Subj : Newsline Part 1
To : ALL USERS
From : DARYL STOUT
Date : Fri Mar 04 2016 12:28 pm
Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2001, March 4, 2016
Amateur Radio Newsline report number 2001, with a release date of Friday,
March 4, 2016 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a QST. Hams in Australia and New Zealand lose a longtime
favorite retail giant. A satellite lets an unprecedented QSO happen
between Antarctica and Argentina. Hamfests are gearing up in New Jersey
and West Virginia. And, at long last, there's a reasonable explanation for
the "space music" heard four decades ago aboard Apollo 10.
All this, and more, in Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2001, coming your way,
right now.
(Billboard Cart Here and Intro)
**
DICK SMITH ELECTRONICS CLOSING
SKEETER: We begin this week's newscast with news that Dick Smith
Electronics, a longtime mainstay for amateurs in Australia and New
Zealand, is closing. The story of the closure of this electronics giant
comes from Amateur Radio Newsline's Graham Kemp, VK4BB
GRAHAM: It's the end of an era for loyal purchasers of gear and components
from Dick Smith Electronics.
The giant Australian retailer, which bears the name of its amateur radio
founder, is closing its doors during the course of the next two months,
shutting 301 retail locations throughout Australia and 62 in New Zealand.
The closure follows an unsuccessful attempt by the company's receivers to
complete a sale.
Founded in 1968 in a Sydney suburb by Australian entrepreneur Dick Smith
AC, VK2DIK, Woolworths Limited purchased a majority stake in the business
and ultimately in 1982, became the electronics chain's sole owner.
Woolworths sold the company to private equity firm Anchorage Capital
Partners in 2012. But it was announced on Jan. 5 of this year that the
electronics company, which had amassed large debt, was being placed in
receivership under Ferrier Hodgson, with the hope that a sale would
rejuvenate the enterprise.
Receiver James Stewart of Ferrier Hodgson announced in late February,
however, that none of the offers received for Dick Smith Holdings were
considered acceptable, either as a bid for the group in its entireity, or
for the stores in either Australia or New Zealand as standalone offers.
Smith was quoted in the Australian media as characterizing the offers as
either being too conditional, or too far below the liquidation values.
Over the years, before he sold, the stores enjoyed a robust reputation as
the go-to place for radio components as well as kits, including the Dick
Smith HF, UHF and VHF transceivers.
A fire sale began at all locations on Feb. 26, and Hilco, a liquidator
based in the UK, will look over the sale of stock as locations shut.
The move leaves a total of nearly 3,000 employees in both countries
without jobs.
The AC after Smith's name is an honor, an Officer of the Order of
Australia awarded in 1999, for his services to the community, charity
and business. In 2015, he was advanced to a Companion of the Order of
Australia "for eminent service to the community as a benefactor of a
range of not-for-profit and conservation organizations, through support
for major fundraising initiatives for humanitarian and social welfare
programs, to medical research and the visual arts, and to aviation.
VK2DIK was Patron of the Wireless Institute of Australia for its 100 year
Celebrations.
The Dick Smith Electronics Chain is yet another of Outlets for VK Hams
that has closed in recent times.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Graham Kemp, VK4BB.
(ABC.NET.AU, SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, NEW ZEALAND HERALD)
**
SILENT KEY: NZART'S BRUCE DOUGLAS, NL2WP
Also from New Zealand, we receive word that the past president of New
Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters, and a longtime core member of
the organization, Bruce Douglas, NL2WP, became a Silent Key on Feb. 13.
Licensed since 1992, he became part of NZART's management team in 1999,
to help with the organization's financial business. Bruce made use of his
vast knowledge and experience as trust lawyer to assist NZART, and helped
establish the group's Radio Science and Education Trust document that is
still used today.
He served as president from 2005 to 2009, stepping down for health
reasons.
(WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA, NZART INFO LINE)
**
BEHIND THE BATTLE OF THE ANTENNAS
SKEETER: In Ohio, where hams have been preparing for an April 23 event
called Near Vertical Incidence Skywave Antenna Day, organizers are
emphasizing that this isn't just an ARES event. Hap Holly, KC9RP, of the
RAIN Report spoke recently with Stan Broadway, N8BHL, ARRL's Ohio Section
Emergency Coordinator on how this one-day adventure in antenna research
is designed to work for all hams.
[CLIP OF STAN BROADWAY EXPLAINING VALUE OF NVIS IN EMERGENCIES]
SKEETER: To hear more of this conversation between Hap Holly and Stan
Broadway, visit the RAIN Report website, therainreport.com. You can also
listen via Twitter at @therainreport and via iTunes. Our thanks to Hap
Holly, KC9RP.
(HAP HOLLY, KC9RP, THE RAIN REPORT)
--- BgNet 1.0a12 - The Thunderbolt BBS wx1der.dyndns.org Little Rock, AR
