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Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2451 for Friday October 18th, 2024
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2451 with a release date of
Friday, October 18th, 2024 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. A proposal to harmonize the 40m band in Region
3. A new world record for receiving callsigns in CW - and a North
Carolina repeater transmits a message of hope. All this and more
as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2451 comes your way right now.

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BILLBOARD CART

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PROPOSAL MOVES AHEAD TO HARMONIZE 40M BAND IN REGION 3

JIM/ANCHOR: Our top story this week takes us to IARU Region 3 where a
study of the 40m band's varied allocations has produced a proposal to
harmonize the band. The recommendations could ultimately have a
far-reaching effect in other regions. Graham Kemp VK4BB brings us up
todate.

GRAHAM: A proposal to harmonise use of the 40m band across Region 3 of
the IARU will be taken up by members at the next conference, in the
hopes that this may lead to even broader harmonisation with IARU
Regions 1 and 2.

The IARU's proposal is the result of a recent consultation by the
Wireless Institute of Australia with the goal of finding band plans for
various modes that could ultimately form the basis of a global
agreement. The committee noted in its report that one of its biggest
challenges was to settle on an equitable redistribution of use of the
spectrum based on activity and demand within the various modes. The
proposal noted that very little spectrum is set aside for the digital
modes and discusses the potential use of channelisation of the bands
for digital modes. To deal with the challenge of allocations that
include SSB and CW, the committee studied, among other things, activity
shown on ClubLog.

In addition to its intent to change some things, the committee
reaffirmed the need to retain certain longstanding rules: the start of
CW operation from the bottom of the band and SSB operation from the
top, with data modes occupying the boundary area between the two.

The proposal asks for accommodations for emergency traffic so as to
limit the possibility of QRM from other amateur activity.

To download the full proposal in PDF format, visit the link that
appears in the text version of this week's newscast at arnewsline.org

This is Graham Kemp VK4BB.

[DO NOT READ: https://www.iaru-r3.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/IARU-Region-3-HF-40m -Band-Plan-Challenges-Proposals-2024_4.pdf ]

(IARU REGION 3)

**
ROMANIAN TEEN SETS NEW RECORD FOR CW CALLSiGN COPY

JIM/ANCHOR: Congratulations were given freely in Tunisia to a young
Romanian ham who set a new world record while competing in the 20th
IARU High Speed Telegraphy World Championship. Thirteen-year-old Ianis
Scutaru, YO8YNS, won a gold medal and broke the record he set last year
in the category of Callsign Receiving. According to the competition's
website, his total score of 311,192 points represent his maximum copy
speed of 1,126 characters per minute - an equivalent just exceeding 225
words per minute.

An announcement on the championship's website said: [quote] "This
remarkable achievement showcases not only Ianis's dedication and skill
but also the talent of the Romanian ham radio community." [endquote]

His father, Lucian, YO8SLC, told Newsline in an email that Ianis has
been a ham for a little less than six years.

(IARU HST WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, LUCIAN YO8SLC)

**
ARDC NAMES NEW DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY

JIM/ANCHOR: A veteran of software development has been named the new
director of technology for Amateur Radio Digital Communications. We
hear about him from Jack Parker W8ISH.

JACK: Congratulations to software developer Schuyler Erle N0GIS who has
joined the team at Amateur Radio Digital Communications as its new
director of technology. Announcing his arrival on their website, ARDC
called Schuyler uniquely qualified for the post because of his long
history in open source software development, ham radio and wireless
technology and engineering management. He has been a licensed ham since
2011 and is a former member of the Auxiliary Communications Service in
San Francisco, California, which operates in times of crisis.

Schuyler is the coauthor of "Mapping Hacks," published in 2005 by
O'Reilly Media. The book explores the potential held by Free / Open
Source geographic information systems. In Sonoma County, California, he
was able to establish a cooperative that helped bring high-speed
Internet access to a rural community living in the coastal hills.

This is Jack Parker W8ISH.

(ARDC)

**
WRTC 2026 ANNOUNCES UK EVENT HEADQUARTERS SITE

JIM/ANCHOR: Organizers of the World Radiosport Team Championship to be
held in the UK in 2026 have announced the location of the headquarters
hotel. Jeremy Boot G4NJH brings us the news.

JEREMY: Organisers of the prestigious World Radiosport Team
Championship have announced that its headquarters will be Wyboston
Lakes in Bedford in the east of England. Mark M0DXR, chairman of the UK organising committee, said that anyone interested in attending the
event as a spectator will be able to book their place through the WRTC
2026 website starting in 2025. The WRTC will feature 50 competing
two-person teams operating throughout the counties of Cambridgeshire,
Suffolk and Norfolk.

