Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (C)
To : All
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Fri Feb 16 2018 11:25 am
RADIO SCOUTS RELEASE WORLD REPORT FOR JAMBOREE
STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Jamboree on the Air's official report has been
released, and Bill Stearns, NE4RD, has those details.
BILL'S REPORT: This week in Radio Scouting, we have the release of
the World Report for Jamboree on the Air for 2017, and we hear from
Jim Wilson, K5ND, on his meeting in Kuala Lumpur.
Although the U.S. numbers were down as previously reported, the
world report on Jamboree on the Air, and Jamboree on the Internet,
shows an increase of overall activity. Around 1.6 million people
participated in the 2017 JOTA, including 1.4 million youth at 28,178
locations around the globe representing 152 countries. This is an
increase of around 200,000 more participants over 2016. The most
activity for Amateur Radio was found on SSB. Over on the Internet
side, IRC (Internet Relay Chat) scored the top position. You can find
a link to the full report on the jotajoti.info website.
Every month, we have a Net on Echolink that amateurs and scouters
participate in, to share stories, and learn about various activities
going on around the U.S. This month we had an update from Jim Wilson,
K5ND, who just got back from the international committee meeting in
Malaysia, about the good things to come from the new Secretary General
of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, Mr. Ahmed AlHendawi.
[K5ND] Perhaps one of the most exciting things for me, personally, was
the Secretary General, who was the United Nations Youth Envoy for a
number of years, has recently stepped into the World Organization of
the Scout Movement, as their Secretary General, very dynamic individual,
very connected across the planet. They're actually opening an office in
New York, to better work with the United Nations, better work with the
media center, essentially of the universe. Just a complete breakthrough
in the thinking, and the enthusiasm, that is underway in that office,
in the thinking of Jamboree on the Air, and Jamboree on the Internet.
BILL: We also heard about high altitude ballooning from Keith Kaiser,
WA0TJT, and how you can integrate this activity with your radio scouting
adventures. All interested amateurs are invited to join the net monthly
on the second Thursday of every month at 9PM central on the *JOTA-365*
conference node.
For more information on radio scouting, please visit our website at
www.k2bsa.net.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, and the K2BSA Amateur Radio Association,
this is Bill Stearns, NE4RD.
**
HAMS PREP FOR DIRECTION-FINDING COMPETITION
STEPHEN/ANCHOR: This summer, hams from all over, will gather in northern
California, to run in the woods, seeking hidden transmitters. Here with
the details, is Newsline's Joe Moell (MELL) K-zero-O-V, who is also the
ARRL's Direction Finding Coordinator.
JOE: They range in age from the teens to the 70s, and they're coming
from all over, to compete in the most physical of all ham radio sports.
I'm talking about on-foot hidden transmitter hunters, also called
foxtailers and radio-orienteers. Their sport is Amateur Radio Direction
Finding, or ARDF.
It's all done on foot in a BIG outdoor space. Thanks to a set of standard
international rules, it's pretty much the same all over the world, so we
can have international competitions. Your mission, is to try to find up
to five hidden ham radio transmitters, without assistance, while on the
run, or trotting, or just walking. You'll carry a map and compass, so you
don't get lost.
You can mix in with the USA's best radio-orienteers at the eighteenth
national ARDF championships in mid-June near Truckee, California, which
is 33 miles southwest of Reno, Nevada. It starts off with a day of
optional intense training on June 13, followed by four days of competition
on the two-meter and eighty-meter bands. If your time is limited, just
come for the classic competitions on the weekend.
Learn from the experts, then see how you do for yourself out on the
courses. You don't have to be a marathoner, but it helps to be in good
shape. There are eleven separate categories, with medals for the best
three in each, so you'll only be competing against people of your own
age range, and gender.
Registration for the championships will open soon. So start making plans.
You can read all the details on the web at www.homingin.com. That's
homingin -- as one word -- homingin.com.
I hope to see YOU at the championships. For Amateur Radio Newsline, this
is Joe Moell, K-Zero-Oscar-Victor.
**
TOUGH SLEDDING FOR AMATEURS IN WISCONSIN
STEPHEN/ANCHOR: When hams find themselves operating in the cold grip of
winter, public service events aren't likely to be the usual walkathons,
marathons, or bicycle races. Instead, think "mush" - as we hear from
Kent Peterson, KC0DGY.
KENT's REPORT: When you're planning a serious sled-dog race, there are
some things you just can't do without: First of all, you need dogs -
but it's a good idea to bring along some ham radio operators, too. Those
elements, plus some skilled mushers, are what always seem to make the
Apostle Islands Dog Sled Race in Bayfield, Wisconsin, a success. Hams
have been a part of this race in northern Bayfield County, for the past
23 years. The tracks of the various races along the Sand River Trail
System, reach within two miles of Lake Superior. The one thing the route
doesn't reach, however, is a cell phone tower. According to Chris Keezer,
KC9NVV, that's where the hams come in.
They are part of Wisconsin's ARES/RACES, and experienced at passing
traffic. Chris, who's been coordinating the amateurs at the race for
four years, said this year's team of six amateurs welcomed Haily,
KD9GCC, as a first-timer, helping keep an eye on race participants,
at the various check points. Chris was also joined by Larry, K9LRD,
Travis, KC9GYD, Joe, KD9CJX, and Chuck, N9CZM.
Chris told Newsline in an email: [quote] "We were there to keep everyone
informed, and for the safety of the races." [close quote]
Chris said there were about 50 teams, and they raced the clock as they
covered as much as 80 miles a day, on the weekend of February 3rd and 4th.
Keeping an eye out for safety in this kind of freezing weather, no doubt
the hams themselves did their job doggedly.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Kent Peterson, KC0DGY.
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