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Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2391 for Friday August 25th, 2023

Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2391 with a release date of Friday
August 25th, 2023 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. AM Radio to the rescue in Maui. Hams hack a
government satellite - and Hamvention loses a longtime team member. All
this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2391 comes your
way right now.

**
BILLBOARD CART

**
MAUI EMERGENCY COMMUNICATORS TUNE IN TO AM RADIO

PAUL/ANCHOR: Our top story takes us to Hawaii and focuses on the
resilience and relevance of AM broadcast radio, which was recently
earmarked by some automakers in the US for elimination from cars. AM
radio's relevance is certainly not in doubt on Maui, where AM broadcast equipment is being put to work for wildfire emergency communications.
Kent Peterson KC0DGY brings us up to date. KENT: The Federal
Communications Commission has granted the state of Hawaii the right to emergency use of four portable emergency advisory radio systems. The
stations -- which include police and fire stations and a checkpoint
--can be used on 1620, 1650, 1670 or 1700 kHz. The state purchased the
four 10-watt transmitters from Information Station Specialists, a
Michigan manufacturer that provides transmitters for highway advisories
and travelers' information. The systems include a transmitter, a
digital message player, an audio mixer and a foldout high-efficiency
antenna system.

Timely communication has been an issue during the wildfire crisis on
Maui. Published reports noted that the island's emergency officials
failed to warn residents and tourists of the dangers by failing to use
a system of outdoor sirens. There were also reports that agency alerts
were never delivered to cellphone users.

One of the key arguments made by defenders for keeping AM broadcast in
cars has been AM's reliability in delivering emergency information in a
crisis.

This is Kent Peterson KC0DGY.

(RADIO WORLD, NEW YORK TIMES)

**
HAMS JOIN GOVERNMENT SATELLITE HACKING EXERCISE

PAUL/ANCHOR: Can amateur radio expertise help hack a government
satellite - all in the name of helping the United States tighten up its cybersecurity? Neil Rapp WB9VPG tells us about some hams who did
justthat.

NEIL: Some of the world's top hackers worked their way into an orbiting
cubesat known as Moonlighter to help the US Air Force and US Space
Force expose vulnerabilities that could pose cybersecurity threats. The
global competition, known as Hack-A-Sat 4, recently announced the
winners following the Finalist rounds held in August. A team from
Italy, known as HACKeroni captured the top honors.

With skills in RF communications, reverse engineering, satellite
operations and vulnerability research paramount to success, a group of
40 full time Northrop Grumman employees - known as SpaceBitsRUs (Space
Bits Are Us) took up the challenge too, landing the fourth-place spot.
A number of hams were on the team, including Brian Wilkins, KO4AQF, and
Wyatt Neal, KD8AQS, the team hacking lead.

Brian, who is a satellite enthusiast, a former AMSAT member and a
recipient of the Satellite VUCC award, told Newsline in an email that
being a ham helps deliver relevant skills for this kind of challenge.
He said [quote]: "Operators gain expertise in radio wave propagation, modulation, and antenna design, allowing them to understand satellite communication protocols and frequencies. Additionally, knowledge of software-defined radio technology enables intercepting, decoding, or
modifying satellite signals." [endquote]

It has clearly paid off, not just for the government-sponsored contest
but for the Northrop-Grumman team as well, which placed second in the
Finals for Hack-A-Sat 3. The real prize, however, is awareness. As
Brian told Newsline, this serves as: [quote] "a wake-up call to the
industry. Obscurity does not equal Security." [endquote]

This is Neil Rapp WB9VPG.

(BRIAN WILKINS, KO4AQF; HACK-A-SAT WEBSITE)

**
INDIA MARKS SUCCESSFUL LUNAR LANDING

PAUL/ANCHOR: Congratulations to India which is celebrating a successful
soft landing of a rover on the moon's surface. Graham Kemp VK4BB has
that story.

GRAHAM: Amateur radio operators joined the Indian Space Research
Organisation and the rest of the nation in marking the arrival of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft near the moon's south pole on the 23rd of
August. India's delivery of a rover to the lunar surface follows its
2019 attempt which crashed. Shortly after this successful landing, four
radio amateurs in India proudly got on the air calling QRZ with the
callsign AT2ISRO. They were being heard on HF, VHF and UHF as well as
on Echolink, through the 25th of August. According to Arunava Dey,
VU3XRY, who was one of the activators, this use of the ISRO callsign
-like the moon landing - was a first for India.

