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Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2301 for Friday December 3rd, 2021

Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2301 with a release date of Friday December 3rd, 2021 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. Ham radio marks 100 years of signals crossing
the ocean. A well-known author and podcaster becomes a Silent Key --and
we announce the winner of the 2021 Amateur Radio Newsline International Newsmaker of the Year award. All this and more as Amateur Radio
Newsline Report Number 2301 comes your way right now.

**
BILLBOARD CART

**

AMATEUR RADIO'S 100 YEARS OF TRANSATLANTIC SIGNALS

NEIL/ANCHOR: We begin this week by marking a turning point in amateur
radio history: the first transatlantic communications on the amateur
portion of the spectrum 100 years ago this month. A video from the
Antique Wireless Museum in New York celebrates the one-century-mark of
what the museum is calling "The Triumph of the Amateurs," which began
with the first test on Dec. 11 1921. Jack Parker W8ISH picks up the
story from here.

JACK: A dramatic video released recently by the Antique Wireless Museum
tells how hams conceived of a historic test in 1921 that showed the
world that the shortwave spectrum below 200 meters was anything but
useless when it came to sending messages across the ocean. This was the now-famous Transatlantic Test Project. In a one-hour video, Ed Gable,
K2MP, and Mark Erdle, AE2EA, tell how the amateur spirit of
experimentation put ham station 1BCG on the air with a tube-based
transmitter on 1.3 MHz. The CW transmission from Connecticut by the
Radio Club of America was successfully copied in Scotland.

As hams prepare to re-enact that day on its anniversary using a replica
of the original transmitter, hams everywhere can learn all about the
moments that made history on 160 meters. Find a link to the YouTube
video in the text version of this week's newscast on our website
arnewsline.org

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jack Parker W8ISH.

(FOR PRINT ONLY, DO NOT READ: LINK:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt_M5VVsR1Q )

(YOUTUBE, ANTIQUE WIRELESS MUSEUM)

**
RADIO CAROLINE SEEKS REPORTS ON NEW TRANSMITTER

NEIL/ANCHOR: Who doesn't love the thought of a better, more powerful transmitter? You don't even have to be a ham: In the UK, an upgrade has
been made at Radio Caroline, a once-notorious pirate radio station,
leaving the station feeling loud and proud. Jeremy Boot G4NJH picks up
the story from here.

JEREMY: If you can hear the new, high-power signal of Radio Caroline on
648 KHz AM, you can thank its new 25 kW transmitter, a Harris DX25U
which is a nice step up from the station's older 10 kW Nautel model.

The station manager, Peter Moore, writes on the Southgate Amateur Radio
News website that the station is keen to know how much further its
signals are reaching these days. He asks for reception reports to be
sent to help the crew achieve even more improvements. You can find a
link to the reception report at radiocaroline.co.uk

Peter said: [quote] "Now the new transmitter is in service covering a
much larger area than before, we hope to reconnect with more of our
listeners from the past." [endquote]

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(RADIO CAROLINE, SOUTHGATE)

**
CYCLING HAMS HELP RAISE FUNDS TO BEAT CANCER

NEIL/ANCHOR: All hams know that public service is a big part of what we
do â-" but it isn't always done holding a radio, as we hear from Graham
Kemp VK4BB.

GRAHAM: When the Great Cycle Challenge rolled out in October to raise
funds to find cures for childhood cancers, the Bendigo Amateur Radio
and Electronics Club was ready for this monthlong bicycle-based event.
This time, however, members weren't stationed along any particular
route, as hams often are during one-day events; they were on the road themselves throughout the month, pedaling more than 600 kilometres
toward their financial destination. The club reports that the BAREC
Pedal Radio Group's efforts helped raise nearly AU $1,400.00 for the
cause, adding their total to the national fundraising total of more
than $6.9 million.

Of course that's not to say there wasn't some kind of radio involved.
BAREC pedal group member Graeme Knight VK3GRK said afterward in a press release: [quote] "Some of our radio club members enjoy bike riding,
and some of us even use radios to keep in touch with others while out
riding." [endquote]

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Graham Kemp VK4BB.

(BAREC)

**
FINDING POWER WITHOUT RELYING ON BATTERIES

NEIL/ANCHOR: Imagine a world in which your various internet-linked
devices didn't have to rely on batteries. Well, researchers in Spain
can already see that day coming. Kent Peterson KC0DGY tells us more.

KENT: They've been on the wish list for lots of us but now battery-free
devices have made the leap to the list of possibilities for some
researchers in Spain. Scientists at the IMDEA Networks Institute in
Madrid are using LiFi and Radio Frequency backscatter technologies to
make it happen. After three years of research, they've created a
sustainable wireless communication system that they call PassiveLiFi
and say it could be deployed for systems in smart agriculture, smart
cities and even smart homes. A November 26th article on the Hackster
website describes how LiFi happens. The article says: [quote] "IoT
devices would transmit data by reflecting and modulating the incoming
RF signals present in the environment, a passive transmission technique
known as RF backscattering that consumes very little power."
[endquote]. One of the researchers notes that when the scientists began
their work, LiFi technology and RF backscattering were viewed as
independent from one another.

