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Subj: Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2258 for Friday February 5 20
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Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2258 for Friday February 5 2021
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2258 with a release date of Friday
February 5 2021 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a QST. In Canada, a microwave solution for EmComm needs.
Restoration begins on wartime code machines -- and the space station contact
that wasn't. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2258
comes your way right now.
***
BILLBOARD CART
**
TECHNICAL TROUBLES FOIL ARISS SCHOOL CONTACT
JIM/ANCHOR: January 28th was supposed to be a day to remember for students
in Newcastle, Wyoming: They had an on-air date with the International Space
Station. It never happened due to technical troubles, however, making it a
day to remember for the crew and the ARISS program. Paul Braun WD9GCO
explains.
PAUL: As students at Newcastle High School in Wyoming waited for their
chance for radio contact with the ISS, Jan (YON) ON7UX, the Telebridge
station in Belgium, called as ON4ISS as the spacecraft came up on his
horizon -- but only noise came back. Several minutes passed as Jan kept
trying; still nothing. Science teacher Jim Stith KI7URL had helped prep the
students on radio protocol in anticipation of their questions to Mike
Hopkins KF5LJG. Ultimately, however, that contact never happened.
ARISS executive director Frank Bauer KA3HDO, said in a press release later
that a technical problem had apparently taken the ISS radio out of service.
He said additional troubleshooting was needed but possibilities point to
trouble with the new external RF cable recently installed or related to the
interior coax cable. The press release said that NASA has opened a Payload
Anomaly Report for the issue. In the meantime, ARISS has asked Sergey
Samburov, who heads the Russian team, whether the Russians' radio can be
used for school contacts until the problems can be resolved. The Wyoming
students have been told that their contact will be rescheduled.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Paul Braun WD9GCO.
(ARISS, YOUTUBE)
J
**
FRENCH AMATEUR RADIO SATELLITE PART OF SPACEX RECORD LAUNCH
JIM/ANCHOR: The SpaceX launch late last month set records for the number of
satellites aboard but hams are especially interested in one, as Jeremy Boot
G4NJH tells us.
JEREMY: When a record number of small satellites left earth aboard a SpaceX
Falcon 9 rocket on Sunday January 24th, France's UVSQ-SAT satellite carrying
an FM amateur radio transponder was among them. The satellite is focusing on
broadband measurements of Earth Radiation Budget and on Solar Spectral
Irradiance in the Herzberg continuum. Amateur radio operators are being
encouraged to contact the satellite as well. Toward this end, AMSAT-
Francophone is providing hams with software to receive,interpret and upload
telemetry to the AMSAT-F server or the SatNOGS database. The software runs
on both Linux and Windows platforms.
The satellite, designed by LATMOS, has had its frequencies coordinated by
the IARU. The Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Radio-Club F6KRK was also involved
in the project.
It was among the 143 satellites carried on SpaceX's first dedicated SmallSat
Rideshare Program mission, which broke the previous record of 104
simultaneous launches aboard an Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle in
2017.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH.
(SPACEFLIGHT NOW, AMSAT, LATMOS)
**
DEVICE PREVENTS 'SPACE JUNK' BY ALTERING SATELLITE ORBITS
JIM:/ANCHOR: Let's face it, no one likes clutter: not in the shack and
certainly not out in space where CubeSats and other amateur radio satellites
keep us connected. Well, help with cleanup has arrived. Neil Rapp WB9VPG has
the details.
NEIL: It's called the Iodine Thruster and it hates "space junk" so much that
it's helping prevent it, using an unconventional, nontoxic propellant:
Iodine. The electronic thruster is being used to control a satellite's
height above the Earth.
That means that when a satellite reaches the end of its mission, it can be
sent down into the atmosphere where it can safely burn up rather than add
more dead clutter to the skies.
The device has already proven its worth: It successfully changed the orbit
of a commercial research nanosat that was launched last November.
Iodine is seen as an ideal propellant to use for this technology because it
is solid at room temperature and pressure, becoming gas when it's heated
without having to liquefy first. It also only takes up a small space onboard
on the satellite. This technology isn't just for dead and dying satellites,
however; experts speculate it can help small CubeSats extend their mission
lifetimes before dying because the thruster can raise the satellites' orbits
if they start to drift back toward earth.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Neil Rapp WB9VPG.
(SOUTHGATE)
**
RESTORATION BEGINS ON WORLD WAR II ENIGMA MACHINES
JIM/ANCHOR: If restoring old boat anchors, or even making ancient straight
keys usable, is a challenge that appeals to you, consider this monumental
task being undertaken in Germany right now. Ed Durrant DD5LP tells us about
it.
ED: It looks like restoration experts at Germany's State Archaeological
Museum in Schleswig-Holstein are looking at additional work. After starting
the one years desalination and restoration work on a World War II enigma
machine found in the Baltic Sea off the north east coast of Germany in
December last year, another six units have been found. Unfortunately many of
this find had been made unusable before they were thrown into the sea from
German Warships at the end of the second world war.
