Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2418 for Friday March 1st, 2024 ####BREAKING#### As Newsline was released Friday morning, we learned of the unfortunate passing of Dr. Bob Heil, K9EID. This is the statement from the Heil Ham Radio page:

Our beloved founder, Dr. Bob Heil, K9EID, is now a Silent Key. Bob fought a valiant, year-long battle with cancer, and passed peacefully surrounded by his family. Bob’s lifelong passion for amateur radio was clear to everyone involved in the hobby. Everything Bob did for the betterment and growth of amateur radio - from his instructional handbooks and countless presentations to his support of the ARRL and youth programs - was based on the foundation and spirit of service. Bob was an Elmer to all of us. While Bob’s presence will dearly be missed, his impact on the hobby and everyone in it will forever be felt. On behalf of Bob to all ham radio operators worldwide, 73. Be sure to listen to next week's newscast for an expanded remembrance of Bob. For Amateur Radio Newsline, Paul Braun WDGCO ##### Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2418 with a release date of Friday March 1st, 2024 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a QST. An island expedition in India draws attention to vital emergency communications. YLs are getting out in the park for a one-day POTA party -- and prepare for FUNCube-1 to go silent, at least for a while. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2418 comes your way right now. ** BILLBOARD CART ** EXPEDITION ON INDIAN ISLAND DRAWS ATTENTION TO CYCLONE PERILS NEIL/ANCHOR: An Islands on the Air expedition in India has raised awareness of the need for better emergency communications in a remote region that is prone to deadly cyclones. Graham Kemp VK4BB gives us those details. GRAHAM: The recently completed AU2RS IOTA Expedition received public praise from India's Ministry of Communications for its successful ham radio activation of cyclone-prone Nachugunta Island. The team chose the island, which carries the IOTA designation of AS-199, to mark the 60th anniversary of that global amateur radio programme. The hams were on the air from cyclone shelters on the Bay of Bengal coastline during the weekend of the 23rd of February. Operating with five HF stations and one satellite station, they reached amateurs in Europe, South Africa, the US, Canada and Japan. Even as operators were uploading their logs upon return from the island, a press release from the communications ministry reported an estimated 4,000 contacts logged. The hams were applauded by public officials, including those from the Department of Telecommunications, for their demonstration of radio's importance in areas vulnerable to natural disasters This is Graham Kemp VK4BB. (INDIAN MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS, AMATEUR RADIO DAILY) ** YLS GATHER IN PARKS FOR A POTA PARTY NEIL/ANCHOR: Throwing a party that's 24 hours long and inviting as many YLs as possible isn't such a daunting task when the venue for that party can be anywhere as long as it's a registered site for Parks on the Air. Andy Morrison K9AWM tells us about the upcoming festivities. ANDY: If you are chasing POTA on March 8th at any time of the day or night you will likely hear even more YLs than ever calling CQ. The first YL POTA Party is taking place that day to mark International Women's Day. Activating parks has been a way of life for the organizer, Shannon KC1OHT, whose limited antenna options in her city neighborhood in Massachusetts led her to operate portable shortly after getting her license in 2020. For Shannon, POTA became a way to build confidence - and build community. Now that community is getting ready to celebrate: Shannon told Newsline she has been waiting since last fall to make a POTA party like this happen. She and the other organizers are hoping that more experienced YL ops will operate and invite someone new to POTA to join them. No one will be left out either. YLs who can't get to a park can still come to the party as a hunter from the home QTH. This is Andy Morrison K9AWM. (SHANNON, KC1OHT; BARBARA, KC1KGS) ** ARISS CELEBRATES 40 YEARS OF HAMS ON THE RADIO IN SPACE NEIL/ANCHOR: ARISS - Amateur Radio on the International Space Station - had a big celebration recently in Florida, and I was fortunate to attend. I filed this report while I was still there -- to give listeners a sense of all the excitement. NEIL: ARISS celebrated the positive impact of 40 years of amateur radio on human space flight at its conference held late last month at the Center for Space Education: Astronauts Memorial Foundation near the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. One hundred