This is Graham Kemp VK4BB.

(CNN, ARUNAVA DEY, VU3XRY)


PAUL/ANCHOR: Meanwhile, if you have access to Echolink, continue to
celebrate the moon landing's success with the West Bengal Radio
Club-SAARC ECHO VHF Net until the 30th of August. Be listening for the
special callsign VU2WB3CY at 15:30 UTC each day on Echolink node
VU2WBR-R


**
SILENT KEY: HAMVENTION'S JIM TIDERMAN, N8IDS

PAUL/ANCHOR: A longtime mainstay of Dayton Hamvention has become a
Silent Key. We hear more about him from Skeeter Nash N5ASH.

SKEETER: Jim Tiderman, N8IDS, was not just a proud member of the Dayton
Amateur Radio Association but was deeply involved for years with
Hamvention, dating back to the days when it was held at Hara Arena. Jim
became a Silent Key on Wednesday, August 16th. His Hamvention roles
included two years as the event's co-chairman and two subsequent years
as its chairman. He also served as the advisor to Hamvention's special
event station which used the DARA callsign W8BI.

Announcing Jim's death on the club's Facebook page, DARA's Michael
Kalter, W8CI, said [quote[ "He was loved and respected by the club, his
family, and community. Jim will be missed." [endquote] Jim was 81.

This is Skeeter Nash N5ASH.

(NEWCOMER-KETTERING CHAPEL, FACEBOOK)

**
HAMS PREPARE FOR FIRST WORLD HEMA DAY

PAUL/ANCHOR: If you're not up to climbing difficult mountains and hill
walking is more your thing, combining it with portable radio operations
through an expanding award scheme might just be what you're looking
for. Jeremy Boot G4NJH brings us the details.

JEREMY: The first World HEMA Day is to take place on September 1st and
2nd, bringing with it an opportunity for light exercise, fresh air and
perhaps some DX radio contact firsts that can qualify you for various certificates in the HEMA awards scheme. This summit awards scheme
started in the UK but has spread across Europe, into Australia and is
growing in Asia, Canada and Oceania.

HEMA summits are open 24/7 but this special day from 1200 UTC on Friday September 1st to 1200 UTC Saturday September 2nd gives the added
advantage of concentrating the activity with the possibility of HEMA to
HEMA contacts perhaps with new DXCCs in the scheme and certainly with
some never before activated summits. Visit www.hema.org.uk to get the
full details of this event and all of the other HEMA awards but most of
all, if you can, get out and enjoy being on the air in the fresh air!

I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(HEMA.ORG)

**
RADIO OPERATORS CALL ATTENTION TO ABANDONED PETS

PAUL/ANCHOR: Animal rescue advocates have been on the air to make sure
every dog has their day - or, in this case, their week. We hear about
this special event from Ed Durrant DD5LP.

ED: Dogs are an integral part in the physiotherapy practice that Hanz
Van de Pol, YL3JD, and his wife, Sandra, operate in Latvia. The family
dogs greet and cheer all the couple's clients when they arrive, putting
them at ease. Dogs also play a major role for Hanz at this time of year
through the special event station YL1DOG, which Hanz activates annually
in August in honour of International Dog Day on the 26th of the month.
He is joined this year by two hams in the UK - Chris, G5VZ, and David,
G4YVM. They are operating as GB0DOG and GB4DOG, respectively.

The three have been on the air using CW since Monday, August 21st. The
special event concludes on Saturday, August 26th. Hanz said he was
inspired by a special event held three years ago marking International
Cat Day.

Hanz told Newsline in an email he is raising awareness of the need to
help pets who need homes. He said "In my power as a radio amateur and
an animal lover, bringing attention to these abandoned pets is the
least I can do. In countries all over the world, the animal shelters
are packed with cats and dogs and I feel obliged to expose this."