The machines, which resemble old typewriters, have inner workings that
include three interchangeable rotors used to scramble messages. These
messages were then sent using Morse code to another ship or land station
that had another enigma machine to decode the message.
Restored enigma machines have been shown and operation demonstrated both at
Friedrichshafen and Dayton Hamfests.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Ed Durrant DD5LP.
(LIVESCIENCE, PHYS.ORG)
**
HAMS IN INDIA HELP ID MISSING MAN AS AUSTRALIAN CITIZEN
JIM/ANCHOR: Amateur radio operators in India are being credited with helping
make an important contact in Australia but the communication here has
nothing to do with DXing. Jason Daniels VK2LAW tells us what happened.
JASON: A man who had been found wandering disoriented on the streets of
Kolkata, India several weeks ago has been identified as an Australian
citizen with the help of local amateur radio operators. According to a
report in the Times of India, the 69-year-old man, who is of Indian origin,
is from Sydney, Australia. He has been in one of the local state-run
hospitals since he was found.
The West Bengal Amateur Radio Club intervened at the request of local health
department officials who wanted the man's family located and knew the club
has a long track record of helping reunite families.
Ambarish Nag Biswas VU2JFA, club secretary, said that although there were
still many missing details, paperwork found in the man's possession
indicated he was residing in Sydney but had formerly owned property in
India. The newspaper report said the man speaks English but appears to have
some kind of mental disorder. The Australian Deputy High Commissioner's
Office in Kolkata told the newspaper that efforts are under way to contact
his family members.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jason Daniels VK2LAW.
(TIMES OF INDIA)
**
BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio
Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including the K3ALG
repeater in Palmerton, Pennsylvania on Sundays at 4:30 p.m. local time.
**
CLUB OFFERS MICROWAVE NETWORK TO BOOST BRITISH COLUMBIA EMCOMM
JIM/ANCHOR: For one ham club in Canada, emergency response doesn't just
consist of HTs, repeaters and HF radios. Radio operators there are hoping
they can soon assist local responders by getting their microwave network in
the game. Christian Cudnik K0STH has that story.
CHRISTIAN: The Kamloops Amateur Radio Club, which already provides emergency
support on the ground throughout its region in British Columbia, sees even
more potential in their mountaintop-to-mountaintop broadband network.
They're offering to open its use to the TNRD, the regional governing body,
in the hopes that the microwave links' internet connectivity and large data
bandwidth can provide an additional resource for local Emergency Operations
Centres in the case of wildfires or other calamities.
Club president Myles VE7FSR said the idea of providing the TNRD, or
Thompson-Nicola Regional District, with a higher level of assistance was
inspired by a 2017 wildfire in the region. He and some friends in the
British Columbia Wireless Amateur Radio Network recalled how the blaze had
hampered the Emergency Operations Centers' abilities to communicate vital
information.
Myles told Newsline that for the region's various municipalities to utilize
the club's high speed microwave system, they'd need to first establish that
they have line-of-sight with the mountaintops and then install dishes there
to connect with the EOCs below. Myles said this sort of operation has come
of age. EOCS, he said, are more dependent than ever on internet access
because the data bandwidth is so much greater there than on VHF, UHF and
especially HF.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Christian Cudnik K0STH.
(MYLES BRUNS VE7FSR)
**
GEORGIA AMATEURS DEMONSTRATE RADIO SCIENCE ON FIELD DAY
JIM/ANCHOR: Winter Field Day was a little bit different this year for some
hams in Georgia. Kevin Trotman N5PRE tells us how they spent it.
KEVIN: The Macon, Georgia shopping mall known as the Shoppes at River
Crossing became part of a Winter Field Day activity — and even the mall's
security department got in on the action. Hams were using the occasion to
demonstrate analog and digital HF operations as well as UHF/VHF and D-STAR.
According to David Johnson KF4ALH, emergency coordinator for Macon-Bibb
ARES, this field day activity was more about scoring big points on education
and public relations instead of points in a contest. Hams from Macon-Bibb
County ARES were joined by the Macon-Bibb County EMA Volunteer Group, Macon
Amateur Radio Club, the Monroe County ARES Group and the Monroe County
Amateur Radio Society.
The hams gave science lessons and history lessons along with a basic look at
how amateur radio works and the role it plays when hurricanes sweep through.
David said a few visitors seemed interested in learning more and doing more.
He added: "If even one new person gets the Amateur Radio bug from our event,
I consider that a bonus."
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Kevin Trotman N5PRE.
(DAVID JOHNSON KF4ALH)
**
SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS MARK ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE CENTENARY
JIM/ANCHOR: A special event is celebrating 100 years since the creation of
the Royal Australian Air Force. Robert Broomhead has that story.
ROBERT: A call has been put out for enthusiastic recruits to serve the Royal
Australian Air Force -- no, not for military duty but to become airborne
nonetheless via the radio as part of one of two special event stations
marking the 100th anniversary of the RAAF.
Hams will be using the call signs VI100AF and VK100AF from the 1st of March
to the 29th of May, for 100 days. The Air Force's actual birthday is March
31st. On that date in 1921, the RAAF became an independent service from the
Army. It is the world's second-oldest air force. Its roots are with the
Australian Flying Corps, which sent troops during World War I to serve in
the Middle East and European theatres.
