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Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2297 for Friday November 5th, 2021

Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2297 with a release date of Friday November 5th, 2021 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. An investigation gets under way into a ham's
fatal plane crash. A webinar in India stresses disaster preparedness
â-" and Morse Code lovers' thoughts turn to....pizza. All this and more
as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2297 comes your way right now.

***
BILLBOARD CART

**

INVESTIGATION CONTINUES INTO CRASH THAT KILLED NOTED AMATEUR

SKEETER/ANCHOR: Our top story follows a recent tragedy that claimed the
life of a well-known ham. Investigators say it will be a long while
before they learn what caused the fatal plane crash that killed this
noted DXer. Jack Parker W8ISH picks up the story from here.

JACK: The National Transportation Safety Board has said it will take at
least a year before investigators complete their study of the crash on
October 21st that claimed the life of a popular, well-known DXer and
contester. William Roberts, AA4NC, of Apex, North Carolina, was
piloting the small aircraft when it crashed in a wooded area not far
from the airport shortly after takeoff. A licensed commercial pilot,
William was killed along with another passenger. Two children were also
on board and were hospitalized for treatment of their injuries.

Keith Holloway, a spokesman for the NTSB, told Newsline in an email
that it was too early in the investigation to determine what caused the
crash of the single-engine plane, a Mooney M20J which belonged to
William Roberts.

William, who was 61, was an enthusiastic DXer and an avid contester who
took part in the first World Radiosport Team Championship competition
in 1990 and returned to be a judge at the event in Germany in 2018. He
is also listed on the DXCC Honor Roll.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jack Parker W8ISH.

(NTSB, ARRL, ASSOCIATED PRESS)

**

WEBINAR EXPLORES RADIO'S ROLE IN DISASTERS

SKEETER/ANCHOR: In India, hams and emergency response agencies met for
a two-hour webinar to underscore radio's resilience in the aftermath of cyclones and other disaster scenarios. John Williams VK4JJW brings us
that report.

JOHN: Radio in all its major forms - amateur radio, community radio and broadcast radio - were presented as important resources in disaster
management during a webinar held November 2nd by the National Institute
of Disaster Management in India. The two-hour program was called the
Role of Radio in Disaster Communication and Information and was
cohosted by the West Bengal Radio Club and the Indian Academy of
Communication and Disaster Management.

Ambarish Nag Biswas, VU2JFA, secretary of the West Bengal club, told
attendees that wise disaster management also includes training local
people. He said training was the key to success in the aftermath of
cyclones, floods or other disasters and told webinar viewers [quote]:
"Local people are our first responders." [endquote] He said that
amateur radio training is readily available through the Indian Academy
of Communication and Disaster Management on Sundays, through a
three-month program of study.

One of the key presenters was Saborni Nag Biswas, VU2JFC, who has not
only been involved in direct response during disasters but has assisted
in training people in the community. She has also been deeply involved
in mock drills and the major Simulated Emergency Training exercises.

Harjeet Kaur of the National Institute of Disaster Management stressed
the role that community radio has in

providing support to radio amateurs. Other presenters talked about the additional roles that broadcast radio can play in getting the word
outtoo.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm John Williams VK4JJW.

(YOUTUBE)

**

EXPERIMENTAL SYSTEM ELIMINATES RFI FOR NAVIGATION SYSTEMS

SKEETER/ANCHOR: Just like the hams, users of navigation systems are
also constantly battling interference. Now an experimental system
promises a chance of relief. Kent Peterson KC0DGY tells us how itworks.

KENT: Imagine a navigation system that doesn't need to communicate with
a GPS satellite for positioning. Operators of vehicles, including those
in the military, worry about the potential for spoofing or jamming
which is always there whenever a signal is transmitted. Scientists are
now looking at a way for vehicles to self-track, using devices they
carry right on board, instead of communicating with a satellite.
Instead of relying on radio transmissions, these devices send lasers
into clouds of rubidium gas in order to measure a vehicle's rotation
and acceleration.

An article on the PHYS.org website describes the device as a [quote] "avocado-sized vacuum chamber" [endquote] containing the rubidium atoms
inside. It's described as a small, practical size with a quantum
sensing performance that still gets the job done as well as a gyroscope
and atomic accelerometers. Peter Schwindt, the developer at Sandia
National Laboratories, claims the device is also as accurate as the
atomic clocks that interface with satellites to keep them in sync.

