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Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2319 for Friday April 8th, 2022

Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2319 with a release date of Friday
April 8th, 2022 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. the following is a QST. Two
hams face criminal charges in the US and France. The FCC clarifies its
new license fees -- and get ready for World Amateur Radio Day. All this
and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2319 comes your way
right now.

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BILLBOARD CART HERE

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FRENCH AMATEUR SENTENCED FOR ON-AIR THREATS

JIM/ANCHOR: We begin this week with two stories about amateur radio
operators charged with using their licenses for criminal purposes. The
first story comes to us from Jeremy Boot G4NJH and concerns a radio
amateur in France.

JEREMY: A French radio amateur was found guilty of making threats,
insults and homophobic remarks on the air has been sentenced to a year
in prison suspended for two years and put on probation, according to
various reports in the French media. He was also ordered off the air
and to pay a fine of €5,000 and further pay compensation to two
plaintiffs.

The ham, who is 65 years old, was identified only as "GÃ(c)rard" in the
news reports. His callsign, which he had apparently used on the air to
identify himself, was not provided. The court of Versailles sentenced
him on Monday the 28th of March. The complaints against him included
both death threats and a false report of someone's death. He had been
arrested a number of times, going back to late 2020 when his radio
equipment was seized. But according to news reports, he then went on to purchase yet more radios.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(OUEST FRANCE, SOUTHGATE)

**
PENNSYLVANIA AMATEUR FACES NEW CRIMINAL CHARGES

JIM/ANCHOR: Meanwhile in the United States, a ham charged earlier this
year with using the airwaves for criminal activity is back in the news
with new charges filed against him. Sel Embee KB3TZD has the details.

SEL: Richard Wagner â-" the Erie, Pennsylvania radio amateur charged
with making bomb threats and bogus weather reports over the air late
last year and earlier this year â-" faces new charges of again using
the airwaves for criminal purposes. According to a report in the ERIE TIMES-NEWS, detectives in Erie County filed charges on Tuesday, March
29th, saying the radio amateur used emergency frequencies in late March
to make threats against witnesses, victims and a judge who had presided
over his earlier criminal cases. Richard Wagner's callsign is listed as N-3-B-W-G on Q-R-Zed-dot-com.

Meanwhile, all but two of the 37 criminal charges in those earlier
cases had been dropped on March 3rd and the bond money holding him in
prison was substantially reduced.

In the latest development, detectives claim that Wagner made the new threatening transmissions over frequencies used by the county Emergency Management office and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency. He
was arrested and placed in Erie County Prison on $175,000 bond and now
faces charges of bomb threats and retaliation against a prosecutor or
judicial official.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Sel Embee KB3TZD.

(ERIE TIMES-NEWS)

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FCC CLARIFIES NEW AMATEUR RADIO APPLICATION FEES

JIM/ANCHOR: In the US, the Federal Communications Commission has
clarified its new application fee which takes effect this month.
Stephen Kinford N8WB has the details.

STEPHEN: If you're looking to upgrade your US amateur radio license,
the FCC's new $35 application fee will not apply to you. The commission recently clarified the circumstances under which the new fees will be
applied when they take effect on April 19th. The FCC said that
upgrading amateur radio license classes or changing club station
trustees are exempt from the fee. The fee does not apply to any changes
of email address or postal mailing address either. The fee will be
applied however, for new licenses, renewals, rule waivers or new vanity
call signs.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Stephen Kinford N8WB.

(FCC, ARRL)

**
HAMS IN INDIA HELP REUNITE MISSING MAN WITH FAMILY

JIM/ANCHOR: Connections between amateur radio operators in different
parts of India proved especially useful for one group of hams looking
to reunite a lost man with his family. John Williams VK4JJW tells us
how it happened.

JOHN: Amateur radio operators have reunited a man from Kolkata, India
with his family after the man went missing last year while taking his
parents on a trip to Kanyakumari, a coastal town on the southern end of
India. Hams from the West Bengal Radio Club, who have a long track
record of success in solving missing-persons cases, were contacted
recently by the man's father, a retired customs officer in his 70s.

