Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2138 for Friday, October 19 2018 Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2138 with a release date of Friday, October 19, 2018 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a QST. Hopes are dashed for a Pacific DXpedition. The ISS could face an unmanned future - and hams remain on the scene after Hurricane Michael. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2138 comes your way right now. ** BILLBOARD CART ** SPACE STATION COULD FACE UNMANNED FUTURE PAUL/ANCHOR: Our top story this week takes a look at Amateur Radio on the International Space Station and at the space station itself. The ISS will be losing its current crew soon and there's no replacement team in place. Neil Rapp WB9VPG has that story. NEIL: The failure of a recent Russian rocket after launch to the International Space Station has led to a delay in replacing its current crew. The three current residents of the station are fine and have plenty of supplies, and the crew that was aboard the aborted rocket has been recovered and they are fine as well. But, the possibility of leaving the space station unmanned for a period of time is now creating a lot of questions. The current crew was scheduled to remain on the ISS until mid-December. The Soyuz capsule that will return them to Earth has a limited life span, which could force an evacuation by early January. While the Russians are evaluating what went wrong and when a safe relaunch of the crew could proceed, the possibility of orbiting without a crew is looming. For us as hams, this means that amateur radio operations on the ISS could be impacted in the future. Ken Ransom, N5HVO, the ARISS Project Coordinator, at this time could only say that "current operations will continue using our normal process. We are still trying to determine the long-term impacts of not having the new crew on board the ISS." Rosalie White, K1STO, the ARISS International Secretary says that she has heard "lots of speculation from many sources, none of which are authoritative or factual." ARISS-US is hosting its annual face-to-face international team meeting this week in the metro Washington, D.C. area, which should provide an opportunity for further discussion. But for now, we just have to wait and carry on with business as usual. Amateur Radio Newsline will continue to update this story as information becomes available.   For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Neil Rapp, WB9VPG. (NPR, ARISS) ** HAMS STILL HELPING IN HURRICANE MICHAEL AFTERMATH PAUL/ANCHOR: Hurricane Michael is the most recent storm to have had ARES chapters deploying into the field to help with disaster communications. I spoke with Bud Sinor, KA3OGG about the Nassau County ARES chapter’s current deployment in the Florida Panhandle. Sinor’s been involved in ARES for a number of years. SINOR: I’ve been involved with ARES for about seven years now. I missed a meeting about five years ago and came back to be the local Emergency Coordinator while I wasn’t there, so that’s the way I got to be group lead for this particular chapter. We’ve really been tied in really tightly with Emergency Management here in Nassau County, Florida. PAUL/ANCHOR: NCARES is a large group, according to Sinor. SINOR: We’ve got about 85 members total in the group, and about 25 to 30 of them have clearances through the police department and emergency management to use thepolice radios, both at the county level and the state level. PAUL/ANCHOR: According to Sinor, they staff the County Watch Office five days a week and are regularly embedded with the police and emergency agencies. They have been deployed for over a week now. SINOR: We got activated ­ went to 24/7 operation on Tuesday day, and we had about six of us monitoring through the storm and another 10 people out around the county that were sending in damage and weather reports. Thursday we got a direction that we were going to deploy a couple of teams. The Emergency Management deployedone 20­man team with our emergency manager to the Panhandle region. PAUL/ANCHOR: According to Sinor, NCARES has two well­equipped EMCOMM vans with multiple radio and satellite setups, has one member who is with the Sheriff’s office and all are treated as Nassau County employees when on deployment. As of the time Newsline went to production, they were expected to be in the field until at least October 26th, depending on recovery efforts. We will monitor the situation and bring you further updates as are available. ** SCOUTS READY FOR JAMBOREE ON THE AIR PAUL/ANCHOR: After so many months of waiting and planning, it's time for the big weekend for Radio Scouts as Bill Stearns NE4RD tells us. BILL: This week in Radio Scouting, we have arrived!  Jamboree on the Air and Jamboree on the Internet are this weekend.  If you have waited to register, do it now!  If you have a radio, turn it on and start looking for scouts calling CQ JOTA and start working them. If you're in the neighborhood of West Chester, Ohio, you are invited to check out the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting where they will have WC8VOA on the air with a multi-station effort getting scouts on the air.   Last year they had over 100 scouts, and hope to have more this year. If you haven't put someone in charge of keeping track of counting scouts and visitors, you may want to consider it.  Those numbers are invaluable for reporting after the event.  Keep track of scouts, adult scouters, and visitors including siblings and parents.  Get the visitors engaged as well with the activities and operations of your station.  