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Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2260 for Friday February 19 2021
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2260 with a release date of Friday February 19 2021 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a QST. The pandemic stirs a radio training surge in the UK. Huntsville's Hamfest is back -- and an antenna reconnects Voyager 2 to earth. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2260 comes your way right now. *** BILLBOARD CART ** SURGE IN DEMAND FOR HAM RADIO IN UK PAUL/ANCHOR: Our top story this week brings us back once again to COVID-19 and its impact on amateur radio. The news here, however, is good. Very, very good. Jeremy Boot G4NJH explains. JEREMY: The challenge of a deadly pandemic has stirred unprecedented interest in amateur radio in the UK. As the COVID-19 crisis kept most of the country immobilised, last year the Radio Society of Great Britain rolled out remote invigilation of licence exams. Now, some of the free popular distance learning programmes are reporting a surge in applicants: for Foundation licence and upgrade exam training. Approaching its 17th February application deadline, the Bath Based Distanced Learning Team told Newsline its new Full Licence course has had an overwhelming response. Team leader Steve Hartley G0FUW said, in an email, that with 100 spaces available, the class is already oversubscribed, as organisers sort through some 250 enquiries. This exceeds the previous annual registration for the course - one of several offered by the Bath & District Amateur Radio Club. Steve continued, that some registrants for the Full licence class are those who had trained in its intermediate class. In another email, RSGB President, Dave Wilson M0OBW, praised those providing online training, saying the society website offers a list of these groups. RSGB communications manager Heather Parsons added that having more time to devote to radio now was only one reason amongst many given for the upsurge in interest. In Nottingham, the South Notts Amateur Radio Club said enrollment for its Foundation, Intermediate and Full licence online training classes have likewise attracted high levels of applicants. Club secretary Simon Strange, M0SYS, told Newsline that he now has to lead training three nights a week to meet the intense demand. He said the classes include men, women and children. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH. PAUL/ANCHOR: To see the full list of organizations offering online training in the UK, see the printed script of this newscast on our website, arnewsline.org We also note that the RSGB has announced a consultation seeking views of a new direct Full License exam to run parallel to the three-tier system in place. The Society's Examinations Standards Committee is keeping the consultation period open until the 14th of March. A link to the proposed syllabus is also on our arnewsline.org website. [FOR PRINT ONLY: www.rsgb.org/online-training] [FOR PRINT ONLY: www.rsgb.org/direct-to-full] (SIMON STRANGE M0SYS, RSGB, STEVE HARTLEY G0FUW) ** HUNTSVILLE HAMFEST GOING FORWARD IN ALABAMA PAUL/ANCHOR: If you'd like to go to a hamfest â-" really GO to a hamfest â-" you'll get your chance this August at the Von Braun Center. Don Wilbanks AE5DW has the details. DON: Finally, some good news about ham radio conventions. On Tuesday, February 16th it was announced that plans are going forward for the Huntsville Hamfest in Alabama. Mark Brown N4BCD, Huntsville Hamfest chairman made the following statement on the convention website, hamfest.org. The Hamfest Board has met with the Von Braun Center to learn about the current rules & regulations for mass-gatherings. In short, the insurmountable obstacles that prevented us from hosting a Hamfest last year have relaxed to the point where we can host a safe and successfulevent. Additionally, our survey of commercial and flea-market vendors on their plans to attend returned very encouraging sentiments. Adjustments to the floor plan are being made to keep everyone safe, in particular 12' aisle spacing. Additional space will be utilized this year to accommodate the commercial & flea-market vendors and visitors. Once that floor plan is defined in a few weeks we'll open the web portal up for vendor registration. We highly recommend visitors to purchase tickets on-line this year. Will-Call windows will be set up to streamline the Saturday morning crush. The ticket web portal will open in a few weeks. The Hamfest Board is excited at the prospect