[continued from previous message]   
      
   sales at Yaesu USA. Dennis was a fixture on stage at the Huntsville   
   Hamfest for the presentation of our Young Ham of the Year award.   
      
   Some years ago, Gigaparts did a live online TV presentation at the   
   Huntsville Hamfest and it was my honor as one of the hosts to spend   
   about 20 minutes chatting with Dennis as my guest. You can find that on   
   the Gigaparts Youtube channel, or at the link in the printed edition of   
   this week's newscast. A devoted family man, we send our love to his   
   wife, children and grandchildren. Rest easy, my friend. I'm Don   
   Wilbanks, AE5DW.   
      
   (https://youtu.be/3SthKRC2bpM?si=gKqDUZFDkj9Sshzd)   
      
   **   
   GET READY FOR WINTER FIELD DAY   
      
   NEIL/ANCHOR: Are you ready for Winter Field Day? If you're in the US or   
   Canada, get your plans in order now. Travis Lisk N3ILS tells us more.   
      
   TRAVIS: In North America, Winter Field Day will be held, as always,   
   during the last full weekend of January but there are some changes this   
   year. This emergency preparedness test of portable equipment under   
   harsh-weather conditions has been extended past its previous 24-hour   
   period.   
      
   Clubs and individual amateurs are being encouraged to register their   
   stations for this event, which has grown since the first Winter Field   
   Day held in 2007. Operators are permitted to use HF, VHF and UHF bands   
   for CW, SSB and digital modes. The operating period is now 30 hours   
   long and will begin at 1600 UTC Saturday, January 25th and conclude at   
   2159 UTC the following day. Both indoor and outdoor stations are   
   permitted, as are mobile stations whether they be moving or stationary.   
      
   For more details about the rules and to register your station, visit   
   the Winter Field Day website at winterfieldday dot org. That's   
   winterfieldday- one word - dot org. (winterfieldday.org).   
      
   This is Travis Lisk N3ILS.   
      
   (WINTER FIELD DAY ASSOCIATION)   
      
   **   
   DMR RADIOS OPEN UP THE WORLD TO STUDENTS IN INDIA   
      
   NEIL/ANCHOR: Students in government residential schools in rural parts   
   of  the Indian state of Karnataka can now reach out and touch the world   
   with the help of Digital Mobile Radio, or DMR. John Williams VK4JJW   
   explains how the radios got there.   
      
   JOHN: Twenty new DMR radio base stations are opening up the world to   
   students in rural schools run by the state of Karnataka's Social   
   Welfare Department. The installation was done by the Indian Institute   
   of Hams at the request of the state. According to news reports in the   
   Hindu and the Bangalore Mirror, science teachers and a pair of   
   eighth-grade students from a number of the schools received online   
   training for their amateur radio licenses and then successfully sat the   
   exam from the Ministry of Communications.   
      
   The radios are designed to give the students access to scientists,   
   researchers and others in the amateur radio community who would   
   normally be inaccessible from within their remote rural communities.   
   The radios are available to be operated around the clock. Just as   
   significantly, the radios are available so the schools can serve as   
   emergency communications centres when disaster strikes and the remote   
   regions are likely to be cut off from many services.   
      
   The initiative is called Ham Yatra and spans the state, the ham   
   institute's director, S. Satyapal [pron: Sat-YUH-poll] told local   
   media. He said he hoped the radios would open a window of curiosity for   
   the students about opportunities in the world of science.   
      
   This is John Williams VK4JJW.   
      
   (THE HINDU, BANGALORE MIRROR)   
      
      
   **   
   BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur   
   Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including   
   the NO6BS repeater on Thursday evenings in Los Angeles County,   
   California.   
      
   **   
      
   VOICE OF AMERICA MUSEUM POISED TO REOPEN   
      
   NEIL/ANCHOR: The National VOA Museum of Broadcasting in West Chester,   
   Ohio is QRV and is about to reopen. Stephen Kinford N8WB brings us the   
   details.   
      
   STEPHEN: Six months of renovations have come to an end at the Voice of   
   America museum, which is reopening its doors to the public at noon on   
   Saturday the 25th of January. The work has created new exhibit space   
   with room for more displays that showcase radio history in the US. The   
   building formerly housed the Voice of America's Bethany relay station.   
      
   The museum will be open every Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.   
   local time but can also accommodate group tours on any day of the week   
   if arrangements are made in advance.   
      
   The West Chester Amateur Radio Association, WC8VOA, has its   
   headquarters in the historic building and has had uninterrupted   
   on-the-air activity even as remodeling took place elsewhere in the   
   interior. As visitors return, hams will be on the air and, as always,   
   ready to welcome them.   
      
   This is Stephen Kinford N8WB.   
      
   (VOA MUSEUM)   
      
   **   
      
   WEST BENGAL HAMS COMBINE PUBLIC SAFETY WITH DXPEDITION   
      
   NEIL/ANCHOR: In India, the second largest Hindu gathering - the   
   Gangasagar Mela - is presenting a variety of opportunities for DX and   
   award scheme participation. That's because hams on DXpedition there are   
   also involved in a public-safety mission at this massive religious   
   pilgrimage. Jim Meachen ZL2BHF tells us what's happening.   
      
   JIM: Where the Ganges River and the Bay of Bengal run together, the   
   faithful gather every year. Hams from the West Bengal Radio Club VU2WB   
   have been on Sagar Island since the 10th of January, operating AU2WBRC.   
   They are there to help keep people safe as they come to worship and   
   they are helping visitors who get lost in the crowd reunite with their   
   families. The hams have another mission too; making contact with radio   
   operators around the world. Those logging a QSO with any of the   
   operators qualify for any number of award schemes, including Islands on   
   the Air, which identifies Sagar Island as AS-153. The location also   
   qualifies under the Beaches on the Air as number 60572 and World   
   Lighthouses on the Air schemes as lighthouse 2262.   
      
   This is Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.   
      
   (QRZ.COM, AMATEUR RADIO DAILY)   
      
   **   
   ARMY SIGNAL REGIMENT HOSTS SPECIAL EVENT IN NETHERLANDS   
      
   NEIL/ANCHOR: Mark your calendars for January 23rd. You might just work   
   someone in the Royal Netherlands Army Signal Regiment during a one-day   
   special event with a very specific purpose: to get Marines in the   
   Netherlands more involved in amateur radio. Jeremy Boot G4NJH has the   
   details.   
      
   JEREMY: Special event station PA25MC has a military mission but one   
   focused on education and friendship. On the 23rd of January, the Royal   
   Netherlands Army Signal Regiment, PI4VBD, will be operating from   
   various locations using military radios - some of them historical.   
   There will also be a variety of operators. Some are experienced members   
   of the army, others are soldiers in training. Some may even be civilian   
   personnel. They will be calling CQ on as many HF bands as possible   
   using SSB.   
      
   The signal regiment itself is a well-established group that knows well   
   the importance of amateur radio. Last year it marked its 150th   
   anniversary.   
      
   For QSL information, see the QRZ.com page for PA25MC.   
      
   This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.   
      
   (AMATEUR NEWS DAILY, QRZ.COM)   
      
   **   
   WORLD OF DX   
      
   In the World of DX, be listening for the callsign 5N9DTG being used by   
   members of the Rebel DX Group. They will be on the air from Nigeria for   
   up to three weeks, starting in the third week of January. See QRZ.com   
   for QSL details.   
      
   Team IG9/S51V will have several members on the air between the 19th and   
   the 29th of January operating with the prefix IG9 followed by their   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)