Subj : Newsline Part 1
To   : ALL USERS
From : DARYL STOUT
Date : Sat Nov 14 2015 12:28 pm

Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1985 November 13 2015

Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1985, with a release date of Friday,
November 13, 2015 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. A historic radio frequency gets its own special
event. Amateur Radio on the International Space Station marks 15
successful years. The Radio Club of America and Radio Amateurs of
Canada celebrate hams' contributions. And, a conference in India reaches
out to the youngest amateurs. All this and more, in Amateur Radio
Newsline report 1985 coming your way right now.

(Billboard Cart Here and Intro)

**

MEDIUM WAVE, MAXIMUM ENTHUSIASM

We begin this week's newscast with a special recognition of a wartime
radio legacy dating back 107 years. In 1908, the international distress
frequency of 500 kHz took effect, as established by the Berlin
International Radiotelegraphic Convention. It's this historic slice of
the radio spectrum where the action will be happening on Friday, Nov.
13 and Saturday, Nov. 14. Experimental operators in the U.S., Canada,
as well as U.S. heritage maritime stations, will work the event carrying
special messages. Five Canadian operators will be participating,
including VE7CNF in Burnaby, British Columbia, and VO1NA in Torbay,
Newfoundland.

The ARRL's Medium-Wave Experiment coordinator Fritz Raab, W1FR, said
most messages being carried will go out as CW. Says Raab: QUOTE "Some
stations will run beacons with special messages, and some will offer
special QSLs. Other stations will simulate maritime communication.
They will call CQ on a designated calling frequency, and then QSY to
complete the QSO." ENDQUOTE

Operators won't be sticking entirely to Medium Frequency, though: Be
listening as the Canadian amateurs engage in cross-band communication
tests on 80 meters and 40 meters.

(ARRL, Radio Amateurs of Canada)

**

ARISS: TOWARD NEWER HORIZONS

[ANCHOR/DON]: Of course, there's also radio history that was made a
little more recently - like 15 years ago. Imagine being a student in
the year 2000 having a QSO with a ham somewhere out in space. That's
what students at the Luther Burbank School in the Chicago suburbs did
at the dawn of a program called Amateur Radio on the International
Space Station. Amateur Radio Newsline's Kent Peterson, KC0DGY, talked
to the science teacher who was lucky enough to help her students be
chosen to talk with ISS astronaut William M. "Shep" Shepherd, KD5GSL.

[KENT's REPORT]:

[Rita] Growing up you live in a certain block, and it is like your
world is first, is just that block, and you go to school, and slowly
your horizons they keep expanding as you progress through school. We
opened their eyes to a horizon they didn't even know about, and that
was out in space.

[Kent] In 1996, a junior high school teacher filled in a application
for her school to make a contacts with astronauts.

[Rita] My name is Rita Wright my call sign is KC9CDL. I was a science
teacher, so I was always looking for something new or different to
implement, or put into my lesson plans to make science exciting, and
more attractive to to my students.

[Kent] The first full mission in the newly completed International Space
station happened in the fall of 2000. Wright's school was selected to
make that very first ham radio contact.

[Rita] We became aware of this program, and started learning all about
it, and participating a bit. These opportunities came up, and we just
grabbed them.

[Kent] Finally, in December, the students all gathered in the school
auditorium for the first school contact with the brand new Space
Station.

[Rita] The whole school was involved with the process, they all knew
about it. The actual contact was in our auditorium. All the students
were there, and we had set up on stage the radios. It was very very
exciting the actual contact, the students were well behaved, and anxious
and extremely interested.

[Kent] Wright says a ham radio school contact wasn't quite in the regular
curriculum.

[Rita] It was not something that was ordinarily done a in a class room
situation. You go in, you're give a text book, and you, each page one,
page two, page three, etc. What I tried to do, was do that, plus bring
into the classroom the excitement of what is out there today, and what
could be tomorrow for them. Of course, they had to learn the basic
lessons in science, that's what I taught them. But I also tried to bring
to them what else is out there, and what opportunities they could follow.
I always tried to open up the world as much as I could to the kids as
much as I could.

[Kent] Retired school teacher Rita Wright recalling the very first
international space station to school ham radio contact fifteen years
ago.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Kent Peterson, KC0DGY

[DON:/ANCHOR]: We should note, too, that this historic moment wasn't the
last the kids got to talk with Shepherd. The next friendly exchange
between him and the students, came in person - during his visit to the
school in May of the following year. Needless to say, the reception was
perfect.

**

LICENSE CHANGE FOR SOUTH AFRICA'S YOUNGEST HAMS

New regulations from the Independent Communications Authority of South
Africa, now allow amateur radio applicants who are younger than 20, and
who pass the Class B exam to hold a ZU or Class B license until age 25.
After that, they must upgrade by taking the Class A exam in order to
receive a Class A license, designated by a ZS or ZR call sign.

The authority's decision had been based on its belief that the Class B
license's primary role is to serve as an introduction to amateur radio,
and serve as youngsters' entry point into the hobby. The regulations
were implemented after much input from the South African Radio League,
which had pressed for a reasonable interval of time for the upgrade to
Class A. As a result, the authority has declared that, effective April 1,
2017, all amateurs older than 25 will become ineligible for ZU license
renewals.

(SARL)

**

USING MICROWAVES AS A MAGNET

Speaking of young hams, the Microwave Theory and Techniques Society of
the IEEE, is seizing the opportunity to attract students to amateur radio
during its flagship conference in India in early December.

The International Microwave and RF Conference in Hyderabad, will be
hosting a special event station, AU2MTT, that will be operating for two
weeks in conjunction with the gathering.

One society member, Jim Rautio, AJ3K, told the ARRL: QUOTE "The special
event is intended to draw attention to ham radio, STEM, and MTT, both
from conference participants, and any and all active hams in India." In
addition to encouraging them to pursue their licenses, organizers want
to see more youngsters consider careers in engineering, science,
technology, or mathematics.

Rautio said the effort's emphasis will be on amateur radio's role in
disaster communications, and addressing humanitarian needs. This is being
done through a program known by the acronym, SIGHT, for Special Interest
Group on Humanitarian Technology.

(IEEE, ARRL)

**

BREAK HERE:

Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline,
heard on bulletin stations around the world, including the Stephens
County Amateur Radio Society, N4DME repeater, in Toccoa, Georgia, Tuesday
nights at 8PM.

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