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Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2360 for Friday January 20th, 2023

Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2360 with a release date of Friday
January 20th, 2023 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.


The following is a QST. Ten meters wakes up in time for popular events.
Puerto Rico gets new tools for disaster communications -- and get ready
for Bouvet Island on the air. All this and more as Amateur Radio
Newsline Report Number 2360 comes your way right now.

**
BILLBOARD CART

**
BOUVET ISLAND ON THE HORIZON

JIM/ANCHOR: We begin this report with encouraging and long-awaited news
for DXers. The latest report from the Bouvet Island DXpedition, 3Y0J
[THREE WHY ZERO JAY], is that radio operations could start sometime
between the 27th of January and the 4th of February. The team intends
to stay on the remote island for three weeks. According to a post on DX-World.Net, Kenneth Opskar, LA7GIA, has reported that the sail from
Port Stanley began on the 17th of January, just one day behind
schedule. The operators said they are not planning any /MM activity on
the way; however you can track them using the Garmin link shown on the
Newsline website.

[DO NOT READ:https://share.garmin.com/3y0j ]

**
THINKING AHEAD TO THE 2026 CHAMPIONSHIP

JIM/ANCHOR: Meanwhile, even with the big world radio championship
coming to Italy later this year, the event's organizing committee is
already looking for host venues for 2026. Graham Kemp VK4BB tells us
what's involved.

GRAHAM: While much of the amateur radio world awaits the start of the
World Radiosport Team Championship in Bologna, Italy this coming July,
the WRTC Sanctioning Committee is already looking forward to hearing
from prospective host sites for this prestigious event to be held
in2026.

Groups interested in serving as hosts for WRTC 2026 should submit a
summary proposal and a letter of intent. The information should include
details about principals in the committee making the proposal and a
description of how the competition will be conducted, including the
number of entrant teams to be allowed and the means by which
competitors will be chosen. Details must also be provided about housing arrangements available, travel options and a tentative schedule.
Although it is not yet necessary to submit a budget, prospective hosts
should provide an outline of expenses and their fundraising plan. The
proposal should also discuss the means by which the event will be
publicized and what kind of regional support the event will have from regulators as well as amateur radio organisations in the area.

The deadline to submit letters of intent is March 31st. Send details
directly to Tine Brajnik, S50A, by email. The address is tine dot
brajnik at gmail dot com (tine.brajnik@gmail.com)

The committee hopes to announce the venue for the 2026 event at the
conclusion of the competition in Bologna.

This is Graham Kemp VK4BB.

(WRTC)

**
TWO PROMINENT INDIAN AMATEURS ARE SILENT KEYS

JIM/ANCHOR: In India, the ham radio community has lost two
well-respected veteran hams who became Silent Keys this month. Jason
Daniels VK2LAW tells us about them.

JASON: Two amateurs in the Indian radio community have become Silent
Keys. S, Venkataraman, VU2SV, was described in many online tributes as
a "homebrew legend." People posting their condolences in a number of
online forums expressed their gratitude for the assistance he gave them
in many of their own projects and for serving as an inspiration. A ham
since 1962, he died on January 3rd at the age of 88.

Amateurs in India and Sri Lanka were also grieving the loss of "Sun" Shanmugasundram, VU2FOT. A well-known amateur, he was part of the team
that created a popular Sunday morning net in 1988. In the beginning it
was known as the SWL DX Net but on its tenth anniversary was renamed
the BC DX Net, a name that continues to this day. He died on January
12th at the age of 61.

This is Jason Daniels VK2LAW.

(YOUTUBE, QRZ.COM, FACEBOOK)

**

FROM DRILL TO REAL-LIFE DISASTER

JIM/ANCHOR: Disaster drills are supposed to prepare radio operators for
the real thing - so imagine how hams felt in one California county when
one of their more recent drills played out as a real-life emergency.
Randy Sly W4XJ shares that experience.

