Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (A
To : All
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Thu Jul 23 2020 10:53 pm
Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2230, for Friday, July 24, 2020
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2230, with a release date
of Friday, July 24, 2020, to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a QST. The world's biggest amateur radio event
is cancelled. Hams assist a flight in distress en route to Easter
Island -- and amateur ingenuity simplifies social distancing.
All this and more, as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2230,
comes your way right now.
**
BILLBOARD CART
**
TOKYO HAMFAIR CANCELLED DUE TO COVID-19 CONCERNS
STEPHEN/ANCHOR: We begin this week with the latest and most likely
the biggest cancellation of an amateur radio event this year. The
Tokyo Hamfair, scheduled to open on the 31st of October, has been
cancelled by the Japan Amateur Radio League, which cited precautions
due to the coronavirus pandemic. Crowds at this major international
event have run as high in some years as 60,000 attendees, from
around the world, topping Friedrichshafen in Germany, and Dayton
Hamvention in Ohio. The Tokyo Ham Fair has been an annual event
since its first staging in 1977. Here's looking forward to Tokyo
Hamfair 2021.
(JARL, SOUTHGATE)
**
HAMS IN PERU ASSIST DISTRESSED AIR AMBULANCE
STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Emergency intervention is what amateur radio operators
do best, and a recent crisis in the skies between South America and
Easter Island showed how it's done. Graham Kemp, VK4BB, has those
details.
GRAHAM: Amateur radio operators in Peru were able to provide critical
assistance recently, after an air ambulance from Chile, en route to
pick up a patient on Easter Island, suffered an emergency of its own.
On July 9th, after the aircraft's satellite communications equipment
failed, Guillermo (GHEE-YAIR-MOH), OA4DTU, and the Peruvian Relief Net
copied the pilot's signal on 7.100 MHz. This is the frequency on which
the net operates. The net had just ended an exercise a few moments
earlier, and Guillermo and Giancarlo, OA4DSN, were still on the
frequency. OA4DTU was able to contact Oceanic Air Control in Chile,
which had already grown concerned after losing radio contact with the
plane.
The Easter Island tower's HF radio was not functioning at the time,
making matters worse. The hams kept in touch with the plane, which was
finally able to make contact with the control tower via its VHF radio.
The plane was then able to receive instructions for landing safely.
The pilot, then able to pick up the patient, and make the return trip
to Chile.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Graham Kemp, VK4BB.
(IARU-REGION 2)
**
ON THE TRAIL OF 'PARASITE ANTENNAS'
STEPHEN/ANCHOR: If you think antenna or tower work can be dangerous
sometimes, consider a different kind of risk some tower workers in
Mexico have been taking, according to one news agency's report. Kent
Peterson, KC0DGY, has the details.
KENT: They're called "parasite antennas", and they're part of a
far-reaching network in Mexico that authorities say uses cellular
sites and other towers, to support illegal drug trafficking.
According to a recent report by Reuters, drug cartels often install
their antennas on towers, amid those of legitimate cellular carriers,
making use of the space to enable drug traffickers' two-way radio
communications.
The Reuters report noted that use of the towers is actually more
advantageous to the traffickers, when it comes to avoiding detection:
in rural areas without the towers, the cartels are compelled instead
to install standalone antennas, which are more easily detected than
those piggybacked amongst the telecom users.
The Reuters report noted that the existence of these antennas puts
many of the telecom workers at risk, when they are doing repair work
at such a tower, and many fear for their lives. The same report noted,
however, that federal authorities are provided security from the Defense
Ministry of Mexico, when they seek to dismantle the cartels' equipment.
When Reuters contacted Mexico's telecom and broadcast regulator, the
Federal Telecommunications Institute, the agency replied that none of
the companies under its jurisdiction have filed reports about the
existence of any such parasitic antennas.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Kent Peterson, KC0DGY.