It's no surprise that the couple's dogs are former shelter animals they
adopted almost immediately after immigrating to Latvia from The
Netherlands. It's also no surprise that next year, Hanz plans to be
back on the air with even more special-event operators around theworld.

This is Ed Durrant DD5LP

(HANZ VAN DE POL, YL3JD)

**

BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur
Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including
the K4GCC repeater of the Launch Information Service and Amateur
Television System in Cocoa Beach, Florida, on Mondays at 7 pm
localtime.

**
YOUNG HAM OF THE YEAR HONORED IN HUNTSVILLE

PAUL/ANCHOR: Well, we're back from the Huntsville Hamfest and Newsline
has one very happy Young Ham of the Year. Let Don Wilbanks AE5DW tell
us more.

DON: The 2023 Young Ham of The Year presentation was held on Saturday,
August 19th at the Huntsville Hamfest in Huntsville Alabama and a very
large crowd gathered for the annual 2 p.m. presentation at the main
stage. Nineteen-year-old Kees Van Oosbree, W0AAE joined me on stage.
Here are some of his remarks.

"I want to thank two people; Neil Rapp, WB9VPG. I contacted him three
years ago and he's pushed me to be my best and has connected me with so
many people. The second is all the people in Minnesota, the Minnesota
Wireless Association. Of course, they' re not here right now because
they're all contesting in the North America QSO Party, but they helped
me set up my first HF station four years ago and have pushed me to
operate CW. CW is my one passion right now. Just a week ago they helped
me put up a Yagi antenna in my backyard, that I never thought was
possible. I just want to thank them and Neil Rapp. That's all I have to
say. Thank you!"

Kees is a very impressive young man and he fully represents the people
who will be running the planet in a very short few years.
Congratulations again, Kees. Welcome to the Newsline Young Ham family.
The nominating period for the 2024 Bill Pasternak WA6ITF Young Ham of
The Year award opens March 1st and the presentation will be August
17th, 2024 at the Huntsville Hamfest. Our thanks to CQ Communications,
Yaesu USA, Heil Sound and RadioWavz Antennas for their corporate
assistance. You can hear the complete presentation on our website,arnewsline.orgunder the Extra tab.

I'm Don Wilbanks, AE5DW.

**
ARECIBO IS CLOSED BUT REVIEWING PROPOSALS

PAUL/ANCHOR: As expected, research halted on August 14th at the US
National Science Foundation's Arecibo Observatory. The agency is now
hoping to keep the site alive by selecting one of several proposals
submitted earlier this year for the development of an educational
center at the site in Puerto Rico. Sel Embee KB3TZD has the details.

SEL: The doors to research at the world-renowned Arecibo Observatory
have been shut, more than two years after the collapse of the
facility's 305-metre-wide dish - an instrument that once tracked
asteroids, gravitational waves and exoplanets. The site's conversion
into a STEM Education and Research Center, was originally planned for
this year but has taken longer than expected. Proposals were invited in
late 2022, with the agency setting a February 2023 deadline for all
those interested. So far, no decision has been announced. In the months following the collapse in 2020 of its iconic radio telescope, the
observatory reopened its visitor center and observation deck.
Scientists continued their research with other tools at the facility.
All that has ceased as Arecibo, the site where the first binary pulsar
was discovered, now ponders its future.

This is Sel Embee KB3TZD.

(NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION, NATURE.COM, AMATEUR RADIO DAILY)

**
NETS OF NOTE: THE HAMABLE NET HELPS OVERCOME OBSTACLES

PAUL/ANCHOR: A Sunday night net held every week on Echolink is all
about letting nothing get in your way of your time on the air - whether
it's a physical challenge or the restrictions of a homeowners'
association. Stephen Kinford N8WB has that story.

STEPHEN: Greg Miller KD9VPJ wants to help other hams make things happen
on the air - even if there are obstacles of any kind that might make
things more difficult. So he launched the Sunday night net known as the
HamABLE Net just a few days ago. Check-ins for this weekly net begin on
Sunday nights at 6 p.m. Central Time on Echolink. In a posting on one
of the QRZ.com forums, Greg writes that this a directed net designed to
attract hams who [quote] "may be dealing with both seen and unseen disabilities." [endquote] He told Newsline in an email that no one
should be hindered from enjoying amateur radio on account of what they
believe are limitations, whether it is a neighborhood issue or a
medical condition they are trying to manage.

