Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (A
To : All
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Fri Jun 26 2020 09:15 am
Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2226, for Friday, June 26, 2020
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2226, with a release date of
Friday, June 26, 2020, to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a QST. Hams experience a very different kind of
Field Day. Australia prepares for in-person exams -- and a beloved
museum curator becomes a Silent Key. All this and more, as Amateur
Radio Newsline Report Number 2226 comes your way right now.
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BILLBOARD CART
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HAMS AT HOME WITH FIELD DAY 2020
PAUL/ANCHOR: As Newsline went to production, hams in the U.S. and
Canada were getting ready to operate Field Day on June 27th and 28th
under unprecedented conditions. With the COVID-19 pandemic creating
public health and safety concerns, the ARRL issued a rule waiver
permitting hams to operate from their home QTH, instead of the
customary parks and other public spaces, even to the extent of using
commercial power. As a result, hams were more at home with Field Day
than ever.
With the changes to the rules this year, entrants needed to make sure
that they chose the correct contest entry class to match their revised
operational situations.
Some clubs, however were going ahead with the emergency preparedness
event in public spaces, using added precautions for public safety. In
North Carolina, some hams from the Carteret County Amateur Radio
Society were to operate at the local Newport Town Park while others
were getting on the air at home using the club call sign W4WMI. The
Kansas-Nebraska Radio Club was to participate in their emergency
communications trailer at the Veterans of Foreign Wars 7697 in Glasco,
Kansas. Numerous other clubs, however, scrapped their plans to showcase
amateur radio to the public, and like hams from the Manalapan Township
ARES Group in New Jersey, were going ahead with plans to participate
from home.
(CARTERET COUNTY NEWS-TIMES, NCK.TODAY, CENTRALJERSEY.COM)
**
IN-PERSON EXAMS RETURN TO AUSTRALIA
PAUL/ANCHOR: The eyeball QSO is making a comeback Down Under. Here's
Robert Broomhead, VK3DN, with the details.
ROBERT: Face-to-face exams are returning for amateurs, and licence
candidates as exam locations put strict guidelines in place. The
Australian Maritime College, which administers the exams for the
Australian Communications and Media Authority, has announced that
assessors will be able to proceed with the exams, provided there is
a COVID Safe plan, and compliance is assured. The AMC's Amateur Radio
Office must approve all exam sessions in advance, and will not accept
exam papers it believes were exposed to unsafe conditions.
In response to the pandemic, exams have been given via remote
assessment, which requires oversight by approved level 3 AMC
assessors.
Clubs, meanwhile, are also restoring some normality. In New South
Wales, the Central Coast Amateur Radio Club is preparing to reopen
its club rooms on the 4th of July, when it plans to hold its first
face-to-face general business meeting since the start of the pandemic.
There are maximum occupancy limitations however. The meeting will also
be available online for members who prefer to attend via a
teleconference platform.
The reopening and the safety guidelines have been set forth by the
New South Wales Government Public Health Orders, which require strict
compliance with sanitising procedures, as well as collecting the
names and other details of attendees for tracking purposes.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Robert Broomhead, VK3DN.
(WIA, CCARC)
**
MORE AMATEUR RADIO EVENTS MOVE TO ONLINE PLATFORMS
PAUL/ANCHOR: The online calendar of amateur radio events continues to
fill up, even as physical events remain few and far between, as a result
of the COVID-19 pandemic. In Germany, the DARC has announced that Friday,
June 26th, kicks off the Ham RadiOnline event being held, in lieu of Ham
Radio Friedrichshafen. The DARC and organizers are also making a virtual
trade fair available for exhibitors to present their latest products. For
those who want to mix workshops with their shopping, the online event
will also offer sessions on operating, broadcast technology, and other
related subjects.
AMSAT is also moving into the online realm later this year. Instead of
gathering in Bloomington, Minnesota, on October 16th through the 18th,
attendees at the 38th annual Space Symposium, and annual General Meeting,
will be participating through a virtual platform. AMSAT will provide
additional information as soon as event planners have details available.
In the UK, the Convention Committee of the Radio Society of Great Britain
has planned an online equivalent of the RSGB Convention, and as with the
in-person event, it will feature an array of speakers. It will be held
on Saturday, the 10th of October. Details will follow when they become
available.