This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(WRTC)

**
SKCC SEEKS QSL CARD DESIGNS FOR STRAIGHT KEY MONTH 2025

JIM/ANCHOR: It's not too early to start thinking about January 2025 and Straight Key Month, an event run by the Straight Key Century Club.
Randy Sly W4XJ explains why.

RANDY: If you think that the Straight Key Century Club may have designs
on the future, you're right. As the club does every year, it is
extending an invitation to its members to submit an imaginative and
attractive QSL card to be sent out following the annual Straight Key
Month activity in January. The K3Y event will mark the club's 19th
anniversary.

In mid-December the submitted designs will be presented to club members
for a vote. The most popular design will appear on the official K3Y QSL
card and, as before, 12 other top selections will appear in the SKCC's
print calendar.

The popular event, which begins on the 2nd of January - following the
ARRL's Straight Key Night - features club members calling CQ from all
13 regional call areas in the US and from countries in six IARU
continental regions.

If you don't have a copy of this year's calendar and want to see some
of the most popular designs created by members, visit the link in the
text version of this week's newscast at arnewsline.org

This is Randy Sly W4XJ.

[DO NOT READ:
https://skccgroup.com/k3y/k3y-docs/SKCC_Calendar_2024.pdf]

(SKCC)

**
NEW HAM SHACK ON PENNSYLVANIA CAMPUS IS ALSO RESEARCH TOOL

JIM/ANCHOR: Having a new ham radio shack is always something worth
celebrating, but what if your new shack also happens to be a valuable
research tool and a center for the education of university students?
Travis Lisk N3ILS takes us to one such shack on the campus of the
University of Scranton in Pennsylvania.

TRAVIS: The new radio shack inside the Loyola Science Center at the
University of Scranton offers a vast view of the city five floors
below. The state-of-the-art amateur radio equipment that make up this
station offers a view of the world beyond and the electromagnetic
activity above that provides the means by which we radio amateurs make
HF contacts.

This is the new shack for the W3USR Amateur Radio Club, which was
founded four years ago. This is not just a headquarters for student
operators on campus but a research resource for students and faculty
members who are involved in HamSCI, the citizen-scientist investigation
group led by university professor Nathaniel Frissell, W2NAF. The shack
will become a busy place as HamSCI conducts its experiments funded by benefactors such as NASA, the National Science Foundation and Amateur
Radio Digital Communications. Outside, a 40-foot tower has antennas for
HF, VHF/UHF satellite and microwave frequencies, with some antennas on rotators.

The shack officially opens its doors on Friday the 25th of October. The
open house includes a public dedication ceremony and a lecture,
followed by a buffet dinner for those who hold tickets to that event.

This is Travis Lisk N3ILS.

(UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON, AMATEUR RADIO DAILY)

**
BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur
Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including
the ZS0MOT (Zed Ess Zero Em Oh Tee) repeater in Middelburg South Africa
on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. local time.

**
SPECIAL EVENT RECALLS MARITIME DISASTER IN 1922

JIM/ANCHOR: Shipwrecks have always fascinated one radio amateur in
Wisconsin -- but none more than the sinking of a rail car ferry that
killed everyone on board in 1922. The activation of a special event
tells its story, as we hear from Paul Braun WD9GCO.

PAUL: From the time he was a youngster, maritime stories and disasters
always held a fascination for Nathan Banks, KC9HYY. When he recently
learned of the tragic sinking of the SS Milwaukee Rail Car Ferry, the
October 22nd, 1922 disaster hit close to home for this Milwaukee area
native. This wasn't like the Titanic, the Andrea Doria or the Lusitania
- this was a local story that held him spellbound. Nathan, who has been
a ham for two decades, will be on the air for the inaugural special
event station N9M from the 21st through to the 23rd of October. A
special QSL card will be available for those working the station either
on SSB, FT8, FT4 and possibly CW.

Nathan hopes to spread the word about the ship's long career
transporting train cars and the stories about the crew members who died
when the vessel was swallowed up by Lake Michigan. There were no
survivors. The wreck lies at the lake's bottom, 3 miles offshore, north
of Milwaukee.

This is Paul Braun WD9GCO.

(NATHAN BANKS, KC9HYY)

**
BROADCASTER IN STOLEN-TOWER CASE DIES

JIM/ANCHOR: The Alabama broadcaster who told police his AM radio
station's tower was stolen last February, has died. Brett Elmore, owner
and general manager of WJLX in Jasper, Alabama, made headlines after
reporting to authorities that the station's transmitter and 200-foot stainless-steel AM tower had been stolen mysteriously overnight.

The case has not been solved. News reports gave no cause of the
broadcaster's death. He was 41.

