Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1995, January 22, 2016 Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1995 with a release date of Friday, January 22, 2016 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a QST. New leaders are chosen at the ARRL. Australian hams prepare for a national celebration. CW enthusiasts get a whole month devoted to code. And teamwork on a cold Florida night keeps the homeless warm. All this and more in Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1995 coming your way right now. (Billboard Cart Here and Intro) ** DON/ANCHOR: We open this week's newscast boasting a bit of pride for the home team: At the ARRL's recent board meeting in Connecticut, the organization gave leadership roles to two hams who were past winners of Amateur Radio Newsline's Young Ham of the Year award. Amateur Radio Newsline's Amanda Alden, K1DDN, has all the election news: [AMANDA's REPORT]: The Annual ARRL Board Meeting took place on January 15 and 16th of this year. The board held several important elections during the meetings. Some of the results made our Newsline team extremely proud. Amateur Radio Newsline’s 1997 YHOTY recipient, Brian Mileshosky, N5ZGT, was elected as Vice President of the ARRL. Mileshosky was currently serving as the Rocky Mountain Division Director and to fill his shoes in that role is Vice Director Dwayne Allen, WY7FD, who will become the new Rocky Mountain Division Director. When Brian was asked how he felt about his newly elected position, he had this to say: We YHOTY kids are sure causing some good trouble... AR Newsline’s 2004 YHOTY recipient Andrea Hartlage, KG4IUM, was elected by the board to another term as Director on the ARRL Foundation. Andrea was not available for a statement before press time. n other election news: With ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN stepping down after 3 terms, a new president and several other officers have also been elected during the annual board meeting. Rick Rodererick K5UR, previously the First Vice President has been elected as the next President for the ARRL. Greg Widin, K0GW, previously the Dakota Division Director was elected as First Vice President Filling Widin’s previous position as Director is Kent Olson, KA0LDG The board also re-elected the following officers: International Affairs Vice President Jay Bellows, K0QB;Chief Financial Officer Barry Shelley, N1VXY, and ARRL Chief Technology Officer Brennan Price, N4QX. The Board also elected one new member to the Executive Committee, which can act on the behalf of the Board between its two yearly meetings in January and July. Delta Division David Norris, K5UZ, will replace New England Division Director Tom Frenaye, K1KI, on the panel. The other Board members are Hudson Division Director Mike Lisenco, N2YBB; West Gulf Division Director Dr David Woolweaver, K5RAV; Pacific Division Director Bob Vallio, W6RGG, and Great Lakes Division Director Dale Williams, WA8EFK. ARRL Chief Operating Officer Harold Kramer, WJ1B, also was attending his final meeting in an official capacity. Kramer retires on March 1 after about 10 years at ARRL Headquarters. Still to come is the announcement of a successor to ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ who is retiring this spring after 44 years on the ARRL Headquarters staff. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I’m Amanda Alden, K1DDN [DON]: Best of luck to everyone in the challenging term ahead. And to Brian and Andrea, we'd like to remind you both that we're all glad to have known you "way back when." ** FLORIDA HAMS AND NON-HAMS GET TEAMWORK DOWN COLD Speaking of teamwork, a recent dip in the temperatures showed a group of hams and non-hams that cross-training isn't just for athletes. On Monday, Jan. 18, when Florida temperatures plummeted, Hendry County Florida Emergency Management deployed workers to two cold weather shelters on either side of the huge county. They included Andrew Frame, WD4RCC and his wife, Brandi, as well as Frank Harris Sr., WA4PAM. Both Frank and Andrew are EM Reservists as well as hams. All the while, EM Director Brian Newhouse, KJ4WIC, transported supplies, the area's homeless and did troubleshooting. With local municipal support, the hams, working with a trained group of non-hams, kept things running smoothly, according to Andrew Frame. He credits the recent emphasis on cross-training county emergency service responders and radio amateurs. And he said, this cold snap was the first test of how well that cross-training across multiple disciplines really worked. He said QUOTE"it put everyone more or less on the same page, or at least the same chapter in the book."ENDQUOTE One of the next stages in cross-training: getting the Community Emergency Response Team volunteers ready for their Technician license exam. (ANDREW FRAME, WD4RCC) ** TAPPING INTO STRAIGHT KEY ACTION DON: If you think all the New Year's CW action has taken a short, seasonal break, guess again. The Straight Key Century Club is keeping the excitement of