[continued from previous message]   
      
   for what was once the main form of radio communication back when steam   
   trains ruled the rails.   
      
   This is Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.   
      
   (QUA, THE FRANKLIN AMATEUR RADIO CLUB NEWSLETTER)   
      
   **   
   WORLD OF DX   
      
   In the World of DX, listen for special event station GB2ZL in Scotland   
   operating CW from the 1st to the 28th of October marking the centennial   
   of the first amateur radio contact between Great Britain and New   
   Zealand. The actual anniversary date is the 18th of October, 1924. QSL   
   via LoTW only. See QRZ.com for more details.   
      
   Dale, W4AUV and Bob, K4RLC will operate from St. Kitts, IOTA Number   
   NA-104, from the 1st to the 12th of October. Dale, operating as   
   V4/W4AUV, will be using mainly CW on 40m. Bob, using the callsign   
   V4/K4RLC, will be operating QRP CW on 20 metres from the island's three   
   POTA sites. QSL via LoTW.   
      
   Expect to hear Gunter, DK2WH on the air from Namibia as V51WH until   
   early November. Gunter is operating from a farm near Omaruru. Listen   
   for him on 160-10m, including 60m. He will also participate in the CQ   
   WorldWide RTTY and SSB contests as V55Y. See QRZ.com for more details.   
      
   Fred, DH5FS, is operating holiday style on various HF bands as E6FS   
   from Niue, IOTA Number OC-040, until the 30th of September. QSL via his   
   home call.   
      
   (425 DX BULLETIN, WIA)   
      
   **   
   KICKER: A HEALTHY DOSE OF EYEBALL QSOS HAS BENEFITS   
      
   DON/ANCHOR: Our final story takes a look at eyeball QSOs - those   
   in-person visits we love so much. True, there are no QSL cards but   
   there may be other benefits, as we hear from Randy Sly W4XJ.   
      
   RANDY: It's no secret that amateur radio can be good for your health.   
   The Radio Society of Great Britain and the UK's National Health Service   
   teamed up at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to launch Get on the   
   Air to Care, a program to decrease social isolation and improve mental   
   well-being, as hams reached out to hams to check on one another.   
      
   Only a few years later, Grouper, a wellness advocacy company here in   
   the US, has partnered with the ARRL with a somewhat similar intent:   
   While the ARRL has always encouraged lots of QSOs, Grouper encourages   
   -indeed, Grouper actually rewards - lots of eyeball QSOs. Think of this   
   program as a way to "Care While You're Off the Air."   
      
   Originally founded as Element3 Health, the Boston company's recent   
   name-change to Grouper reflects its accelerated desire to help people   
   achieve so-called "social fitness" through in-person interaction.   
   Grouper says it is tackling the health crisis of social isolation and   
   loneliness - formally declared to be an epidemic last year the US   
   Surgeon General. The ARRL-Grouper partnership, in this case, focuses on   
   older radio amateurs who are enrolled in Medicare, under either the   
   Medicare Advantage or one of the Medicare Supplement plans. Eligible   
   hams 65 and older who can prove they are active in in-person amateur   
   radio activities  may have some of their dues and other activity costs   
   covered under the program.   
      
   The ARRL said in a press release that it hopes the new program will   
   [quote] "enhance the health of ARRL members by providing acess to   
   benefits that support staying active and engaged." [endquote] It also   
   shows that not all lasting connections made in amateur radio are   
   necessarily only ones that have been soldered.   
      
   This is Randy Sly W4XJ.   
      
   (ARRL, GROUPER, RSGB)   
      
   **   
   HAIKU FOR YOU   
      
   Don't forget the Amateur Radio Newsline haiku challenge. If you're not   
   too busy tuning your antennas or chasing the latest DXpedition, pick up   
   a pencil and share your experience by sending an original haiku to us   
   here at Newsline. Use the entry form on our website, arnewsline.org and   
   please follow the rules for writing your three-line haiku -- sorry but   
   we cannot accept any entries that aren't written in traditional haiku   
   form. Share with fellow listeners the poetry that is inspired by your   
   ham radio experience!   
      
   NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Amateur Radio Weekly; AMSAT News   
   Service; APRS Foundation; ARRL; Australian Communications and Media   
   Authority; David Behar K7DB; 425DXNews; Grouper; NZ Net Newsletter;   
   QRZ.com; Radio Orienteering Championship website; Radio Society of   
   Great Britain; Roger Harrison, VK2ZRH; shortwaveradio.de; YLRL   
   Harmonics; 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 Don Wilbanks AE5DW in Picayune Mississippi saying 73. As   
   always we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is   
   Copyright 2024. All rights reserved.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)