RANDY: When Sacramento County ARES was invited to participate in an
in-person training exercise last summer, they had no idea that a few
months later the drill would play out as a real-life event. Most
in-person emergency training had come to a halt nationwide over the
past few years due to the pandemic, but Sacramento County emergency
managers wanted to return from table-top scenarios to in-person
training with deployed incident command posts. This in-person drill
focused on the levee system of the delta for the Sacramento and San
Joaquin rivers. At one point, there was a simulated communications
blackout and ARES was called in to establish contact between the EOC,
command posts and people in the field using FM and Winlink.

Now fast forward to early January. This time, what was happening was
not a training exercise: a winter storm with pounding rain was wreaking
havoc throughout the coastal counties of central and southern
California. Sacramento County activated and included ARES to assist in reporting flooding of the rivers, particularly in the delta region.
Sacramento County EC, Jay Ballinger, N6SAC, told AR Newsline that,
thanks to the drill, the familiarity the hams had gained with roads
around the river region as well as with county emergency management
allowed ARES to effectively deploy and report.

This is Randy Sly, W4XJ
**
IN THE US, FIELD DAY: IN THE WINTER?

JIM/ANCHOR: So have you started planning for this year's Field Day? You
may be thinking to yourself, there's plenty of time for that. Right?
But that's not what Amateur Radio Newsline's Mark Abramowicz
(Abram-o-vich) tells us as US ham clubs and groups are already planning
for a different kind of Field Day - Winter Field Day.

MARK: I'd be willing to wager a lot of hams listening to this report
haven't ever heard about Winter Field Day.

Sure, maybe a few have read stories in the magazines over the years
about groups of amateurs going out somewhere in the woods during the
winter - especially in snow - and setting up tents with one or two
stations, wire antennas and gathering a hardy group of "polar bears," I
mean operators, to activate them.

But there really is a Winter Field Day and it's coming up fast
-Saturday, Jan. 28 and Sunday, Jan. 29.

You may be surprised to know it's an activity that dates back to 2007.
That year, a group of Texas hams came up with a plan to stir up some
activity on the bands during the winter while challenging operators to
set up stations similar to those activated for the ARRL's Field Day in
June.

A loosely knit group calling itself The Society for the Preservation of
Amateur Radio was behind the first few Winter Field Day events. But,
its small group of members quickly realized they needed some help and
handed over the activity in 2015 to the newly formed Winter Field Day Association.

That group set up some basic rules and categories that have led to a
blizzard of competition that has spread across the U.S. and beyond.

The Winter Field Day Association's mission is simple: It believes hams
should practice portable emergency communications in winter
environments because of the special challenges presented by freezing temperatures, snow, ice and other hazards. WFD is designed to sharpen preparedness under those subpar conditions.

Last year, more than 2,500 logs were submitted. This year, the 16th
year for the event, the organizers are hoping for at least that ormore.

You can find more at the Winter Field Day website included in the
script for this story at our website, arnewsline.org.

Oh, and one more thing. As with the ARRL's Field Day, you don't have to actually leave your home shack to take part.

Make yourself a nice cup of hot chocolate or your favorite hot
beverage, fire up the HF radio, and get on the air and contact those
stations that are "out there in the cold" looking for you and other
"polar bears" during this 24-hour event.

I'm Mark Abramowicz, NT3V.

[FOR PRINT ONLY, DO NOT READ: https://www.winterfieldday.com ]

**

KFF MARATHON CHALLENGE GETS IN THE RUNNING

JIM/ANCHOR: Hams operating in natural settings or chasing QSOs there
have just embarked on a year-long challenge to score big. Stephen
Kinford N8WB tells us about this radio marathon.

STEPHEN: The fourth annual KFF Marathon Challenge kicked off on the
first of January, encouraging participants in the Worldwide Flora and
Fauna awards program to strive for their best scores once again this
year, either as activators or hunters. KFF is the designation of the
WWFF program for activation sites within the United States and its
territories. Awards are available for the Top North American Hunters,
Top DX Hunters, and Top Activators. Some of the more interesting sites
include the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge, the Guam
National Wildlife Refuge, Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge in
Alaska and Choctaw National Wildlife Refuge in Puerto Rico. Other
parks, islands, caverns and protected areas are located throughout the
United States mainland.

For details visit the WWFF-KFF page on Facebook.

This is Stephen Kinford N8WB.