Most important of all, is have fun! We'll be watching all of our social media channels for questions and support throughout the weekend, so contact us there if you have anything we can help you with. For more information on JOTA or Radio Scouting please visit our website at k2bsa.net. For Amateur Radio Newsline and the K2BSA Amateur Radio Association, this is Bill Stearns, NE4RD. ** BAVARIA BROADCASTER IS A VETERAN HAM PAUL/ANCHOR: Shortwave broadcasting is alive and well in southern Germany, and listeners have an amateur radio operator to thank, as we hear from Ed Durrant DD5LP. ED: In the times of several short wave broadcast stations leaving the air, one station is extending its presence and it's Amateur radio-owned and run! The Channel-292 10 KW short wave broadcaster was allocated the ex Deutsche Welle frequency 6070kHz in the 49 metre broadcast band in 2011 and has been sending programs ranging from 60s & 70s music, Jazz and classic rock to a weekly program from Germany's own Amateur Radio body the DARC or Deutsche Amateur Radio Club over the last few years. Rainer Ebeling DB8QC owns and operates the station from near Ingolstadt in the state of Bavaria in southern Germany and now has been awarded a slot on the 41 metre AM Broadcast band at 7440 kHz for which antenna work started in September. Rainer confirmed to AR Newsline that on-air testing is planned to start on either the 27th or 28th of October. So get listening - signal reports are very welcome. The new antenna is a wire half-wave dipole but with a slightly different main radiation lobe direction that the one currently in use on 6070kHz. The coverage area of the current 6070 frequency reaches from Scotland in the north to Southern Italy in the south and of course all of Central Europe in between. The addition of the second frequency not only brings with it slightly different propagation and radiation direction but also more chance of not being blocked by other stations using the old DW frequency - something that never happened in DWs days with their 100kW and large antenna arrays. During the evening Rainer's little 10kw signal into a wire dipole is often heard in the US and Canada.  Full details of the current 6070 kHz station program and other details about the station can be found at www.channel292.de From about 100km south of the station this is Ed Durrant DD5LP for Amateur Radio Newsline. ** BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline heard on bulletin stations around the world including the KA6TSA repeater at 8 p.m. local time on Wednesdays in Palos Verdes, California. ** DX HOPES DASHED FOR PACIFIC'S KURE ATOLL PAUL/ANCHOR: The Pacific Islands DXpedition group said "yes" to an activation of the Kure Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands - but federal officials have said "No" to the group's plans. Graham Kemp VK4BB has more details. GRAHAM: Hams who were hoping to conduct a DXpedition from the Kure Atoll – and hams who were hoping to work them – have received disappointing news. The Pacific Islands Dxpedition group which had set its sights on operating from this coveted DXCC entity, cannot go forward with its plans. The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources has denied the application for an amateur radio permit there citing the belief that vertical structures such as an antenna poses a hazard for birds there who might strike it. The DXpedition group posted a notice in the Ohio-Penn DX Bulletin that a formal denial was received from officials in Hawaii stating that the radio operations did not guarantee [quote] “adequate safeguards for the resources and ecological integrity” of the atoll. Officials in Hawaii did not issue any public statements that further clarified their decision. The DX group maintains that there have never been any documented examples of negative impact on the atoll from radio operations but also notes there is no appeal process available. According to the group, the last DXpedition to the atoll was in 2005 and the activity had given operators hope that after such a long interval between DXpeditions there might have been a chance. The group has posted a notice in the Ohio-Penn DX Bulletin asking DXers to contact Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural Resources in Honolulu by sending their QSL card along with a request that officials reconsider the matter. For Amateur Radio Newsline I’m Graham Kemp VK4BB. (OHIO PENN DX) ** TIME TO PARTY LIKE IT'S 1929 PAUL/ANCHOR: If you were alive in 1929 - and even if you weren't - you might enjoy this next QSO Party, which combines history and homebrew. Here's Dave Parks WB8ODF with details. DAVE: The Antique Wireless Association has a message for all hams who enjoy sending and receiving in Code: It’s time to party like it’s 1929. The party starts Saturday November 10th and runs through Sunday November 11th, and then restarts the following weekend on the 17th and 18th. It’s called the Bruce Kelley Memorial QSO Party, named in memory of the Silent Key W2ICE who was a cofounder of the association and one of the biggest promoters of the QSO party when it started in 1991. So what do you bring to this party? The style is strictly 1929, which means it’s going to take a little bit of advance planning. Participants should either own an original 1929 transmitter or build one using the designs, components and techniques available in 1929. The event is all about having 1929 stations contact other 1929 stations operating on 40, 80 and 160 meters. There will also be a special event station W2ICE/0 operated by the winner of last year’s event Paul K0PK. So get busy – there’s still time to build your transmitter. Build carefully. Part of the contact exchange will include the last two digits of the year of your transmitter as well as its type and input power. For Amateur Radio Newsline I’m Dave Parks WB8ODF (ANTIQUE WIRELESS ASSOCIATION) ** IN NORTH CAROLINA IT'S A NO-FEE 'FIRST' PAUL/ANCHOR: Volunteer examiners in North Carolina are especially proud of the new hams who they helped pass their tests - but they're just as proud of the way they administered the