Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2255 for Friday January 15th 2021 Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2255 with a release date of Friday January 15th 2021 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a QST. Hamvention is cancelled for the second time. Spain's satellite launch is postponed -- and propagation research gets a new tool in Finland. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2255 comes your way right now. *** BILLBOARD CART ***** HAMVENTION 2021 CANCELLED JIM/ANCHOR: With distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine falling behind schedule in the U.S., organizers of Hamvention 2021 have called off the annual event for the second consecutive year. The executive committee posted the news on various social media outlets on Monday, January 11th, citing several setbacks related to the pandemic, with the vaccine delay named among them. The posting said: [quote] "We make this difficult decision for the safety of our guests and vendors. Those who had their tickets deferred last year will be deferred again." [endquote] The theme for this year's Hamvention was to have been "The Gathering." Instead, a Hamvention QSO Party is planned instead on the dates the event was to have taken place. The organizers added: [quote] "We’ll be back next year!!!" (HAMVENTION) ** IARU EVENT ADOPTS THEME SPURRED BY PANDEMIC JIM/ANCHOR: The same pandemic that has forced cancellation of so many events has also given radio amateurs a reason to step up their game on the air. One of the next big events has been announced by the International Amateur Radio Union. Jason Daniels VK2LAW has those details. JASON: The COVID-19 pandemic has provided inspiration for a World Amateur Radio Day theme similar to a popular campaign in the UK. The IARU has chosen the theme of "Home But Never Alone" when World Amateur Radio Day kicks off on Sunday April the 18th. The theme also carries forward the activities that sprang up around the world last year, from special event stations that reminded people to stay home and safe, to local wellness nets where the elderly and others in isolation could check in regularly. According to the IARU, on-the-air activity reached unprecedented levels and participation in major contests soared in 2020. World Amateur Radio Day is observed every year on the 18th of April to mark the date in 1925 that the International Amateur Radio Union was formed in Paris. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jason Daniels VK2LAW. (IARU, SARL) ** EARLY-BIRD TICKETS AVAILABLE FOR QSO TODAY'S 2ND VIRTUAL EXPO JIM/ANCHOR: Early bird tickets have become available for the second QSO Today Expo, which is being held online on March 13th and 14th. Forty-eight hours of panel discussions, kit-building workshops and an array of new speakers will be part of the experience, which is being organized in partnership with the ARRL in the United States. The wide range of topics includes 3D printer basics; Arduino in the shack; and DXpeditioning to the DXCC's Most Wanted locations. Early bird tickets are $10. During the event itself, the tickets will be $12.50. Tickets to the live event include access to the 30-day on-demand period that follows, continuing until April 12. The first QSO Today Expo held last August attracted more than 16,000 participants. To register visit qsotodayhamexpo.com. (QSO TODAY) ** REVERSE BEACON NETWORK ADDS NODE IN FINLAND JIM/ANCHOR: Researchers whose studies focus on propagation have gained a new tool in their arsenal. It's in Finland - and Ed Durrant DD5LP tells us about it. ED: A new node has become active in northern Finland as part of the Reverse Beacon Network, thanks to the support of the Yasme Foundation. The new node was set-up at Radio Arcala OH8X, near the Lapland border to help in the study of a propagation mode known as the Polar Path. This propagation occurs in northern Europe during winter. At night the Polar Path provides several hours' worth of coverage over North America. Radio Arcala's node will become one of the research tools being used by the researchers in that part of the world. The Yasme Foundation's grant programme was announced last year, providing grants to regions studying reception reports and conducting geophysical research. A Yasme-funded node was installed last October in Tunisia, bolstering the Reverse Beacon Network's presence in northern Africa. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Ed Durrant DD5LP. (WIA, EHAM.NET) ** POPULAR TV PERSONALITY GETS HAM RADIO LICENSE JIM/ANCHOR: It seems that "Last Man Standing" actor Tim Allen isn't the only main player on a TV show to get a ham radio ticket. Meet Donna Snow, who has been a fixture on a popular DIY Network program in the U.S. Kevin Trotman N5PRE introduces her to us. KEVIN: Donna Snow of the long-running reality show "Texas Flip 'N Move" recently became Donna Snow W5SML. Although her call sign is a lot newer than the name she made for herself on the popular home-makeover series, she is hoping for changes in her own shack soon. Inspired by her ham radio mentor Rex King W5EAK, a Vietnam veteran and a former Navy radioman and officer, Donna is exploring ways to use ham radio as a tool to connect veterans struggling with life after military service. She has already accomplished that through renovation projects that included making a bathroom safer for a Vietnam vet, and repairing a flood-damaged American Legion Post. She is presently redoing the yard outside the home of a widow of a veteran who fought at Iwo Jima. While studying to upgrade to General class, she is also making plans for a TV show featuring amateur radio and, of course, the veterans themselves. Her progress reports appear every week on her QRZ page. Donna told Newsline in an email: [quote] "I am on a mission to tell everyone about ham radio and the benefits it offers to all, no matter their age." [endquote] She said she is living the spirit of her vanity call sign W5SML - SML for "Snow Much Love." For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Kevin Trotman N5PRE. ** LAUNCH OF SPAIN'S HAM RADIO SATELLITE POSTPONED TO MARCH JIM/ANCHOR: Two ham radio satellites from Spain have had their launches put off for a few more weeks. Jeremy Boot G4NJH explains. JEREMY: A delay by SpaceX has postponed Spain's scheduled amateur radio satellite launch on January 14th. The departure of the EASAT-2 and Hades satellites is now on the calendar for sometime in March to coincide with the Starlink mission. According to the AMSAT-EA website, both satellites are carrying an FM / FSK repeater and are capable of voice and digital communications. EASAT-2 is assigned the callsign AM5SAT and Hades is assigned AM6SAT. SpaceX is to launch the satellites via the in-space transportation provider Momentus aboard the Falcon 9 Launcher. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH. (AMSAT-EA, SOUTHGATE) ** SPACECRAFT COPIES FM SIGNAL NEAR JUPITER'S MOON JIM/ANCHOR: Think of this as perhaps the world's tiniest space QSO. NASA reports that its Juno spacecraft which is orbiting Jupiter copied an FM radio signal from its largest moon, Ganymede (GANNY-MEED). It turns out that the radio emissions were the result of electrons oscillating at a lower rate than they were spinning, causing them to amplify radio waves. Juno picked it up as it was passing by a polar region of Jupiter where the magnetic field lines connect to Ganymede. It's called "cyclotron maser instability" and it's a natural occurrence. The excitement only lasted 5 seconds -- but it was a first. (EOS.ORG) ** BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including the N2XPM repeater in Cedarhurst New York on Saturdays at noon local time. ** HAMCATION NAMES NEIL RAPP WB9VPG 'EDUCATOR OF YEAR' JIM/ANCHOR: This next story is a personal one, celebrating one member of our Newsline family. Our anchor and correspondent Neil Rapp WB9VPG, who teaches high school chemistry in Indiana, has been named Carole Perry Educator of the Year by Orlando HamCation. Newsline editor Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT spoke to Neil about his commmitment to amateur radio education. CARYN: Licensed since the age of 5, Neil Rapp knows better than most of us that ham radio is the best teacher. NEIL: Especially when I got into high school, ham radio helped me understand science. When I got to Chemistry, when everybody else was having a hard time, I already knew my metric system, when I got to Physics, I already knew Ohm's law -- because I did all of that when I was 5. CARYN: Those early lessons became the foundation for the path his life took as sponsor of school ham clubs, in the ARRL Teacher Institute and as one of the founders and camp director of Youth on the Air for IARU Region 2. For Neil, ham radio doesn't get old -- it gets YOUNG. NEIL: Yeah we do have youth in ham radio and we do have kids doing great things with it. There are some opportunities to make sure this continues. It amazes me that the kids that are really into CW at a time when a lot of people didn't want to learn CW and that's what kept them out of the hobby. They're also into all these cool new digital modes that are becoming more efficient and setting the pace for the commercial radio industry and cell phones and public service and all the digital stuff. A lot of that came from ham radio. CARYN: His next project? A Youth on the Air mini-camp that mixes science with the science of socializing. NEIL: What we are trying to do is build some of those social connections between the kids and that's why there is a lot of YOTA time that's at an amusement park, at Dave & Buster's, at this place and that place that may not have a thing to do with ham radio because it's social interaction time. The whole YOTA thing isn't just learning about radio and learning about technology; it's getting the social aspect there so that kids know other kids. We have seen in Europe that perpetuates the hobby. That keeps the kids in the hobby. CARYN: So congratulations Neil. Your well-deserved Carole Perry trophy will now sit beside your autographed oscillator from Carole's Youth Forum at Hamvention. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT. ** COUNTDOWN TO PLUTO'S BIG ANNIVERSARY JIM/ANCHOR: Whether or not you still think of Pluto as a planet, its discovery is still something to celebrate. Randy Sly W4XJ tells us why. RANDY: The Northern Arizona DX Association is about to launch the first event in its 10-year special event countdown to the 100th anniversary of its discovery in the Kuiper (KY-PURR) Belt. Be listening for club members operating between February 13th and the 21st as W7P. They'll be at the Lowell Observatory from which Pluto was first spotted and their home QTHs. One of the operators will be Doug Tombaugh N3PDT, nephew of Pluto's discoverer, Clyde Tombaugh. He will operate as W7P/0. There will be special QSL cards each year leading up to the 100th anniversary event. A certificate with endorsement stickers for each of the 10 years of the special event and for a contact with Doug and his team will be available later as well, Visit the QRZ.COM page for more details. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Randy Sly W4XJ. (QRZ) ** FANS OF RADIO'S FIRST VOICE MODE PREP FOR AM RALLY JIM/ANCHOR: Amplitude Modulation, or AM, was the first voice mode over radio. It has three parts - a carrier, an upper sideband, and a lower sideband - and in just two weeks, it will be gaining a fourth part: The AM Rally. This is an annual event designed to encourage AM activity for newcomers as well as longtime fans who may be firing up their vacuum tube rigs to make contacts. This year's event will be held from 0000Z on Saturday, February 6th to 0700Z Monday February 8th - or for those in the United States, 7 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday February 5th to 2 a.m. Eastern time Monday February 8th. Organizers said YLs in particular are invited to return, based on the success of last year's "Ladies' Night" feature. All types of radios are permitted, from modified military and broadcast equipment to homebrew and those commercially manufactured. For additional details and to find operating and logging guidance, visit the website amrally dot com (amrally.com) (CLARK BURGARD N1BCG) ** WORLD OF DX In the World of DX, AMSAT Argentina, LU7AA will celebrate the 31st anniversary of the LUSAT satellite (LO-19) between January 16th and 24th. Be listening on the HF bands on SSB, CW and the digital modes. A special certificate is available. Visit QRZ.COM for additional details. In Israel, listen for 4X0RMN to be operating from the Ramon Crater, Israel's largest national park, in the Negev desert between the 30th of January and the 1st of February. Send QSLs to 4X6ZM, LoTW and eQSL. A certificate will be available for working three out of the four special stations that are operating as part of the ongoing Land of Craters Program that kicked off last year. For more details visit QRZ.COM. Be listening for Bo, OZ1DJJ operating in his spare time as OX3LX from Tasiilaq (TAZZY-Uh-LACK) Island in Greenland through the 30th of January. Send QSLs to LoTW, Club Log's OQRS or direct to OZ0J. ** KICKER: GOT A MINUTE? ER, 59 SECONDS? JIM/ANCHOR: Got a minute? Or maybe a millisecond less? It's time for Graham Kemp VK4BB and our final story of the week. GRAHAM: Things might just get a little challenging for UTC - Coordinated Universal Time, that is - the time-keeping system so familiar to us hams who pursue precision in our DX contacts or use some of the newer digital modes. As reported on the UK news website, The Telegraph, scientists are now suggesting that the world's atomic clocks, which control UTC, shorten the minute so that UTC can better keep pace with the irregular rate of the Earth's rotation, which most people measure using the less precise method known as "solar time." Let's face it, it's hard to stay in sync. When the Earth's rotation was seen to be slowing, scientists added something called a "leap second" to the end of a particular year. They've done this 27 times since 1972 to keep atomic clocks and UTC sympatico with solar time. Scientists believe Earth's 24-hour rotation has grown swifter now, making the days ever-so-slightly shorter. They also believe 2021 could well be the shortest year we've had in many decades. They say this will ultimately have an impact on navigation systems and satellite communications and anything else that requires precision in cosmic timekeeping. This very subject is up for discussion at the World Radiocommunication Conference in 2023 which is at least two years - and many, many, many, many seconds away. Now that's a thought that could probably make our own heads spin a lot faster too. Having the time of my life with that report for Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Graham Kemp VK4BB. (NTIA, BUSINESS INSIDER, TELEGRAPH) ** NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Amateur News Weekly; AMSAT-EA; the ARRL; Business Insider; Clark Burgard N1BCG; CQ Magazine; David Behar K7DB; Hamvention; EOS.org; the NTIA; Ohio Penn DX newsletter; Orlando HamCation; QRZ.com; QSO Today; the Radio Society of Great Britain; Southgate Amateur Radio News; South African Radio League; shortwaveradio.de; Southgate; the Telegraph; Ted Randall's QSO Radio Show; the 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 Jim Damron N8TMW in Charleston West Virginia saying 73. As always we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2021. All rights reserved.