Will they now make a winning and workable combination? With an
estimated 64 billion or more users of battery-powered IoT devices in
the world, there'll be plenty of people watching to find out.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Kent Peterson KC0DGY.

(HACKSTER)

**
SILENT KEY: QST COLUMNIST JOEL R. HALLAS, W1ZR

NEIL/ANCHOR: A longtime contributor to the library of amateur radio
knowledge and expertise has become a Silent Key. Joel R. Hallas (Hal
luss) W1ZR was the author of numerous books and a contributing editor
to the ARRL's QST magazine, which he had formerly served as technical
editor. His QST column "The Doctor is In" also inspired a popular
podcast. An amateur radio operator since 1955, Joel died on November
25th at the age of 79.

(ARRL)

**
BELGIUM PLANS TO OFFER EXAMS IN EARLY 2022

NEIL/ANCHOR: Radio exams will be back in Belgium in just a few weeks.
Ed Durrant DD5LP has the details.

ED: Shortly after announcing that it was suspending all amateur radio
licence exams through to the end of this year due to the pandemic,
Belgium's regulator BIPT has scheduled its first examination in 2022
for Friday, the 7th of January. The test will not be given at BIPT
facilities, which the regulator has deemed insufficient to comply with
COVID precautions. The exam site will instead be the Euro Space Center,
a science museum in Wallonia in the Belgian-Luxembourg Province in
southern Belgium. The testing procedures will be the same that are
followed at the regulator's site.

The announcement was made public on the website of the UBA, the
national amateur radio member society. Candidates may test for the
basic ECC report-89 ON3 licence; the CEPT Novice ON2 licence; or the
HAREC Full licence.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Ed Durrant DD5LP.

(SOUTHGATE, UBC)

**
ARISS NAMED NEWSLINE'S INT'L NEWSMAKER OF THE YEAR

NEIL/ANCHOR: Following two great recipients in previous years â-"
namely The West Bengal Radio Club in India and the Radio Society of
Great Britain-National Health Service's Get-on-the-air-to-care project,
both of whom continue to do great work, we are proud to announce the
winner of the 2021 ARNewsline International Newsmaker of the Year
Award. This year's honor goes to Amateur Radio on the International
Space Station, or ARISS, an organization I've had the pleasure of
working with myself. This group, based across fifteen countries around
the world, has been supporting amateur radio from the space station and performing school links around the world to astronauts for over 20
years. As well as enthusing youngsters in the magic of space and radio,
they have also generated publicity for Amateur Radio in the mainstream
media channels of radio, TV and newspapers. Congratulations to a
deserving award-winner from all of us at 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 Metro Area Repeater Association's WD0HWT repeater in Oakdale
Minnesota at 7 p.m. local time on Sundays.

**

SUCCESS WAS IN THE (QSL) CARDS

NEIL/ANCHOR: For one ham club in Massachusetts, a recent QSL sorting
party became a celebration party. Andy Morrison K9AWM shares the
details.

ANDY: The recent QSL sorting party of the Nashoba Valley Amateur Radio
Club was anything but routine. As they handled the coveted
confirmations of DX contacts, preparing the cards to be sent to their recipients, the volunteer crew found itself on the receiving end of
something as well: The Massachusetts club was presented with a plaque
from the ARRL's DX QSL Bureau System for the group's 25 years of
service to the ARRL regional bureau. Club president Bruce Blain, K1BG,
accepted the honor on behalf of the club from the bureau's comanager,
Eric Williams, KV1J.

With hams enjoying a better sunspot cycle now, there's likely to be
lots more DX on the horizon so the club can look forward to sorting
many more of those cards for the foreseeable future.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Andy Morrison K9AWM.

(JOE REYNOLDS KA1GDQ)

**
CHANGES COMING FOR AUSTRALIAN LICENSEES

NEIL/ANCHOR: Australia's regulator is seeking input on two proposed
changes affecting amateur radio licensees. Graham Kemp VK4BB brings us
that story.

GRAHAM: Australia's communications regulator has proposed syllabus
changes impacting the Advanced, which is the Full amateur licence and,
in a separate move, seeks to restrict further issuance of two callsign
suffixes associated with emergencies.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority's proposal for the
Advanced licence would adopt the exam syllabus from the CEPT
Recommendations, making the certificate of proficiency fully compatible
with CEPT HAREC.

Separately, the regulator is seeking to drop callsign suffixes SOS and
PAN from future allocations because of their association with
international emergency and distress calls. Hams with callsigns already containing these suffixes will not be affected. Going forward, the
suffixes will be added instead to a list of reserved call signs.

