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Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2317 for Friday March 25th, 2022

Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2317 with a release date of Friday
March 25th, 2022 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. China's space station makes room for amateur
radio. Russia and Belarus are suspended from CEPT -- and hams help
other hams after Australia's wide-ranging flood damage. All this and
more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2317 comes your way
rightnow.

**
BILLBOARD CART HERE

**
CHINA'S SPACE STATION TO PUT HAMS IN ORBIT

PAUL/ANCHOR: Our top story this week takes us to the space station that
China is building, module by module. The latest word is that one of
those modules will have room for amateur radio. Jim Meachen ZL2BHF has
those details.

JIM: China's Tiangong space station, which is being constructed in low
Earth orbit following the launch of its first module last May, is
expected to have room for astronauts, experiments and now, amateur
radio. The IARU's satellite frequency coordination panel reports that
it received an application on March 8th for an amateur radio payload to
be on board. The station is being proposed by the Chinese Radio
Amateurs Club in cooperation with the Aerospace System Engineering
Research Institute of Shanghai and the Harbin Institute of Technology.
Previous news reports have noted that the Chinese Manned Space Agency
plans to have three astronauts on board continuously for a minimum of
10 years. One module will house the astronauts; the space station
expects to use the remaining two of its three modules to host
scientific experiments of researchers from all nations of the UN.

The amateur radio station is applying to use portions of the VHF/UHF
amateur radio band and will consist of communications by voice,
repeater, AFSK digipeater and SSTV or other digital imaging modes. Not
unlike the radios on board the International Space Station, the ham
radios on the Chinese space station are intended for a variety of uses, including contacts with students to inspire careers in science,
technology, engineering and math. According to the application, the
payload would launch in the third quarter of this year.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.

(SPACE.COM, AMSAT-UK)

**
EUROPEAN CONFERENCE SUSPENDS RUSSIAN, BELARUSIAN MEMBERSHIP

PAUL/ANCHOR: Hams from Belarus and the Russian Federation are feeling
the impact after their nations' memberships were suspended from the
European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations.
Ed Durrant DD5LP has an update.

ED: The European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications
Administrations has indefinitely suspended the membership of Belarus
and the Russian Federation, in a sweeping action that has an impact on
amateur radio operators. An agreement within the conference, known as
CEPT, grants amateur radio privileges to qualifying hams traveling
between signatory countries without the need to obtain additional
permits or licences. The CEPT was formed to foster cooperation among
its member nations with regards to postal and electronic
communications.

The suspension, which comes in the wake of Russia's invasion of
Ukraine, took effect on the 18th of March. The Russian Federation
joined CEPT in 1994. Belarus became a member in 2003.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Ed Durrant DD5LP.

**
SILENT KEY: GILES READ, G1MFG, RSGB's TECHNICAL EDITOR

PAUL/ANCHOR: The Radio Society of Great Britain has suffered a great
loss with the death of one of its key team members. Jeremy Boot G4NJH
has that story.

JEREMY: Giles Read, G1MFG, had been the technical editor for RadCom
magazine, the widely read publication sent free every month to Society
members throughout the world. The Society announced that Giles, who had
been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer just days earlier,
became a Silent Key on Friday, March 18th. No further details were
immediately available. We here at Amateur Radio Newsline extend our
condolences to his family and friends.

The Society will be posting additional details about Giles on its
website at rsgb.org/sk

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(RSGB)

**
AUSTRALIAN HAMS HELP ONE ANOTHER FOLLOWING FLOOD LOSSES

PAUL/ANCHOR: Amateur radio clubs are proud to be able to help in
disasters - but what happens when the clubs themselves become victims?
John Williams VK4JJW tells us how one club in Australia has stepped up
to help a dozen of those whose shacks were devastated by recent floods.

