Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2285 for Friday August 13, 2021

Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2285 with a release date of Friday August 13, 2021 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. Hams step up to help in California's deadly Dixie Fire. Amateur radio catches a ride on the Perseids meteor shower -- and a World War II veteran gets IN the air. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2285 comes your way right now.

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BILLBOARD CART

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BREAKING NEWS: HAMS RESPOND AS ALGERIAN FIRE GROWS

JIM/ANCHOR: We begin this week with breaking news. As Newsline went to production on August 12th, hams from the Algerian National Society ARA had begun assisting with emergency communications as deadly forest fires swept through the northern region. The International Amateur Radio Union Region 1 reported that at least 65 lives were claimed by the blaze raging in the town of Ouacif (wa-SEEF) in the Province of Tizi Ouzou (Tee Zee OO ZOO). Operating on 7.110 MHz, 3.650 MHz and 14.300 MHz, hams were establishing communications between the mobile station in Ouacif and the crisis centre in Tamda. Watch Newsline's Twitter feed and Facebook page for updates.

(GREG MOSSOP G0DUB, IARU, REGION1 )

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CALIFORNIA AMATEURS STEP UP DURING DEADLY DIXIE FIRE

JIM/ANCHOR: Meanwhile, in the US, in Northern California, nearly one month after its flames began, the Dixie Fire has become the second largest wildfire in the state's history. One group of radio amateurs stepped up to keep the lines of communication open for local firefighters when communications failed.  Randy Sly W4XJ has that story.

RANDY: With the Dixie Fire knocking out communications, wiping one town off the map, and forcing thousands in northern California to evacuate, a group of amateur radio operators helped emergency responders continue to get the word out. The Lake Almanor [PRONOUNCE: Al-muh-noor] Emergency Radio Net was on the air trading realtime information with one another and neighbors. Hams were monitoring 7.199 MHz and conducting their emergency net on 147.420 simplex. They also jumped in to help the Peninsula Fire Department troubleshoot their problems when the main firehouse radio failed, along with repeater issues. Mark Burnham K6FEJ, one of the net's members, said that modified 2-meter radios had to be installed in the fire chief's vehicle for backup and at the firehouse crew's quarters. Mark said the Yaesu radio was modified by Ron NB6X to operate on fire department frequencies and a 12-volt power supply and J-pole were added outside the building. The hams also set up a scanner on the main fire frequency near the firefighters' sleeping quarters so they would be able to hear calls. Another member of the net, Dale KM6BQY, remained in the mandatory evacuation zone because he is also involved in search and rescue work.

By the middle of the second week of August, the Dixie Fire was declared the largest wildfire burning in the United States. It had already destroyed nearly 500,000 acres and was only 21 percent contained.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Randy Sly W4XJ.

(NPR, NBC, MARK BURNHAM K6FEJ)

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CATCHING A RADIO RIDE ON THE PERSEIDS

JIM/ANCHOR: If you haven't tried meteor scatter, now's the time. The Perseid Meteor shower is here. Paul Braun WD9GCO spoke to someone who's having a whole lot of fun with them right now.

PAUL: One of the hottest topics in amateur radio today is the digital mode developed by Dr. Joe Taylor K1JT, that is, FT8 and its relatives. But the upcoming Perseid meteor shower should bring the mode’s origins into focus as Dr. Taylor originally developed it specifically to work moonbounce and something called meteor scatter. Mike White, K7ULS, from Utah is an experienced moonbounce and meteor-scatter operator. I asked him about this facet of the hobby. He said that the object is to bounce the signal off of the ionized trail that a meteor leaves. I asked what bands are used the most to work that and he told me:

WHITE:  Six meters is the easiest, and then two meters is the next hardest one. But with the upcoming Perseids meteor scatter shower on the 12th through the 13th you should have at least one hundred meteors per hour.

