<*>[Attachment(s) from James-KB7TBT included below]

		
Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2018, July 1, 2016

Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2018 with a release date of Friday, 
July 1, 2016 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST.  Wildfires and floods imperil public safety and 
challenge the amateur community. An Ohio ham takes one college 
assignment to new heights. Germany hosts its 41st global amateur expo. 
And Radio Caroline is back on the air.....well, sort of. All this and 
more in Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2018 coming your way right now.

****

BILLBOARD CART HERE


****

DEADLY WILDFIRES CHALLENGE FIELD DAY EXERCISES

PAUL/ANCHOR: This week's report begins with the weather, all kinds of 
extreme weather. There's the blazing heat, raging fire and elsewhere, 
torrential flooding that can call radio amateurs into emergency action 
or preparedness and, in some cases, even cancel plans for a long-awaited 
Field Day. Our two reports are from Albquerque, New Mexico and Kanawha 
County, West Virginia. We hear first from Amateur Radio Newsline's Kent 
Peterson, KC0DGY, who's been following the wildfires out west.

KENT: We've all heard the horror stories about field day miseries. 
Things like the tent blew over or that lightning made us disconnect our 
antennas for five hours, but what about when a raging wild fire forced 
evacuations from a site?  Well that happened to the Albuquerque DX 
Association.  Bob Norton N5EPA explains.

BOB: There were just way too many uncertainties. Too much was still 
happening. The evacuation orders were lifted only on Thursday before 
Field Day. So when most field Days start setting up on Friday that's not 
a whole lot of a window.

KENT: A raging wildfire was burning about 20 miles from Albuquerque.

BOB: It's probably an unbelievably rare situation. It's the first time 
ever there was a threat to a Torrance County Park. This might be a 
once-in-a-lifetime threat.

KENT: Norton explained what plans their association had in store for 
this year's Field Day.

BOB: We intended to have a stand-alone CW station, a stand-alone side 
band station as well as a VHF station, Kind of too optimistic for this year.

KENT: But the wildfire was bearing down on the Cedro Peak group campground.

BOB: A couple days after the fire started, they closed that entire 
ranger district down so we looked at the alternate site. But back at 
Torrance County Park, with the wildfire going, if we were to use the 
park and the fire jumped the lines, they had concerns with evacuations. 
With the wildfire going on, we didn't feel comfortable with using the 
park. We could be a bigger problem for them. We didn't have a third 
contingency location planned out, so we reluctantly passed on conducting 
our own Field Day.

KENT: With some help from Mother Nature, firefighters were able to get 
the upper hand on the blaze.

BOB: It's heavily wooded where they had the fire line. They were about 
to stop the fire at the main state highway. There were some residents 
that lost homes. If the fire had continued going northeast it would have 
headed into a very heavily populated area. Fortunately on Wednesday and 
Thursday just before Field Day, there were some fairly decent afternoon 
thunderstorms which parked right over the fire burn area and that made 
all the difference of turning around that fire.

KENT: In the end, all wasn't lost on this Field Day.

BOB: We had invites from other area clubs. Others just chose to say home 
and operate a little Field Day from the home station. Which is what I 
did. Because in the end, I was happy to still have a home. The fire line 
for me was only four and a half miles and that was just too close for 
comfort.

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

**

HAMS ON STANDBY IN WEST VIRGINIA FLOODS


PAUL/ANCHOR: Meanwhile, in flood-ravaged West Virginia, hams awaited 
word of an emergency activation, but at press time, there was still no 
need. We hear from Newsline's Jim Damron, N8TMW.


JIM: Severe storms on June 23 caused unprecedented flooding in West 
Virginia, resulting in 24 deaths with homes, businesses - entire towns - 
being destroyed. Gov. Earl Ray Tomlin declared a state of emergency in 
44 of West Virginia's 55 counties. The President made a federal disaster 
declaration in eight West Virginia counties. Amateur radio operators 
have been ready and willing to assist but so far communications channels 
remain open. ARRL West Virginia Section Emergency Coordinator Jim 
Stephenson WV8JS explains:

JIM STEPHENSON: Even with the amazing amount of flooding that has 
happened in the state, the wired telephone systems and the cellphone 
systems have remained mostly operational�even in these areas where the 
severe flooding was.  So we have had and still have no communications 
emergency in WV and for that reason the ARES/RACES groups within the 
state have not been activated or called out to do anything with 
emergency communications.

