Subj : Newsline Part 2
To : ALL USERS
From : DARYL STOUT
Date : Fri Mar 18 2016 11:54 am
SPRINT AHEAD, DON'T FALL BACK
The North American SSB Sprint is coming up fast -- well, what would you
expect from something that's called a "sprint?"
So have your rigs ready on April 3 at 0000 UTC - locally that's April 2 --
for what's been called "the fastest four hours in Radiosport." The sprint's
date was moved to the first weekend in April, following a schedule conflict
with another popular RTTY sprint.
The committee asks hams planning to operate to fill out a form on the
website indicating the planned activity. Visit
http://ssbsprint.com
(NA SSB SPRINT CONTEST COMMITTEE)
**
RELAUNCHING MAINE SCHOONER INTO HISTORY
STEPHEN KINFORD: An old, well-traveled schooner in Maine is preparing to
resume its journeys, and yes, those trips include a few ventures into ham
radio history. Amateur Radio Newsline's Paul Braun, WD9GCO, has that story.
PAUL BRAUN: The month of June can't come soon enough for the team members
working to refurbish a 95-year-old schooner that once touched the heart,
and the generosity of Hiram Percy Maxim himself, as well as those on the
ARRL board.
Built in 1921 in East Boothbay, Maine as an Arctic explorer, the schooner
Bowdoin was well-equipped with wireless communications when it set out on
its travels during the Arctic Expedition of Donald B. MacMillan in 1923.
It later transported MacMillan, Richard Byrd and crew to Greenland in 1925.
Maxim and the board not only provided radio support to the schooner's
adventures but recruited an operator -- Donald H. Mix, 1TS, of Bristol,
Connecticut -- to come on board and transmit from the 100-watt, medium-wave
rig. The equipment used by Mix had been custom designed by ARRL Board
member M.B. West, who had it built by hams at the Zenith Electronics firm.
I spoke with Professor Donald Eley, K-B-ONE-V-J (KB1VJ), of the Department
of Marine Transportation, about operating amateur radio from the sailing
ship:
[PROF. ELY'S SOUND CLIP]
PAUL: The schooner's refurbishment is now being paid for by the Bowdoin
Centennial Campaign. It is the official vessel of the State of Maine. And,
though its explorations are likely to be far more modest nearly a century
after its first launching, the Bowdoin is nonetheless set to sail into its
new life on June 1.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Paul Braun, WD9GCO.
**
BREAK HERE:
Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline,
heard on bulletin stations around the world, including the Great South Bay
Amateur Radio Club, W2GSB, on Long Island, New York, on Monday nights,
following the 7:30 p.m. Info Net on the club's 2-meter repeater.
**
REPEATER PLANS ENCOURAGE AMATEURS IN SOUTH INDIA
A proposal to install a new amateur radio repeater in the capital of the
Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, is giving local hams in southern India
some hope. If local permission is granted, the repeater would be placed
atop the Gunadala (GOONA-DALLA) Hill in the capital city, Amaravati
(om-RAVA-tee). A district official has given an encouraging response to
a request by Arza Ramesh Babu, coordinator of the district's Ham Radio
Training Centre. Mr. Ramesh Babu told local officials the presence of
such a repeater would facilitate creation of an emergency network of ham
radio operators who would make use of the repeater with their handheld
transceivers and serve the region.
Furthermore, he said, the repeater would also have the capability to
communicate via EchoLink, over the Internet, giving it global reach. Mr.
Ramesh Babu estimated that there are nearly 500 licensed radio amateurs
who would make regular use of the repeater once it is operational. He
told The Hindu newspaper - QUOTE - "If all goes well, this 'sunrise'
state will soon transform into a hub of ham radio activity." ENDQUOTE
(THE HINDU)
**
RADIO MODES GO RETRO ON ANZAC DAY
STEPHEN: ANZAC Day is a major public holiday for everyone in New Zealand
and Australia, but hams observe it in a way that only radio operators
could. Amateur Radio Newsline's Graham Kemp, VK4BB, has that story:
GRAHAM: Amateurs in New Zealand and Australia aren't being asked to suit
up in military uniforms to help mark ANZAC Day, but they are being
encouraged to participate in a military radio salute, nonetheless.
They've been asked to work the bands using the same older modes once
employed by radio operators in the military, and to do this on Monday,
April 25, marking ANZAC Day. The solemn national holiday remembers those
who died in 1915 in the fighting at Gallipoli.
The on-air observance, which is being encouraged by the Tableland Radio
Group of Far North Queensland, would shift that day's radio operations
from SSB to the AM mode and also encourage more CW operation.
The event's genesis is a conversation between Tableland's Mike Patterson,
VK4MIK, a veteran of the Royal Australian Navy, and Lionel Veale, an
ex-sergeant and former Australian Coast watcher who had used the old
radios, ATR4A transceivers, during World War II.
The AM & CW event has become a popular annual ANZAC Day activity for the
past couple of years, with many amateurs from a number of clubs
partipating using older, crystal-locked transceivers or former military
radios. Keep in mind it's not a contest, but a tribute. And in peacetime,
the operating strategy won't require any military maneuvers - just a bit
of moving about to find a clear frequency.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Graham Kemp, VK4BB.
(WIA)
--- BgNet 1.0a12 - The Thunderbolt BBS wx1der.dyndns.org Little Rock, AR