An account in the Millennium Post newspaper tells how Ambarish Nag
Biswas, VU2JFB, club secretary, worked with amateurs in Chennai to
track down the missing man. The hams circulated a photograph of him
that was provided by his parents, who had been searching for their son
on their own without luck. According to the newspaper story, on Friday
April 1st the man was seen on the street in Kanyakumari begging for
money. A photograph was taken of him and shown to his parents. Only his
father recognised him, due to the son's changed appearance. The father
reported that his son had been prone to depression the past several
years. Once his identity was confirmed, the man was taken into safe
custody at a local police station to await his parents' arrival.
Ambarish Nag Biswas told the newspaper that amateur radio operator
Debdutta Mukherjee VU3JXA was going to accompany the father when he
went to retrieve his son. Kanyakumari is more than 2,000 km from
Kolkata.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm John Williams VK4JJW.

(MILLENNIUM POST, THE TIMES OF INDIA)

**
GET READY FOR WORLD AMATEUR RADIO DAY

JIM/ANCHOR: Hams around the world will be marking Monday, April 19th as
World Amateur Radio Day, a day of global friendship. This is the date
on which the International Amateur Radio Union was created in Paris in
1925. Its first president was Hiram Percy Maxim, who was cofounder of
the American Radio Relay League. Hams will be extended the spirit of
friendship by doing what they do best - getting on the air. One such
event will be the net being held on the Echolink Conference node 531091 starting at 1300 UTC on April 19th and ending at 0500 UTC on April
20th. Other events can be found by searching social media platforms
with the hashtag #WorldAmateurRadioDay.

**
VIRTUAL WORKSHOP HELPS TRAIN HAMS FOR HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS

JIM/ANCHOR: Hams in the US are attending an important virtual workshop
on hurricane preparedness and its various sessions will be available on
YouTube afterward. Randy Sly W4XJ has those details.

RANDY: As hurricane season moves in along the East Coast of the United
States, amateur radio operators will be able to train for hurricane preparedness during a free workshop being held virtually on Monday
April 11th. The workshop is taking place during the National Hurricane Conference with various sessions being held from 10:30 a.m. to noon and
from 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time. Topics include the
importance of surface reporting by ham radio operators, an overview of
the Hurricane Watch Net, a look at the VoIP Hurricane Net and best
practices in SKYWARN. There will also be a presentation on the
Salvation Army Team Emergency Response Radio Network, known by the
acronym SATERN.

The workshop will be held on Zoom. Those who are unable to attend or
missed the workshop altogether can view everything later on Youtube.
The workshop may be virtual but hurricane season is not.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Randy Sly W4XJ.

(LLOYD COLSTON, KC5FM)

**
BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur
Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world,
includingthe East Coast Reflector on Sundays at 1 p.m. Eastern Daylight
Time, where more than 240 repeaters and simplex nodes rebroadcastour
newscast.

**
SUMMITS ON THE AIR BEGINS ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

JIM/ANCHOR: This is an exciting year for amateurs who are active in the
Summits on the Air awards scheme. We hear what's going on from Ed
Durrant DD5LP.

ED: Just as hams in the Summits on the Air award scheme rise through
the tier of awards to increase their standing, so too has the awards
scheme scaled new heights. For the past month, SOTA has been marking
its 20th anniversary in England and Wales, the birthplaces of the
programme, which now has more than 24,000 participants on all the major continents. During April, SOTA management team member Tom Read M1EYP
will be operating special event station GB20SOTA from the summit of
"The Cloud", which is designated as G/SP-015 in the SOTA award scheme. Additional special event calls will be on the air throughout this year
as hams in Northern Ireland, Scotland and the United States mark the
occasion. The celebration kicked off last month with summit activations
by GW association manager Roger Dallimore MW0IDX under the GB2OTA call
sign in Wales. Free commemorative certificates will be available.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Ed Durrant DD5LP.

**
LICENSE DELAYS TEST PATIENCE OF BRAZIL'S RADIO APPLICANTS

JIM/ANCHOR: Impatient over ongoing delays, applicants for Brazil's
amateur radio license are applying even more pressure on officials.
Jeremy Boot G4NJH brings us that update.

JEREMY: In Brazil, the long wait has become even longer as applicants
waiting for their radio amateur licence report that at least six months
have passed in some cases and they are growing impatient.

