Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1984 November 6 2015 Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1984 with a release date of Friday, November 6, 2015 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a QST. A new White House report urges better preparedness for geomagnetic storms. A radio amateur in upstate New York works QRP to activate a marshland. The Philippine Amateur Radio Association marks its 83rd year. And in separate preparedness exercises, hams in Arizona, as well as South Africa, prove they can step in when disaster strikes. All this and more in Amateur Radio Newsline report 1984 coming your way right now. (Billboard Cart Here and Intro) ** CORONAL MASS EJECTIONS? SUPERSIZE ME! [STEPHEN/ANCHOR]: We begin this week’s newcast with a far-reaching White House report on geomagnetic storms. It seems that hams aren’t the only ones concerned with damaging effects of coronal mass ejections. Now the Obama Administration is formally saying: Be prepared. Amateur Radio Newsline’s Bobby Best, WX4ALA, tells us more: [BOBBY:] When massive solar flares -- known as coronal mass ejections -- disrupt the ionosphere, it spells loss of the bands for amateur operators, who can be certain of disastrous QSOs or, more likely, no QSOs at all. But those three letters - C-M-E - actually spell out a more wide-ranging loss - a worldwide immobilization that the White House recently deemed worth bracing for. Late last month, the Obama Administration released contingency plans that define roles everyone would play - from the largest federal agency to the smallest local business - in the event a geomagnetic storm strikes with epic magnitude. The official gameplan was drawn up following officials' extensive study of the so-called Carrington Event, a CME that ruptured global communications in 1859 by exploding telegraph lines around the world. Now, with so many nations electrified and connected by technology and various intricate power grids, the impact of a similarly supersized CME could have even more impact, knocking out satellites, GPS measurements and stranding civilization in a world without an operating infrastructure. Clearly, this is not solely the stuff of science fiction: The most recent instance, on a small scale, occurred Sept. 28. An intense solar flare erupted over South America, with the resulting UV radiation creating a temporary blackout in low-frequency radio communications. Exactly one month later -- on Oct. 28 -- the Obama administration released its completed plans - the National Space Weather Strategy and the National Space Weather Action Plan. And with that release came the announcement of a global strategy for agencies, nonprofits and individuals everywhere to cooperate and communicate. The release of the plans comes a week or so before the Military Auxiliary Radio System's simulated blackout exercise with the Amateur Radio Emergency Service and Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service between Saturday, Nov. 7 and Tuesday, Nov. 10. Timing, it seems, is everything. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bobby Best, WX4ALA, in Jasper, Alabama. (DIGITALJOURNAL.COM, WHITEHOUSE.GOV BLOG, SPACE.COM) ** ARTS, CRAFTS & QSOS IN ARIZONA The Hassayampa Amateur Radio Klub – and yes, they spell “club” with a “K” – is busy preparing for its HARKFEST, a tailgate hamfest in the North Ranch Escapees RV Park in Congress, Arizona, on Nov. 14. For those who can’t wait for the fun to start at 8 a.m., when the four-hour hamfest opens, organizers note that there is camping available with full hookup, provided you pre-register. The hamfest will have an arts and crafts show and lunch will also be available. And oh yes, there’ll be plenty of amateur radio gear and banter. Talk in on the club’s 2-meter repeater or on simplex at 146.580 MHz. For more details, visit the club’s website at http://harkaz.org ** IN ARIZONA, QUESTIONS ABOUT QUAKES A more serious effort got underway throughout Arizona on Wednesday, Nov. 4, with a statewide Arizona Ham Radio Exercise known as HAMEX. The first-ever drill was designed to help radio amateurs understand their communication roles when disaster strikes their various communities. But the forces of nature may have conspired to drive that point home with an even stronger hand, however, after a series of minor earthquakes rumbled through the region just north of Phoenix, Arizona on Sunday, Nov. 1 – a few days before HAMEX was schedule. The trio of quakes was considered rare, of course, but radio amateurs were taking no chances. Morgan Hoaglin, WW7B, communications coordinator with the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs, and the Division of Emergency Management, said the three real earthquakes, however small, were certainly a surprise, considering the HAMEX mock disaster being staged