|
New England Hams you
might run across on 3864 or 3910.........
Silent KeyWB1DVD-
Gil....Gilly..Gilmore.....easy going, computer parts
selling, New England Ham.. |
St. Croix Amateur Radio Club Supports Irma Response in US Virgin Islands
The club’s NP2VI is the net control station at the St. Croix Emergency Operations Center (EOC), with the tactical call sign “St. Croix EOC.” Participants in the net calls include the Virgin Islands National Guard Joint Force Headquarters, National Guard Task Forces, and VITEMA EOCs on St. Croix and St. Thomas. Three Puerto Rico Army MARS members are participating in the updates.
FEMA has personnel on two Navy vessels — the USS Kearsarge and USS Iwo Jima. They have been working directly with USVI amateurs via 60-meter interoperability channels.
The impact of Hurricane Irma on the USVI has prompted Amateur Radio operators on St. Thomas, St. Croix, and St. John to spring into action. Ham radio volunteers have been instrumental in passing critical safety-of-life communications in the days immediately following Hurricane Irma, using 2 meters from the VITEMA EOC.
Operators have quickly disseminated important relief information (curfew hours, points of distribution information, weather bulletins, seaport status, shelters, etc.) and served as the relay between EOCs and emergency support functions, and St. John Rescue on St. John and St. Croix using the 2-meter repeater.
Operators also have provided assistance in coordinating private and military rotary wing landing for supplies and medical evacuations at the St. John Medical Center. — Thanks to Garry Green, VITEMA
630/220
meters to open October 16 -
Pre-registration required
CQ MF/LF Editor John Langridge,
KB5NJD/WG2XIQ, reports that the
FCC has authorized amateur radio
use of the 630 and 2200-meter
bands, effective October 16,
2017, providing registration
procedures have been followed
and no objections are received
within 30 days.
The PLC (Power Line
Communications) database is live
and hams may begin registering
immediately. They may begin
operating on 472 kHz (630
meters) and 137 kHz (2200
meters) as early as October 16
if they register today and
receive no objection in the next
30 days. Hams may not operate on
the bands without going through
this process.
The link to the sign-up page is
here:
https://utc.org/plc-database-amateur-notification-process/
The effective date for use of
the new bands by amateurs was
published in today's Federal
Register. The relevant pages are
at: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2017-09-15/pdf/2017-19578.pdf
The FCC's Public Notice is at:
http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2017/db0915/DA-17-893A1.pdf
John is asking all amateurs to
register, even if they don't
plan to use these bands in the
near future, as the FCC rules
prohibit UTC (the Utilities
Technology Council) from
deploying PLC in these bands
closer than 1 kilometer from
registered stations.
Registration now will protect
your ability to use our new
MF/LF bands in the future.
BILLBOARD CART
NEIL/ANCHOR: We begin this
week's newscast with Hurricane
Irma, one of the most powerful
hurricanes to sweep through the
Atlantic region. Kent Peterson
KC0DGY spoke with one of the
amateur radio coordinators
providing assistance in hard-hit
Florida.
STEVE: My city manager was at
one of our city staff meetings
and we've been through a lot of
these and he looked over to me
and said, "You don't like this
storm" and I said, "No I don't."
KENT: Irma was one of the most
powerful hurricanes ever to hit
the state of Florida. Steve
Szabo WB4OMM is the North
Florida section manager for the
ARRL.
STEVE: Right now I'm waiting for
the state of Florida EOC state
CERT to send me amateur radio
requests for deployment in the
field. We will be soliciting ham
radio operators nationwide,
anyone who wants to volunteer
and help. They will need to sign
up at our volunteer website and
when they register as we have
deployments that are as
requested, we will send
information out to folks.
Basically they are deployments
to public safety command
centers. We're looking for
amateur radio operators with
dual band HTs, spare batteries
and chargers and obviously they
need to be self-contained for
several days. They will provide
shower and sleeping facilities
in most cases, but generally
we're looking for HTs and
outboard antenna something that
will increase the range to
provide communications
capabilities to shelters and
hospitals and the like.