Activations can be done at the home QTH, at a club or even a park or SOTA
location. There are plans to operate from four Air Force Bases as well.
Time for Aussie hams to register is short. Organisers are hoping to release
the roster for both call signs sometime around the 5th of February.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Robert Broomhead VK3DN.
(CENTRAL COAST AMATEUR RADIO CLUB, AIRFORCE.GOV.AU)
**
OFCOM CLARIFIES LICENSE RESPONSIBILITIES FOR VP8 HAMS
JIM/ANCHOR: Word from Ofcom in the UK has clarified some longstanding
confusion over licensing responsibilities in the British Antarctic territory
region. Hams seeking new VP8 licences to operate in the Antarctic and South
Georgia have learned they will only be able to use those licences on the
Falkland Islands. On the other hand, hams with existing VP8 calls may use
them temporarily in the British Atlantic Territories, South Sandwich and
South Georgia as well as in the Falklands until the licensing
responsibilities are better defined.
Ofcom noted that the British Atlantic Territories, South Georgia and South
Sandwich Islands cannot lissue their own licences or assign call signs.
Ofcom left the option open for those locales to ask the Falkland Islands to
administer licensing and call signs on their behalf as had been the case up
until early 2020.
(OPENFALKLANDS.COM)
**
WORLD OF DX
In the World of DX, listen for the members of the Kuwait Amateur Radio
Society operating as 9K60NLD throughout the month of
February. This is a special event celebrating Kuwait's 60th National Day,
which is February 25th, and Liberation Day, which is February 26th). QSL
via 9K2RA.
In Mozambique, Bruno, CS7AMN, will be using the call sign C91BVA from Maputo
starting on February 18th. Be listening on 80/40/20/15 and 10 meters where
he will be using SSB and the Digital modes. QSL via LoTW, by the Bureau (via
CS7AMN), ClubLog or eQSL.
In Germany, members of the Local Branch Kerpen (G29) have begun operating
with the special event callsign DC220GERKE and will remain on the air
through April 31st. They are celebrating the 220th birthday of Friedrich
Clemens Gerke, who revised the Morse Code telegraphy system into the
standardized form we know today as the International Morse code. QSL via
DJ6SI direct or by the Bureau.
(OHIO PENN DX)
**
KICKER: HIGH-FLYING HUNGER HITS THE ISS
JIM/ANCHOR: Finally, if you've got an appetite for a good story, our final
report this week is about some high-flying hunger in space that led the hams
on board to engage in a bit of dietary diplomacy. Mike Askins KE5CXP serves
this one to us:
MIKE: Whoever said hams love a good meal so much that they're unwilling to
share their food may have eaten their way through more than a few hamfests
-- but they haven't been aboard the International Space Station. Astronauts
and cosmonauts not only appreciate one another's space-friendly cuisine but
are required by NASA to do pre-flight sampling of the international goodies
for the sake of their in-flight stomachs. So when the US astronauts heard
their Russian colleagues learned would have a two-month delay in their next
shipment of food, meal-sharing was the only solution. Kate Rubins KG5FYJ,
Victor Glover KI5BKC, Mike Hopkins KF5LJG, and Shannon Walker KD5DXB stepped
up to the plate, so to speak. Sergey (SUR-GAY) Ryzhikov (RIZ-HIGH-KOV), one
of the two cosmonauts, reported that the 13 containers of the Americans'
food were even provided free of charge. That should be sufficient for the
two cosmonauts until February 15th. According to a report from the Russian
state-owned news site RIA Novosti, that's when the next shipment is
scheduled.
With the ISS traveling at speeds of up to 17,100 miles an hour, you might
even consider this to be fast-food. Very fast food.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Mike Askins KE5CXP.
(NASA, RIA NOVOSTI)
**
NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to the ACMA; Airforce.Gov.Au; Amateur News
Weekly; AMSAT; ARISS; the ARRL; Central Coast Amateur Radio Club; CQ
Magazine; David Behar K7DB; David Johnson KF4ALH; LATMOS; LiveScience;
Phys.Org; Myles Bruns VE7FSR; NASA; Ohio Penn DX newsletter;
OpenFalklands.com; QRZ.com; Southgate Amateur Radio News; shortwaveradio.de;
Space.com; Ted Randall's QSO Radio Show; RIA Novosti; Spaceflight Now; The
Times of India; the Wireless Institute of Australia; WTWW Shortwave;
YouTube; and you our listeners, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline.
Please send emails to our address at newsline@arnewsline.org. More
information is available at Amateur Radio Newsline's only official website
at arnewsline.org.
For now, with Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT at the news desk in New York, and our
news team worldwide, I'm Jim Damron N8TMW in Charleson West Virginia saying
73. As always we thank you for listening.
Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2021. All rights reserved.
73 de Bill, PY2BIL
PY2BIL@PY2BIL.SP.BRA.SOAM
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+
BBS: PY2BIL - Timed 05-fev-2021 07:45 E. South America Standard Time
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