Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2116 for Friday, May 18, 2018 Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2116 with a release date of Friday, May 18 2018 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a QST. Hams in Hawaii keep an eye on an active volcano. Findings are released in the death of a New Zealand amateur -- and TV's "Last Man Standing" is coming back. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2116 comes your way right now. ** BILLBOARD CART ** INFORMAL NETS MONITOR HAWAII VOLCANO DON:/ANCHOR: We begin this week with breaking news. The eyes of the world have been on the continuing eruptions of scalding lava from Hawaii's Kilauea (Killa-Waya) volcano but formal assistance from the amateur radio community has not yet been needed. At Newsline's production time, all normal communications remained functional and hams were simply monitoring the situation. However, two nets have been operating informally on the island - one on 40 meters and another on a 2 meter repeater run by Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster. As evacuations continue and national parks and other locations remain shut, Amateur Radio Newsline will continue to follow developments. (ARRL) ** REPORT: FAULTY ELECTRIC BLANKET LED TO HAM'S DEATH DON/ANCHOR: The death of a radio amateur in New Zealand last summer has been traced to a tragic malfunction of an electric blanket. Robert Broomhead VK3DN has that report. ROBERT: Arthur Earle Plimley ZL1TAG became a Silent Key last August after a fire erupted in the room of his home in Thames. The 76-year-old retired electrician was pronounced dead on the scene, the result of asphyxiation from a smouldering fire. A new report reveals that the fire had been set off by a 40-year-old electric blanket that he had modified. The blanket burned the mattress on his bed and it is believed that he got up from the bed in an attempt to reach the window but was overcome by smoke. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Robert Broomhead VK3DN. (RADIO NEW ZEALAND) ** NEW CHANCES TO COMPETE AT WRTC DON/ANCHOR: While many of us have spent months planning for Hamvention in Dayton, Ohio, organizers in Germany have devoted their efforts to the World Radiosport Team Championship coming up this summer. Things just got a little more exciting for non-contestants too, as Ed Durrant DD5LP tells us. ED’S REPORT: The list of available WRTC awards for non-contestants is getting longer. Five more will be added to the two existing, WWQR and VOTA award programs for WRTC 2018. These programs have already had more than 1800 certificates issued. "With our awards, we want to support the already large, international interest in the WRTC and reward all the stations who will create the pile-ups for the competitors," said Michael Höding, DL6MHW, from the WRTC organizing team. Those who contact all WRTC stations can download the "Worked All WRTC Stations (WAWRTC)" certificate from the internet as soon as the competition completes. "A log does not have to be sent in. The data to create the certificates is generated from the log books of the WRTC stations." explained Awards Manager Hajo Weigand, DJ9MH. The "WRTC Sprint" award is all about speed. Those who contact all 63 WRTC stations regardless of operating mode or band within a short period of time will be honoured with a certificate. The leader in each of the 29 different WRTC qualifying regions will receive a prize in addition to the certificate. Stations that contact the WRTC stations on all bands and modes should apply for the "WRTC Most QSOs (MQ)" award to add to their collection. The maximum number of contacts for all WRTC stations on CW and SSB across all five amateur contest bands is 630. Will anyone reach that? Here too, regional winners get a special prize. The WRTC 2018 Distance Challenge relates to contacts over as many kilometres as possible and making up to the maximum possible 630 contacts with the WRTC teams.This special prize is attractive to those who can show the most kilometres worked from the logbook, reports Michael Höding. All contacts of the WRTC teams will be verified by the referees. As in many sports, the WRTC referees rely on assistance. The most important assistance comes from the logbooks of amateurs who contact the WRTC teams and are received by 18:00 UTC on Sunday, July 15. Amateurs submitting these check-logs go into a draw for the "Assistant Judge" prize. All details of the awards will be published on the WRTC 2018 website at www.WRTC2018.de. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Ed Durrant DD5LP. ** CQWW DX CONTEST GETS NEW DIRECTOR DON/ANCHOR: Another competition, the CQ World Wide DX Contest, has a new director. CQ Magazine has named John Dorr, K1AR, successor to Doug Zwiebel KR2Q, who took on a number of active roles in the contest over a period of decades and will remain on the contest committee. John's appointment is effective immediately. A member of the CQ Contest Hall of Fame, John's achievements include being a two-time medalist in the World Radiosport Team Championship. Congratulations from all of us at Newsline. (CQ MAGAZINE) ** RETURN OF 'LAST MAN STANDING' IS A FIRST FOR FOX DON/ANCHOR: Are you ready for "Last Man Standing?" No, we're not talking reruns - but we ARE talking QSOs. Mike Askins KE5CXP tells us more. MIKE: Did your hope of working KA6LMS die with Season Six of TV's "Last Man Standing?" Take heart: The show's Mike Baxter KA0XTT hasn't let his amateur radio license languish and neither has the Last Man Standing Amateur Radio Club. Recent word is that the show will live and breathe again this fall on the Fox network. The same familiar characters will be back but it's possible Mike has upgraded some of the equipment in his shack - we'll see. We have it on good authority that KA6LMS hopes to resume operation from the set on production days. Fox News quoted actor Tim Allen as saying "I could not be more grateful for the fans who wrote petitions and kept up the passion and incredible support for the show." According to Fox, "Last Man Standing" was the second most-watched comedy on ABC with an average of 8.3 million viewers. That's an enviable pileup. Details were still being worked out, according to producer John Amodeo (amma-DAY-OH), an Extra Class licensee himself, who said "Last Man" isn't ready to breathe its last. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mike Askins KE5CXP. (FOX NEWS, JOHN AMODEO) ** YHOTY NOMINATIONS CLOSING AT MONTH'S END DON/ANCHOR: Time to finish up your nominations for this year's Young Ham of the Year Award. Why? Let last year's winner explain: MARTY: Hi there. My name is Marty Sullaway KC1CWF. I was so deeply honored to be selected as the 2017 Bill Pasternak WA6ITF Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year. This year has been such a deep, deep blessing with the experiences of being able to travel to the Huntsville Hamfest, being on stage to receive that award - all the recognition has been fantastic and I am so grateful for everyone who has helped me on this journey, all of my Elmers and mentors. It is such an immense honor to be able to receive this award. As you may know the nomination period for the WA6ITF Young Ham of the award for 2018 is still open. It has been such a deep pleasure for me and this hobby has been such a deep honor to take part in - everyone has been so warm and kind and helpful and and generous. I look forward to seeing everyone at the Dayton Hamvention next week in Xenia Ohio. I am Marty Sullaway KC1CWF - and remember the deadline is approaching. Arnewsline.org! DON/ANCHOR: The deadline is May 31st - and it's coming soon. ** BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including the WC8VOA repeater of the West Chester Amateur Radio Association in West Chester, Ohio on Monday nights at 8. ** RCA YOUNG ACHIEVER AWARD GOES TO COLLEGE SOPHOMORE DON/ANCHOR: Congratulations to Ruth Willett KM4LAO, who was honored recently by the Radio Club of America. Neil Rapp WB9VPG caught up with her recently and shares this report. NEIL: The Radio Club of America has presented a special Young Achiever Award to Ruth Willett, KM4LAO, a sophomore at Kettering University. The award was presented at the International Wireless Communications Expo held in Orlando, Florida March 5th through 9th. Ruth was able to attend the expo throughout the week and was honored at the Radio Club of America breakfast on the final day. Ruth tells us more about the experience. RUTH: It was amazing getting to go to Orlando and attend the expo and learn so much about the Public Safety and the wireless communication side of radio, because I’ve been so involved in amateur radio I've really only seen the hobbyist, the Amateur Radio side of the radio spectrum. It was very exciting getting to learn about the whole thriving field of wireless communications and how it's being used, specifically in Public Safety and what firefighters and policemen and all the public safety and first responders how they use the radios to make sure they can do their job safely. It was very beneficial for me, learning wise, because I was there for our four of the days getting to go to a lot of different seminars and workshops on different topics including RADAR and like why do we care about in-building wireless coverage and digital maps for in-building awareness... all sorts of very interesting things. I really enjoyed getting to do a women in wireless workshop on the Tuesday at the conference which was all morning, getting to network and learn from women who are successful in wireless fields. NEIL: Ruth is double majoring in Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Physics at Kettering. Ruth has revived the campus amateur radio club and is making her way through all the red tape to get the club station going again. RUTH: So basically I started to figure out what the old club callsign was. I figured out that the club callsign trustee still works at Kettering. He's a professor emeritus now. So I got in contact with him and got some information about what the club used to be like, just information... just general background... and then I started working with other students on campus, both a couple of unlicensed and a couple of licensed... just people who got interested. We started working to figure out what we needed to do to work with Kettering for the club approval process. NEIL: And thanks to Dan Romanchik KB6NU who did a one day Technician class, most of those students now have a license. Congratulations to Ruth, and look for K8HPS to be back on the air from a campus location soon. Reporting for Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Neil Rapp WB9VPG. ** TIME TO TUNE-UP ON THE AIR DON/ANCHOR: Even if you're not feeling especially competitive you'll want to jump into the fray for this activity, which is hosted by the 100 Watts and a Wire online community. Jim Damron N8TMW has the details. JIM: When is it OK to tune up on a frequency? Well in this case we're talking about a different kind of tune-up. The 100 Watts and a Wire podcast community is hosting a three-day activity that it's calling its own friendly version of a tune-up. From June 8th through June 10th, members are being encouraged to take to the bands on all modes at all hours and then spot themselves on the 100 Watts and a Wire Facebook Group Page. The event is organized by Newsline's own Christian Cudnik K0STH. What's in it for you? Lots of QSL cards, for one thing. For another, a chance at a random drawing for ham shack-worthy prizes for any radio operators submitting their totals. It's not a contest - and portable operation is recommended but not required. It also helps to have a 100 Watts and a Wire numerical ID. You can join the community of more than 3,000 other hams with those IDs by going to the website 100wattsandawire dot com and clicking on the tab that says "the gathering." Then....get going and get on the air. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Damron N8TMW. ** IN WALES, THESE QSOs ARE IN MINT CONDITION DON/ANCHOR: Marking the history of secret radio operations during World War II, hams in South Wales are going very public. Here's Jeremy Boot G4NJH with details of a special event. JEREMY: A good QSO is worth its weight in gold - but what about silver? Silver may be worth even more - at least for two days in June - if you're a ham radio operator. The members of the Barry Amateur Radio Society in South Wales will be on the air using the special event call sign GB4RME - for Royal Mint Experience - as they operate from Her Majesty's Royal Mint in South Wales. On June first and second the hams will be celebrating covert radio operations that were used in World War II and marking the release of a special silver coin - a 10p coin, in fact - depicting James Bond, the legendary and mysterious secret agent popularised in novels by the late Ian Fleming. These hams will not be hiding under cover however and hope to be easily detected on all the bands using CW, SSB, FT-8 Data and some satellite operations. This is the second year the Barry amateurs have been permitted to operate inside the Royal Mint. They are hoping this return engagement helps them continue to make radio a not-so-secret agent of enjoyment. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH. (BARRY AMATEUR RADIO SOCIETY) ** WORLD WAR II WEEKEND IN READING, PENNSYLVANIA DON/ANCHOR: More World War II history is being revisited -- this one at a Pennsylvania airport as we hear from Heather Embee KB3TZD. HEATHER: It's going to be World War II weekend in Reading, Pennsylvania and the re-enactors and warbirds will be converging on Reading Regional Airport on June first, second and third. The weekend marks the 28th anniversary of the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum. So it's only natural that ham radio operators will also be called up for duty. Starting on the 31st of May and right through 4th of June, Special Event Station W-2-R will be on the air from the cargo area of the Boeing C-97 known as the "Angel of Deliverance," sent to the airport from the Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation. This model of aircraft has great significance for the role it played in the development of single sideband's standard use in long-range bomber aircraft. Arthur Collins of the Collins Corporation installed a 75A-4 receiver and a KWS-1 transmitter - known as the company's "Gold Dust Twins" -- into the cargo area of a C-97. It didn't hurt, of course, that Curtis LeMay and Butch Griswold were hams as well as Air Force generals. Be listening for the special event station and you too can go into battle - against the pile-ups, that is. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Heather Embee, K-B-3-T-Z-D. (QRZ) ** WORLD OF DX In the world of DX, listen for special event station, 8J1ITU, on the air in Japan until May 31st. The station is marking the foundation of the ITU and is operated by the Japanese ITU Amateur Radio Club. Send QSLs via the Bureau. Listen for Yosuke JJ1DQR active as YB9/JJ1DQR from Bali through to the 21st of May. He will operate SSB on the HF bands. QSL via home call. Dave VE7VR will be active holiday style in Botswana as A25VR from the 24th to the 3rd of June. Listen for him on 40, 30 and 20 meters. Send QSLs via the home call. Special callsign TC19M will be activated through to the 20th of May to mark the landing of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk at Samsun and the start of Turkey's War of Independence. Listen for their SSB, RTTY, PSK and FT8 signals on the HF bands. See qrz.com for QSL details. (DAILY DX, DX WORLD) ** KICKER: REMEMBERING A CAPITAL HAM OF CAPITOL HILL DON/ANCHOR: We close with this report about a special event station that honors a man who was a key lawmaker in United States history. He also made it a point to be especially accessible to his constituents -- on the ham radio bands. Here's Kevin Trotman N5PRE. KEVIN: He was an amateur people knew by his call sign K7UGA, or even by his first name, Barry -- although to much of the nation and even the world he was also called United States Senator. It's no secret that Barry Goldwater was a lifelong ham and an advocate for the rights of amateur radio operators. An Air Force veteran, he played an active role with the Air Force MARS, providing phone patches for soldiers calling home during the Vietnam War. Barry Goldwater became a Silent Key on May 29, 1998. This year, which marks the 20th anniversary of his death, Special Event Station K7UGA will be on the air from the 28th of May to the 3rd of June on all bands and all modes. The station is being operated by the Central Arizona DX Association. So it is still possible to get a QSL card from K7UGA - this time in a way that honors and remembers the Arizona native who - like us - just loved being a part of the hobby. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Kevin Trotman N5PRE. (THE TELEGRAPH, CADXA) ** NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Alan Labs; the ARRL; the Barry Amateur Radio Society; Central Arizona DX Association; CQ Magazine; the Daily DX; DX World; Dayton Hamvention; Fox News; Hap Holly and the Rain Report; John Amodeo; Ohio-Penn DX Bulletin; QRZ; Southgate Amateur Radio News; The Telegraph newsletter; Ted Randall's QSO Radio Show; the Wireless Institute of Australia; WTWW Shortwave; and you our listeners, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline. Please send emails to our address at newsline@arnewsline.org. More information is available at Amateur Radio Newsline's only official website at www.arnewsline.org. For now, with Caryn Eve Murray, KD2GUT, at the news desk in New York, and our news team worldwide, I'm Don Wilbanks AE5DW in Picayune, Mississippi saying 73 and as always we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2018. All rights reserved.