From Newsgroup: rec.radio.amateur.misc

Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2510 for Friday, December 5th, 2025
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2510 with a release date of
Friday, December 5th, 2025 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. Scientists announce a new finding about what
triggers auroras. Restrictions are imposed on Germany's short-range UHF
radios -- and Australia's redesigned weather website stirs up a storm.
All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2510 comes
your way right now.

**

BILLBOARD CART

**
LINK CONFIRMED BETWEEN RADIO EMISSIONS, AURORAS

NEIL/ANCHOR: Our top story this week looks at auroras - something a lot
of us have been doing, or trying to do, especially if those brilliant shimmering light shows have been keeping us off the air. Scientists
have just made a new discovery about what exactly makes them happen
-and curiously, it's radio! Travis Lisk N3ILS has those details.

TRAVIS: Scientists at the University of Southampton have confirmed what
they consider to be an unmistakable cause-and-effect relationship
between radio emissions and sudden auroral eruptions.

The international team's findings, called unprecedented by the
scientific community, have been published in the journal Nature
Communications. The researchers speculate that this will alter the
means by which space weather is forecast.

According to published reports, the use of advanced ground-based
observatories made it possible for the researchers to detect and
identify signature patterns of low-frequency radio wave emissions in
the magnetosphere that were immediately succeeded - repeatedly - by
auroral explosions.

This discovery provides a missing piece for physicists who, until now,
were never certain of the immediate trigger behind the violent energy
release that expresses itself as the northern and southern lights.

This is Travis Lisk N3ILS.

(NATURE COMMUNICATIONS, THE DAILY GALAXY)

**

INDIAN SPECIAL EVENT IS A TRIBUTE AND AN EXPERIMENT

NEIL/ANCHOR: In India, one ham's annual on-air tribute to a 19th
century innovator is, perhaps fittingly, also designed as an experiment
this year. We have those details from Jason Daniels VK2LAW.

JASON: Jagadish Chandra Bose would probably approve of this year's
tribute to him by Datta VU2DSI. Datta is using the callsign AU2JCB
through to the 15th of December honouring the scientist known in India
and beyond as a pioneer in wireless communication.

From both a commemorative and scientific standpoint, the timing could

not be more appropriate. Datta has activated this station every year
for the past 19 years to coincide with the anniversary of Bose's birth
date on the 30th of November, 1858. This year the timing reflects the
theory that Bose shared about electromagnetic radiation. In 1897 in
London, he formally presented his theory to fellow scientists that the
sun's electromagnetic radiation had a definite impact on communication
via radio waves. During this activation Datta is measuring the global
impact of solar radiation, flares and storms on HF propagation from
India at this key point in Solar Cycle 25.

Datta will share the callsign with Pramod VU2XPN, a university
professor of electronics.

Details are available on the QRZ.com page of AU2JCB.

This is Jason Daniels VK2LAW.

(DATTA VU2DSI)

**
NEW RESTRICTIONS FOR SHORT-RANGE UHF RADIOS IN GERMANY

NEIL/ANCHOR: In Germany, amateur radio may get an unintended boost
following major restrictions that the nation's regulator has placed on
the use of private mobile short-range hand-held radios known as PMR446.
Jeremy Boot G4NJH has the details.

JEREMY: PMR446, the popular short-range UHF radios enjoyed in much of
Europe, could be enjoyed much less in Germany this month after changes
enacted by the regulator BNetZa. The regulator will prohibit operators
from using any external antennas with their radios and from using the
radios as base stations.

PMR operators will also lose the ability to use their radios as
repeaters or as Internet gateways -- two functions widely available to
amateur radio operators. The PMR radios, which operate on 16
frequencies within the 446 MHz band, will be only be permitted to be
used for so-called "peer-to-peer" or person-to-person mode.

Explaining these changes on his YouTube channel Funkwelle - the German
word for "radio waves" - Art Konze DL2ART told viewers that he expected
PMR operating to drop off, saying [quote] "the only alternative that
remains is to get into amateur radio." [endquote] He said that holders
of the new N-class entry level licence have the ability to use relays
and Internet gateways and can communicate worldwide. Art reminded
viewers that these changes closely follow similar restrictions placed
earlier this year on Freenet, Germany's licence-free personal mobile
2-way radio service.