The Chicago-based radio operator serves as net control, overseeing the roundtable ragchew format that has two rounds. If you're interested
joining the group and checking in, search on Echolink for KD9VPJ or use
direct node number 934347.

This is Stephen Kinford N8WB.

(QRZ.COM, GREG MILLER, KD9VP)

**

WORLD OF DX

In the World of DX, be listening for Alan, VK1AO, operating as 4W/VK1AO
from East Timor, IOTA Number OC-148 until the 30th of August. He is
mostly using FT8 on 40-12 metres. See QRZ.com for QSL details.

Four radio operators are operating as E51D from the North Cook Islands
until the 10th of September. They are AA7JV, HA5YD, HA7RY and KN4EEI.
They are setting up on the island with Radio in a Box stations and will
have remote operators worldwide. Listen for them on 160-6 metres using
CW, SSB and FT8. See QRZ.com for QSL details.

Three members of the Czech DXpedition Group are using the callsign 5X3K
from Uganda between the 28th of September and the 7th of October. They
will operate CW, SSB, RTTY and FT8 on 160-10 metres. For QSL details
see QRZ.com

Be listening for Jon, W5JON, using the callsign V47JA from St. Kitts,
IOTA number NA-104, between the 28th of August and the 12th of
September. He will be on the HF bands and 6 metres using SSB and FT8.
See QRZ.com for QSL details.

(425 DX BULLETIN)

**
KICKER: A QSO WORTH WAITING A HALF-CENTURY FOR

PAUL/ANCHOR: We end this week's report with the story of an overdue QSO
- a long overdue QSO. Overdue, in fact, by more than 50 years, as we
hear from Ralph Squillace KK6ITB.

RALPH: More than a half-century has passed since Jess, W6LEN, and Ron,
K6PAM, had their first CW QSO as new Novice class operators. The two
teenagers became junior high school classmates and friends in 1953 and
studied for their tickets together. Jess received the callsign KN6QQB
and Ron's was KN6PAM.

They had studied Morse Code together, grew up together, were best men
at one another's weddings. Life moved on: There was college, military
service, family life. Ron, meanwhile, had gone off the air. The
friends' CW ragchews had long since gone silent -- at least until
recently. At Jess' encouragement, Ron purchased a "cobweb" antenna, put
up a 40 meter longwire and bought a rig. In a gesture of both faith and generosity, Jess then sent him one of his old paddles. That, it seems,
was all it took: Jess' telephone rang one night recently and there was
Ron, inviting his old friend to meet him on 40 meters.

Ron told readers on Facebook: [quote] "His CW is coming back and we had
a nice relaxed long QSO."

While Jess' life is now filled with chasing and activating parks and
going after some big DX, the best QSO of his life for the moment is the
one that reconnected him on the air with the childhood friend who lived
just two blocks away.

This is Ralph Squillace KK6ITB.

(FACEBOOK, JESS GUADERRAMA, W6LEN)

**

DO YOU HAVE NEWS?

If you have a piece of Amateur Radio News that you think Newsline would
be interested in, send it on! We are not talking about advertising your
club's upcoming hamfest or field day participation, but something that
is out of the ordinary. If so, send us a brief overview via the contact
pag e at arnewsline.org. If it's newsworthy and we would like to cover
it, we'll get back to you for more details. Meanwhile, visit our
website to learn more about the Amateur Radio Newsline haiku challenge.

NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Amateur Radio Daily; Brian Wilkins,
KO4AQF; CQ Magazine; David Behar K7DB; 425DXNews; Facebook; FCC; Greg
Miller, KD9VP; Hanz Van De Pol, YL3JD; HEMA.ORG; Jess Guaderrama,
KD9VP; New York Times; National Science Foundation; Nature.com;
QRZ.COM; Radio World; shortwaveradio.de; Wireless Institute of
Australia; and you our listeners, that's all from the Amateur Radio
Newsline. 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. We also
remind our listeners that if you like our newscast, please leave us a
5-star rating wherever you subscribe to us. 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. As
always we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is
Copyright 2023. All rights reserved.

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