(WWFF)

**

BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur
Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including
the N5OZG (N 5 OH ZED G) repeater in New Orleans, Louisiana on Sundays
at 8 p.m.

**
WEST BENGAL HAMS ENSURE PILGRIMS' SAFETY

JIM/ANCHOR: A massive religious pilgrimage in India has just concluded
and as always the safety of the thousands attending was assured with
the help of amateur radio as we hear from Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.

JIM: A record number of pilgrims turned out this year for the largest
religious gathering in India, the Gangasagar Mela, and the West Bengal
Radio Club was there as always to assist with public safety,
communications and coordination for individuals who fell ill and needed airlifting from the island to area hospitals. More than a dozen people
were reported missing at the massive gathering and the hams assisted in reuniting them with their families on the island. Officials told the
Hindu newspaper that they had the support of about 42 amateur radio
operators.

The mela began on the 5th of January and ended on the 17th.

While they were there, the hams were also able to make contacts as part
of Islands on the Air from the island, which is in the Bay of Bengal
and has the designation of AS-153. They used the callsign AT2WBRC.

This is Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.

(AMBARISH NAG BISWAS, VU2JFA, THE HINDU)

***
BBC FEATURES THE LEADING VOICES OF CW EDUCATORS

JIM/ANCHOR: In the UK, broadcast radio isn't about to start getting rid
of its voice programming and replacing it with CW but this month, the
BBC embraced the mode gladly. Twice, in fact. Jeremy Boot G4NJH tells
us about it.

JEREMY: The BBC has run programming before that examined Morse Code as
a form of communication but this month the broadcaster revisited the
subject with one ham from the United States who is a leading CW
educator. On the afternoon current affairs programme, PM on BBC Radio
4, Howard Bernstein, WB2UZE, cofounder of the Long Island CW Club,
spoke with presenter Evan Davis about the mode's growing popularity in
the United States and people's efforts to learn it. The LICW has
membership around the world availing themselves of the club's free
instruction.

Meanwhile, the voice of CW enthusiast Mervyn Foster, G4KLE, can be
heard on BBC Three Counties Radio. Mervyn, a volunteer at the National
Radio Centre, appeared on the breakfast programme of Andy Collins on
the 13th of January. A lifelong fan of CW, Mervyn told Andy about its resurgence in the UK and its usefulness even outside amateur radio.

To hear either or both of these interview, visit the links that appear
in the text version of this week's newscast at arnewsline.org

I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

[Howard interview: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001h638 ]

[Mervyn interview: https://tinyurl.com/h9ny9dsp ]

**

RADIO RELAY INTERNATIONAL EXPANDS ITS REACH

JIM/ANCHOR: Puerto Rico just got another safety net to protect the
island when disaster strikes, as we hear from Christian Cudnik K0STH.

CHRISTIAN: The global ham radio emergency-response network known as
Radio Relay International has expanded to provide crisis communications
in Puerto Rico. RRI announced that the expansion of its Digital Traffic
Network infrastructure into the island comes after a year of working
with volunteers there to upgrade emergency preparedness through
training courses. The area digital coordinators for RRI have also been
giving the volunteers one-on-one assistance and technical support.

RRI's Digital Traffic Network is a modified hybrid mesh network that
uses primarily HF but is also involved in creating VHF and UHF gateways
for local support. The system has the advantage of universal
interoperability between voice and CW and digital platforms. RRI
handles traffic as radiograms in voice, CW and digital modes via the
Digital Traffic Station function. Message traffic can also be routed
between Winlink and RRI's own system.

James Wades, WB8SIW, RRI's emergency management director, credited
Victor Rivera, WP4QZH, and Emmanuel Cruz, NP4D, for their work in
Puerto Rico, along with numerous other team members. Puerto Rico
becomes part of a larger service of RRI's Digital Traffic Network
connections that also include Asia, Oceania and Europe.

This is Christian Cudnik K0STH.

(JAMES WADES, WB8SIW)

**
YOUTH DX ADVENTURE GROUP RETURNING TO CURAÇAO

JIM/ANCHOR: Is there a trip to Curaçao in the future for a young
hopeful DX adventurer you may know? If so, you will want to hear this
report from Andy Morrison K9AWM.