was also centered around an earthquake. He told Amateur Radio Newsline QUOTE“This exercise caused us to make ready many many amateur radio modes such as HF, VHF, UHF, WinLink, FLMSG, FNARS and VHF Packet. We plan to make sure we keep all of the flexibility we display here for the future.”ENDQUOTE He said 65 hams in Arizona and another 10 working HF out of state were involved in the exercise and that the diversity of modes, both voice and data, proved to be the greatest strength of the exercise. And yes, more such drills are planned for the year ahead. As for its importance of the Nov. 4 HAMEX, Hoaglin expected no one would question its value or success: QUOTE:“With the actual Arizona earthquake taking place a few days prior, we certainly did not have to justify the realities or feasibility of the exercise.”ENDQUOTE ** CAREERS IN HAM RADIO Sometimes, ham radio is more than just a hobby – in fact, it can be a career. Consider these openings now available for qualified radio amateurs looking to make the most of their talents, skills, interests and professional development. In Australia, the Wireless Institute of Australia is looking for an executive administrator in its Bayswater, Melbourne location. Applicants should be experienced in working for a nonprofit, community-service membership organization and should have a good understanding of the WIA and amateur radio. The deadline to apply for the job is Nov. 30. For more details on specific job requirements, visit seek.com or the WIA website, http://www.wia.org.au In the United States, the ARRL is looking for a contest branch manager to work out of league headquarters in Newington, Connecticut. The ideal candidate should have a minimum of five years experience in ham radio contesting, and will be responsible for a team of about 20 log adjudicators, results authors and data entry assistants, in and out of the headquarters building. For more details about the job and qualifications, visit the ARRL website and navigate to the Employment Opportunities page. And finally, if you’re aiming high, really high, the ARRL is looking for a new Chief Executive Officer to succeed David Sumner, K1ZZ. Sumner is stepping down as CEO next May, and applications for his successor are due no later than Nov. 16. The active radio amateur who is chosen for this position will, among other things, oversee the day-to-day management of the league and its fiscal operation. Applications, cover letters and resumes should be sent to Monique Levesque at ARRL headquarters. She can be emailed at mlevesque@arrl.org (ARRL, WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA) ** MY FAVORITE MARSH-MAN [STEPHEN KINFORD/ANCHOR]: The Hamlin Marsh Wildlife Management Area in New York's Adirondack region holds many things in its vast acreage of wetland: aquatic birds, frogs, deer and various grasses. But it holds something even more for one Syracuse area ham: endless radio possibilities. Amateur Radio Newsline's Don Wilbanks, AE5DW, has the details: [DON]: Since earlier this year, Steven Mussi, KD2ETP, has believed he could enter the upstate New York wetland known as Clay Marsh and find solid footing for a QRP adventure. So Sunday, Nov. 8, will find Mussi canoeing out across the swampy landscape, climbing ashore on some hospitable patch of land, and setting up his Elekraft KX3 and his two antennas. His one-man special event is called Marshes On The Air. And his goal is to work the bands, starting on 40 meters, logging as many contacts QRP as possible until sundown. He told Amateur Radio Newsline, in a recent phone call, that he has another goal too, one he's had since getting his license three years ago: He said QUOTE"I want to do some things that haven't been done, to go to places that are kind of inhospitable."ENDQUOTE Mussi is no stranger to the wildlife management area near his New York home. He grew up near Onandaga Lake and has been part of an effort to restore its cleanliness. He's also no stranger to off-the-beaten-paths of radio transmitting: Last February, when it was 15 degrees below with wind chill, he was heating up the airwaves from an ice shanty on that very same lake, transmitting in an expedition he called FLOTA, for Frozen Lakes On The Air. For Mussi, these outings - like ham radio itself - are about opening up the fun and the possibilities -- options as vast and promising as the airwaves themselves. He says: QUOTE "Everyone climbs a mountain in some park and that's great, I have done some SOTA work, but I think there are other areas that might be interesting. Going off the beaten path just requires a little more effort."CLOSE QUOTE Effort, yes, and a lot more imagination. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Don Wilbanks, AE5DW, in Picayune, Mississippi. BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including the KD2SL repeaters and KC2VER 145.31 Fusion Digital Repeater in Syracuse, New York, on Monday Nights at 8. (5 second pause) ** SOUTH AFRICA DRILLS FOR DISASTER [STEPHEN/ANCHOR]: When a few dozen hams in South Africa were cut off from civilization late last month, they had a few things going for them: they had their radios and their antennas, propagation was terrific and, it was, after all, an exercise to prepare for the real thing. Jeremy Boot, G4NJH, has the details: [JEREMY]: The Hamnet Summer Communications Exercise held in late October in South Africa was such a total disaster – just as everyone had hoped - that it proved to be a total success. Disaster was the whole idea, in fact, since the 60 or so participating hams, working in teams, had committed to operating their field stations in remote locations while living off the grid, as if some cataclysm had struck. All activities, including cooking, lighting and of course, radio communications were done under simulated emergency conditions. But the 16 stations across South Africa, and in Namibia, benefitted from fortunate propagation conditions and the experiment went forward on Oct. 24 and 25 as planned. To communicate, stations contacted one another via random two-word messages transmitted over channels instead of specified frequencies, comparing the results later. Grant Southey, Z-S-ONE-G-S (ZS1GS), the exercise's principal organizer, said the teams would be submitting reports about their experiences - what worked for them and what didn't - and all participants can expect to receive a questionnaire to help fine-tune procedures in time for the next event. After all, next summer is only a year away. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I’m Jeremy Boot, G4NJH, in Nottingham, in the UK. (SOUTH AFRICAN RADIO LEAGUE, SOUTHGATE) ** 83 YEARS OF HAM RADIO The Philippine Amateur Radio Association is marking its 83rd anniversary with a celebration on Nov. 29 at the Marikina Polytechnic College. Fox-hunting, license exams, lectures, demonstrations and even the group’s first-ever Ham Radio Go-Kit contest will round out the all-day celebration for the national nonprofit group. The keynote speaker will be JoJo Vicencio, DU1VHY, National Traffic System Chairman and PARA’s Secretary General. One of the day’s highlights will be the introduction of the Go-Kit Contest, highlighting the need for emergency preparedness in the Philippines, for typhoons and other disasters. Pre-registration for this contest is required and forms can be downloaded from the website, www.para.org.ph ** NATIONAL PARKS COME ALIVE The ARRL National Parks On The Air event is less than two months away, marking the park service’s centennial. But in the Australian state of Victoria, national parks are getting ready to be activated Friday, Nov. 13 through Monday, Nov. 16 by hams pursuing the Keith Roget Memorial National Parks Award. The Roget Award, created in 1970, was created to spur amateurs to engage in portable operations throughout Victoria’s 45 national parks – from French Island National Park to Wyperfeld National Park. It is made available through Amateur Radio Victoria and is named for the late Keith Roget, VK3YQ, a noted portable operator. (www.amateurradio.com.au) ** AUSTRALIAN HAMS ARE PUT ON NOTICE Meanwhile, also in Australia, there’s also a bit of license bookkeeping to be done. The Australian Communications and Media Authority has been sending revalidation letters to that country’s amateurs 90 days before their licenses are due to expire. The process allows licensees to check their details, or modify them, or even surrender the license, if they wish. The letters or emails to the hams will include the ACMA license number but will not contain any individual callsigns. Hams are advised that, if all the information in the mailing is correct, and the license is not being surrendered, there is no need to take action except to pay for renewals of any licenses, where appropriate. Hams are advised to check with the ACMA to ensure their postal address or email address is current. Otherwise, the ACMA warns, a license could be cancelled and an amateur’s callsign could be re-assigned to another ham. The ACMA can be emailed at info@acma.gov.au ** FROM POLAND TO NORTH KOREA Polish radio amateur Dom Grzyb, 3Z9DX, who received permission to operate in early 2016 from the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea is busy preparing for his trip to what is the most elusive and most wanted DXCC entity. His plans are to travel to the capital, Pyongyang, in December and firm up his operation’s guidelines with officials there. He will be bringing his rig and a vertical antenna to show them. He has been approved to operate with the callsign P5/3Z9DX on three bands, using 100 watts. His goal is to concentrate on 20 meter operation, working SSB, over the