JIM DAMRON: Earlier this week, WV8JS and Kanawha County ARRL Emergency 
Coordinator Jason Means W8KTM helped install an HF and VHF amateur radio 
station in the National Guard Charleston headquarters...to be ready to 
provide any emergency communications which may be needed in coming days.

JIM STEPHENSON: They want a failsafe system and of course, we all know 
that the only failsafe system that we know about is amateur radio.

JIM DAMRON: The National Guard has hundreds of its members deployed 
throughout the flood-stricken areas, providing flood relief and 
communications. I also talked with Phil Groves N8SFO�ARRL WV Section 
Manager, who has been on the front lines.

PHIL GROVES: Some of the local ARES groups we had them on standby for 
any help needed and some of us delivered food and some other 
essentials�stuff like that to help out.  Just hope that people will 
reach out any way they can and help out any way they can. We need to 
help our neighbor.

JIM DAMRON: Phil also advised me that as far as he knows, no Field Day 
activities were canceled in WV due to the flooding.  In fact, here in 
flood-ravaged Kanawha County, the Kanawha Amateur Radio Club was able to 
proceed with their planned Field Day.


For Amateur Radio Newsline, I�m Jim Damron N8TMW reporting from 
Charleston, West Virginia.

**

CYPRUS HAMS RESPOND TO ALL-CONSUMING FIRES

PAUL/ANCHOR: We should note that the wildfire crisis and amateur 
response hasn't just been limited this season to the American west. The 
Mediterranean island of Cyprus recently had one of its most dramatic 
struggles in a long time. Amateur Radio Newsline's John Williams, 
VK4JJW, has those details.

JOHN: The largest forest fires to ever strike the Solea region on the 
Island of Cyprus are finally over, and the Cyprus Amateur Radio Society 
has cleared the area's two VHF repeaters for general use again. Cyprus 
hams employed both club repeaters as well as APRS, with support also 
provided by stations from the capital city of Nicosia. Firefighters 
worked on the ground, as well as a team of international aircraft, 
battling the blazes in high wind conditions and in soaring temperatures.

The deadly pine forest fires were historic for that region, considered 
to be the largest part of the Mediterranean island. The raging fires 
also resulted in what is believed to be the first firefighter deaths in 
the line of duty in at least a decade, claiming two lives.

With the four-day emergency over, Nestor, 5B4AHZ, president of the 
Cyprus Amateur Radio Society, declared the repeaters returned to general 
use on the club website on Saturday 25 June.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm John Williams, VK4JJW.

(WASHINGTON POST, SOUTHGATE, CYPRUS AMATEUR RADIO SOCIETY)

**

POPE IN POLAND

PAUL/ANCHOR: When Pope Francis arrives in Poland toward the end of this 
month, it will mark his first visit to that country. He will be there 
for World Youth Days, a biannual event created by Pope John Paul II that 
draws young Catholics from all corners of the world.

The youth-oriented program isn't the only high profile activity taking 
place in Krakow, however: Amateur radio's special event station 
H-F-ZERO-F will be on the air in that city to coincide with the Pope's 
visit and will operate from July 25 to July 31st. QSL cards should be 
sent to SP9BRP.

Pope Francis' visit comes 10 years after Pope Benedict's four-day trip 
to Poland in May 2006.

(QRZ.COM, SOUTHGATE, POPE2016.COM

**

BREAK HERE:

Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio 
Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including WA9RDF, 
the Mid-State Amateur Radio Club repeater on Sundays at 7 p.m. local time.

***
THOUSANDS GATHER AT FRIEDRICHSHAFEN EXPO

PAUL/ANCHOR: In the U.S., we have Dayton, but in Europe the big 
gathering for the past four decades has been in Germany. We hear more 
from Teemu Salminen, OH7T, who was there for Amateur Radio Newsline:

TEEMU's REPORT: While radio amateurs had their Field Day in the States, 
in Europe, in Germany, in Friedrichshafen, there was a ham radio expo 
with over 17,000 visitors from around the world. During the three days, 
198 companies and associations from the 36 countries presented their 
services and products related to radio and telegraphy in ham radio. The 
many visitors were from the United States, Japan, Taiwan, China, 
Australia and India and were all represented there. It opened, for its 
41st year, with the new motto: "Amateur Radio - on land, on water and in 
the air." For Amateur Radio Newsline, this is Teemu Salminen, OH7T, in 
Friedrichshafen, Germany.

