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Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2467 for Friday, February 7th, 2025
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2467 with a release date of
Friday, February 7th, 2025 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. Ham radio prepares for the first polar-orbit spaceflight. Austria's historic short-wave station is demolished -- and
hams in Turkey activate in memory of a Silent Key. All this and more as
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2467 comes your way right now.

**
BILLBOARD CART

**
HAM TO TRANSMIT SSTV IMAGES FROM 1ST POLAR-ORBIT SPACEFLIGHT

JIM/ANCHOR: Our top story takes us high above the North Pole and the
South Pole. A ham radio operator is one of four astronauts scheduled to
orbit the Earth in the weeks ahead via both poles -- for the first time
-- as we hear from Graham Kemp VK4BB.

GRAHAM: A ham radio operator is one of four astronauts who will be
aboard the first spaceflight to orbit the Earth via the North and South
poles. The mission aboard the Fram2 is scheduled to last anywhere from
3 to 5 days after its scheduled launch sometime after the 1st of March.
The spacecraft Γ-ÿs name is a tribute to the Fram, a Norwegian-built
ship used on expeditions to both poles during the late 19th and early
20th centuries.

The space mission's pilot Rabea Rogge of Germany is that nation's
first female astronaut. She holds the amateur radio callsigns LB9NJ and
KD3AID. She will transmit SSTV images using the amateur radio equipment
on board. Although the images are to be sent as part of a high school
and university competition for students, the images may also be
received by any amateur radio operator capable of receiving SSTV
transmissions. After the mission is complete, the images will also be
available for viewing on the SSTV gallery of Amateur Radio on the
International Space Station.

This is also an ambitious scientific research mission. Flying an
estimated 425 to 450 km above both poles, the flight is expected to
present unprecedented views of both polar regions. The crew will
conduct a variety of scientific experiments on board.

Rabea's crew mates on the Dragon spacecraft will be commander Chun
Wang of Malta, vehicle commander Jannicke Mikkelsen of Norway and
mission specialist Eric Philips of Australia.

Additional details about the mission and each crew member can be found
by following the link that appears in the text version of this week's
newscast at ARNewsline.org

[Do not read: https://f2.com/ ]

This is Graham Kemp VK4BB.

(AMATEUR RADIO DAILY, FRAM2 WEBSITE, SPACEFLIGHT NOW)

**
AUSTRIAN SHORTWAVE SITE DISMANTLED

JIM/ANCHOR: What was once radio history in Austria is now, as expected,
reduced to rubble. We have details from Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

JEREMY: The historic short-wave radio transmitting site at Moosbrunn,
Austria, has been dismantled. The Austrian newspaper, Der Standard,
reports that the demolition in late January marks the end of a long
episode in broadcast history. The destruction was described in the
newspaper as [quote] "a precise, targeted explosion." [endquote]

The facility, built during the Cold War Era, had once been home to
Radio Austria International. After Radio Austria went off the air in
2003, the transmitter was used by international broadcasters such as
Radio D.A.R.C. a programme produced by the German national amateur
radio society. After the closure of the Moosbrunn site at the end of
December 2024, Radio D.A.R.C. moved to the short-wave station in
Woofferton, England, which has been carrying it since January.

This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(RADIO WORLD, DER STANDARD.DE)

**
GET READY FOR WORLD RADIO DAY

JIM/ANCHOR: World Radio Day, February 13th, was adopted in 2012 by the
United Nations to acknowledge radio's role in people's lives
everywhere. Although the focus is usually on broadcast radio services,
amateur radio will be involved in some events around the world. This
year's theme is "Radio and Climate Change." One of the many
international events happening involves the Shanghai Coast Radio
Station XSG, which maintains a Global Maritime Distress and Safety
System as well as Morse code telegraph services, The station is hosting
a two-day Crossband Event in which the radio station will communicate
via CW with amateur radio operators, with each side transmitting on
their authorized frequencies while monitoring the other party's
frequencies. The event runs from 00:00 UTC on the 12th of February to
00:00 UTC the next day.

For a list of amateur radio frequencies that XSG will be monitoring for
ham transmissions, see the text version of this week's newscast at arnewsline.org

[DO NOT READ:

3521.3-3526.3kHz

7021.3-7026.3kHz

10121.3-10126.3kHz

14021.3-14026.3kHz

21021.3-21026.3kHz

(SWLING POST; RADIOREFERENCE.COM)

**
TURKISH AMATEURS ACTIVATE IN MEMORY OF EARTHQUAKE VICTIM

JIM/ANCHOR: Hams in Turkey are remembering a friend and fellow amateur
who lost his life two years ago when a deadly earthquake rocked the
region. Jason Daniels VK2LAW tells us what they're doing.

JASON: Mustafa Asim Ezer, TA8DX, was 44 years old and, with his wife,
he was eagerly awaiting the birth of a daughter in just a few days when
a catastrophic earthquake shook Turkey on the 6th of February, 2023.
They had even picked out the baby's name: Pera.

