Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (A)
To : All
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Fri Feb 09 2018 03:34 pm
Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2102 for February 9, 2018
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2102, with a release date of
Friday, February 9, 2018, to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a QST. The Bouvet Island DXpedition is scrapped.
School Club Roundup gears up in the U.S. - and in Australia, an
amateur TV repeater is on the move. All this and more, as Amateur
Radio Newsline Report 2102, comes your way right now.
**
BILLBOARD CART
**
TOP STORY: BOUVET ISLAND DXPEDITION SCRAPPED
JIM/ANCHOR: Our top story this week is the Bouvet Island DXpedition
3Y0Z, a journey that turned out to be different from the one so
long-awaited by the amateur radio community. After experiencing
problems with the weather, and one of the ship's engines, the team
reluctantly aborted their mission on Saturday, the 3rd of February,
for safety reasons - even with Bouvet itself clearly in view. As
they reversed course, ocean conditions diverted their planned return
to Chile, and the ship was rerouted to Cape Town, South Africa,
where the radio operators plan to catch flights home. In the meantime,
they are safe, and have been operating maritime mobile as time permits
using CW and FT-8, with their 100-watt rigs, said their lead pilot,
Valerie Hotzfeld, NV9L. The team is also making plans to ship the radio
equipment back home.
Val said their estimated arrival on U.S. soil should be sometime around
the 15th and 16th of this month. The saga of what is easily one of the
most expensive DXpeditions ever is not over yet. Plans are being worked
on to try again.
(VALERIE HOTZFELD, NV9L)
**
FIRST-TIMERS ENTER SCHOOL CLUB ROUNDUP
JIM/ANCHOR: The chase to contact school ham radio clubs is on again,
and this time, there's a brand new club in the contest. Neil Rapp,
WB9VPG, has more.
NEIL'S REPORT: It's time once again for School Club Roundup! Twice
each year, school clubs from elementary through college, get on the
air for a week, to make as many contacts as possible. The event takes
place Monday, February 12th through Friday, February 17th. The exchange
is RS(T), class (individual, club, or school) and state, province, or
country. So, get on the air, and give these budding students someone to
contact. They will be on all bands and modes, but there are suggested
frequencies on each band. That's where you will find most of the schools.
At least one of those school clubs is so new, that it's getting on the
air for the first time during the Roundup! Ben Piecora, K2CPU, a
15-year-old student at West Islip High School in New York, worked School
Club Roundup stations from home in the past, and decided to get
permission to add his school, complete with a vanity callsign W2WIH, to
those participating.
BEN: Originally, the whole story of the starting this club is... I got
my license, and he got his license, and we met at the VE session. And,
then towards the the end of the year, I jokingly suggested that we start
a radio club. He was like, "That's actually a cool idea." So, this
September, we started going through with it, and requested the callsign,
and got the vanity callsign, and all that stuff... and set up the
logbooks. So, we are all ready to go with the contesting software.
NEIL: Ben explains that they are starting with a temporary setup, to get
the ball rolling.
BEN: My teacher, KD2FKP... he just bought his 7300 for his home station.
So, we're just going to use that. We're planning on setting up a 40 and
20 meter dipole, up about 30 feet, hoping to make some contacts.
NEIL: The event is sponsored by the Long Island Mobile Amateur Radio Club,
and ARRL. Look for hashtag arrlscr on Twitter, and for complete rules,
visit ARRL.org/school-club-roundup. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Neil
Rapp, WB9VPG, hoping to hear YOU on the air, from K9SOU.
**
ALABAMA OLD-TIMERS GET THEIR BIG NIGHT
JIM/ANCHOR: On the opposite end of the ham radio timeline are the
old-timers - and they had their big night recently in Huntsville,
Alabama. Here's Paul Braun, WD9GCO, with more.
PAUL'S REPORT: You don't need to rely on DMR and digital modes to
generate excitement in amateur radio. Sometimes, even the newest hams
enjoy a trip back to radio's roots. The February 2nd meeting of the
Huntsville Amateur Radio Club in Huntsville, Alabama, turned back the
clock ,and turned over the proceedings to veteran hams for "Old Timers'
Night." Leading the road back was club vice president M.D. Smith,
WA4DXP, who emcee'd the parade of memories back to the 1960s and beyond.
One ham told how he had turned an old AM radio receiver into a low-power
AM transmitter, which used a record player as its input. M.D. himself
recalled the first electronic keyer he built in 1962, the year he got
his license. These are the kinds of tales older hams are famous for, of
course, but the audience included a good many enthusiastic young Tech
tickets. The response was a mix of amazement, and perhaps inspiration,
as many told the storytellers: Gee whiz, I can't believe you did all
that with so little stuff!
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Paul Braun, WD9GCO.
(HUNTSVILLE AMATEUR RADIO CLUB)
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