**

IN OHIO, NO TRIAL BALLOON

PAUL/ANCHOR: College students who love what they're studying often take 
their assignments higher than they need to go. One Ohio undergrad, a 
radio amateur, took his sky-high. We hear from Newsline's Stephen 
Kinford, N8WB.

STEPHEN: For Brandon Nilsson, KD8ZEI, a mechanical engineering student 
at the University of Akron, what started as one project for his 
Independent Study project morphed into a Field Day launch of another. In 
his school assignment, Brandon chose a Morse Code beacon weather balloon 
because, well, what ham can resist incorporating amateur radio into 
their schoolwork? He programmed an Arduino microprocessor that allowed 
the onboard transmitter to send, in CW, the words "W8UPD Weather 
Balloon," bearing the call sign of the university's amateur radio club, 
of which he is president. First mission accomplished!

Then came Field Day, and Brandon had even bigger plans: He wanted to 
launch another weather balloon, this one carrying a cross-band repeater, 
which he fashioned out of two Baofeng HTs. He programmed a raspberry Pi 
to take photographs every 30 seconds and save them to an SD card. Then 
as Field Day launched, so did the balloon.

Brandon told Amateur Radio Newsline QUOTE "I figured Field Day would be 
the best day of the year to launch since the repeater would have the 
most likely chance of being used with all the activity." ENDQUOTE

It worked. He told us his farthest contacts were 15 miles north of 
Detroit, Michigan, into Ontario and also into Warren, Pennsylvania. As 
for the balloon, it eventually made contact too - with the earth - and 
was located on the ground in Sugar Creek, Ohio.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Stephen Kinford, N8WB, in Wadsworth, Ohio.

**

THREE YOUNG HAMS HAVE CARIBBEAN DREAMS

PAUL/ANCHOR: The summer of 2016 is going to be a memorable summer for 
three young hams. They're bound for the Caribbean, but they're likely to 
be more focused on SWR than sun and surf. Here's Amateur Radio 
Newsline's Heather Embee, KB3TZD, with their story.

HEATHER: The unspoiled Dutch Caribbean island of Saba (SAY-BAH) boasts 
mountain rainforests, sailing and a chance to watch the antics of flying 
fish. Oh yes, it's a terrific spot to launch your career as a DXer too. 
It turns out that one trio of DXers headed to that island soon will be 
using the callsign Papa-Japan-Six-Youth -- for good reason. Youth, it 
turns out, is the operative word here: these three are young and 
enthusiastic kids. They were chosen for the 2016 Dave Kalter Memorial 
Youth DX Adventure, and they'll set out in August to operate at the 
island station of Jeff Jolie, PJ6/NM1Y.

The young hams are Morgan Croucher, KD8ZLK; Ruth Willet, KM4LAO, and 
Faith Hannah Lea, AE4FH. They will work from the island from August 2 
through August 9.

The DX adventure is named to honor Dave Kalter, KB8OCP, who was a 
founder of Youth DX Adventure in October 2009 and a member of the Dayton 
Amateur Radio Association, one of the trip's many sponsors. Kalter 
became a Silent Key in 2013.

The youngsters will be accompanied by Joe Binkley, KD8YPY; Sharon 
Willet, KM4TVU, and James Lea, WX4TV. Previous youth trips have included 
Curacao and Costa Rica.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Heather Embee, KB3TZD.

**

FROM AUSTRALIA TO ST. VINCENT, WITH CARE

PAUL/ANCHOR: In another part of the Caribbean, a group of amateurs has 
been busy testing equipment they recently got from Australia. They 
expect all of it to play a key role in their emergency preparedness 
plans. Amateur Radio Newsline's Jason Daniels, VK2LAW, tells us more.

JASON: The Rainbow Radio League, formed in the Caribbean in 1995 to help 
St. Vincent and the Grenadines fulfil their emergency communications 
needs, has entered into a two-year pact with Australia's Barrett 
Communications, which is providing HF equipment toward that end. The 
Perth, Western Australia-based company manufactures and supplies 
commercial VHF and HF radio products, from transceivers and power 
supplies to mobile antennas.

The nonprofit league will install, operate and maintain the equipment, 
which comprises new as well as demonstration products. It hopes that 
these additions will improve the league's work as a first responder in 
crisis situations.