and ten leaders, volunteers and fans of the program gathered to hear and see memorabilia from the past four decades and got a look into how to rocket into the future. Keynote speaker Richard Garriott, ex-W5KWQ, inspired the group toward a bold future and passed his license exam at the conference to become re-licensed. His previous license had lapsed not long ago. ARISS also had a few announcements, including a new partnership with Estes model rockets and expansion of the SPARKI radio kit availability for school classrooms. HamTV will return on the next ISS supply mission, SpaceX 30, scheduled for mid-March and be returned to service soon after. Lou McFadin, W5DID, received a special achievement award for his work in building amateur stations in space since the very first one on STS-9, which carried the first Spacelab mission and the first astronaut representing the European Space Agency 40 years ago. Of course, the crowd was treated to a live contact with astronauts on the ISS as three youths presented their questions to the astronauts. From Kennedy Space Center Florida, this is Neil Rapp WB9VPG ** FUNCUBE TRANSPONDER TO BE SILENT THROUGH MID-MARCH NEIL/ANCHOR: If you're a fan of AO-73, the satellite called FUNcube-1, you can expect a period of silence this month. Dave Parks WB8ODF tells us why. DAVE: Under the best of conditions, sometimes the fun has to end - even if you happen to be FUNcube-1, the educational and amateur radio satellite also known as AO-73. The FUNcube's busy transponder will be turned off between March 3rd and March 15th to permit the batteries to take a much-needed short rest. The satellite will still provide low-power telemetry but it will remain in Safe Mode during this period. Much of its telemetry data is used for educational programming in schools. Since its launch into sun-synchronous orbit in November of 2013, FUNCube has gained popularity with hams who make good use of its VHF to UHF transponder. It was created through the joint efforts of AMSAT-UK, AMSAT-NL, and ISIS-BV in The Netherlands. This is Dave Parks WB8ODF. (AMSAT, AMATEUR RADIO DAILY) ** VINTAGE RADIO MUSEUM'S HAM SHACK IS BACK ON THE AIR NEIL/ANCHOR: A beloved radio museum near Dublin is QRV again. Here's Jeremy Boot G4NJH with the good news. JEREMY: Amateur Radio Station EIØMAR is back on the air from the Ye Olde Hurdy Gurdy Museum of Vintage Radio near Dublin. Two powerful storms in early January left its antenna unusable and the museum went silent for about three weeks. Tony, EI5EM, who holds the callsign for the museum station, told Newsline in an email that the historic site did not stay idle for long thanks to Tom May, EI9LA, who donated an X8Ø vertical antenna that he had not been using. Tony and Joe, EI2JZ, installed the replacement antenna, swapping out the coax at the same time. Challenging weather is a way of life at the historic tower that houses the museum. The location overlooking Howth Harbour played a key role in the pioneering days of wireless where both Lee de Forest and later, the Marconi Company, carried out numerous experiments. The museum is open on weekends from 11 am to 4 pm local time. This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH. (IRTS, TONY BREATHNACH, EI9LA) ** BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world and on the East Coast Reflector on Sundays at 1 p.m. Eastern Time and now Wednesdays at 10 p.m. Eastern Time. ** SILENT KEY: EMERGENCY RESPONDER NORA RODRIGUEZ RODRIGUEZ, CO8NRR NEIL/ANCHOR: Members of the national emergency network in Cuba are grieving the loss of a devoted team leader. Nora Rodriguez Rodriguez, CO8NRR, became a Silent Key in a hospital in Guantanamo, Cuba on Monday, the 26th of February. Her death was announced on Facebook by Carlos Alberto Santamaria Gonzalez, CO2JC, the national emergency network coordinator of the Amateur Radio Federation of Cuba. The Facebook post said her death was the result of complications from a chronic illness. Nora had served as information system coordinator of the Federation of Radio Amateurs of Cuba in her province. Carlos wrote: [quote] "She was always willing to cooperate in communications during emergencies and disasters. Until the last days of her life she kept track of any event that could affect our archipelago." [endquote] Carlos told Newsline in an email that there were few additional details as the family is being given privacy at this time. (CARLOS ALBERTO SANTAMARIA GONZALEZ, CO2JC) ** LUNAR LANDER STILL FUNCTIONS DESPITE LANDING ISSUES NEIL/ANCHOR: Troubles with the first US-built lunar lander in 50 years have apparently not kept the spacecraft from staying in touch. Jack Parker W8ISH explains what happened. JACK: Builders of the