JOHN: An amateur radio club on the border of New South Wales and
Victoria in Australia has come to the rescue of a dozen or so clubs
that, like their own, works to assist communities ravaged by such
disasters as bush fires, earthquakes and floods. In this case,
however the North East Victoria Amateur Radio Club has stepped in
because the other clubs became victims themselves after recent floods
destroyed their vital radio gear and in many cases, washed it away. The
club has been providing assistance by collecting funds as well as new radiogear.

Frank Scott, VK2BFC, secretary of the club, told ABC.NET news that a
fund has been created to replace as much of the other clubs' lost gear
as possible. He said many of the clubs belong to the Wireless Institute
of Australia's Civil Emergency Network. According to Frank, most of the equipment that was lost was not covered by flood damage insurance.
Frank said it was difficult to get that kind of insurance for such
items as ham radio equipment and communication towers. For Amateur
Radio Newsline I'm John Williams VK4JJW.

(ABC.NET)

**
TWO-DAY DRILL IN INDIA PREPS FOR DISASTER

PAUL/ANCHOR: Two groups of hams tested their portable communications capabilities recently on a remote island in India. Jason Daniels VK2LAW
tells us about their drill.

JASON: An exercise in emergency preparedness brought hams in one region
of India to a remote island on the River Ganga near Patna, the capital
city of Bihar. It was a two-day field exercise on March 12th and 13th
for members of the Society of Radio Amateurs, relying only on battery
power for more than 30 hours. They were joined by operators from the
Indian Wave of Amateur Radio VU2IWA, based in Kolkata who, like the
hams from Bihar, know that preparedness is essential in a region like
theirs, which is prone to earthquakes and floods. Radio conditions that
weekend were conducive to good contacts. According to a report on the
Global Bihari news site, hundreds of QSOs were made between that remote
island and radio operators as far away as Europe. The hams were pleased
with the results since many of them provide essential communication
during the region's natural disasters.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jason Daniels VK2LAW.

(GLOBAL BIHARI)

**
AMATEURS FOCUS ON SEVERE WEATHER PREPAREDNESS

PAUL/ANCHOR: Weather preparedness is a priority everywhere and Randy
Sly W4XJ tells us how those of us in the United States can get
involved.

RANDY: As we, here in the United States, approach the season for
thunderstorms, tornadoes and hurricanes, the National Weather Service
is holding Severe Weather Preparedness Weeks across the country.
Tornado drills, announcements through the media and personal
preparation information are just a few ways the Weather Service is
getting the word out at this time of year to be prepared.

It's a good time for amateur radio operators, involved in ARES, RACES,
CERT, Skywarn and other groups, to ensure that we are also prepared.
This includes making sure that all radios, accessories along with
backup power sources are fully functional and that all contact
information is up to date with the agencies and organizations served.

Christopher Strong, Warning Coordination Meteorologist for the Baltimore/Washington DC Weather Forecast Office told Amateur Radio
Newsline that hams can play a big part in being "weather aware," by
knowing what threats are possible. Hams should have a plan if extreme
weather occurs. Strong said that, during an event, operators are
important as they actively gather impact data from their community and
get that information back to the National Weather Service, which
improves the accuracy of the notifications being issued.

Over the years, the motto: "When all else fails, amateur radio" has
proven true in many situations. This is not only due to amateur
operators' readiness to serve, but our willingness to be prepared.

For more information, go to weather.gov and click on Spring
Preparedness.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Randy Sly, W4XJ.

** NOMINATE YOUNG AMATEURS FOR NEWSLINE AWARD

PAUL/ANCHOR: It's time to think about the next generation of radio
operators and appreciate their skill and dedication. Perhaps one of
them will be the next recipient of the Amateur Radio Newsline Bill
Pasternak Memorial Young Ham of the Year Award. Consider nominating an
amateur radio operator 18 years of age or younger with talent, promise
and a commitment to the spirit of ham radio. Find application forms on
our website arnewsline.org under the "YHOTY" tab. Nominations close
May31st.