The regulator invites comments on both of these proposals and asks hams
to respond no later than the close of business, Australia time, on
Monday, the 13th of December. A link to the survey is in the text
version of this newscast on our website arnewsline.org.

In another move, hams have been notified that the ACMA now requires all equipment sold or imported into Australia to comply with ARPANSA's electromagnetic energy exposure levels, simplifying the mandatory
testing procedure for most amateurs.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Graham Kemp VK4BB.

[FOR PRINT ONLY, DO NOT READ: https://tinyurl.com/yc7w3hz8 ]

(ACMA)

**
SPECIAL ACTIVATION MARKS PEARL HARBOR'S BOMBING

NEIL/ANCHOR: The US Battleship Iowa's original Navy callsign, NEPM,
will be heard on the air on Tuesday, December 7th, marking the
anniversary of Japan's surprise aerial bombing of the US naval base at
Pearl Harbor in 1941. That attack spurred the United States' entry into
World War II.

The US Navy's Third Fleet Spectrum Manager has authorized the
callsign's activation by the Battleship Iowa Amateur Radio Association
and the Iowa's Innovation and Engineering Team. The hams will be
operating split; be listening for them on 14.781.5 MHz and answer their
call using 14.343 MHz. The activation will take place between 1600 and
2359 UTC.

For more details, visit the QRZ.COM page for NEPM.

(BATTLESHIP IOWA AMATEUR RADIO ASSOCIATION)

**

WORLD OF DX

In the World of DX, Datta (Dah-tah) VU2DSI is on the air until December
14th with the special event callsign AU2JCB. He is commemorating the
November 30th birth date of India's wireless pioneer Jagadish Chandra
Bose. He is operating on 10, 15, 20, 40 and 80 metres SSB and can be
heard on 6m and 10 m in FM mode. Send QSL cards direct to his home
callsign.

Operators Tom DL7BO and Tom DJ6TF are on the air as Z22O and Z21A, respectively, from Harare (ha rar eh), Zimbabwe, until the 15th of
December. Listen for them on 160-10 meters using CW, SSB and FT8/FT4.
Send QSLs for both callsigns to DJ6TF. Ukraine stations should send to
UY5ZZ or use LoTW.

Members of the Dolomites Contest Team, IQ3DQ, based in the region of
Belluno (Bell oo no), are marking their 55th anniversary with the
special event callsign IB3ABM until December 15th. They will be on the
air on 80/40/30/20 meters using CW, SSB, RTTY and FT8. For information
on how to earn diplomas available at the end of the event, see their
page on QRZ.com.

(OHIO PENN DX)

**
KICKER: CELEBRATING A YOUNGSTER WHO'S IN (AND ON) THE AIR

NEIL/ANCHOR: Although December is YOTA month, celebrating Youngsters on
the Air, for one 10-year-old in New England, every day of every month
is an occasion to be a youngster **IN** the air. We finish this week's
newscast with his story, shared by Ralph Squillace KK6ITB.

RALPH: The third time was the charm for Max Kendall W0MXX, whose
high-altitude APRS ballooon projects explore science and the
stratosphere, all the while using amateur radio during launching,
tracking and recovery.

The Medway, Massachusetts 10-year-old told Newsline in an email that
his third and latest balloon, identified as WB-3, was by far his most successful. The balloon launched in October with a camera and a 2m APRS tracker. It stayed aloft for about three hours, carrying weather
sensors and a few science experiments. Coached by his Elmer Mike
Hojnowski (HODGE-NOW-SKEE) KD2EAT, from the Medway Balloon Society, Max
is hoping the experiments will help him learn more about CO2 levels at
high altitudes, among other things.

The learning and experimenting won't stop there, however; Max has plans
for WB4 in his next year's line-up. He told Newsline that WB4 will be
all about the tracking interfaces when using different protocols such
as WSPR, APRS, 4FSK and FSQ. The sky, after all, is the limit.

To hear Max talk about the latest flight - and see a part of it - visit
his YouTube channel. A link to the video appears in the text version of
this week's newscast at arnewsline.org

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Ralph Squillace KK6ITB.

[FOR PRINT ONLY, DO NOT READ:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDGSaZW2EUQ]

(MAX KENDALL W0MXX, YOUTUBE)

**
NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to the Antique Wireless Museum; the ARRL; Australian Communications and Media Authority; Bendigo Amateur Radio
and Electronics Club; CQ Magazine; David Behar K7DB; Joe Reynolds,
KA1GDQ; Max Kendall W0MXX; Ohio Penn DX; Radio Caroline; QRZ.com; Radio
Society of Great Britain; Southgate Amateur Radio News;
shortwaveradio.de; Wireless Institute of Australia; 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
you all.

For now, with Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT at the news desk in New York, and
our news team worldwide, I'm Neil Rapp WB9VPG in Union Kentucky saying
73. As always we thank you for listening.

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

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