things real. The programme included live-streamed video from seven SOTA summmits throughout Japan where hams were busy making activations. Toru JH0CJH predicted that this activity would lead to many hams becoming new SOTA enthusiasts in Japan. Meanwhile the Japan Amateur Radio League is back at work, making plans and deciding on dates for 2021, hoping for the best in the year ahead. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm John Williams VK4JJW. NEIL/ANCHOR: For a look at some of the SOTA activations, follow the YouTube link posted on our Newsline website arnewsline.org in the printed version of this script. [FOR PRINT ONLY: www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCPnFma21Uk&feature=youtu.be] (SOTA REFLECTOR, TOKYO HAMFEST) ** SPACE STATION MARKS 20 YEARS WITH ONBOARD CREW NEIL/ANCHOR: Happy anniversary to the International Space Station, which on November 2nd marked 20 years of having a crew on board continuously. This is an occasion being celebrated by the five space agencies involved in the ISS project: NASA, Roscosmos, ESA, JAXA and CSA. Of note is the role that amateur radio has played up there through the ARISS program. Amateur radio was already part of the Expedition One crew who arrived on board on November 2nd, 2000: Commander William Shepherd, KD5GSL, Soyuz Commander Yuri Gidzenko and Flight Engineer Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR. (ARISS) ** NY HAM CLUB DONATES TO HOSPITAL FOR COVID RESPONSE NEIL/ANCHOR: Hams who have their go-kits at the ready know what it's like to respond to a crisis. So this next gesture of appreciation by one New York ham club shows particular understanding of vital emergency response. Kevin Trotman N5PRE tells us more. KEVIN: On Long Island, New York where the COVID-19 pandemic hit hard, members of the Radio Central Amateur Radio Club W2RC decided that medical responders and their support teams needed a show of support for their service. The club took up a collection from among its 40 members for a donation to the local hospital, St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson. In an article posted in the QRZ.COM forum, the club's president, Neil Heft KC2KY, says: [quote] "We Wanted to do something more than just putting up a thank you sign." A one-thousand dollar donation was presented recently to the hospital in recognition of the hard work by its doctors, nurses, security officers, medical support staff and facility personnel. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Kevin Trotman N5PRE. (QRZ.COM) ** SILENT KEY: JIM TIEMSTRA K6JAT, ARRL PACIFIC DIVISION DIRECTOR NEIL/ANCHOR: A prominent radio amateur on the U.S. West Coast has become a Silent Key. Ralph Squillace KK6ITB has that story. RALPH: ARRL members on the West Coast have lost a leader: The ARRL's Pacific Division Director, Jim Tiemstra, K6JAT, has become a Silent Key. The Oakland, California amateur died on October 30th. Before becoming director in 2018, Jim had served as vice director from 2009 through 2017. He also served on a variety of committees and had a number of board assignments. An ARRL Life Member, Jim became a ham in 1970 in his Chicago, Illinois hometown where with the call sign WN9ELU he was president of his high school radio club. Jim was best known for his enthusiasm for contesting and DXing and his commitment to public service and emergency response. He belonged to the Oakland Amateur Radio Emergency Service Group and was part of the team responding in 1989 to the Loma Prieta earthquake and in 1991 to the Oakland Hills firestorm. Jim, a retired attorney, was the first president of the Oakland Radio Communication Association, which he incorporated in 1998 and served as a founding director. He was trustee of the club's call sign WW6OR. Jim Tiemstra was 65. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Ralph Squillace KK6ITB. (ARRL) ** TURNING TO VINTAGE PUBLICATIONS ABOUT VINTAGE GEAR NEIL/ANCHOR: Because radio waves are as old as nature itself, even the oldest books rarely go out of style - just out of print. However one ham in Romania is making them available as free digital downloads. Ed Durrant DD5LP picks up the story from here. ED: There are hams who enjoy vintage rigs and antique straight keys but how about hams who appreciate historic publications about radio? Iulian Rosu YO3DAC / VA3IUL, an accomplished QRP contester in Romania who loves homebrew in addition to QRP operating, is one of those enthusiasts. Now he is sharing free downloadable PDFs of some old books about radio that date back as much as 100 years. The titles include "The Wireless Experimenters Manual," by E. Bucher, published in 1920 and "Radio, Miracle of the 20th Century," by F. Drinker and J. Lewis, published in 1922. He also has a collection of old radio magazines in downloadable format - publications such as the archive collection of Radio Times, dating to 1923 and The Wireless Constructor, from 1926. There's even a General Electric handbook on sideband, first published in 1961. They are all there -- for the curious as well as the collector -- the website URL appears in the printed version of this newscast on our website at arnewsline.org For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Ed Durrant DD5LP. [FOR PRINT ONLY: DO NOT READ - https://www.qsl.net/va3iul/Files/Old_Radio_Frequency_Books.htm] (SOUTHGATE, QSL.NET) ** FCC OKS DIGITAL OPERATIONS FOR COMMERCIAL AM RADIO NEIL/ANCHOR: Hams who have great enthusiasm for various modes of digital operation are getting some more company on the air - just in a different part of the spectrum. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has told commercial AM radio stations that they will be allowed to convert to an all-digital broadcast if they are presently using analog or a hybrid of analog and digital signals. The stations' changes are to be voluntary. The FCC's late October announcement clears the way for AM stations to provide an all-digital signal that gives better coverage over a wider area of listeners and enables the signal to carry additional information, such as the title and artist for a particular song -- details that are visible on a compatible digital radio receiver. The stations are required, however, to notify the FCC at least 30 days before making their change. They are still required to be a part of the Emergency Alert System. (FCC) ** IRELAND'S 1st SATELLITE SEEKS AMATEUR RADIO INPUT NEIL/ANCHOR: Ireland takes particular pride in the fact that it is launching its first satellite in 2021 - but the team behind it is looking for some amateur radio help. Here's Jeremy Boot G4NJH to explain. JEREMY: The Educational Irish Research Satellite 1 or EIRSAT-1, will be launched sometime early next year, carrying three science experiments on behalf of students at University College Dublin and other researchers. The Low Earth Orbit CubeSat was designed by engineering and space science students and academic staff as part of the European Space Agency's Fly Your Satellite programme. Hams are being asked to help out with signal acquisition shortly after the satellite's launch on the Vega rocket. Hams, scanner, listeners and others are being asked to help with ground station operations. In a recent visit to the South Dublin Radio Club, David Murphy EI9HWB and Fergal Marshall of the EIRSAT-1 team explained the satellite's operations and how hams can assist. Their talk is available on YouTube where the two explain the uplink and downlink schemes and the role amateurs can play. To see the video, visit the club's website at southdublinradio club dot weebly dot com (southdublinradioclub.weebly.com). Then get ready for the new year when Ireland's first satellite will make history. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH. (SOUTHGATE, EIRSAT-1) ** BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including the K3ALG repeater in Palmerton, Pennsylvania on Sundays at 4:30 p.m. local time. ** PERU SELLING AMATEUR RADIO FREQUENCIES NEIL/ANCHOR: Peru has become one more nation to sell off part of the spectrum used by radio amateurs so it can be used for 5G mobile technology. Jim Meachen ZL2BHF has the details. JIM: Amateur radio operators and other users of the 3.5 GHz spectrum in Peru are losing access to the frequencies in the range between 3.3 GHz and 3.8 GHZ. The MTC, Peru’s transport and communications ministry, will instead permit the frequencies to be used by telecom operators who want to provide such mobile broadband services as 5G. The decsion was made in October but the spectrum sale for 5G technology is not expected until the first half of 2021. Frequencies between 24.2 GHz and 25.5 GHz will also be tendered. José Aguilar, MTC’s general director of communications policies and regulation, issued a statement saying: [quote] “Now there is a possibility of making better use of this band, which will benefit more Peruvians with modern services and will encourage private investment in the sector." [endquote] The 3.5 GHz frequencies presently used by Peruvian hams is the frequency 5G services are being assigned by regulators worldwide. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jim Meachen ZL2BHF. (WIA, BNAMERICAS) ** HAM RADIO CYCLING ENTHUSIASTS RAISE FUNDS FOR RESEARCH NEIL/ANCHOR: A group of Austrailian hams went bicycle mobile for a worthy cause. Robert Broomhead VK3DN has that story. ROBERT: Members of the Bendigo Amateur Radio and Electronics Group VK3CMZ are counting the dollars raised last month when the BAREC Pedal Radio Group took on the challenge to raise money to help the Children's Medical Research Insitute fight childhood cancer. The hams' participation in the Great Cycle Challenge in October brought in about $700 and covered more than 250 kilometres. Graeme Knight VK3GRK said that the Pedal Radio Group grew out of club members who share another great