of holding a live gathering in a safe way for everyone attending and we look forward to seeing many of our friends again. Thanks and 73, Mark N4BCD, Huntsville Hamfest chairman. The Huntville Hamfest is a world class ham radio gathering and, since 1993, the home of the Newsline Young Ham of the Year presentation. Mark your calendars for this one and we will see you there August 21st and 22nd. For Amateur Radio Newsline, this is Don Wilbanks AE5DW. ** VARIETY OF EVENTS MARK WORLD RADIO DAY CELEBRATIONS PAUL/ANCHOR: A lot of celebrating took place around the world and on the air during the weekend of February 13th and 14th. It was the 10th anniversary of UNESCO's World Radio Day, recognizing radio as the single most-consumed medium with an ability to reach the world's largest and most diverse audiences. Amateur radio was, of course, a big part of the global activities. In Spain, call signs were activated with the suffix WRD from the 12th to the 14th of the month. Hams throughout India had a variety of activities on tap. In the southern Indian state of Kerala (KER-uh-luh), the Institute of Amateur Radio had hams on the radio reminding people of the rescue and disaster assistance hams provide during floods, cyclones and other events. A radio festival displayed antique and unusual equipment, from handhelds to rare transmitters. Hams also got busy preparing for a two-day Field Day in India on the 27th and 28th of February where emergency communications will be given a test run. The website, weather.com, even got into the act by posting an article reminding people of hams' unique ability to assist in emergencies even when commercial power has been cut off. One celebration began over the weekend and will continue at least for a while longer. Be listening for the callsign 4U13FEB until the 28th of February. Members of the UN Global Service Center ARC in Brindisi, Italy, are calling QR Zed until then to promote World Radio Day. Meanwhile, get ready for the next big event specifically for hams: Sunday, April 18 is World Amateur Radio Day. (SOUTHGATE, WEATHER.COM, INDIAN EXPRESS) ** REVIVED ANTENNA RECONNECTS WITH VOYAGER 2 PAUL/ANCHOR: If you've ever been off the air for a year or so, you know that your first contact has got to be a good one. Especially if it's serious DX like the one we hear next about from Graham Kemp VK4BB. GRAHAM: The completion of a complicated upgrade of an aging antenna at the Deep Space Network in Canberra, Australia has restored full contact between Earth and the Voyager 2 probe. The trailblazing spacecraft, which was launched 44 years ago by NASA, had been crossing the heavens in relative silence after a 70-meter dish there known as DSS 43 was shut down and dismantled for a needed refreshing. In space as on Earth, however, few things are immune to the impact of the global pandemic. The ordinarily large team of experts NASA would have sent to Canberra for the makeover was limited to four for safety reasons â-" and the reduced size of the team delayed the upgrade's progress. With DSS 43 being the only antenna capable of communicating with Voyager 2, the probe had few options for communicating: It could only transmit to the smaller dishes in Canberra but was unable to receive any commands, especially those that could have fixed problems if any had been detected on board. After a test message was sent last October when DSS 43 was partially reassembled, NASA and other experts were optimistic. Now with DSS 43 back in business, the long silence is over but two-way contact still requires something of a wait: Round-trip communication between Earth and the far-away Voyager 2 takes 35 hours. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Graham Kemp VK4BB. (NYTIMES) ** SILENT KEY: LIGHTHOUSE ACTIVATOR HANDEL 'ANDY' BLUER G3UUZ PAUL/ANCHOR: A ham known for years of powerful operations at lighthouses throughout the UK has become a Silent Key. Jeremy Boot G4NJH tells us about him. JEREMY: Handel Bluer G3UUZ, who was also known as Andy, is perhaps best recalled by hams throughout in the UK for the remarkable longwire antennas he would string from atop whatever lighthouse he happened to be activating. That included those times he operated from Bishop Rock between 1976 and 1980 where he worked pileup after pileup, according to his son Redders M5ACT. Redders told Newsline he remembered his father saying that he was able to work stations in America from there long before anyone else in the UK was able to do so. Andy became a Silent Key this month at the age of 92. He had achieved recognition in The