PAUL: I asked White about the other VHF and UHF choices, but he confirmed that while the others can work, the size of the antenna and the power required goes up quite a bit. As far as six meters goes:

WHITE: Yeah, it’s the best option. You can use as small as a three-element Yagi.

PAUL: I then asked White about what kind of antenna setup he used. He explained:

WHITE: I use an elevation system on my antenna because I don’t have big towers here. I actually have everything mounted on the back of an RV trailer. I just tilt it up into the meteor stream and away we go.

PAUL: I can vouch for that. I had to work our interview in between rounds of EME or moonbounce activity over several days.
White said that if conditions are right, you can often work a station up to 900 miles away bouncing the signal off of the meteor trails.

So, this weekend, you may want to just crane your neck skyward and watch the meteors as they pass by, or you may want to fire up the radio and the computer and point your antenna skyward and try your luck with meteor scatter.  

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I’m Paul Braun, WD9GCO

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INDIANAPOLIS SPEEDWAY WRAPPING UP W9IMS EVENT

JIM/ANCHOR: Hams are nearing the final lap of the big W9IMS event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Here's Jack Parker W8ISH with more.

JACK: As summer comes to a close, members of the W9IMS special event station are busy wrapping up another week of world-wide contacts during the annual Brickyard race. As the official amateur radio club for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the W9IMS group has been logging hundreds of contacts during the Indy Grand Prix, the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race and now the Brickyard race.
The official numbers will be tabulated in the coming days and then each contact will receive a special QSL card, designed for each event. Those stations that made the log for all three races will receive a commemorative certificate as well.

This is the 18th year for the W9IMS special event station and despite weak band conditions this spring, early reports indicated they logged over 6-thousand contacts during the first two races. The W9IMS team is hoping to double that amount in the final race of the season. They should cross the finish line and take the checkered flag on a record number of contacts for the racing season at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Reporting from Indianapolis, this is Jack Parker, W8ISH

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SILENT KEY: LIFELONG AMATEUR, JAZZ 'AMBASSADOR' BOB RINGWALD K6YBV

JIM/ANCHOR: The music world and the amateur radio world are both grieving the loss of a friend. We turn to Ralph Squillace KK6ITB for that story.

RALPH: Robert Ringwald K6YBV was a lifelong amateur radio operator who also made his mark in the jazz world as a jazz ambassador and co-organizer in 1974 of California's first Sacramento Jazz Festival where his band was a headliner. A professional jazz pianist, he was also an enthusiastic radio amateur. First licensed in 1957, he soon became adept in CW which he identifies on his QRZ page as his most frequent mode. Bob became a Silent Key on August 3rd.

Blind almost since birth, Bob became known to many checking into the Alaska Pacific Preparedness Net on 20 meter SSB, California Traffic Net, 75 meter SSB, Northern California Net, Region Net 6 and the Pacific Area Net on 80- and 40-meter CW. He was especially proud of his daughter, actress Molly Ringwald, and took great pains to keep things authentic when she portrayed an amateur radio operator in one episode of the NBC sitcom, "The Facts of Life." Bob wrote: "Naturally the writers had Molly’s lines all wrong. I volunteered to write the ham talk to be authentic and they gratefully accepted." Molly also used her father's callsign in the episode.

With his passing, Amateur Radio Newsline has also lost a friend. Bob Ringwald was a frequent contributor of story ideas that listeners have heard each week. He died at the age of 80.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Ralph Squillace KK6ITB.

(ASSOCIATED PRESS, QRZ, RINGWALD.COM)

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BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline heard on bulletin stations around the world including the K2BNL repeater in Upton, New York during the 8 p.m. Thursday night Tech Net.
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SPACEX ACQUIRES FIRM COFOUNDED BY RADIO AMATEUR

JIM/ANCHOR: A firm cofounded by a radio amateur has just merged with the SpaceX technology giant. Sel Embee KB3TZD has more on that.