**

BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur
Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including
the Butler County Amateur Radio Public Service Group's K3PSG repeater
in Butler, Pennsylvania on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. local time


**
FCC HAM RADIO LICENSE FEE TAKES EFFECT APRIL 19TH PAUL/ANCHOR: Get
ready for April 19th. If you're looking to upgrade, renew or change
your callsign, you have until that date to do so without having to pay
a fee. The FCC has announced its new $35 application fee for US amateur
radio licenses takes effect on that date. The agency said the fees can
be paid by using the Commission's Universal LIcensing System on the FCC website. The FCC posted a public notice on its website on March 23,
announcing it would begin collecting the fees, which it has said will
cover the costs of processing the applications. For hams, the fees
apply to new licenses, renewals, upgrades, sequential call sign changes
and applications for vanity calls. It does not apply to such
administrative updates as change of email or other mailing address.

(FCC)

**
OREGON LAUNCHES STATE'S FIRST SATELLITE

PAUL/ANCHOR: The team behind Oregon's first satellite gets bragging
rights this week after its successful launch from Alaska. Ralph
Squillace KK6ITB brings us that story.

RALPH: Space enthusiasts are celebrating the launch of Oregon's first satellite, which carried amateur radio into low Earth orbit on a
spacecraft no larger than a box of tissues. Known as OreSat0, it is an
open source CubeSat built by the Portland State Aerospace Society, an interdisciplinary group of students at Portland State University. With
solar panels, batteries, a color camera and of course amateur radio on
board, it was launched on March 15th from Kodiak, Alaska.

The group's faculty advisor, Andrew Greenberg, KD7CJT, said on the
university website [quote]: "Our small group of space hipsters gathered
in the rocket room to watch the launch with fancy bagels and pour-over
coffee, and then collectively held our breath for more than an hour." [endquote] After some nervous moments, they learned the flight had gone smoothly. Its mission, which is to test the cubesat system itself, is
expected to last several years. Fear not, this won't be the first and
the last for Oregon. The group is already hard at work on OreSat0.5
(OreSat Zero Point Five), and it's scheduled for launch this summer. It
will be a larger satellite for NASA's CubeSat Launch Initiative and
will carry equipment gathering data for global climate science,
studying the distribution of high altitude cirrus clouds.

Meanwhile if you'd like to track the pride of Oregon's space fans, see
the link in the text version of this week's script at arnewsline.org

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Ralph Squillace KK6ITB.

[FOR PRINT ONLY, DO NOT READ:
https://uniclogs-cesium-megqz.ondigitalocean.app/ ]

**

NORWAY'S BEGINNERS' LICENSE GAINS TRACTION

PAUL/ANCHOR: Norway is moving forward with a plan to introduce a new
amateur radio license for beginners. Jeremy Boot G4NJH has that story.

JEREMY: Norway has plans to introduce a 10-watt entry level certificate
for young hams. It has the financial support of one million Kroner, or
nearly $114,000 US dollars, from the Norwegian Research Council with
the input of hams throughout the nation.

The proposal, introduced last year, was discussed at Norway's
Hammeeting, an annual amateur radio convention. Attendees included the communications regulator NKOM and the Norwegian Radio Relay League. The
NRRL, the Research Institute of Forsvaret and Torbjørn, LA4ZCA, are
working together on a plan to introduce the subject formally into
school curricula. The proposed certificate would become available to
12- and 13-year-old enthusiasts operating at low power on limitedbands.

The entry level licence has the support of such groups as the Academic
Radio Club, or ARK, which has already been making classes available.
The ARK is Norway's oldest amateur radio club for students.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH.


(ARK, SOUTHGATE)

**
SPECIAL EVENT HONORS AMERICAN MUSIC LEGEND LORETTA LYNN

PAUL/ANCHOR: Get ready for a birthday party on the air, marking one of
the greats in American country music history. We hear more about this
special event from Jim Damron N8TMW.

JIM: The Amateur Radio Service Club of Paintsville, Kentucky will be
operating a special event station from the birthplace of American
country music star Loretta Lynn in Butcher Hollow in Van Lear,
Kentucky. The hams are commemorating her 90th birthday.