Brazil's national amateur radio society has asked ANATEL, the nation's regulator, to act promptly and resolve the delays for the waiting
candidates. The group is asking the regulator to modernise its computer
system and standardise processes across all of the Brazilian states.
The amateur organisation, known as Liga de Amadores Brasileiros de
Rádio Emissão (LABRE), believes the system incompatibility has
resulted in long wait times that have discouraged candidates from
seeking licences.

The Brazilian amateurs' latest plea comes in the form of a petition,
following unsuccessful attempts at progress during meetings held in
person as well as remotely between LABRE and ANATEL.

The petition can be seen at the website that appears in the text
version of this week's newscast. It is in Portuguese with a Google
translation to English available.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

[FOR PRINT ONLY, DO NOT READ: https://www.change.org/p/radioamadores-unidos-exigem-celeridade-e-moder niza%C3%A7%C3%A3o-dos-sistemas-da-anatel ]

(LABRE, SOUTHGATE)

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WORLD OF DX

In the World of DX, be listening for Antonio "Tony," CU8AS, who will be
active as CQ84AS from Flores Island between April 13th and 19th. He is
using the prefix CQ84 to celebrate his 84th birthday. Be listening on
160 through 10 metres where he will be using mainly CW with some SSB.
QSL via HB9CRV or LoTW.

Listen for Pat N2IEN, Ray W2RE, Lee WW2DX, Rock WW1X and Lori KB2HZI
who will be operating from Tortola (Tor-TOH-La), British Virgin Islands
using the callsign VP2V/N2IEN from April 10th through the 16th. Be
listening on various bands and modes.

Three radio operators â-" VK3HJ, VK3QB and VK6CQ â-" will be on the air
from Norfolk island using the callsign VK9NT from April 14th to the
25th. Listen for them on 160 through 10m where they will be using CW,
SSB and FT8. QSL via M0OXO.

Look for Max DK1MAX to be on the air between April 7th and 20th from
Burkina Faso as XT2MAX. He will be operating holiday style, using CW
and the Digital modes. Send QSLs via EA5GL.

(DX-WORLD.NET)

**

KICKER: A 'CONCERTED' EFFORT AT CW

JIM/ANCHOR: For our final story this week, we recognize the fact that
for some CW enthusiasts, the joy of a successful QSO can be music to
one's ears. Jim Meachen ZL2BHF explains.

JIM: If you hear Chris Rio sending "CQ CQ de ZL4RA" in his latest
YouTube video, don't ask him what keyer he is using. You're better off
asking what Key: could it possibly be C-major we're hearing from him?
No matter. Chris is using his fingers instead of his fist because he's
not in his shack. He's demonstrating CW on his electric guitar.

In the video, we hear a response from Adam, K6ARK, a California amateur
who shares Chris' enthusiasm for another ham radio pursuit: Summits on
the Air. Chris and Adam exchange signal reports, with Adam using a more conventional - and nonmusical - instrument of CW. Then, just like that,
it's all over. Fine business.

Chris shared his musical experiment as well as the video with friends
on the SOTA Reflector and apparently found a symphony of support. In
fact, Brian, G8ADD, confessed he had also tried the same thing once
with his clarinet. And Ron, VK3AFW, suggested having a go with
bagpipes. Whether the next instrument is wind or percussion, one thing
is certain. It is sure to be a concerted effort.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.

(YOUTUBE, SOTA REFLECTOR)

**
NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to the ARRL; CQ Magazine; Daryl Stout,
WX4QZ; David Behar K7DB; DX-World.net; the Erie Times-News; Facebook;
the FCC; LABRE; Lloyd Colston, KC5FM; QRZ.com; the Millennium Post; the
Radio Society of Great Britain; the SOTA Reflector; Southgate Amateur
Radio News; shortwaveradio.de; the Times of India; YouTube; and you our listeners, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline. You can write to
us at newsline@arnewsline.org. We remind our listeners that Amateur
Radio Newsline is an all-volunteer non-profit organization that incurs
expenses for its continued operation. If you wish to support us, please
visit our website at arnewsline.org and know that we appreciate youall.

For now, with Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT at the news desk in New York, and
our news team worldwide, I'm Jim Damron N8TMW in Charleston, West
Virginia saying 73. As always we thank you for listening.

Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2022. All rights reserved.

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