An avid radio operator, mountaineering enthusiast and search-and-rescue volunteer, Mustafa did not survive the 7.8 magnitude quake, which shook southern Turkey, northern Syria and neighbouring regions.

His fellow amateurs are using the special event callsign TC8DX through
the 17th of February to honour the memory of one of their own - a
businessman and outdoorsman who gave back so generously to his
community. His fellow hams are remembering him as the founder of an
amateur radio association in Kahramanmaras and an active supporter of
many activities on HF and the VHF-UHF bands.

Mustafa's final gesture of support to his community came in 2023,
shortly before his death. He was among those activating special event
station TC100TC to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the
Republic of Turkey.

Two years later, his fellow hams now mark a more somber anniversary and remember their friend.

This is Jason Daniels VK2LAW.

(425DX BULLETIN, TADX.ORG)

**
BRAZIL'S NAVY OKs 1ST ARCHIPELAGO DXPEDITION IN 23 YEARS

JIM/ANCHOR: For the first time in 23 years, amateur radio operators
have been granted permission for a DXpedition from a South American
archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean. Jeremy Boot G4NJH has the details.

JEREMY: A DXpedition is going forward to the St. Peter & St. Paul Rocks
in the Atlantic Ocean after ham radio operators with the Araucária DX
Group received permission to operate. The team said that the authority
came from the Brazilian Navy, which operates a research station on the archipelago's major islet, Belmonte. The activation of the callsign
PY0S will signal the first activation of its kind from the archipelago
since the PT0S DXpedition in November of 2012. The Araucária team
plans to travel in October or November to the site, which is the 14th
among ClubLog's Most Wanted DX entities.

According to a press release, the hams have a goal going beyond calling
QRZ. They said they want to "increase world-wide awareness of this
unique rock formation and the role played by the Brazilian Navy in
scientific research and study of this extremely difficult and rare environment." [endquote]

The operation will not be on the rocks themselves. As stipulated by the
Navy permit, the team will be on a boat anchored not far from the
shore. Five Radios in a Box will be used for operating CW, SSB and FT 8
on 160 through to 6 metres. There will be six local operators: Adrian
KO8SCA, Fred PY2XB, George AA7JV, Mike KN4EEI, Peter PY5CC and Tomi
HA7RY, along with a number of remote operators.

This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(ARAUCARIA DX GROUP, 425 DX BULLETIN)

**
AUSTRALIAN REGULATOR FINALIZES LICENSE-FEE CHANGES

JIM/ANCHOR: Faced with the upcoming sunset of methods used to calculate
fees for repeaters, beacons and some apparatus amateur licenses, the
Australian Communications and Media Authority has finalized small
changes it is making. These changes, based on a new methodology, will
take effect after the 1st of April sunset of the previous method. The
result is that repeaters, beacons and non-assigned apparatus licenses
will be assessed $52.62 annually. The changes do not affect those
holding Australian class licenses, which have no annual fees. The ACMA
said in its February 5th announcement that it has not yet finalized its apparatus license tax reforms for radionavigation-satellite service
repeaters.

(ACMA)

**

BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur
Radio Newsline heard on bulletin stations around the world including
the Montgomery Amateur Radio Club's KV3B repeater in Rockville Maryland
on Sundays at 7:30 p.m. local time.


**

HAM CLUB LIVES THE GOOD LIFE IN RETIREMENT COMMUNITY

JIM/ANCHOR: Life is good in one senior living community in Maryland,
where retirees have a small but active ham club - and respectable log
of contacts. Andy Morrison K9AWM tells us about them.

ANDY: The Charlestown Amateur Radio Club KB3CAN has an outlook that is
anything but retiring. With only a small membership in a Maryland
retirement community, the club recently completed Winter Field Day with
95 digital and SSB contacts in the log. Last summer, members were
active in in ARRL Field Day and the Maryland QSO Party.

The club has something else to celebrate - the second year since its
rebirth on the grounds of Charlestown Senior Living, a nonprofit
retirement community in suburban Catonsville that provides continuing
care ranging from independent living to skilled nursing.

Club president Gary Rogers KO3F [Kay Oh Three Eff] said that although
the community has a long history of having an amateur radio club, the
original club had to be dismantled more than a decade ago to
accommodate building renovations. When Gary moved there in 2022 and
discovered that his apartment's construction made it difficult to get
on the air easily, he met with two members of the original club to
start things up again.

Gary told Newsline in an email that the administration wasn't just on
board but became part of the rebirth. He said [Quote] "The
administration not only approved but assigned their maintenance staff
to run the coax through the conduit to the roof and install the
antennas with me supervising." [Endquote] Installations were
completed by November of 2023 - everything from the grounding system to ensuring the roof warranty was not compromised by the presence of
antennas. There are 10 club members ranging from their 70s to their
90s.