This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(BNETZA, ART KONZE, DL2ART)

**
SILENT KEY: EDITOR, AUTHOR, EDUCATOR JOHN WALKER, ZL3IB

NEIL/ANCHOR: A treasured friend and life member of the New Zealand
Association of Radio Transmitters has become a Silent Key. We learn
more about him from Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.

JIM: John Walker ZL3IB, was a prominent editor and author of articles
and publications devoted to amateur radio in New Zealand and beyond. He
had served as acting editor of the Christchurch Amateur Radio Club
newsletter, HamLarks and 18 years as editor of Break-In, the official
journal of New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters. John received
his callsign in 1971.

He became a Silent Key in Christchurch on the 2nd of November.

When it came to amateur radio, John didn't just believe in operating;
he believed in educating - a natural motivation for him because
education was his career: He had been a professor of botany at the
University of Canterbury in Christchurch. He was a founding trustee of
the Radioscience Education Trust in 1998. The trust, which is part of
NZART, supports persons wishing to advance their education in radio
science.

John was also the widely published author of dozens of technical
articles and columns on amateur radio and equipment.

He was made an honorary life member of NZART in 2014.

John was 92, just three weeks shy of his 93rd birthday when he became a
Silent Key.

This is Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.

(NZART, CRAIG CRAWFORD, ZL3TLB)

**
SILENT KEY: GANESH SUBRAMANIAM, VU2TS

NEIL/ANCHOR: As Newsline went to production we also learned of the
death of Ganesh [GUH-NESH] Subramaniam [soo bra monny om], VU2TS, an influential ham in Bangalore and beyond. Ganesh became a Silent Key on
the 2nd of December, reportedly after a brief illness.

In online posts on Facebook and websites, many remembered him as an enthusiastic CW operator who embraced the code from the very start. In
an October 2019 interview on the QSO Today podcast, he spoke about his enthusiastic radio beginnings as a shortwave listener, culminating in
taking his exam in 1960 at a time when amateur radio operators were few
and far between in India. He said he did not receive his licence - a
Grade 1 licence - until April of 1965 at the age of 29. He learned he
had just become the 350th ham in India.

Always active and enthusiastic, he became the founder and net control
operator of the Charminar (Shar Me Nar) Net and a life member of the
Bangalore Amateur Radio Club. He was also an avid contester and had
served for a time as editor of Ham Radio News, the Amateur Radio
Society of India's magazine.

Ganesh was 90.

To hear Ganesh tell his story on the QSO Today podcast, visit
qsotoday.com and type his name in the search bar.

(QSO TODAY, MADHU MOHAN, VU2UWZ, INSTITUTE OF AMATEUR RADIO IN KERALA)

**
UNIVERSITY STUDENTS LAUNCH 'LIGHT SAIL CHIPSATS'

NEIL/ANCHOR: Students and their professors at Cornell University are
hoping for smooth sailing for a project known as the Alpha CubeSat
mission - but they're looking for ham radio assistance to help them
track its progress.

Their project has deployed what are known as Light Sail ChipSats, small free-flying flight computers in low Earth orbit, to transmit telemetry
on 437.4 MHz at 100 mW of power using LoRa transceivers. The ChipSats
are mounted on a retro reflective laser sail. The project, which relies
only on solar power, was sent to the International Space Station aboard
1U CubeSats developed by students at the school's Space Systems Design
Studio.

The project website explains the short time window saying [quote]
"Between the sunlight-only, low power and short orbital lifetime, we
need all the help we can get to collect telemetry from the sail and
establish LEO-to-ground communications for this new generation of tiny spacecraft." [Endquote]

For details on how to participate, follow the link in the text version
of this week's Newsline report at arnewsline.org. You can also contact
Joshua KD2WTQ at the email address jsu4@cornell.edu

(AMATEUR RADIO DAILY, CORNELL UNIVERSITY)

**
BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur
Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including
the K2ADA repeater in Ocala Florida on Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m.


