Subj : Newsline Part 3
To : ALL
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Thu Jun 30 2016 07:59 pm
THOUSANDS GATHER AT FRIEDRICHSHAFEN EXPO
PAUL/ANCHOR: In the U.S., we have Dayton, but in Europe, the big
gathering for the past four decades has been in Germany. We hear more
from Teemu Salminen, OH7T, who was there for Amateur Radio Newsline:
TEEMU's REPORT: While radio amateurs had their Field Day in the States,
in Europe, in Germany, in Friedrichshafen, there was a ham radio expo,
with over 17,000 visitors from around the world. During the three days,
198 companies and associations from the 36 countries presented their
services and products related to radio and telegraphy in ham radio.
The many visitors were from the United States, Japan, Taiwan, China,
Australia and India, and were all represented there. It opened, for its
41st year, with the new motto: "Amateur Radio - on land, on water, and
in the air." For Amateur Radio Newsline, this is Teemu Salminen, OH7T,
in Friedrichshafen, Germany.
**
IN OHIO, NO TRIAL BALLOON
PAUL/ANCHOR: College students who love what they're studying often take
their assignments higher than they need to go. One Ohio undergrad, a
radio amateur, took his sky-high. We hear from Newsline's Stephen
Kinford, N8WB.
STEPHEN: For Brandon Nilsson, KD8ZEI, a mechanical engineering student
at the University of Akron, what started as one project for his
Independent Study project, morphed into a Field Day launch of another.
In his school assignment, Brandon chose a Morse Code beacon weather
balloon because, well, what ham can resist incorporating amateur radio
into their schoolwork? He programmed an Arduino microprocessor that
allowed the onboard transmitter to send, in CW, the words "W8UPD Weather
Balloon," bearing the call sign of the university's amateur radio club,
of which he is president. First mission accomplished!
Then came Field Day, and Brandon had even bigger plans: He wanted to
launch another weather balloon, this one carrying a cross-band repeater,
which he fashioned out of two Baofeng HTs. He programmed a raspberry Pi
to take photographs every 30 seconds, and save them to an SD card. Then,
as Field Day launched, so did the balloon.
Brandon told Amateur Radio Newsline QUOTE "I figured Field Day would be
the best day of the year to launch, since the repeater would have the
most likely chance of being used with all the activity." ENDQUOTE
It worked. He told us his farthest contacts were 15 miles north of
Detroit, Michigan, into Ontario, and also into Warren, Pennsylvania.
As for the balloon, it eventually made contact too - with the earth -
and was located on the ground in Sugar Creek, Ohio.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Stephen Kinford, N8WB, in Wadsworth, Ohio.
**
THREE YOUNG HAMS HAVE CARIBBEAN DREAMS
PAUL/ANCHOR: The summer of 2016 is going to be a memorable summer for
three young hams. They're bound for the Caribbean, but they're likely to
be more focused on SWR than sun and surf. Here's Amateur Radio Newsline's
Heather Embee, KB3TZD, with their story.
HEATHER: The unspoiled Dutch Caribbean island of Saba (SAY-BAH) boasts
mountain rainforests, sailing, and a chance to watch the antics of flying
fish. Oh yes, it's a terrific spot to launch your career as a DXer too.
It turns out that one trio of DXers headed to that island soon will be
using the callsign Papa-Japan-Six-Youth -- for good reason. Youth, it
turns out, is the operative word here: these three are young and
enthusiastic kids. They were chosen for the 2016 Dave Kalter Memorial
Youth DX Adventure, and they'll set out in August to operate at the
island station of Jeff Jolie, PJ6/NM1Y.
The young hams are Morgan Croucher, KD8ZLK; Ruth Willet, KM4LAO, and
Faith Hannah Lea, AE4FH. They will work from the island from August 2
through August 9.
The DX adventure is named to honor Dave Kalter, KB8OCP, who was a founder
of Youth DX Adventure in October 2009, and a member of the Dayton Amateur
Radio Association, one of the trip's many sponsors. Kalter became a
Silent Key in 2013.
The youngsters will be accompanied by Joe Binkley, KD8YPY; Sharon Willet,
KM4TVU, and James Lea, WX4TV. Previous youth trips have included Curacao
and Costa Rica.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Heather Embee, KB3TZD.
**
FROM AUSTRALIA TO ST. VINCENT, WITH CARE
PAUL/ANCHOR: In another part of the Caribbean, a group of amateurs has
been busy testing equipment they recently got from Australia. They expect
all of it to play a key role in their emergency preparedness plans.
Amateur Radio Newsline's Jason Daniels, VK2LAW, tells us more.
JASON: The Rainbow Radio League, formed in the Caribbean in 1995 to help
St. Vincent and the Grenadines fulfil their emergency communications
needs, has entered into a two-year pact with Australia's Barrett
Communications, which is providing HF equipment toward that end. The
Perth, Western Australia-based company manufactures and supplies
commercial VHF and HF radio products, from transceivers and power
supplies to mobile antennas.
The nonprofit league will install, operate, and maintain the equipment,
which comprises new as well as demonstration products. It hopes that
these additions will improve the league's work as a first responder in
crisis situations.
Everything is presently being tested in the legacy mode, paired with
different antennas and in different configurations to ascertain what
conditions allow the radios to work their best. The equipment is
expected to provide a big boost to the all-volunteer league, which
operates two VHF repeaters, but has had an incomplete network on HF SSB
domestically.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jason Daniels, VK2LAW.