course of five days, but he may also work 15 and 10 meters. Such an operation would be a major achievement for any ham. The last DXCC-approved operation from North Korea was in 2001 and 2002. Ed Giorgadze, 4L4FN, of the Republic of Georgia worked SSB and RTTY as P5/4L4FN. Giorgadze had been in the country at the time, working for the UN’s World Food Program in Pyongyang. (ARRL, DXNEWS) ** THE WORLD OF DX Henning, O-Z-ONE-B-I-I (OZ1BII), will be active as 9H3EE from Malta between Nov. 24 and 30th. He will work 160 through 10 meters with an emphasis on 30/17/12 meters using CW only. He will also participate in the CQ WorldWide DX CW Contest on Nov. 28 and 29th, working a Single-Op/All-Band/Low-Power entry. QSL via OZ1BII or ClubLog. Toshi, JA8BMK, is active as 4W/JA8BMK from Timor Leste until Nov. 9, working 80 and 40 meters, using mainly CW. QSL via JA8BMK direct only. Marking the National Rifle Association’s 144th birthday, members of the Yavapai Amateur Radio Club of Prescott, Arizona, will operate a special event station November 17th. The operators will be at Gunsite Academy’s 2,000-acre campus in Paulden, Arizona, using the callsign K7NRA. They will work several HF frequencies and offer a certificate for successful contacts. Send a QSL with a 9 x 12 stamped, self-addressed envelope to YARC, P.O. Box 1199, Prescott, Arizona 86304. Yuriy, N2TTA, will once again be active as NP2P during the CQWW DX CW Contest on Nov. 28 and 29th as a Single-Op/All-Band/ Low-Power entry. QSL via LoTW. During the same contest, Alfredo (Al), WP3C, will be active as NP4A from Puerto Rico as a Single-Op/Single-Band (40m)/ High-Power entry. QSL via W3HNK. (OHIO PENN DX NEWSLETTER) ** KICKER: THE ULTIMATE CHAT Since late October, students in the ham radio club at Bloomington High School South in Bloomington, Indiana have been able to do a bit of DXing a little differently. There’s no QRN -- and there are QSL cards either. The youngsters and their club have been starring in a 7-minute video about their ham radio club, K9SOU. The video is a segment of a program produced each week by the school’s Mass Media Class and even though Indiana is not on the DXCC list, anyone, near or far, can see the club in action on YouTube. In the video, the teens, including club president Ryan Cutshall, KD9DAB, talk about their involvement in the hobby. And the video shows the young hams working October’s ARRL School Club Roundup. It was during that same busy month that the students also participated in the CQ WorldWide SSB DX contest. The club’s sponsor, Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, told Amateur Radio Newsline that the DX contest was a first for the club, which Rapp reawakened from its dormancy in 2002 when he moved to Bloomington to teach AP Chemistry at the school. He said the school is an ARRL Education & Technology Program school, and that’s how the club got its first station. Rapp adds: QUOTE“The kids fundraised a 2 element SteppIR antenna a couple of years ago, and our contesting efforts really blossomed.”ENDQUOTE The students have blossomed too. Last year’s winner of the Young Ham of the Year Award was Padraig Lysandrou, KC9UUS, who also received the ARRL Goldfarb Scholarship, the Hiram Percy Maxim award, and spoke at the Dayton Hamvention Youth Forum. And that’s just for starters. Being a ham runs in the family too. For the past two years, his younger sister, Maria, KD9BUS, has been vice president of the Bloomington South club. There are not quite 30 members in the club, Rapp says. But interest continues to grow. As does listenership and now, viewership. It seems that since the video posted online, the club can do a bit of DXing on its own anytime it wants, via YouTube. To see the video, visit our Amateur Radio Newsline website and look for the link below this story. Best of all, you won’t have to worry about any pileups. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lczx3-E2Gjo NEWSCAST CLOSE With thanks to Alan Labs, AMSAT; Amateurradio.com Australia; the ARRL, CQ Magazine, DXWorld, Hap Holly and the Rain Report; NASA, the Ohio-Penn DX Newsletter; Ron Panetta, WB2WGH; Philippine Amateur Radio Association; South African Radio League; Southgate Amateur Radio News, Tony Hart, KC2VER; TWiT TV, QRZNOW, UPSTATEHAM.COM, and you our listeners. Our email address for news tips and comments is arnewslinetips@gmail.com. More information is available at Amateur Radio Newsline's only official website located at www.arnewsline.org. You can also write to us or support us at Amateur Radio Newsline, 28197 Robin Avenue, Santa Clarita, CA 91350. For now, I’m Stephen Kinford, N8WBX, in Wadsworth, Ohio, with Caryn Eve Murray, KD2GUT, at the news desk in New York, and our news team worldwide saying 73 and as always we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2015. All rights reserved.