Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (C
To : All
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Fri May 17 2019 11:49 am
LOOKING FOR NEWSLINE'S NEXT YOUNG HAM OF THE YEAR
JIM/ANCHOR: In the schools and elsewhere, the next generation of amateurs
will carry the future of our hobby. If you know a bright young U.S. or
Canadian radio amateur, who gives of himself or herself to the hobby and
the community, nominate them by May 31st to be Amateur Radio Newsline's
next Young Ham of the Year. The honor is named in memory of Bill Pasternak,
WA6ITF.
Information about candidate eligibility is available on our website,
arnewsline.org, under the YHOTY tab. You can download a nomination form
there as well. Don't forget, the deadline is May 31st - and that's coming
up fast.
**
SOTA ACTIVATION BY TRIO ON MOUNT ETNA
JIM/ANCHOR: It seems that Mount Etna was particularly active recently -
but no worries, there was no lava involved at this volcanic site. Ed
Durrant, DD5LP, explains.
ED: This trio of hams only had a short time on the summit -- but this
summit happened to be Mount Etna, site of an active volcano on the east
coast of Sicily, so they made the most of their time. Beppe, EYE-ONE-W-K-N
(I1WKN), and his friends, Riccardo, EYE-ZED-ONE-G-D-B (IZ1GDB), and
Fabrizio, EYE-ZED-ONE-D-N-Q (IZ1DNQ), hiked up with all their gear on the
12th of May, but did not go to the very top. Beppe told Newsline that
inclement weather, and the park rules at this UNESCO World Heritage site
only permitted them a short time for their activation. They set up a
distance of 20 meters below the top, on the south west border of the
crater, and operated between the rocks for protection against the winds.
According to Riccardo, wind speeds reached as much as 80 or 90 kilometres
per hour - or more than 50 miles per hour. The team managed to have a few
QSOs on 40 metres and 20 metres - contacting Italian operators, and hams
elsewhere in Europe, including Spain and the Czech Republic. Beppe told
Newsline he hoped to return to Etna, but he plans to wait for better
weather and warmer temperatures.
For AR Newsline, this is Ed Durrant, DD5LP.
(BEPPE I1WKN, RICCARDO IZ1GDB)
**
SOUTH AFRICAN AMATEURS PREPARE FOR NEW BEACONS
JIM D/ANCHOR: Members of the South African Radio League are prepping for
a workshop that will help shape the future of beacons they have planned.
For those details, we turn to Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF.
JIM M: The South African Radio League is putting up two new 2-metre
beacons, and the project's final shape will be discussed on Saturday,
the 25th of May, when SARL and AMSAT SA hold a joint VHF workshop.
Issues on the agenda include the debate over whether horizontal or vertical
polarisation would be better utilised for long distances on VHF. The
project is considering whether an assortment of Yagi antennas would be the
best choice to get the widest coverage possible.
One beacon will cover Karoo, and the other will serve the Bethlehem area.
The workshop at the SARL National Amateur Radio Centre is expected to last
about five hours, and will conclude with a presentation by SARL President
Nico van Rensburg, ZS6QLX, on the future of VHF and UHF in amateur radio.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF.
(SOUTHGATE, SARL)
**
HONORS FOR THOSE WHO PUT OSCAR 100 IN SPOTLIGHT
JIM D/ANCHOR: The Radio Society of Great Britain has conferred honors on
some of the hams who played major roles in the Oscar 100 satellite
mission.
JEREMY: The Qatar (KAT-R) Oscar 100 mission already made big news last
year when it was launched as the first geostationary satellite with
amateur radio transponders on board. Now some of the hams behind the
project have landed in the spotlight by being honoured at the annual
general meeting of the Radio Society of Great Britain for their work
on the mission.
They include satellite expert Peter G�lzow, DB2OS, who received the Louis
Varney Cup for Advances in Space Communication. He was recognized as a
team leader on the project. Another award - the Fraser Shepherd Award
for Research into Microwave Applications for Radio Communication - went
to four British hams. They are: Dave Crump, G8GKQ; Phil Crump, M0DNY;
Noel Matthews, G8GTZ, and Graham Shirville, G3VZV. The quartet was
recognised for its development and installation of a WebSDR to receive
the narrow band transponder WebSDR, and wide-band transponder spectrum
monitor. Both allow listeners to use a standard web browser to receive
communications on QO-100.
The satellite, a joint project between the Qatar (KAT-R) Satellite Company,
the Qatar (KAT-R) Amateur Radio Society and AMSAT Deutschland was launched
last November from the Kennedy Space Centre in the United States.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jeremy Boot, G4NJH.