ANDY: The Dave Kalter Memorial Youth DX Adventure group is returning to Curaçao this year and is inviting young amateurs to be part of the
operation. The application period has opened. The trip will take place
between July 13th and 18th with the goal of forming a DX team of
amateurs between the ages of 12 and 17.

This year, the timing of the trip has an added bonus: Because this
year's DX adventure overlaps somewhat with the Youth on the Air Camp
taking place in Canada in July, the young hams in Curaçao can expect
to have some scheduled contacts with the YOTA campers as well. The PJ2T
site in Curaçao will once again be the QTH for the Caribbean
activation. According to the Youth DX Adventure website, the team is
applying to once again use the call sign PJ2Y

Application forms can be downloaded from the website that appears in
this week's text version of Newsline.

This is Andy Morrison K9AWM.

[DO NOT READ: qsl.net/n6jrl ]

[JIM STORMS, AB8YK]


**
TEN METERS PUTS OUT ITS WELCOME MAT

JIM/ANCHOR: A stretch of days with great conditions on 10 meters has
provided a bonus for a number of events on the band lately. In Germany,
the DARC held its 10-meter contest on January 8th with hams getting on
the air using CW and SSB. The Nordic Radio Amateur Union's 10m activity
contest will be held on February 2nd, with CW ops on the air from 1800
to 1900 UTC; SSB users on from 1900 to 2000 UTC; FM users competing
between 2000 UTC to 2100 UTC and Digital competitors getting in on the
action from 2100 to 2200 UTC.

Just two days later, entrants in this year's Ten-Ten International
Winter QSO Party will hope to make good use of favorable band
conditions for operators using SSB on February 4th and 5th. The
nonprofit organization, the Ten-Ten International Net, was created in
1962 to encourage activity on the 10m band and promote good operating practices.

(TEN-TEN INTERNATIONAL NET, NORDIC RADIO AMATEUR UNION)


**

KICKER: SQUIRRELING AWAY SOME GREAT QSOs

JIM/ANCHOR: We end this week's newscast with the story of a net that
puts squirrels on the air. Not flying squirrels on the air. These are
radio squirrels. Graham Kemp VK4BB tells us about their chatter.

GRAHAM: As anyone who lives in Australia knows, there are no native
squirrels living here. Or.....are there? If you ask Linda G0YLM, a
member of the North West Fusion Group in the UK, she might insist there
are - and for good reason: She has had plenty of QSOs with them. Linda
and her husband, Ian, G0VGS, participate in the group's daily morning
Squirrel Net, where Linda is net control. The squirrels are all the
hams who check in starting at 0700 UTC from New Zealand, Australia, The Netherlands, Ireland, Sri Lanka and even the United States.

Ian told Newsline that the net was inspired by early-morning walks the
couple would take in the local park in the early days of the pandemic.
Radios in hand, they would chat with friends as they strolled. Ian
said: [quote] "From time to time we would see a squirrel and mention it
on the air. This moved to logging the first squirrel sighted each
morning, and the Squirrel Net was born." [endquote]

Conversation topics vary from day to day and the chatter often gets as
lively as the group's furry little namesakes. Because hams are almost
always in danger of timing out, the award of the Golden Acorn is
conferred virtually on any ham who passes the conversation along just
in time.

You can find the Squirrel Net in WIRES-X room 41755 and on the GB-NWFG reflector, YSF 26499. As Ian told Newsline, everyone is welcome to join
the peanut gallery - even those elusive Australian squirrels.

This is Graham Kemp VK4BB.

(NORTH WEST FUSION GROUP)

**

NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Amateur Radio Weekly; Ambarish Nag
Biswas, VU2JFA; the BBC; CQ magazine; David Behar K7DB; the 425 DX
News; The Hindu newspaper; Ian Maude, G0VGS; Jim Storms, AB8YK; North
West Fusion Group; shortwaveradio.de; 3Y0J (THREE WHY ZERO JAY)
Website; Wireless Institute of Australia; Winter Field Day Association; Worldwide Flora and Fauna; 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 Jim Damron N8TMW in Charleston West Virginia saying 73.
As always we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is
Copyright 2023. All rights reserved.

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