KENT The website to sign up to
volunteer is VOLUNTEER FLORIDA
DOT ORG that's all one word,
volunteerflorida.org
STEVE: It looks like most of the
Florida Keys will have the
greatest need in the state as
well as the Naples area and
maybe some in the center of the
state
KENT Szabo says an emergency
coordination plan can most
effectively address needs
STEVE The biggest request I can
make as all of us got together
years back we all have a common
operating plan down here. A lot
of well wishers are sending
information down but please
don't be offended if we don't
acknowledge you.Do not self
deploy. Once agencies in the
center of the state are
coordinated, they can supply
resources where they're best
needed. We are looking at unmet
needs and not unmet wants.
**
HAMS HELP WHIDBEY ISLAND WITH
EMERGENCY PREP
NEIL/ANCHOR: As this year's
weather events have
demonstrated, you can never be
too prepared. Hams on tiny
Whidbey (Wid-BEE) Island in
Washington State helped local
residents understand the extra
value of radio at critical
times. Here's Kevin Trotman
N5PRE with those details.
KEVIN'S REPORT: WIth an
earthquake in Mexico, wildfires
in the pacific NorthWest and
hurricane season plaguing the
Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf
regions, emergencies are
everywhere. So it was good
timing when hams in tiny Whidbey
Island in Washington State
demonstrated the value of
disaster preparedness recently.
The hams were part of a Safety
and Emergency Prep Fair held in
Island County, where attendees
were reminded that living on an
island further complicates any
difficult scenario.
The fair was organized by Puget
Sound Energy and it showcased
various government departments
and other offices that help with
preparedness as well as response
to serious weather events that
take down power lines and have
other consequences.
Vince Bond K7NA, public
information officer of the
Island County Amateur Radio Club
and Dave Fish W7DAF, explained
the various ways that hams keep
people connected when
conventional communications go
out.
Organizers stressed that
residents should prepare for
events, such as an earthquake or
tsunami, that could leave them
stranded - something that's on
everybody's minds a whole lot
more these days.
**
REMEMBERING 9/11's LOST and
FIRST RESPONDERS
NEIL/ANCHOR: Who can forget the
image of New York City's Twin
Towers or the ravaged Pentagon
building in Washington, D.C.?
These buildings, and the plane
wreckage in Shanksville,
Pennsylvania, are forever
symbols of September 11 2001. In
New York City, two amateurs
remembered as well, with a
special event station. Here's
more from Caryn Eve Murray
KD2GUT.
CARYN's REPORT: Jim WA2DNI and
his friend Andy KC2GOW aren't
likely to forget Sept. 11, 2001.
The retired New York City police
officer and the paramedic were
among those who worked side by
side in the months following the
nightmare attack on the Twin
Towers that killed nearly three
thousand and reduced the
landscape to a heap of ash. The
friends teamed up again this
month to mark the 16th
anniversary of 9/11 by operating
Special Event Station WA2NYC. I
asked Jim about this year's
response.
JIM: It's a lot of thanks for
working the station, for
remembering what happened here
16 years ago. Actually when the
QSL cards come in, we get some
very nice letters from people
writing stuff on the back of the
QSL cards thanking us for
operating the station from last
year.
CARYN: Jim said that despite
solar flares and poor band
conditions, he and Andy logged
more than 900 contacts in all
from their two Staten Island
locations, many from hams with
9/11 memories of their own.
JIM: I've spoken to a couple of
first responders who were
actually down there at that time
at the Trade Center. A lot of
the guys from FEMA, I cannot
remember their calls off hand.
One of the FEMA guys said he was
down there and I said 'We
probably crossed paths at some
time when I was down there.'
There's quite a few first
responders who are actually
involved in amateur radio and
you may cross paths with
somebody and you might not even
know it. Then you talk to them
three or four years later and
say 'Yeah, we were down there at
the Trade Center, and you hold a
little bit of a conversation -
but with the pileups you want to
work as many people as you can,
so many times it's a quick 5-9,
thanks for working the station
and you move on to the next
person.
CARYN: Regardless, said Jim, the
response this year, as in
previous years, makes the
friends' effort something that
won't be forgotten.
**
DEADLINE FOR CANADA'S HAM OF THE
YEAR
NEIL: If you are in Canada,
there is still time - but not
much time - left to nominate the
RAC Radio Amateur of the Year."
This is an honor conferred by
Radio Amateurs of Canada
recognizing outstanding work and
contributions to the amateur
community.
Deadline is September 29th to
submit nominations and
supporting documents to the RAC
Corporate Secretary at RAC
headquarters.