**
COMPUTING IN SPACE? STUDENTS FACE THE CHALLENGE

NEIL/ANCHOR: Registration is open for a European Space Agency Education
school project that asks teachers to challenge their students to create computer programs that will run successfully on board the International
Space Station. Jeremy Boot G4NJH brings us up to date.

JEREMY: Whether students are beginners or more advanced at coding,
there is a place for them in the European Astro Pi Challenge. The UK
Space Agency and the European Space agency are offering the challenge
to students up to age 19 with different levels of coding competency.

Beginners are invited to participate in the Astro Pi Mission Zero by
designing a piece of pixel art for display to astronauts aboard the ISS
on Raspberry Pi computers known as Astro Pis. Students capable of
handling more complex code - in this case, programming in Python - are
asked to be part of the Mission Space Lab instead. Their challenge is
to calculate the speed of the ISS by utilising sensors or a camera with
the Astro Pi.

Mission Zero's deadline is the 23rd March 2026 and Mission Space Lab's
deadline is 16 February 2026. Resources are being provided to the
Educators by the project.

Astro Pi's ambassador is ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot, KJ5LTN, who will
be undertaking her first mission to the ISS in early 2026.

This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(AMSAT NEWS SERVICE)

**
MARATHON QSO PARTY ENDING FOR SOUTH AFRICAN RADIO LEAGUE

NEIL/ANCHOR: A milestone QSO Party celebration is coming to an end for
South African amateurs, as we hear from John Williams VK4JJW.

JOHN: It's been quite a year for the South African Radio League - but
not as big a year as 1925, the year that the league came into being.
SARL, which launched its Centenary Marathon QSO Party in January, is
concluding it this month. At 23:59 UTC on the 31st of December, its participating callsigns - most notably ZS100SARL - will be going QRT.
Contacts have been made since the first of the year on CW, Phone,
digital - and via satellites or repeaters. Contacts have been on HF,
VHF and UHF. Even shortwave listeners have been involved, accumulating
points and applying for different levels of awards.

Many of these modes did not even exist 100 hundred years ago when the
league - formerly known as the South African Radio Relay League, became
a reality thanks to the efforts of hams who decided amateur radio
needed a unified voice to advocate for their interests.

The marathon recognises the growth and reach that SARL has attained
through the ensuing decades.

Even if you're getting a late start in chasing the activators, there's
still time. Visit mysarl.org.za [mysarl dot org dot zed ay] for
details.

This is John Williams VK2JJW.

(SARL, TECH CENTRAL)

**
INDIAN AMATEURS HELP WOMAN LOST IN BANGLADESH

NEIL/ANCHOR: A ham radio club in West Bengal, India, best known for its
special skill in helping reunite family members who are lost -sometimes
for years - has once again made use of its robust network on behalf of
a woman who'd gone missing two decades ago. Jim Meachen ZL2BHF brings
us the details.

JIM: An older woman, believed to have been begging on the streets of
Bangladesh for survival for years, has reconnected with her family in
India through the efforts of the West Bengal Radio Club, an
organisation with a specialty in missing-persons cases.

The woman's disappearance was traced to a religious pilgrimage she made
nearly 20 years ago - an annual gathering near the Ganges River. With
the volume of pilgrims at the event, known as the Gangasagar Mela, it
is not uncommon for many attendees to get lost or to go missing.
According to the club's secretary, Ambarish Nag Biswas, VU2JFA, the
woman, who is now about 70 years of age and from a village in India,
somehow joined a group of pilgrims from Bangladesh. That is how she is
believed to have taken a detour to Bangladesh instead of returninghome.

News accounts said that she was soon living on the street, begging.
Recently, ham radio contacts in Bangladesh reached out to the West
Bengal hams asking them to intervene after they questioned her and she
uttered one of the few words she could: "Sagar," the name of the
district she came from in India. Using photographs of her and their
wide network of contacts, the West Bengal hams finally reached her
surviving family members, according to a report in the Australia India
News. She has two surviving sons in Delhi. Her husband and one son have
since died. Attempts at uniting her with her sons were under way as
Newsline went to production.