exams to them. Kevin Trotman N5PRE tells us more. KEVIN: The Five County Ham Radio Enthusiasts are celebrating. Not only did Volunteer Examiners from the North Carolina group administer their first FCC license exam on the 8th of September, 5 of the 9 applicants became new Technicians. Best of all, it was all accomplished without fees - just as the group had intended. When the 3-year-old ham club created its Volunteer Examiners group this past August, its intention was to be the first team in the state to charge no fees for the tests, drawing inspiration from the Laurel VEC, part of the Laurel Amateur Radio Club, which has been offering exams without fees since 1984. Mark Gibson N4MQU told Newsline that while he knows such fees are legal and often fairly modest, he still wanted to make licensing tests available without cost. He said the September test given by Five County was even preceded by a free one-day class that concluded with exam given to children as well as adults. Another test is already scheduled for November 3rd and it will be held at the Thanksgiving Fire Department headquarters in Selma, North Carolina. Some of the youngsters who didn't pass the first time are coming back to try again, Mark said. Best of all, Mark said, there are two other clubs in the state now that have begun offering exams without fees: the Greater Gaston Amateur Radio Society in Mount Holly and the Carolina VE Test Group in Hickory. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Kevin Trotman N5PRE. (MARK GIBSON N4MQU) ** WORLD OF DX: In this week’s world of DX, listen for Wilbert/PE7T and James/9V1YC who are on the air until the 21st of October as 8Q7PE and 8Q7YC, respectively, from the Alif Alif Atoll in the Maldives. Be listening on the HF bands on CW, SSB and possibly FT8. QSL 8Q7YC via W5UE, and 8Q7PE via PE7T by the Bureau only. There are also some operations to watch for during the CQWW DX SSB Contest, which is taking place October 27th and 28th. Listen for Helmut, DF7ZS, active as CQ3W as a Single-Op entry. QSL CQ3W via ClubLog's OQRS. When he’s not in the contest, Helmut will operate as CT9/DF7ZS between October 23rd and 29th. QSL via his home callsign. Also active during the contest: Oleg RL5D will use the call sign GU3HFN, which is the call sign for the Guernsey Amateur Radio Society, as he operates from St. Peter Port as a Single-Op/All-Band/Low-Power entry. QSL via GU8ITE or the Bureau. Finally, listen for Thierry, F6CUK, active as F6CUK/FJ from Saint Barthelemy Island between the 21st of October and the first of November. QSL via his home callsign, eQSL, LoTW or ClubLog's OQRS. (OHIO PENN DX) ** KICKER: A LITTLE LOGO GOES A LONG WAY IN CANADA PAUL/ANCHOR: The question’s often asked “what’s in a name?” but for one amateur radio club the real question was: “what’s in a logo?” For our final story this week, Andy Morrison K9AWM tells us about one club in Canada that is finally getting its logo. ANDY: The Salt Spring Amateur Radio Society on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, has a tower, some repeaters, runs community events, assists in emergencies and encourages interest in radio communications. What it hasn’t had though is a logo. That’s about to change: BOB: The club did incorporate as a formal society in 1991 and carried on its business and other activities for a number of years. As it got more actively involved with local agencies like our emergency operations center and fire and rescue services and search-and-rescue it was felt that we should be looking at upgrading our visibility and rebranding the organization so it is recognizable both for the public and other agencies. ANDY: That was club president Bob Moffatt VA7MOF. Bob told Newsline that the club is finally getting that identity – after a slow and careful process, they’ve narrowed down about a dozen logo designs to one. BOB: So we began by trying to identify what would the key elements be for our particular logo, both in terms of the location of our club as well as the identity of the organization itself – in terms of ham radio operations and other community activities we are engaged in. ANDY: To establish both a club identity and a regional identity, they ultimately selected the club’s tower as their central motif, showing it transmitting visible signals, and used the distinctive outline of Salt Spring Island itself as the backdrop. Then they added colors and stylized type fonts. That logo will eventually be everywhere, says Bob. BOB: We are looking at everything of course: a website, stationery and of course apparel including hats, jackets and vests, that kind of thing. Even posters and event-related material. ANDY: Like the hams themselves, however, this logo will take on an especially serious role when the radio operators are supporting local fire and rescue teams. BOB: We have a close relationship with the search and rescue agencies and fire and rescue and emergency operations, so our visibility is becoming more important. ANDY: Starting next year, look for that distinctive tower and, of course, the image of Canada’s Salt Spring Island. For Amateur Radio Newsline I’m Andy Morrison K9AWM. *** ANCHOR/PAUL: On a personal note, the Newsline family extends our condolences to our own Dale Cary, WD0AKO and his family on the loss of his mother. ** NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Alan Labs; Amateur News Weekly; Antique Wireless Association; CQ Magazine; Hap Holly and the Rain Report; Mark Gibson N4MQU; Ohio-Penn DX Bulletin; Southgate Amateur Radio News; Ted Randall's QSO Radio Show; 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 ARnewsline.org. For now, with Caryn Eve Murray, KD2GUT, at the news desk in New York, and our news team worldwide, I'm Paul Braun WD9GCO in Valparaiso Indiana saying 73 and as always we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2018. All rights reserved.