Straight Key Night going strong, right through the month of January. Here's Amateur Radio Newsline's Neil Rapp, WB9VPG,with the details: [NEIL RAPP'S REPORT]: January is turning out to be a key month, in more ways than one, for The Straight Key Century Club. The club's annual month-long event, K-THREE-Y (K3Y), got underway on January 2 and continues through January 31. But this year it also marks the 10-year anniversary for this club of CW enthusiasts. The Straight Key Century Club was founded in 2006 following the ARRL's Straight Key Night event that same year. The on-air party is an invitation to all hams to experiment with their Morse Code skills, using straight keys, bugs, and side swipers. K3Y operators will be working stations in each of the U.S. call areas, and there will be other stations in each of six IARU continental regions using call signs with KH6, KL7 and KP4. QSL cards and, of course, sweep certificates, will also be available. By the way, there's no need to RSVP to this party - just get on the air. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, in Bloomington, Indiana. (STRAIGHT KEY CENTURY CLUB) ** THE UK'S NEWEST RECORD-SETTERS Speaking of CW, there is reportedly a new record in distance for CW contacts in the UK, as reported on Southgate Amateur Radio news by the hams who say they've accomplished it: Ian Lamb, G8KQW, and John Hazell, G8ACE. claim to have set a new UK distance record for Code on 134 GHz. The record-breaking contact is said to have occurred on January 16, with the two amateurs utilizing a line-of-sight path from Chute Causeway near Andover, all the way to Cheesefoot Head near Winchester. The distance covered? 35.6 kilometers, which is a little more than 22 miles. The previous UK record on 134 GHz was 19.2 km, and had been set by G8KQW and G8ACE on September 20, 2015. (SOUTHGATE AMATEUR RADIO NEWS) ** A FIRST FOR A CW CONTEST And one more bit of news for CW enthusiasts, especially those who are proud to have a competitive edge. The UK and Ireland Contest Club will have its first annual DX CW Contest on January 23 and January 24 - a 24-hour competition that starts at noon, local time, on Saturday. UK and EI districts are multipliers, as are other DXCC countries on each band from 80 to 10m. The exchange is your Serial and 2-character District Code. Hams competing in EI and UK districts will need to know their district codes, which are listed in the rules at ukeicc.com. The contest will NOT have an exchange. Good luck! (IRISH RADIO TRANSMITTER SOCIETY) ** BANQUET TICKETS GOING FAST You may not be hungry for dinner right now but it pays to plan ahead. Especially if you're planning to enjoy the banquet on Saturday Feb. 13 at the ARRL National Convention at the Orlando HamCation in Florida. Tickets are still available but the cutoff date is Jan. 31. The evening banquet's keynote speaker will be ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, who is retiring this spring. Master of Ceremonies will be ARRL's Southeastern Division Director Doug Rehman, K4AC. Both the convention and HamCation will offer a menu of other events beyond the banquet. But the dinner gathering is going to be a big deal, so you need to plan. So reserve now: Banquet tickets, like the banquet itself, will be all gobbled up soon. (ARRL) ** BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including the KB9WSL repeater in Rochester, Indiana, following Thursday’s 7 pm weekly net. ** PRELUDE TO AN AUSTRALIAN PREFIX DON: It's not that Australian hams will be having an identity crisis on January 26. It's just that they'll be celebrating Australia Day. So that means something special happens to their call signs. Amateur Radio Newsline's Graham Kemp, VK4BB, explains: GRAHAM: That's not a call sign - THAT's a call sign! VK........to AX! Happy Australia Day - well, almost. The national celebration of culture and country - not to mention fireworks - arrives Tuesday, January 26 this year, and with this feeling of patriotism comes an opportunity for radio amateurs to make history too. On Australia Day, they get to substitute their callsign's VK prefix with AX. And it's done automatically. Thus, as national flags fly and barbecues are lit, hams will be raising the banner of this special prefix, just as they will get to do again later this spring -- both on ANZAC Day, April 25 and International Telecommunications Day, May 17. The Australian Communications and Media Authority automatically grants amateurs use of the prefix for the duration of the celebration. Australia Day, Jan. 26, marks the First Fleet's landing in Australia and the establishment of a settlement at Port Jackson - Sydney Harbor- as Governor Arthur Phillip raised the British flag in 1788. And, as before, it will also be a day for amateurs worldwide to try for a special QSL card bearing the commemorative prefix. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Graham Kemp, VK4BB or -- on Jan. 26, AX4BB (WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA) ** LUXEMBOURG HAMS HONOR ROYALTY Another special call sign - this one in Luxembourg - is being activated through June to mark the 95th anniversary of His Royal Highness the Grand Duke Jean of Luxenbourg. Some members of the Luxembourg Amateur Radio Union will be working as LX1AM on single sideband and as LX1EA and LX3X in digital modes. There is a special QSL card that will be sent via the Bureau. QSOs will also be confirmed on LoTW and eQSL. For more details, visit QRZ.COM. (QRZ.COM) ** MAKING IT IN MUNICH Ham radio is romancing the tinkerers and the Makers again -- this time, in Germany. The Deutscher Amateur-Radio-Club, Germany's nat ional nonprofit radio organization, took its place at a Maker and Hacker event in Munich earlier this month in an attempt to capture the imagination and creativity of the more than 7,500 attendees. The two-day hobbyist fair, known as Make Munich, is a major do-it-yourself festival where lovers of technology and tinkering with technology stretch their dreams in new directions. According to a report on DARC's webpage, which quotes Markus Heller, DL8RDS, the group's booth attracted numerous inquiries about amateur license courses and exams. The same report noted that many visitors signed the DARC guestbook, and included the call sign they already had - even from their home countries, such as the U.S. and Finland. (SOUTHGATE ARC and MAKE MUNICH) ** 10 DAYS OF CONTESTING IN IRAN The first Iranian ham contest kicks off on February 1 and runs to February 11, marking the 37th anniversary of the Iranian Islamic revolution. The contest's goal is simple: Organizers want to encourage and increase new contacts with Iranian hams, and they're placing a special emphasis on DXing. Find the action on 40, 20, 15 and 10 meters, in Single Side Band, RTTY and CW modes. QSL cards and certificates will be available. For further information, send an email to epcontest-dot-2016@gmail.com (that's epcontest.2016@gmail.com) (SOUTHGATE AMATEUR RADIO NEWS) ** WORLD OF DX The Mid Ulster Amateur Radio Club will participate in SOS Week and activate during the last two weekends in January. Club members, using the call sign, MN-ZERO-VFW (MN0VFW) will be operating on HF, VHF and UHF bands. Gene, N9SW, will be active from January 28 to Feb 9 as FJ/N9SW from St. Barthelemy. He will work holiday style on 40-6 meters, mainly in CW. QSL via his home callsign. Stig, SM3PHM, is working as J79M from Dominica, holiday style, until February 3rd. He is working CW only. QSL via SM3PHM. And finally, Thilo, DL9NBJ, is working from Curacao beginning Jan. 19 through Feb. 9, using the call sign PJ2/DL9NBJ. He will work both Single Side Band and CW on the HF bands. QSL only via ClubLog's OQRS. ** KICKER: NEW HAM CONTACT DON: And finally, we ask you to recall your first QSO as a new ham. Well, there's a teenager in the UK who will probably never have trouble remembering hers. Amateur Radio Newsline's Jeremy Boot, G4NJH, ends our newscast with this story: JEREMY: Things could not have been more exciting for students at the Sandringham School in Hertfordshire, England, earlier this month. During a week-long Space Festival being held at the school, the 11- through 19-year-olds learned about space and space travel, attended rocket workshops, heard a spacecraft engineer's presentation, and even participated in an amateur radio build-a-thon. But just when the students thought they'd heard it all - those talks about Mars and discussions about cosmonauts - they tuned into 145.800 MHz and heard something completely different. Operating with the call sign, GB1SAN, reached out and contacted GB1SS, astronaut Tim Peake, aboard the International Space Station. And that's when things truly couldn't get anymore exciting: Jessica Leigh, a Year 10 pupil, was the first student to talk to the astronaut during the QSO on the 8th of January. But it was a first for Jessica in another way. The Sandringham student is a newly qualified amateur, having just passed her Foundation class exam right before Christmas. Her call sign is M6LPJ. And so Jessica's classmates not only got the thrill of a chat in space, but in witnessing a launch.In this case, it was the launch of one of the UK's newest amateurs, Jessica Leigh. And, needless to say, she was flying high. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jeremy Boot, G4NJH, in the UK. (ARRL, EHAM.NET) ** NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Alan Labs; the ARRL; CQ Magazine; DX.NET; Hap Holly and the Rain Report; Irish Radio Transmitter Society; Make Munich; the Ohio-Penn DX Bulletin; QRZ.COM, Southgate Amateur Radio News; Straight Key Century Club; TWiT TV; Wireless Institute of Australia; and you our listeners, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline. Our email address is newsline@arnewsline.org. 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, with Caryn Eve Murray, KD2GUT, at the news desk in New York, and our news team worldwide, I'm Don Wilbanks, AE5DW, in Picayune, Miss.,saying 73 and as always we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2016. All rights reserved.