During her musical career, Ms. Lynn received numerous awards including
three Grammys, seven American Music Awards, eight Broadcast Music
Incorporated awards, 13 Academy of Country Music, eight Country Music Association, and 26 fan-voted Music City News awards.

The club will be using the callsign K4L, which stands for Kentuckians
for Loretta.

The special event station will be operating from Zero through 2359
hours UTC on April 14th, 2022 on all HF bands and on repeaters on the
East Kentucky Repeater System. They will also be operating some of the
digital modes, as well as CW.

For a specially-designed QSL card confirming your contact, send your
QSL and SASE to KY4ARC.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Damron, N8TMW.

(JON HAGER N4KJU)

**
HAMS CLIMB UP FOR INTERNATIONAL HEMA SUMMIT DAY

PAUL/ANCHOR: Summit activators are getting ready for a formal
international challenge in the HEMA awards scheme. Ed Durrant DD5LP
bring us that report.

ED: Few challenges are too tall for radio operators who are accustomed
to conquering and activating summits. So when summit radio enthusiast
Rob, G7LAS, suggested to his fellow activators that they participate in
an International HEMA Summit Day on Saturday, April 2nd, they jumped on
board. Activators from around the world have committed to operating on
that day to get as many other summits in their logs as possible. Others
have pledged to be enthusiastic chasers. Activators will especially be
looking to grab contacts between HEMA summits in the recently added associations. To qualify for the HEMA award scheme summits must have a prominence between 100 and 150 metres over the surrounding terrain.

Details of the HEMA award scheme can be found at the internet address
given in the text version of this script at arnewsline.org. [
hema.org.uk ].

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Ed Durrant DD5LP.

(FACEBOOK)

**
WORLD OF DX

In the World of DX, the 3Y0J Bouvet Island Dxpedition has put out a QST
in the hopes that the team can add a radio operator from North America
focusing on SSB. Co-leader Ken, LA7GIA, wrote in a posting on the
team's Facebook page that the physical challenges during the DXpedition
and the 10-day sail in early 2023 will be intense. The team guarantees
pileups but no showers for three weeks. The team members is expected to
pay a minimum of $20,000. Interested? Send an email to info at 3y0j dot
no (info@3y0j.no)

(OHIO PENN DX)

**
KICKER: NO DEFLATED EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS WEATHER BALLOON

PAUL/ANCHOR: For our final story, we hear about a group of university
students in Pennsylvania who were just as happy when their weather
balloon launched...as when it burst. Sel Embee KB3TZD has their story.

SEL: The morning fog covering Philadelphia burned off just in time for
the triumphant launch of the latest high altitude weather balloon of
the Villanova University CubeSat Club. The balloon's 90-minute journey
on Friday, March 18th, began on the college campus in Pennsylvania just
before noon local time and ended at 1:30 in the afternoon in central
New Jersey.

The payload included three amateur radio transmitters using the club
callsign W3YP, three cameras and a GPS tracker. Progress reports were
tweeted live by club advisor Alan Johnston KU2Y and the students
livestreamed the action from the club's Instagram account. The
helium-filled latex balloon was designed to burst when the flight
reached an altitude of 60,000 feet or 18.2 kilometres. The payload was outfitted with a parachute which returned it to Earth for successful
recovery by the students.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Sel Embee KB3TZD.

(TWITTER, FACEBOOK)

**
NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to AMSAT-UK; the ARK; ARRL; CQ Magazine;
Daryl Stout, WX4QZ; David Behar K7DB; DXWorld.net; Facebook; Global
Bihari; Jon Hager, N4KJU; Ohio Penn DX; QRZ.com; the Radio Society of
Great Britain; Southgate Amateur Radio News; shortwaveradio.de;
Space.com; Twitter; and you our listeners, that's all from the Amateur
Radio Newsline. You can write to us at newsline@arnewsline.org. 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.

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 2022. All rights reserved.

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