private moonlander that made its historic touchdown near a lunar crater on the 22nd of February, said the spacecraft is successfully sending and receiving communications despite having tipped over during its final descent near the moon's south pole. Flight engineers have told the company that Odysseus is now resting on its side, propped up on a rock, but that the mission is not imperiled. Intuitive Machines of Houston, Texas has given assurances that five of the six NASA payloads designed to conduct experiments are on sections of Odysseus that can send and receive communications. The NASA payloads will collect space weather and lunar surface information as well as conduct demonstrations of communication and navigation. The lander is the first US-built spacecraft to land on the moon in five decades. This is Jack Parker W8ISH. (NBC NEWS, THE HILL, CNN, NASA) ** NOMINATIONS OPEN FOR YOUNG HAM OF THE YEAR NEIL/ANCHOR: Nominations are now open for the 2024 Bill Pasternak WA6ITF Memorial Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year award. Mark (pronouncer-Abram-oh-vich) Abramowicz NT3V, chairman of the YHOTY award committee is here with more. MARK: The late Bill Pasternak WA6ITF, Amateur Radio Newsline’s co-founder, started this award 47 years ago to recognize young people for their achievements in amateur radio. Bill assembled a top-flight group of amateur radio operators to serve as judges. He insisted that this independent panel of people with credentials and accomplishments of their own in the world of amateur radio pick the winner from among the many nominees he received each year. I can tell you from the many conversations I was privileged to have shared with Bill over the years that he was always thrilled to hear the results. He was the first one to see the nominees but was careful to avoid any personal communications that might influence the judges. Bill asked me to fill a board vacancy and serve as the chairman of the award and judging committee in 2002. It’s hard to believe that was 22 years ago! Unfortunately, we lost Bill in 2015. His legacy lives on because the Amateur Radio Newsline staff voted to attach his name to the award. Now, we here at Newsline need your help to identify a ham 18 years or younger living in the continental United States to nominate for this year's award. The nomination form and details are available on our website – arnewsline.org. We only accept online nominations to make it easier to put together a package that includes photos, letters, emails, and anything else that will help us get to know the young person you are endorsing. The deadline for nominations is May 31. This is Mark Abramowicz, NT3V. ** FCC HONORS PROGRAM SEEKS ENGINEERING APPLICANTS NEIL/ANCHOR: If you are an engineering student graduating this coming May, you may be eligible for a job with the US Federal Communications Commission through its Honors Engineers Program. Jobs are available for graduates in electrical and electronics engineering. The FCC will receive applications through the 2nd of July. The agency's most recent recruitment efforts took place at job fairs at Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Hispanic Serving Institutions. If you are an interested student, or know someone who might be, visit USAjobs dot gov (USAjobs.gov) to learn more or to apply. The direct link can be found in the text version of this week's newscast script at arnewsline.org [DO NOT READ: https://www.usajobs.gov/job/767902700. ] (FCC) ** OLDER STARLINK SATELLITES MARKED FOR DEORBITING NEIL/ANCHOR: Starlink has announced it is deorbiting 100 of its older satellites in the interest of safety. Travis Lisk N3ILS brings us the details. TRAVIS: SpaceX will be deorbiting 100 Starlink satellites launched in 2019 and 2020 to prevent them from becoming hazards in low Earth orbit, the company said recently. While deorbiting satellites is not uncommon for Starlink, these so-called "controlled descents" are deemed necessary because the company has identified a defect that could cause issues. SpaceX did not specify what the defect was but said that the 100 satellites risk becoming unavailable for further maneuvering and must be taken out of service. The deorbiting is to occur gradually over a period of months, with the satellites retaining maneuverability throughout the process. Starlink, which is owned by Elon Musk, maintains the largest satellite constellation in orbit. SpaceX said that removal of these older satellites will not have an impact on Starlink's broadband services. This is Travis Lisk N3ILS. (GIZMODO, SPACENEWS, AMATEUR RADIO DAILY) ** WORLD OF DX In the World of DX, be listening for the Grassroots Amateur Radio Club, VO1GRC, operating