Short Wave Magazine in July of 1971 for his noted abilities in Top Band operation from such lighthouses as Nash Point in South Wales. Andy's fondness for lighthouse operations earned him a profile in the March 2000 issue of Practical Wireless magazine where the authors of the article said they were pleased to be shared his insights into [quote] "finding a happy medium between being a lighthouse keeper and a radio amateur." [endquote] For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH. (REDDERS BLUER M5ACT, THE SHORT WAVE MAGAZINE, PRACTICAL WIRELESS) ** BREAK HE Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline heard on bulletin stations around the world, including the K7ECI repeater of the Elmore County Amateur Radio Club in Mountain Home, Idaho on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. local time. ** YOUNGSTERS' FORUM IN IARU REGION LOOKS AT SOTA, IOTA, WWFF PAUL/ANCHOR: Who doesn't want to get outdoors? Young hams in IARU Region 1 are making plans to do just that and holding an online forum, as we hear from Ed Durrant DD5LP. ED: Summits on the Air, Islands On the Air, Worldwide Flora and Fauna and other radio-friendly outdoor activities will be the focus of discussion among young amateurs during the next YOTA Online session this month. It's being held by the Youth Working Group of IARU Region 1. The programme will begin at 1900 UTC on Thursday, the 25th of February. This episode is called "Gone exploring" and shares different ways to enjoy outdoor activations. The Youth Working Group Chair Philipp Springer DK6SP writes on the ham-yota.com website that, as with previous episodes in the series, there will be a question-and-answer period afterwards. YOTA Online is a monthly presentation by Region 1's youngest amateurs. The events are livestreamed on YouTube, Twitch and Facebook and the organisers are also hoping to stream the proceedings via the QO-100 geostationary satellite in DATV mode. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Ed Durrant DD5LP. (IARU REGION 1 WEBSITE) ** U.S. HAMS RESPOND TO WINTER WEATHER EXTREMES PAUL/ANCHOR: Recent weather extremes throughout much of the United States put hams' preparedness to the test, as we hear from Randy SlyW4XJ. RANDY: Sleet, winter storms and other severe weather systems plus power and telecommunications outages challenged hams across the nation, even as temperatures fell to record lows in parts of the U.S. South. Arctic conditions prevailed through much of the central region of the country as well. The ARRL's emergency response director Paul Gilbert, KE5ZW, reported on the league website that an ARES net was set up in Texas to track rolling blackouts taking place as the power grid there became overwhelmed by customer demand. The net also handled health and welfare needs and vehicle accident reports. Hams responded to similar conditions as well in Alabama where the Section Emergency Coordinator David Gillespie W4LHQ also reported on the league website that the region was dealing with power outages and temperatures below freezing. Although not every region activated an ARES group, hams were standing by just in case as the threat of the return of severe weather hung over many regions. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Randy Sly W4XJ. (ARRL) ** AUSTRALIAN HAM GROUP HELPS MEMBERS SOLVE ACMA ADDRESS REQUIREMENT PAUL/ANCHOR: In Australia, one radio group has directed its problem-solving toward hams unable to fulfill the regulator's requirement for a permanent address. Here's Robert Broomhead VK3DN withmore. ROBERT: The ACMA's requirement that hams in Australia provide a public postal address to be certified and licensed left some amateurs with a dilemma: they do not have a fixed address at the moment because they have been traveling or are perhaps in a vulnerable segment of the population. Leave it to amateur radio ingenuity and problem-solving to resolve this issue. The Pride Radio Group, created last year as a welcoming organisation for amateur radio operators in the LGBTQ community, has arranged a free mail redirection service for its members in Australia. It provides a post box address that can be publicly listed and is separate from the address of the ham's QTH. The radio group's founder Michaela (Mick-EYE-ALE-A) Wheeler VK3FUR/VK4XSS, said Pride is providing the mail redirection service free to its members with the help of the provider HotSnail. Michaela said members receive an address to use on their registration paperwork. If mail arrives at that address, HotSnail scans it and forwards it to the email address the ham has provided. While this service cannot be used for QSL cards, Michaela said it does solve the address problem for the ACMA's required paperwork. Michaela said that because Pride Radio Group operates as a virtual entity, using HotSnail made the most sense because the service can be managed remotely. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Robert Broomhead VK3DN. (MICHAELA WHEELER VK3FUR/VK4XSS) ** RESEARCHERS DEVELOP SENSITIVE, EFFICIENT TERAHERTZ DETECTOR PAUL/ANCHOR: Researchers in Moscow have developed a terahertz detector with unprecedented sensitivity and it shows promise in several areas of science. Jack Parker W8ISH has the details. JACK: A development from researchers in Moscow has presented what researchers consider good prospects for radio astronomy, wireless communications, medical diagnostics and security systems. It involves the use of something called quantum-mechanical tunneling in graphene. The scientists have used it to create a highly sensitive terahertz detector. This solves the problem of inefficiency when mobile systems make use of extremely high frequencies beyond the traditional ones used today. Most transistors in use today in typical wireless receivers aren't fast enough to recharge at those frequencies: Wi-Fi receivers typically use signals at about 5 GHz and 5G mobile can transmit as high as 20 GHz - but going much higher usually poses a challenge. What researchers in Moscow and the University of Manchester have created is a device much more sensitive to those in commercial use now, which are based on semiconductors and superconductors. In this new development, the application of even very low voltage to the control contact or gate in a tunneling transistor aligns energy levels of the source and channel, permitting current to flow. On the website Phys.Org, one of the Moscow researchers, Dennis Bandurin writes: [quote] "The current characteristics give rise to great hopes for the creation of fast and sensitive detectors for wireless communications." [endquote] For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jack Parker W8ISH. (PHYS.ORG) ** KICKER: A MARS LANDING FOR PENNSYLVANIA CLUB CALL SIGN PAUL/ANCHOR: We conclude this week's report by asking: Can YOUR call sign go the distance? For one Pennsylvania amateur radio club, the answer is a resounding: YES! Ralph Squillace KK6ITB tells us why. RALPH: This could be the world's tiniest QSL card for the world's rarest DX thus far: The Perseverance Rover arriving on Mars to look for signs of past microbial life and collect climate and geographic data will be carrying the name of the Holmesburg Amateur Radio Club with it. The Pennsylvania club's name and call sign WM3PEN is one of almost 11 million names on board, stenciled into one of three tiny silicon chips by an electron beam as part of NASA's "Send Your Name to Mars" campaign. The club is perhaps best well-known for running the annual 13 Colonies Special Event that takes place around America's Independence Day celebrations each year. Sure, the club had more than enough company on its journey when the launch took off at Kennedy Space Center in Florida last summer -- but how many of them are space-travel veterans like the Holmesburg hams? Club trustee Bob Josuweit WA3PZO, told Newsline that this is the second trek to Mars for the club's call sign. The first journey was in 2011 on board the rover named Curiosity where the club's call sign joined some 1.2 million names. Bob told Newsline the club decided it was worth going along for the ride again. Talk about perseverance! For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Ralph Squillace KK6ITB. (NASA, BOB JOSUWEIT WA3PZO) ** NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Amateur News Weekly; the ARRL; Bob Josuweit WA3PZO; CQ Magazine; David Behar K7DB; EOS; HAMSci; Indian Express; Michaela Wheeler VK3FUR; NASA; New York Times; Ohio Penn DX newsletter; PHYS.ORG; QRZ.com; Practical Wireless; Radio Society of Great Britain; Redders Bluer M5ACT; Short Wave Magazine; Simon Strange M0SYS; Southgate Amateur Radio News; shortwaveradio.de; Southgate; Steve Hartley G0FUW; Ted Randall's QSO Radio Show; the Wireless Institute of Australia; WTWW Shortwave; YOTA; and you our listeners, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline. Please send emails to our address at . 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 Paul Braun WD9GCO in Valparaiso Indiana saying 73. As always we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2021. 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