SEL: SpaceX, Elon Musk's giant California-based space technology company, has acquired a satellite communications company cofounded by an amateur radio operator. The merger makes Swarm Technologies a wholly owned subsidiary of SpaceX. Swarm, which specializes in Internet-of-Things technology and low-cost satellite connectivity, has asked the Federal Communications Commission to transfer control of its earth and space station licenses. Swarm was founded in 2016 by Ben Longmier, K-F-5-K-M-P and Sara Spangelo. In 2020, the company launched its first dozen commercial satellites, established ground stations in Alaska, New Jersey, Washington State, Guam, the Azores and elsewhere and began expanding market access. Swarm is licensed in non-voice, non-geostationary mobile satellite service, operating in the bands between 137-to-138 MHz and 148-to-149-decimal-95 MHz.

In 2020, Swarm Technologies placed second in the most Innovative Space Companies list created by Fast Company. The top spot went to SpaceX.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Sel Embee, K-B-3-T-Zed-D.

(SPACE EXPLORED.COM, FASTCOMPANY.COM)

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HOMEBREWERS IN HYDERABAD HELP QO-100 SATELLITE USERS

JIM/ANCHOR: Two inventive amateurs in India have come up with a clever way to communicate with the QO-100 satellite. Robert Broomhead VK3DN tells us about their accomplishment.

ROBERT: Hams in Hyderabad have found a homebrew solution to make communication via the QO-100 satellite easier for other amateurs. They have designed prototype converters that will enable the hams to use the transponders on board the geosynchronous satellite. The prototypes include both up converters and down converters. Homebrewers Sasi Bhushan VU2XZ and A. Amarendra VU2AAP told the Telangana Today newspaper that the converters eliminate the need for  such expensive equipment as software-defined radios. They said the system works in a way similar to a TV set-top box that receives programmes beamed from satellites, converting radio waves into signals for the TV. The circuit boards within the converter are designed to communicate via the 10 GHz frequency for downlink and the 2.4 GHz frequency for uplink.

Sasi said the first hams to be given the opportunity to use the converters are members of the Lamakan Amateur Radio Club in Hyderabad. A transverter is also in the works, combining uplink and downlink capability.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Robert Broomhead VK3DN.

(TELANGANA TODAY)
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RULE CHANGES PERMIT SCOUT, GUIDE GROUPS IN YL CONTEST

JIM/ANCHOR: The youngest of the YLs will be getting in on the action this year as women in Australia get ready for a big annual contest. We hear more from Jason Daniels VK2LAW.

JASON: A change in rules this year is permitting some new first-timers to get on the air for the 41st annual contest of the Australian Ladies Amateur Radio Association this month. The newest entrants are YLs who are in Scout and Guide groups and they'll be using their club's equipment and callsign. Lynda VK7QP writes in the ALARA newsletter, "The YL Beam," that the event on August 28th and 29th is [quote] "a friendly contest and a chance to start learning how to operate a contest." [endquote] YLs of all ages will clearly have the run of the field here. YLs get to work everyone; OMs are only eligible to work YLs. The 24-hour event will offer a combination of SSB and CW contacts. Contacts over Echolink will be accepted and all other operations will be on the HF bnds except for 160 metres and the WARC bands. All licensed operators around the world may enter.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jason Daniels VK2LAW.

(YL BEAM)

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UK BROADBAND SERVICES PLAN NEW CONNECTIONS VIA WATER PIPES

JIM/ANCHOR: A change is afoot in how companies in the UK deliver broadband services and it might just make ham radio operators happy too. Here's more from Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

JEREMY: There's encouraging news for broadband subscribers in rural areas of the UK: communications companies have been given the official go-ahead to use water pipes instead of having to dig new trenches to connect homes and businesses to the internet using fibre optic cable services. According to the government website, gov.uk, the rollout is expected to take place throughout the UK, ending in March 2024, with an emphasis on rural areas.