Everything is presently being tested in the legacy mode, paired with 
different antennas and in different configurations to ascertain what 
conditions allow the radios to work their best. The equipment is 
expected to provide a big boost to the all-volunteer league, which 
operates two VHF repeaters but has had an incomplete network on HF SSB 
domestically.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jason Daniels, VK2LAW.

(RADIO RESOURCE INTERNATIONAL, BARRETT COMMUNICATIONS)

**

OFFSHORE RADIO FLOATS SOME MEMORIES IN THE UK

PAUL/ANCHOR: If you don't remember Radio Caroline, one of many popular 
off-shore broadcasters from decades ago, here's a chance to sample what 
the experience was like, amateur-radio style. Newsline's Jeremy Boot, 
G4NJH, tells us more:

JEREMY: What happens when a group of hams is waiting for their ship to 
come in? In this case, what happens can result in a great tribute and 
some radio nostalgia. That's what's taking shape next month with Special 
Event station GB5RC, where the "R" and "C" stand for Radio Caroline. 
Those who remember the era will recall Radio Caroline as the highly 
popular offshore broadcast operation, complete with superstar DJs, who 
revolutionized listening in the UK for about five decades.

That ship, by the way, has already come in: It is the MV Ross Revenge, 
the site of the original Caroline broadcasts. It will be moored in the 
River Blackwater in Essex. The Martello Tower Group, based in Essex, is 
operating two stations aboard the craft from 5 August through 8 August.

This time around, though, there won't be any disc jockeys nor any 
spinning records. But amateurs will be spinning the VFOs on their rigs 
on most of the HF bands between 40 and  10 meters, including possible 
operation on 17 and 12. Both stations will operate at the same time and 
there will be a commemorative QSL card.

It's not such a far stretch for amateur radio to play such a key role in 
celebrating broadcast radio:

Hams, after all, were very involved in many of the technical aspects of 
keeping Radio Caroline up and running in the '60s and '70s.

Of course, the Caroline broadcasts on board the MV Ross Revenge stopped 
in 1991. But the tributes go on and on.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jeremy Boot, G4NJH, in Nottingham, the UK.

(SOUTHGATE ARC, MARTELLO TOWER GROUP, WWW.MDS975.CO.UK)

**

KICKER: SK: MARGIE RAPP, WD9HEE, OF VINCENNES INDIANA

PAUL/ANCHOR: We close this week's newscast on a personal note, as we 
take a moment to remember a Silent Key, Margaret Rapp, WD9HEE, of 
Vincennes, Indiana. Margie, a member of the Old Post Amateur Radio 
Society, died at her home on April 21 after several years of health 
issues. She was the mother of Amateur Radio Newsline's Neil Rapp, 
WB9VPG, and the wife of Del Rapp, WB9UKG. Inspired by her amateur radio 
son and husband, Margie got her license in 1977, the year after her 
husband and son received their tickets. She grew to became a strong 
proponent of YLs on the air and was an active participant in the YL 
International Sideband System on 40 meters.

In a recent podcast of his show, HamTalk live, Neil talked about his 
mother and her love of a good ragchew on the local repeaters. He said 
she once even helped a team track down a bootlegger's signal while she 
was on the radio.

Margie was a retired beautician and telephone operator and, according to 
her son Neil, QUOTE "a friendly voice to those passing through or 
needing help." ENDQUOTE

If people did not know her by her voice, they surely knew her by her 
callsign phonetics, WD9HEE, for "Happy Easter Egg." Margie Rapp was 82.

The Rapp family asks that memorial contributions be sent to the ARRL 
General scholarship fund.

We here at Amateur Radio Newsline extend our sympathies to Neil and his 
family.

**

NEWSCAST CLOSE: With this newscast, Amateur Radio Newsline marks 39 
years - the beginning of its 40th year - of keeping the global amateur 
community informed. We're proud of the legacy entrusted to us by the 
late Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, and we're grateful to all of you for your 
listenership, contributions and news tips. This week we especially thank 
Alan Labs; the ARRL; Barrett Communications; CQ Magazine; Ham Talk Live; 
Hap Holly and the Rain Report; the IARU; Irish Radio Transmitter 
Society; Martello Tower Group; Ohio-Penn DX Bulletin; Pope2016.com; 
Radio Resource International; Southgate Amateur Radio News; Ted 
Randall's QSO Radio Show; Wireless Institute of Australia; WTWW 
Shortwave; 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 located at www.arnewsline.org.

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 and as always we thank you for listening.

Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2016. All rights reserved.


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