According to the scientists, it's not yet ready for prime time. Sandia
will be monitoring it for at least the next five years.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Kent Peterson KC0DGY.

(PHYS.ORG)

**
HISTORIC TELEGRAPHY STATION HONORED BY POLISH MUSEUM EXHIBIT

SKEETER/ANCHOR: There are plans to honor a historic telegraphy center
in Poland with a special museum exhibit. Ed Durrant DD5LP has the
details.

ED: A new museum planned in Poland is working on rebuilding a
transmitter formerly used by the Transatlantic Radio-telegraphic
Broadcasting Centre in Warsaw. That station once enjoyed one of the
highest profiles in Europe. Its radio towers were the world's second
tallest and the station itself enjoyed a role as a busy centre for
important communications between Europe and the United States.
According to a story in the American-Polish Eagle, half of the
telegrams sent from Europe to people in the US were transmitted via
this Warsaw station. Its 10 towers stood 126 metres tall â-" the
equivalent of more than 430 feet - and its two 200kw transmitters
reliably reached North and South America.

The museum planned by the electronics faculty at the Military
University of Technology hopes to recognise this station in its array
of exhibits and with a radio station that will broadcast the historic
station's history on the short wave frequencies. The station was used
during the second world war to send messages to Japan and German
U-boats by the German occupying forces who destroyed it before leaving
at the end of the War.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Ed Durrant DD5LP.

(THE AMERICAN-POLISH EAGLE WEBSITE, WIA)

**
ARISS INITIATIVES RECEIVE $1.3M GRANT FROM ARDC

SKEETER/ANCHOR: Education is one of the biggest engines driving the
program known as Amateur Radio on the International Space Station, or
ARISS. Now ARISS will have even more resources to educate youngsters
interested in science, technology, engineering, arts and
mathematicsâ-"as well as the the teachers who help them make that
connection. A five-year grant worth nearly $1.3 million has been
awarded to ARISS-USA from Amateur Radio Digital Communications. Some of
the funds will help ARISS develop a wireless electronics technology kit enabling middle and high school students to learn more about amateur
radio. The grant will also help pay for educator workshops so teachers
can help students learn more from their use of the wireless kit.
Finally, the grant will provide funding for contacts planned between
students and astronauts during the five-year period of the grant. Frank
Bauer KA3HDO, executive director of ARISS-USA, called the grant a
game-changer, adding that it [quote] "represents a key element of our
ARISS Two Point Oh [2.0] vision." [endquote]

(ARISS)

**

OFCOM EXTENDS NOTICE OF VARIATION FOR RANGE IN 2M

SKEETER/ANCHOR: There's some good news for amateurs engaged in
experimentation on 2m in the UK. Jeremy Boot G4NJH has the details.

JEREMY: Ofcom is extending approval for the Notice of Variation for
frequencies between 146 MHz and 147 MHz for an additional year, as was requested by the Radio Society of Great Britain. Only Full licence
holders may apply.

NoV applicants are being asked to recognise that use of the band has
increased and that NoVs are being made available on a non-interference
basis. An NoV is also subject to a 90-day period of withdrawal or
change, according to the RSGB. All NoVs will expire on the 31st of
October 2022.

Applicants can visit the rsgb website at rsgb.org to begin the process.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(RSGB)

**

BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur
Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including
the AH6LE repeater in Beavercreek and Wilsonville, Oregon, on Sundays
at 6 p.m. local time.

**

SOUTH AFRICAN WEATHER BALLOON FLIES HIGH

SKEETER/ANCHOR: In South Africa, a high-flying balloon carried some projectsâ-"and some high hopesâ-"into the sky, as we hear from Graham
Kemp VK4BB.

GRAHAM: Under the sunny skies of South Africa on the 30th of October,
the Secunda Radio Club ZS6SRC released a high-altitude weather balloon
that was ultra-light but carried some heavy-duty payloads. Among those
sharing the trip into near space were a variety of experiments, a
crossband FM repeater, Slow Scan TV, and the new AMSAT-SA AfriCUBE
linear transponder, with APRS and a CW beacon on 2m.

This was the latest of the club's projects known by the acronym BACAR,
for Balloon Carrying Amateur Radio. The club's ongoing weather balloon initiative has been heralded in the past for its contributions to STEM education through the programme's cooperation with local schools.
According to the club website, the curriculum includes programming of microcontrollers, digital electronics and, of course, radio
communications.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Graham Kemp VK4BB.