Candidates should show a
consistent record of
contributions to benefit amateur
radio in the last year or
consistently over a period of
several years. The winner will
be selected by a majority vote
by the board of directors and
notified by mail. A formal
presentation of an award plaque
will follow sometime later.
**
NATIVE AMERICAN AMATEURS ON THE
AIR
NEIL/ANCHOR: Be listening for
Special Event Station W7NTV on
September 18th through 22nd. The
National Tribal Amateur Radio
Association, which promotes the
use of ham radio on American
tribal lands, will be calling
QRZ on 20 and 40 meters from the
National Tribal Emergency
Management Conference in Leemore,
California. This is a good time
to connect with American Indian
amateurs and to support their
work. The association held its
first special event station last
year, making more than 300
contacts over the course of 5
days. For details about this
year's event, visit the QRZ page
for W7NTV.
**
STUDENT-BUILT CUBESAT UNITES
INDIA, RUSSIA
NEIL/ANCHOR: The diplomatic
relationship between Russia and
India is about to reach new
heights: a team of youngsters
from both nations is building a
satellite. Jeremy Boot G4NJH has
the details.
JEREMY'S REPORT: Twenty students
from the Moscow Aviation
Institute have teamed up with
nine youngsters from various
cities in India to create a
communications satellite that
will be taken to the
International Space Station next
month for launch by a cosmonaut.
Known as the 1-U CubeSat
Iskra-5, the satellite - which
will weigh less than a kilogram
- will be sent into orbit
shortly after arrival during a
spacewalk.
The young team of satellite
builders was created through the
program known as Space Kidz
India. The technical work has
been going on at the Moscow
Aviation Institute, where the
Iskra series of satellites has a
long history - amateur radio
operators and students have been
collaborating on such satellites
at the institute since the
1980s. According to Space Kidz
India, the outer cube of the
satellite was designed by the
Indian students while the
Russian youngsters concentrated
on the subsystems.
The satellite is designed to
provide amateur radio
communications including SSTV
and it will operate for a period
of three to five months after
its launch. A ground station in
Russia will keep track of all
relevant data while it is
orbiting.
(SOUTHGATE, TIMES OF INDIA)
SATELLITES AS GUARDIANS OF THE
MILITARY
NEIL/ANCHOR: Communications
satellites of a different kind
play a very important role in
the usefulness of a new device
created in Australia. For that
report we hear from Graham Kemp
VK4BB.
GRAHAM's REPORT: Most of us know
what a beacon can do for amateur
radio but a new device to be
worn by members of the military
give beacon operation a bit more
of an urgent role. Its creators
are calling it "The Fight
Recorder" and it's to be worn by
soldiers in combat, enabling
low-earth-orbit satellites to
pinpoint casualties when they
occur.
In addition to its geolocation
function, the Fight Recorder
will also collect data useful in
reconstructing whatever
encounter may have preceded the
casualty.
The device is the result of a
partnership between Australia's
Ministry for Defence Industry
and two companies. Myriota, an
Adelaide telecommunications
company, is teaming up with
IMeasureU an Auckland, New
Zealand company that deals in
wearable technology.
The Fight Recorder�bringing �dustoff'
to a great new height!
**
K2BSA ACTIVATING 2 STATIONS
NEIL/ANCHOR: Scouting's Jamboree
on the Air is coming soon but
until then, we have 2 more busy
stations activating the K2BSA
callsign, as we hear from Bill
Stearns NE4RD.
BILL'S REPORT: This week in
radio scouting we have two
activations of the K2BSA
callsign, one activation from
Scout Camps on the Air, and
we're five weeks out from
Jamboree on the Air!
David Hinkley, KA0SOG, will be
activating K2BSA/0 from the
Kansas City Speedway in Kansas
City, Kansas, from September
22nd through the 25th. This
councilwide weekend jamboree
hosts around 14,000 Scouts and
Scouters where they will
participate in many activities
include the STEM area where an
extensive Amateur Radio setup
will be offering different HF,
VHF, and UHF operating modes for
the Scouts to experience. They
will also have an ARISS contact
with the International Space
Station, where a few lucky boys
will get to ask questions with
an astronaut.