(RADIO WORLD, WIAT-TV)

**
HOT AIR BALLOON CRASH DESTROYS RADIO TOWER

JIM/ANCHOR: In New Mexico, more trouble for broadcast radio towers: The
tower of an AM radio station in Albuquerque collapsed after being
struck by a hot air balloon from the nearby International Balloon
Fiesta on Friday October 11th. The talk radio station, KKOB-770 AM,
shut its 50,000-watt transmitter as the pilot and his passengers, two
young boys, descended a ladder on the tower near where the balloon had
become entangled. No injuries were reported.. The station stayed on the
air at 96.3 FM. Local news media reported that, ironically, it was 20
years ago to the day that another balloon, also bearing the likeness of
Smokey Bear, crashed into the same tower.

(RADIO INSIGHT, KRGE.COM)

**
WORLD OF DX

In the World of DX, listen for Kazu, M0CFW on the air as 3B9/M0CFW from Rodrigues Island, IOTA number AF-017, from the 22nd through to the 30th
of October. Listen for him during the CQ WW DX SSB Contest. operating
as 3B9KW. See QRZ.com for QSL details.

Bernie, ZS4TX, and John, ZS6JON will be on the air from Lesotho on 70
cm EME using the callsign 7P8Z. The grid square is KG30. They will do
two moon passes starting on Friday the 18 of October at 18:00 UTC
moonrise and ending Sunday the 20th of October at 05:00 UTC moonset.
They will also do some satellite passes which include the ISS, if
available, RS-44 and SO-50. QSL via PA3CMC and LoTW.

Listen for Vasco 7Q7CT, Jorge CT1BOL, Vasco D2ACE and Fran EC7R who
will be using the callsign 7Q1 - Seven Quebec One - from Malawi
between the 23rd of October and the 2nd of November. Listen for them in
the CQ WW DX SSB Contest. QSL via EA7FTR.

Saty, JE1JKL will be operating as 9M6NA from Labuan Island, IOTA
number OC-133, in East Malaysia from the 23rd of October to
the 25th of November. Listen for him in the CQ WW DX SSB Contest and
the CQ WW DX CW Contest. See QRZ.com for QSL details.

(425 DX BULLETIN)

**
KICKER: REPEATER TRANSMITS A SPIRIT MIGHTIER THAN ANY HURRICANE

JIM/ANCHOR: Our final story takes us to the mountains of North
Carolina, where the voices on the Mount Mitchell repeater carry hope
amid hurricane wreckage. Andy Morrison K9AWM shares their story.

ANDY: Many of the hams who call rural North Carolina home consider the
region's Mount Mitchell repeater their home as well. The repeater,
owned by Randy Johnston, N2GE, also became their refuge and their
lifeline while the deadly force of Hurricane Helene tore their
communities and their lives apart. Lynn Moose, KI4ZEK, was on the
repeater on Friday, September 27th, as neighbors checked in to say
they'd survived the winds and the floodwaters - as many looked for
loved ones and sought help. Later, Dan K2DMG, who is part of Iredell
County Emergency Communications, stepped in to relieve Lynn as net
control as Lynn went to assess damages at his own home. Dan was able to
pass emergency traffic until he found himself on the road to Florida
where his parents were awaiting the arrival of Hurricane Milton. At
that point, Vicki AD3I got on the air to help coordinate volunteers and resources.

The repeater, however, passed more than traffic and reassurance during
the two weeks of rescue and recovery. During moments when the repeater
was less active, Lynn read a poem that his wife had found posted on
Facebook, written by a North Carolina woman named Elizabeth Greene
Silvers. With that poem, the repeater now transmitted hope to a
devastated community. These words are a part of that affirmation
-[quote]: "Yet we still rise, with mountains high, for in these hills,
our spirits fly." [endquote]

The full poem, posted October 6th, can be seen on the Facebook page of Elizabeth Greene Silvers.

This is Andy Morrison K9AWM.

(LYNN MOOSE, KI4ZEK, FACEBOOK, MT MITCHELL REPEATER)

**
HAIKU FOR YOU

We hope you have been enjoying the Amateur Radio Newsline haiku
challenge. Now it's your turn to try your hand at haiku authorship. Are
you inspired? Pick up a pencil and share your ham radio 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 Weekly; Amateur Radio
Digital Communications; David Behar K7DB; 425DXNews; IARU Region 3;
IARU HST World Championship; KRGE.com; Lucian, YO8SLC; Lynn Moose,
KI4ZEK; Mt. Mitchell Repeater N2GE; Nathan Banks, KC9HYY; Radio
Insight; Radio World; shortwaveradio.de; Straight Key Century Club;
University of Scranton; 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 Damon, N8TMW in Charleston West Virginia saying 73.
As always we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is
Copyright 2024. All rights reserved.

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