interest beyond radio: cycling for health, fitness and social activity. Graeme said that the group is also a great way to increase awareness about amateur radio because the cyclists are out and about in the community and are highly visible. Ah but don't forget radio here: During the October event, in between their rides, the hams had QSOs on some of the local nets to let listeners and other club members know that they were on their cycles - and they were on a roll! For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Robert Broomhead VK3DN. (BAREC) ** FLYING PIGS QRP CLUB HOSTS 'RUN FOR THE BACON' CONTEST NEIL/ANCHOR: Every month a group of CW operators engage in some friendly competition. Some might say they're....pig-headed about it. Skeeter Nash N5ASH explains. SKEETER: With the arrival of November, it's almost time again for what CW enthusiasts are calling PIG-nacious fun: It's the monthly "run for the bacon" QRP contest. Held on the third Sunday night of each month, it's a source of pride for its organizer, the appropriately named Flying Pigs QRP Club International W8PIG. This high-energy contest has a low-power requirement: Contacts must be made using 5 watts or less. Competitors are encouraged to go whole hog: Working 50 or more piggies qualifies you for a multiplier of two. That's not so difficult, really: It's OK to work the same contact on different bands for credit toward the multiplier. The two-hour contest begins at 2300 UTC. For more details visit qrpcontest.com/pigrun/ Pigs may not be able to fly yet but at least they can get on the air. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Skeeter Nash N5ASH. (FLYING PIGS QRP CLUB) ** NEW LIST RELEASED OF MOST WANTED DXCC NEIL/ANCHOR: This is the list so many hams wait to see. It's the most wanted DXCC list and a new one was just released by ClubLog. The top five are, starting with top most-wanted: North Korea, Bouvet Island, Crozet Island, Scarborough Reef and fifth is San Felix Islands. For the rest of the list - and it's a long one - visit clublog.org. (CLUBLOG) ** WORLD OF DX In the World of DX, be listening for Larry, G4HLN using the call sign GB4CKS until November 14th. He is operating CW and some SSB on 40 to 10 metres marking the 85th anniversary of the death of Australian record-setting aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith. The aviator disappeared on November 8th 1935 off the coast of what was then known as Burma, while trying to break the England-to-Australia speed record. Send QSLs to G4HLN, direct or via the bureau. Be listening for special event station OZ100MILL which is on the air until December 15th, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the unification of Southern Jutland with Denmark. Operation is on all the HF bands using CW, SSB, RTTY and other digital modes. Send QSLs via the bureau. Special event station DK70DARC is active until the end of December, marking the 70th anniversary of the Deutscher Amateur Radio Club. Send QSLs to the bureau. (OHIO PENN DX) ** KICKER: SOME REAL DX WITH THIS ANTENNA UPGRADE NEIL/ANCHOR: So you've swapped your 40 metre dipole out for a nice new beam and you're hoping to score more DX? Well, the folks at NASA can relate to that. Graham Kemp VK4BB wraps up this week's newscast with that story. GRAHAM: Repairs and upgrades to the Deep Space Station 43 dish in Canberra Australia had kept it off the air since last March. That's significant because it's the only dish in the world that can send commands to the Voyager 2 probe. Well, NASA reports that an upgrade to the dish allowed it to finally make contact with the probe again on October 29th. It was the first successful transmission since March. It's not that the mission team had lost contact entirely: Data and status updates could still be received from the probe. But with the dish out of commission these past few months, there was no way to successfully transmit to the craft some 116 billion miles away. No antennas anywhere else on Earth can do what the powerful dish in the Southern Hemisphere could. According to NASA's website, the dish is expected to return to full service by February 2021. So if lately you're confounded by your own antenna projects, be glad you're not trying for a rare DX in Deep Space. Those kinds of upgrades are best left, perhaps, to the professionals. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Graham Kemp VK4BB. (NASA, ENGADGET) ** NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Amateur News Weekly; AMSAT; the ARRL; Bendigo Amateur Radio and Electronics Group; BNAmericas; CQ Magazine; David Behar K7DB; EIRSAT-1; EnGadget; FCC; Flying Pigs QRP Club; NASA; Ohio Penn DX; QRZ.COM; shortwaveradio.de; SOTA Reflector; Southgate Amateur Radio News; Ted Randall's QSO Radio Show; Tokyo Hamfest; 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 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 2020. All rights reserved.