as VO1TAP from Newfoundland until the 18th of March. The club is marking the anniversary of the naval disaster involving the USS "Truxtun" and USS "Pollux" off the coast of Newfoundland on the 18th of February 1942. See QRZ.com for QSL details. Gerard F5NVF, Luc F5RAV and Abdel M0NPT are using the callsign TY5C from Benin from the 2nd to the 29th of March using CW, SSB and FT8 on various bands including 6 metres. They will also operate via the QO-100 satellite. See QRZ.com for QSL details. Be listening for Gildas, F6HMQ and Michel, F6GWV operating as FG/F6HMQ, FG/F6GWV and TO3Z from Guadeloupe, IOTA number NA-102, until the 17th of March. They are also taking part in the ARRL DX SSB Contest on the 2nd and 3rd of March. QSL information is on QRZ.com Special callsigns including YR95AR, YR95CC, YR95CH and YR95IN are among those calls active until the 31st of May. The operators are celebrating the 95th anniversary of the first amateur radio association in Romania's Arad County. This is being organised by C.S. Radio-club Admira, YO2KBQ. See QRZ.com for QSL details. (425 DX BULLETIN) ** KICKER: PEDESTRIAN MOBILE BECOMES A WALK IN THE PARK NEIL/ANCHOR: For our final story this week, we visit a Wisconsin amateur who decided to put his portable antenna up front - way up front - and carry it where he could see it: on his chest. The results surprised and delighted him, as we learn from Kent Peterson KCØDGY. KENT: For the past year or two, activating POTA has been a walk in the park for Martin KØBXB. After more than six decades of amateur radio from his home shack, he discovered that operating portable could give him an even bigger shack and a chance to channel his good engineering talent into creating an efficient way to deploy his antennas and his gear in the great outdoors. Most recently, he took that a step forward - actually a few huge steps forward - and that's what led to the walk in the park: He started operating pedestrian mobile. Carrying his gear in a light backpack, he said most of his pedi-mobile trips have lasted an hour or two, working stations in the US and Canada. His 5-watt CW signal has even grabbed an occasional DX from whatever park he may be at in Wisconsin. Ever the tinkerer, Martin believed he could make a good thing even better. He was troubled by lack of access to the antenna, which was mounted behind him. So he decided to move it to the front where he could see it by adding a wearable breast panel. He said that using an operating power of 5 watts, he wasn't necessarily concerned about a radiating antenna being inches from his head. On Friday, February 16th, Martin did his first field test of the new configuration and proclaimed it a success: His first QSO was a park-to-park contact on 20 meters with Drew N2AKJ, in New York, some 774 miles away. He told Newsline in an email: [quote] "That little setup that I was testing when I talked with N2AKJ was my best yet." [endquote] He said a few more activations have followed since then and he called them [quote] "some of the most fun activations to date." [end quote] While pedi-mobile is not his preferred activation method, he told Newsline that he intends to quicken his pace. In fact, with his newest configuration he's certain to be putting his best foot forward. This is Kent Peterson KCØDGY. (DREW DEMARCO, N2AKJ; MARTIN KØBXB) ** DO YOU HAIKU? Don't forget the Amateur Radio Newsline haiku challenge. If you're not too busy tuning your antennas or chasing the latest DXpedition, pick up a pencil and share your experience by sending an original haiku to us here at Newsline. Use the entry form on our website, arnewsline.org and please follow the rules for writing your three-line haiku -- sorry but we cannot accept any entries that aren't written in traditional haiku form. NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Amateur Radio Daily; AMSAT; Barbara, KC1KGS; CQ Magazine; David Behar K7DB; Drew DeMarco N2AKJ; DXWorld; FCC; 425DXNews; Gizmodo; Irish Radio Transmitters Society; Tony EI9LA; QRZ.com; Martin KØBXB; Shannon KC1OHT; shortwaveradio.de; SpaceNews; YouTube; and you our listeners, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline. We remind our listeners that Amateur Radio Newsline is an all-volunteer non-profit organization that incurs expenses for its continued operation. If you wish to support us, please visit our website at arnewsline.org and know that we appreciate you all. We also remind our listeners that if you like our newscast, please leave us a 5-star rating wherever you subscribe to us. 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 Union Kentucky saying 73. As always we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2024. All rights reserved.