Gary said the club recently developed the capability to do Winlink, a
global email system that uses radio frequencies instead of the
internet. The club's next step is to explore how members can get on
the air remotely from their apartments.

This is Andy Morrison K9AWM.

(GARY ROGERS, KO3F; PATCH.COM)

**

DEADLINE APPROACHES FOR SOFTWARE AWARD NOMINEES

JIM/ANCHOR: You have until the 28th of February to nominate your
favorite ham radio open source software project for the 6th annual
Amateur Radio Software Award! This international honor promotes free
innovative software that enhances the ham radio experience. Past
winners include David Rowe, VK5DGR, for Codec 2, Anthony Good, K3NG,
for Arduino CW Keyer and Jordan Sherer, KN4CRD, for JS8Call. Find award
rules and the official nomination form at A R S award dot com.
(arsaward.com)

(AMATEUR RADIO SOFTWARE AWARD)

**
WORLD OF DX

In the World of DX, Mika [MEE Kuh], OH2FFP, is operating as OJ1ABOA
from Aboa Research Station, Antarctica, IOTA number AN-016 until the
12th of February. QSL via OH2FFP.

Listen for Bruno, VE3BRU operating as S79/VE3BRU from Mahe [MAH HAY],
IOTA number AF-024, Seychelles until the 20th of February, using CW and
SSB on 40-10 metres. See QRZ.com for QSL details.

Bernhard, DL2GAC, is using the callsign H44MS from Malaita
[MUH-LIGHT-A], IOTA number OC-047, in the Solomon Islands between the
9th of February through to the 7th of May. He will be calling QRZ on
80-6 metres using SSB and FT8. See QRZ.com for QSL details.

The special-event callsign II3MPL [EYE EYE THREE MPL] is on the air
through the 1st of May, marking the 50th anniversary of ARI
Merano/Meran IQ3MP. See QRZ.com for QSL details.

Marty, KE4TT, is on the air as P4/KE4TT from Aruba, IOTA number SA-036
until the 11th of March, using CW, SSB and FT8 on various HF bands. See
QRZ.com for QSL details.

(425 DX BULLETIN)

**
KICKER: SQUIRRELING AWAY A PERSONAL TREASURE

JIM/ANCHOR: For this week's final story, we tell you about one SOTA
activator's highest summit of achievement. It's actually no bigger than
a card that could fit in his wallet. We hear about him from Ralph
Squillace KK6ITB.

RALPH: Ray, KD8EQA, is still a few weeks away from achieving Mountain
Goat status as a SOTA activator -- but even in the three-plus years
he's been involved in Summits On The Air, the Colorado ham has found
many kinds of meaningful recognition, most of them with a connection to animals. As a SOTA chaser, he received a Rooster Award from his friend
Steve, WG0AT, after 50 successful contacts with activators on Mt.
Herman. This unofficial honor was granted in memory of Steve's two
beloved goats, Peanut and Rooster. Ray later became an official Shack
Sloth, achieving 1,000 points chasing summits throughout Colorado.

As both the elevations and Ray's point score began to soar, so did his enchantment with the natural beauty around him. Becoming a ham in 2021,
it didn't take long for the avid hiker to step out with his portable
gear: His first SOTA activation was on Mt. Antero [ANN TERRO], a
so-called "fourteener" for its 14 thousand plus feet above sea level.
Enchanted by nature's vistas and animals - from moose to hummingbird -
Ray has had his share of what he considers "wow moments."

What he received in June of 2023 has no equal in his eyes. It was not
the 4 points he got that day for his activation on Devil's Head summit.
No, Ray was in the national forest specifically to visit the active
fire tower, where Ashley, the tower's lookout officer, had promised to
present him with a card bestowing membership in something the Forest
Service called the Ancient and Honorable Order of Squirrels. An
internet search shows that, at least since the 1940s, the forest
lookouts have presented these cards at active fire towers around the US
to raise public awareness of the perils of forest fires.

To Ray, there is no greater honor than being a card-carrying Forest
Service squirrel. The card is a tangible reminder of all that was once
good in our world so long ago and still surrounds us now. "I cherish
this," he told Newsline: [quote] "It is one of the most valuable things
I own." [endquote]

This is Ralph Squillace KK6ITB.

**

What? You haven't sent in your amateur radio haiku yet for Newsline's
haiku challenge? Take a break - go QRT for just a few minutes - and set
your thoughts down using traditional haiku format - a three-line verse
with five syllables in the first line, seven in the second and five in
the third. Share your ham radio experience, poetically, and then submit
your work on our website at arnewsline.org

NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to the ACMA; Amateur Radio Daily; David
Behar K7DB; Der Standard.de; 425DXNews; the Fram2 website; Gary Rogers,
KO3F; Patch.com; radioreference.com; Radio World; Spaceflightnow.com;
SWLing Post; TADX.org; Wireless Institute of Australia; 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
Jim Damron N8TMW in Charleston West Virginia saying 73. As always we
thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2025.
All rights reserved.

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