Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (A)
To : All
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Fri Mar 30 2018 08:51 am
Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2109, for Friday, March 30, 2018
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2109, with a release date of
Friday, March 30, 2018, to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a QST. Look out: a Chinese satellite is headed
back to Earth. Samuel Morse's birthday festivities are in the
works in New York -- and in New Zealand, hams help discover a
missing woman's remains. All this and more, as Amateur Radio
Newsline Report 2109, comes your way right now.
**
BILLBOARD CART
**
NEW ZEALAND HAMS ASSIST IN SEARCH FOR MISSING WOMAN
PAUL/ANCHOR: Our top story this week comes from New Zealand,
where a dozen or so members of the Amateur Radio Emergency
Communications Group joined in a weekend effort to find a woman
who'd been missing for three months. Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF, tells
us how it unfolded.
JIM: It began as a training exercise by members of the Amateur
Radio Emergency Communications Group, part of the New Zealand
Association of Radio Transmitters - but the drill turned real
after its participants discovered the body of a young woman,
who had been missing since December. More than 100 Land Search
and Rescue professionals had been deployed in the Ashley River
area near Rangiora, just north of Christchurch. AREC section
leader Richard Smart, ZL4FZ, was one of them. Richard says the
team also had help from vehicles best described as "communications
hubs on wheels:"
RICHARD: The vehicles are multi-role and capable of operating on
several bands. They are already configured and set up with the
radios established in the right places physically. They have
computing facilities made available: We have portable laptops and
all the network cabling is in the vehicles. As much as possible
when we arrive, we basically stop the vehicle, establish a power
connection, establish a network connection, and turn the radios on.
As far as pragmatically possible we are ready to operate.
JIM: The hams were in constant contact with one another over amateur
frequencies, and with New Zealand Police and Land Search and Rescue
team members on their emergency channel, on the weekend of March 24th
and 25th. Their discovery of Emma Beattie's body on the riverbank that
second day underscored the value that amateurs' skills bring to such
scenes, time and again.
RICHARD: There is a core team in Christchurch of people who respond to
police search and rescue requests, and they train regularly once a month,
so that they are ready. Part of that training is an acceptance and
understanding of being needed for both search and rescue exercises, and
the real event.
JIM: Getting it right is always important - even when the shared effort
ultimately turns up a tragic result.
RICHARD: We made it work, and I think the results were acceptable and
achieved what we set out to do. But, there are certainly some points
we'll go back over on our training nights, and look into and see if we
can do it either easier, faster, or better for next time.
JIM: Unfortunately, said Richard, there is often a next time. For
Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF.
(NZART)
**
SATELLITE'S RETURN: LOOK OUT BELOW!
PAUL/ANCHOR: Look out below! There's a satellite headed back to Earth,
and hams may want to keep an eye - and an ear - out for it, as we hear
from Lloyd Colston, KC5FM.
LLOYD: Tiangong-1 will join the ranks of satellites such as SkyLab and
Mir when it re-enters Earth's atmosphere around Easter Weekend. The 8.5
ton satellite from China is expected to disintegrate upon re-entry, but
pieces may reach the surface of the Earth. Skywarn volunteers may be
watchful for the satellite using the information pinned to the top of
twitter dot com slash kc5fm (twitter.com/kc5fm)
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Lloyd Colston, KC5FM, looking up for you.
PAUL/ANCHOR: One benefit for hams would be a nice meteor trail for VHF
and UHF weak signal opening on meteor scatter.
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