Subj : Newsline Part 2
To : All
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Fri Dec 30 2016 02:16 pm
SILENT KEY: ALAN HEATHER, G0PQA
NEIL/ANCHOR: As the old year ends, another notable veteran ham has become
a Silent Key, as we hear from Amateur Radio Newsline's Jeremy Boot, G4NJH.
JEREMY: Alan Heather, G0PQA, a longtime radio amateur, whose radio
contacts included King Hussein of Jordan, JY1, and Helen Sharman, GB1MIR,
the UK's first astronaut, has died.
Alan was the author of a biography of Oliver Heaviside, the mathematician
and electrical engineer, whose work included discovery of a layer of
ionized gas above the ground that reflects radio waves, allowing signals
to travel past the horizion. The layer is known as the Kennelly-Heaviside
Layer. The scientist died in 1925, before Alan was born, but he was
considered a distant cousin, whose career influenced Alan's own life
later.
Alan's local work in commercial radio, as well as on citizens' band, was
to later earn him the nickname "Radio Man." The former newspaper reporter,
historian and broadcaster was 88.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jeremy Boot, G4NJH.
(SOUTHGATE AMATEUR RADIO NEWS, THE TORQUAY HERALD EXPRESS)
**
SILENT KEY: CANADA'S WILLIAM JAMES 'BILL' GILLIS, VE1WG
NEIL/ANCHOR: We also note the passing of William James 'Bill' Gillis,
VE1WG, the former president of Radio Amateurs of Canada. Bill died on
Monday, Dec. 26. He had been president of the RAC from 2002 to 2003,
and was director of the Maritimes Region. He was also a two-term
president of the Moncton Area Amateur Radio Club, and a member of the
Montreal Amateur Radio Club, and the Oakville Radio Club. Bill was 87.
(ARRL)
**
HAMS KEEP PACE IN PARADISE
NEIL/ANCHOR: What's better than running a marathon in paradise? Doing
it with amateur radio support, as Amateur Radio Newsline's Jim Damron,
N8TMW, tells us.
JIM: The 44th running of the Honolulu Marathon had the power of radio
to keep them on the move. The Honolulu Marathon on December 11th wasn't
just a feat of endurance for the more than 30,000 runners. The hams who
provided communications and safety for the race's 44th running, also
went the distance in their own way. According to the ARRL Pacific
Section, radio operators went on the air as early as 4 a.m., and some
stayed on the air for as many as 18 hours for this, the fourth largest
marathon in the U.S.
With Net Control operated by Ralph Toyama, NH6PY, 35 hams operated on
both 2 meters and 70 centimeters. Some were also on the air using 800
MHz digital radios - nonamateur radios, but nonetheless crucial in
providing those links to aid stations, medical teams, transportation
vehicles, and police.
Hams were also at the finish line, feeling just as victorious as if
they'd run the race themselves; which, in a way, they did.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Damron, N8TMW.