(GERT BOTHA ZS6GC, SECUNDA RADIO CLUB WEBSITE)

**
COMMENTS SOUGHT FOR NEW VP0 PREFIX IN BRITISH TERRITORY

SKEETER/ANCHOR: Regulators are looking for comments on use of a new
prefix in the British Antarctic Territory. Jim Meachen ZL2BHF has the
details.

JIM: While formal details are still being worked out with respect to
the new Victor Papa Zero callsign prefix for hams operating in the
Antarctic region, the government of the British Antarctic Territory is
seeking input no later than November 10th on draft legislation specific
to the British Antarctic Territory which includes the South Orkney and
South Shetland islands as well as the mainland sector of the Antarctic continent.

The Victor Papa Zero prefix is also to apply to hams operating on the
British sector of the Antarctic mainland and the South Sandwich Islands
but authorities have not yet determined how the transition will be made
there from existing VP8 licences.

The recent announcement of the new prefix for these former Falkland
Islands Dependencies was heralded as a welcome development for
DXpeditioners and chasers after the use of VP8 licenses was no longer
permitted there.

To see the consultation and find out how to comment, visit the link in
the text version of this week's newscast at arnewsline.org

[FOR PRINT ONLY, DO NOT READ: https://britishantarcticterritory.org.uk/consultation-amateur-radio-lic
ensing/ ]

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Meachen ZL2BHF. (OHIO PENN DX)


**
WORLD OF DX

In the world of DX, be listening for the Eureka Amateur Radio Club
VY0ERC on the air from the Eureka weather station in Nunavut on
Canada's Ellesmere Island, IOTA NA-008. Operators will be calling QRZ
until the 22nd of November on all HF Bands. Send QSLs to M0OXO (Em Zero
Oh Ex Oh), Club Log's OQRS and Logbook of The World.

Remo, HB9SHD, is using the callsign 8Q7RM from the Maldives, IOTA
AS-013, throughout November. Listen for him on FT8. He will also be
using slow CW and SSB on the bands from 6m to 40m. Send QSLs to his
home call, either direct or via the bureau, Club Log's OQRS and Logbook
of the World.

Ken, LA7GIA, the noted DXpeditioner, is operating from Bangui in the
Central African Republic as TL7M until the 15th of November. He will be operating on all bands and all modes. According to the QRZ page for
TL7M he will also make the first activation of 60m in the Central
African Republic under a special permit. Send QSLs to M0OXO.

(IRTS, DX-WORLD.NET)

**
KICKER: WHEN THE KEY TO ORDERING PIZZA IS A STRAIGHT KEY

SKEETER: We end this week's newscast with a little slice of life. Or maybe.....a little slice of pizza? Or maybe both. Well, if you enjoy
pizza and you enjoy Morse Code, you might enjoy a pie with everything
on itâ-"including some dits and dahs. Jeremy Boot G4NJH delivers the
pizza for us here.

JEREMY: The pizza delivery chain, Papa John's, has just cracked the
code to a clever marketing scheme and it's using CW to make it happen.
The popular Call of Duty video game played on Xbox, Playstation and
Windows, has partnered with the pizza maker to launch the game's latest version, "Call of Duty: Vanguard," which features a World War II theme
with four leading characters: military officers from Great Britain, the
US, Australia and the Soviet Union. Now, it also features....pizza for
those playing the game. By ordering a Morse Code kit in advance from
the pizza maker, players will be able to get a kit that lets them crack
the code they then need to translate into CW. Each code corresponds to
a different topping for their pie. The kits become available in the UK
later this month.

Giles Codd, the pizza chain's UK marketing director, said the campaign
also underscores the company's partnership with the Call of Duty
Endowment which assists military veterans in the UK in finding jobs.

Whether any pizza orders will be placed from Bletchley Park....remains
to be seen.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(SOUTHGATE, TECHROUND, POLYGON.COM)

**
NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to the American-Polish Eagle; the ARDC;
ARISS; ARRL; the Associated Press; CQ Magazine; David Behar K7DB;
DX-World.net; Gert Botha ZS6GC; Irish Radio Transmitter Society; the
National Transportation Safety Board; Ohio Penn DX; QRZ.com;
Polygon.com, Radio Society of Great Britain; Secunda Radio Club;
Southgate Amateur Radio News; shortwaveradio.de; Techround; the
Wireless Institute of Australia; 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 Skeeter Nash N5ASH in Shelbyville,
Tennessee saying 73. As always we thank you for listening.

Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2021. All rights reserved.

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