Stephen Unger, commissioner at the Geospatial Commission, issued a statement saying: [quote] "Our ambition must be for reliable broadband to become as easy to access tomorrow as drinking water is today." [endquote]

The announcement is good news to those concerned about the traditional installation where roads and land are dug up. It is also good news for amateur radio operators who may have reported RFI from broadband's copper wires carrying VDSL Broadband services.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(GOV.UK)
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WORLD OF DX

In the World of DX, keep your eyes on Bouvet Island, which is now the focus of three DXpeditions: the Three Y Zero Eye (3Y0I) team later this year, a rebooted, reorganized Three Y Zero J (3Y0J) team emerged, with co-leaders Ken LA7GIA, Rune LA7THA and Erwann LB1QI. On its new website, that team announced it recently signed an agreement to make the trip in November 2022. Meanwhile, the Intrepid-DX Group has also announced that it is restarting its plans, under revised leadership, for a DXpedition in 2023.

Listen for for members of the Radio Club Queretaro XE1RCQ in Mexico, who will be using the special callsign 6E0CC to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Consummated Independence from Spain. They will be on various HF bands until September 30th. QSL via XE1EE, direct or LoTW.

Be listening for Jean Louis, F4FSY, using the callsign F4FSY/p from Ile de Oleron until August 20th. He is on the HF bands using SSB and FT8. QSL via LoTW, eQSL, by the bureau of the REF, the French national amateur radio society, or direct.

Francesco, IK6QON, is on the air as SV8/IK6QON from Lefkada and Meganisi Islands until the 17th of August. He is operating holiday style, using CW and SSB on 40 through 6 metres. Send QSLs via his home call.

(OHIO PENN DX)

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KICKER: UP, UP AND AWAY FOR HIS 99th BIRTHDAY

JIM/ANCHOR: If a certain military veteran feels lighter than air lately as he approaches his 99th birthday, there's good reason for it. For our final story, let's let Jeremy Boot G4NJH introduce him.

JEREMY: World War II veteran Ron Shelley G3NZY marked his upcoming 99th birthday by going on the air. He did it in a very big way: there was no radio involved, just a hot air balloon which was launched on Monday 1st August from York Racecourse, giving him a clear view of the North Yorkshire landscape.

According to a report in the Darlington and Stockton Times, Ron had been a wireless operator, travelling far and wide during his time in the Army. At age 22, he had been among the troops sent to France in 1944, six days after D-Day to transmit false messages to confuse the enemy.
 
More recently, though, he had one decidedly true message to impart to the staff at the Connaught Court care home in York where he is resident that his life's dream was to ride in a hot air balloon. The staff, appreciating his spirit of adventure, enlisted the help of the Association of Friends of Connaught Court to arrange it. They successfully kept their birthday surprise from him until the time was right.

A few weeks short of his 99th birthday, Ron Shelley was soon in the air with his son, Peter. It was the uplifting moment in a long lifetime for this decorated veteran army sergeant.

He told the newspaper: [quote] “I thought it would be a thrilling one-off experience, a once in a life-time trip, so I’m seizing the chance while I still can.” [endquote]


For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(DARLINGTON AND STOCKTON TIMES)
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We remind our listeners: Be sure to watch Newsline's presentation of this year's Young Ham of the Year award to Faith Hannah Lea KD3Z on W5KUB's Amateur Radio Roundtable. The link to the August 10th show can be seen in the script of this week's newscast at arnewsline.org

[PRINT ONLY, DO NOT READ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUoxFrQJxVQ]

NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Amateur News Weekly; the ARRL; the Associated Press; CQ Magazine; Darlington and Stockton Times; David Behar K7DB; FCC.Gov; GOV. uk; Greg Mossop G0DUB; NBC; NPR; QRZ.com; shortwaveradio.de; Ted Randall's QSO Radio Show; WTWW Shortwave; the YL Beam newsletter; and you our listeners, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline. You can write to us at newsline@arnewsline.org. For more information or to support us visit our 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.