This is Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.

(AUSTRALIA INDIA NEWS)

**

WORLD OF DX

In the World of DX, Elvira, IV3FSG, is operating from Somaliland as
6O3T (Six Oh Three Tee). The duration of her activation is not known.
More details can be found on QRZ.com

Listen for the special event callsign HS25SG from the 1st through to
the 30th of December to celebrate the 33rd Southeast Asian Games. This activation is part of the "SatFinder" educational campaign, which
promotes space, satellite and radio science to students and others by
hosting amateur radio activities.

Listen for Harald, DL7MDX, operating holiday style as 8Q7HT from the
Maldives, IOTA Number AS-013, using FT8 on 40 through 6 metres.

John, NI6D, will be on the air as CE7/NI6D along the Carretera Austral
in Northern Patagonia from the 6th through to the 18th of December.
John will be using FT8/FT4 on 40 through 10 metres, using low power.
Listen mainly during the afternoon and evening hours, during his
localtime.

For all these stations listed, please see QRZ.com for QSL details.

(425 DX BULLETIN)

**
KICKER: REDESIGNED WEATHER WEBSITE DRAWS STORM OF PROTEST

NEIL/ANCHOR: Finally, we visit Australia where there's a new look to an important weather website - but no one could have forecast the
turbulent response it stirred up since it went live. Graham Kemp VK4BB
gives us the details.

GRAHAM: Each year, more than 2.6-billion pairs of eyes check in for
guidance in Australia on the government's Bureau of Meteorology
website.

Lately, however, visitors to the "Bom," as it is nicknamed, have been
declaring the site's redesign a "bomb." In a recent report carried by
BBC News, users have weighed in publicly on the re-do, calling it
everything from counterintuitive to an outright disaster.

The remake, which cost 96.5 million in Australian dollars, was the
bureau's response to a 2015 cybersecurity breach.

A number of users became instant fans and praised the site for its
cleaner front page. The bureau has even provided guidelines designed to
help visitors navigate the site.

The BBC report said, however, that the majority of vocal visitors to
the site have been clamouring for the bureau to roll it back to the old
version or simply make it more user-friendly, with farmers in
particular unable to find their location relevant weather as they could previously.

Worse for users is that the colour coding on the RADAR maps has
changed! Many users now are putting the letters REG at the beginning
of the url which then reverts them to the original site.

Looks like stormy weather ahead for the Bom, at least for the immediate
future.

This is Graham Kemp VK4BB.

(BBC)


NEIL/ANCHOR: Want to see what the fuss is all about? Visit the site
yourself at the link in the text version of this week's newscast at arnewsline.org.

[DO NOT READ: www.bom.gov.au ]

**
If you haven't sent in your ham radio haiku yet, what's been stopping
you? Visit our website at arnewsline.org and as you compose your ode to
your favorite online activity, we will help you use the correct number
of syllables to make an authentic haiku. Submit your work and then sit
back and wait to hear whether you are the winner of this week's
challenge. The winner gets a shout-out on our website, where everyone
can find the winning haiku.

NEWSCAST CLOSE

With thanks to Amateur News Daily; AMSAT News Service; ARRL; Art Konze
DL2ART; Australia Bureau of Meteorology; Australia India News; BBC;
BNetZa; Cornell University, Craig Crawford, ZL3TLB; Datta VU2DSI; David
Behar, K7DB; The Daily Galaxy; 425DX Bulletin; Institute of Amateur
Radio in Kerala; Madhu Mohan, VU2UWZ; QRZ.com; QSO Today; South African
Radio League; shortwaveradio.de; Tech Central; Wireless Institute of
Australia; Yasme Foundation; 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 Neil Rapp WB9VPG in Union Kentucky saying
73. As always we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2025. Amateur Radio Newsline retains ownership of its
material even when retransmitted elsewhere. All rights are reserved.

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