Subj : Newsline Part 2
To : ALL USERS
From : DARYL STOUT
Date : Thu Feb 25 2016 09:22 pm
NY's TRAIL RELAY IN PURSUIT OF HAMS
In New York, it's time to warm up for the Paumanok Pursuit, a 70K trail
run and relay on Long Island, New York, that navigates from Rocky Point,
east to Hampton Bays. Since the relay teams aren't setting off for their
destination until April 3, the real pursuit right now is for amateur
radio support.
The event, which follows the Paumanok Path through five towns, is a
benefit for the Greenbelt Trail Conference, and its work to keep Long
Island trails, such as this one, safe and well-maintained. It typically
draws individual runners as well as relay teams of two to five, covering
five legs of the race, in varying distances.
Long Island hams or GMRS operators are needed to keep things safe
throughout the courses. The race starts at 7 a.m. and concludes around
3 p.m. with a party to celebrate a job well done.
In a recent email to Long Island Hams, Matthew Berman, KC2YDT, advised
amateur radio volunteers: QUOTE "This is a great opportunity to exercise
our verbal skills, new technologiesm and cross-communication
interoperability of various radio spectrums." ENDQUOTE The event will
be managed using the ICS Special Event management model, he said, but
this is not an ARES event.
Interested? Please write him for more details or to put your name on the
list. His email address is
[email protected]
(MATTHEW BERMAN, KC2YDT)
**
BREAK HERE:
Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline,
heard on bulletin stations around the world, including the
Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana (OH-KY-IN) Amateur Radio Society repeater,
146.670 MHz, in Cincinnati, Ohio.
**
ONE HAM'S LOW-POWER LEGACY
DON: A low-power transmitter donated from a Silent Key's estate is adding
some high-power interest to the ARRL's Historical Collection. Let's hear
more from Amateur Radio Newsline's Skeeter Nash, N5ASH:
SKEETER: It's not just a collector's item; it's a piece of radio history.
It's a flea-powered transistorized ham transmitter that was used in a
transatlantic contact in 1956. And now it's set to be displayed in the
ARRL's Historical Collection in Connecticut, a donation from the estate
of Silent Key Gus Fallgren, who was licensed as W1OGUm when he built the
transmitter with two fellow Raytheon engineers.
On Sept. 18, 1956, the 78 mW transmitter was showing off some low-power,
battery-powered prowess, achieving a 3,800-mile contact on 20 meters.
Fallgren himself was at the key, transmitting into a 3-element,
wide-spaced Yagi. His signal report of 339 signal came all the way from
OZ7BO in Copenhagen, Denmark.
As built by Fallgren and his colleagues, Al "Hank" Hankinson, W1OSF, and
Dick Wright, W1UBC, the transmitter was designed to run two Raytheon
2N113 transistors - and it was the first to run such transistors on 20
meters. The trio had taken up the challenge of trying to achieve Worked
All Continents status with it.
The donation made from his estate, by Andy Stewart, KB1OIQ, includes the
original transmitter, and a 7.013.4 kc crystal as well as the Vibroplex
bug used for the contact, among other things.
The ARRL will display it along with the bug, station log, and the issue
of Radio and Television News that featured a story about the transmitter -
and Gus Fallgren on the cover.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Skeeter Nash, N5ASH, in Topeka, Kansas.
(ARRL)
**
SHINING A LIGHT ON UK BEACONS' FUTURE
DON: What's up next for a small group of 5MHz beacons in the UK? The
Radio Society of Great Britain wants hams to tell them what they think.
Amateur Radio Newsline's Jeremy Boot, G4NJH, has the details:
JEREMY: The Radio Society of Great Britain is looking for input on the
future of its 5MHz beacons, which began operating in mid-2003, as part
of a propagation experiment on the band.
Data has been recorded from the beacons' reception reports and will be
used to help determine the next stage of their use. The radio society has
now opened up a consultation on the beacons, particularly in light of
technical difficulties and site challenges the beacons have faced. The
trio began operations with the call signs GB3RAL, GB3WES and GB3ORK.
More than 1.5 million propagation records are now stored in a database,
collected over the course of the experiment. The data are being analyzed
by Marcus, G0IJZ, and findings have been published in RadCom magazine,
as well as presented at conferences.
The beacons' licenses are up for renewal in 2017.
For comments, visit the Radio Society of Great Britain website, and
navigate to the 5MHz Beacon forum.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jeremy Boot, G4NJH, in Nottingham, the UK.
(RADIO SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN)
**
MEMORABLE MICROWAVE MOMENT
Another kind of meaningful radio contact in the UK has been reported: In
fact, the two hams, Chris G0FDZ/P and Roger G8CUB/P, likely won't forget
Friday, Feb. 19, for a long time to come. They've reported on the UK
Microwave Yahoo Group that they completed the first UK amateur radio
contact on the 241 GHz band that day at 1500 UTC.
The microwave contact was made in locator square JO01EP. The distance was
30 meters, and the CW signals were 559 and 589. The next issue of the UK
Microwave Group's newsletter, "Scatterpoint," is expected to carry more
details.
(SOUTHGATE AMATEUR RADIO NEWS)
**
SOUTH AFRICA'S LICENSE FEES GOING UP
In South Africa, it's going to cost more to get on the air. Starting
April 1, the annual amateur license fee will rise to 126 Rand. The
Independent Communications Authority of South Africa, ICASA, is giving
hams the option of renewing for a five-year license, which costs 525
Rand, as a way to guard against additional increases later on. Hams
wishing to renew for the five-year period, are being advised to send an
email along with payment details and request to convert to a five-year
license. Those emails should be sent to
[email protected]
ICASA told the South African Radio League that the billing process is
getting under way, and license-holder can expect their invoices in the
next few weeks. For more details, visit www.sarl.org.za
(SOUTHGATE AMATEUR RADIO NEWS, SOUTH AFRICAN RADIO LEAGUE)
**
ACTION IN THE ANTARCTIC
Looking even further south, ham activity is alive and well in
Antarctica. And if conditions permit, the 13th Antarctic Activity Week
could shape up to be a big one. The Worldwide Antarctic Program reports
that as many as 37 stations could be on the air through Sunday, Feb. 28,
when the event winds down.
But because conditions in the Antarctic are known to be changeable - if
not challenging - check the website for an updated list of call signs
and QSL managers. Visit www.waponline.it - if you can't chase penguins,
you can at least chase some good DX.
(WORLDWIDE ANTARCTIC PROGRAM)
--- BgNet 1.0a12 - The Thunderbolt BBS wx1der.dyndns.org Little Rock, AR