Gregory Pioppi, KB2ANG, will be
activating K2BSA/3 from Braden
Airpark N43 in Easton,
Pennsylvania, from September
29th through October 1st. This
is a great opportunity for
Scouts to get their Aviation MB,
but also a great time to get on
the air. Gregory's team started
this two years ago in order to
offer Scouts an activity while
they wait for their flights.
They setup an HF and VHF station
and provide a little
introduction before getting
Scouts on the air.
Terry Gampper, N0BXQ, will be
activating KN0BSA from Camp
Wakonda in Bellevue, NE, on
September 23rd. This is a
Webelows cub scout event and
will be operating on the JOTA
frequencies.
Speaking of Jamboree on the Air,
we are only 5 weeks away from
the largest Scouting activity in
the World. This is 60th
anniversary of the event this
year where over 1 million Scouts
participate across 150 plus
countries. This is the month
that you finalize your
activation plans by having your
participant certificates and
logs printed out, prepare and
print QSL cards, finalize your
roster and donations, and if you
haven't registered your station,
you need to do that now. If you
want to reserve the K2BSA
callsign for your activity, now
is also the time to do that. We
have a few call areas left!
For more information on K2BSA
and radio scouting, please visit
our website at www.k2bsa.net.
**
KENTUCKY CANOE CHALLENGE NEEDS
HAMS' SUPPORT
NEIL/ANCHOR: If you're in or
near Kentucky and like being by
the water, you and your HT might
play a useful role in this
event. Jack Prindle AB4WS of
Amateur News Weekly shares this
report with us.
JACK's REPORT: Ham radio
operators are needed on Saturday
September 23 for the Cumberland
River Challenge canoe and kayak
race which is an annual event
hosted by Union College, U-Canoe
and Barbourville Tourism. The
race consists of 15 miles of
river, ranging from calm water
to beginning level rapids. The
race starts on the Knox County
line bordering Bell County and
finishes in Knox County at the
Thompson RV Park. Annual
bragging rights and awards are
presnted at the end of the race.
Ham radio operators are needed
to help with event communiations.
If you are interested contact
KM4VHI@arrl.net. Covering your
amateur radio news in the
greater Cincinnati area and the
Commonwealth of Kentucky for
Amateur News Weekly, this is
Jack Prindle AB4WS in Big Bone,
Kentucky
**
WORLD OF DX
In the world of DX, be listening
for David G4NRT operating as
Z21NRT in Zimbabwe until
September 29th. He'll be on 80
through 6 meters SSB, CW and
Digital. QSLs can go to his home
call.
You can work E6AG through the
25th of September. The operator
is VK5GR and he is on the island
of Niue. He will be operating
holiday style. QSLs go via Club
Log OQRS to M0OXO.
Be listening for JW/OM6TC from
Longyearbyen, Svalbard through
September 20th. QSLs go to to
his home call.
Three Russian amateurs are
operating as A25BI, A25SP and
A25BE in northeastern Botswana
through the 25th of September.
Listen for them on 160 through 6
meters using CW and SSB.
In Mauritania, a group of Czech
operators will operate as 5T5OK
until the 28th of September. Be
listening for them on SSB, CW
and RTTY. Send QSLs to OK6DJ.
The group will upload logs to
Logbook of The World.
(IRISH RADIO TRANSMITTER
SOCIETY)
**
KICKER: HAM'S LOW-KEY, LOW-POWER
POLITICAL CAMPAIGN
NEIL: Finally, we have this
story of one amateur radio
operator who's running for
office in a political campaign
that could well be described as
QRP. Jim Meachen ZL2BHF tells us
more.
JIM: As a licensed radio amateur
in New Zealand, Basil Lawrence
ZL2LBJ, knows how to
communicate. So when he
announced he was running in this
month's parliamentary election,
he stated clearly what he wanted
to do: give the average person a
choice different to that offered
by the big party candidates.
According to local media
reports, Basil hasn't bothered
with billboards, mailings or
newspaper ads for this campaign.
In fact, he doesn't even have
much of a budget.
He is, however, a ham and as
every amateur knows, there's
nothing like a good ragchew. So
he's been bolstering his
campaign with eyeball QSOs - by
chatting with friends and
neighbors and speaking at local
candidates' meetings.
It's not all that optimistic for
him winning a seat in Parliament
but at least he can count on a 5
and 9 wherever he takes his
campaign.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm
Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.
(FAIRFAX MEDIA DIGITAL)
