[continued from previous message]   
      
   radio operators and perhaps most importantly, the mother and son in   
   need of rescue in a remote section of a national forest in California.   
   Ralph Squillace KK6ITB takes us there.   
      
   RALPH: The GPS was to have safely guided a mother to a campground with   
   her 9-year-old son on July11th. Instead it mapped a route that left   
   their car stuck in the rugged terrain after they lost their GPS signal.   
      
   Hours later, they were reported missing to the Calaveras County   
   Sheriff's office by a caller who had the mother's travel agenda and   
   said the family had failed to check in as they had planned. A search   
   and rescue team was dispatched in four-wheel-drive vehicles to the area   
   the next day where campers reported that they had seen the family's   
   sedan. The team soon discovered handwritten notes, posted by the mother   
   at nearby locations, indicating that the vehicle was stuck and they   
   were stranded, The boy, meanwhile, periodically blew a whistle in three   
   short bursts, an audible, universal distress call. Mother and son were   
   found safe at their car, only a mile or so away from where the notes   
   were posted.   
      
   Because of the thick canopy of Stanislaus National Forest, the rescue   
   team could not use cell service or the usual radio frequencies to   
   update the command post -- but one team member, a licensed ham, used   
   his amateur radio to hit the KA6GWY repeater in Placerville. It bears   
   the callsign of Frank Yost, a retired El Dorado County Communications   
   supervisor who was monitoring the frequency at the time on 146.805 MHz.   
   He passed the call along to emergency dispatch and the message was   
   quickly relayed to Calavaras County.   
      
   Lt Greg Stark, one of the Search & Rescue coordinators, told Newsline   
   everyone - including mother and son - did everything right. He said   
   that the team was able to safely transport mother and son, extricate   
   the car and let the command post know that no helicopters or additional   
   backup resources were needed. He said that one backup resource proved   
   invaluable: ham radio. It also provided some inspiration. The   
   lieutenant told Newsline [quote]. "It enhanced our communication   
   ability and now it has spurred some of our other team members to look   
   at getting their license."   
      
   This is Ralph Squillace KK6ITB.   
      
   (LT. GREG STARK, SEARCH & RESCUE; KTLA)   
      
   **   
   BREAK HERE:   
      
   Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio   
   Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including the   
   N5OZG repeater in New Orleans, Louisiana on Sundays at 8 p.m.   
      
   **   
   CANADIAN TEST CANDIDATES FACE NEW QUESTION POOL   
      
   PAUL/ANCHOR: The questions on the basic-level exam for hams in Canada   
   have changed. Andy Morrison K9AWM has more details.   
      
   ANDY: A team of volunteers from provinces throughout Canada is   
   developing a new bank of questions for the Advanced Amateur Radio   
   Certificate, according to the Radio Amateurs of Canada website. Many   
   members of this team completed the new question pool for the   
   basic-level certificate earlier this year and it was released in   
   January by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. The   
   questions took effect for basic examinations starting on the 15th of   
   July, providing the first major update for that level of examination   
   since 2013.   
      
   Writing on the RAC website, Dave Goodwin VE3KG, the RAC's regulatory   
   affairs officer, said the 984 questions were developed by a committee   
   of 20 instructors and accredited examiners - many of whom are now   
   working on the advance-level questions.Those questions are expected to   
   become available in 2026.   
      
   This is Andy Morrison K9AWM.   
      
   (RAC, WIA)   
      
   **   
   AMATEURS READY TO ACTIVATE BRITISH WATERWAYS   
      
   PAUL/ANCHOR: Now here's an idea we'd like to float in your direction:   
   British Inland Waterways on the Air. Jeremy Boot G4NJH tells us what's   
   involved.   
      
   JEREMY: If you use the lakes, canals, or any other waterways in Great   
   Britain almost as much as you use your radio, now is the time to   
   combine the two activities. Registration has begun for British Inland   
   Waterways on the Air, which takes place during the August Bank Holiday   
   Weekend. The organisers are encouraging early registration, hoping that   
   radio operators will identify the days they are operating and on what   
   modes.   
      
   The event takes place on Saturday the 23rd August to bank holiday   
   Monday 25th. You can operate on or near the various waterways   
   throughout the UK; primary bands will be 2 metres and 40 metres.   
      
   If you want to register - or see who is already on board for the   
   weekend, visit the website in the text version of this week's newscast   
   at arnewsline.org   
      
   This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.   
      
   [DO NOT READ: https://nharg.org.uk/biwota  ]   
      
   (NUNSFIELD HOUSE AMATEUR RADIO GROUP)   
      
   **   
      
   WORLD OF DX   
      
   In the World of DX, A team of hams from the UK will be on the air as   
   GM0FRT/p  from the Shetland Islands, IOTA number EU-012, until the   
   28th of July and will be active in the IOTA Contest. Outside of the   
   contest, they will be using CW and SSB	on 30, 17 and 12 metres, as   
   well as FT8 on 6 and 4 metres. QSL via LoTW.   
      
   Members of the Korean Amateur Radio League's HQ station 6K0MF in   
   Chungbuk, are marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of  Korea   
   from Japanese rule by operating as HL80V from August 1st through to   
   the end of the month. See QRZ.com for QSL details.   
      
   In Malaysia, members of the Terengganu DX-ARRES group in West Malaysia   
   are celebrating the 68th anniversary of independence from British rule   
   by operating from 1st of August through to the 30th of September using   
   the callsign 9M1957M on CW, SSB and FT8 modes on 80-10 metres. QSL   
   direct to 9M2RDX.   
      
   Steve, ZL2KE, will be active again as E51KEE from Rarotonga, IOTA   
   Number OC-013, in the South Cook Islands from the 3rd through to the   
   18th of August. Steve will be using CW and some SSB on 40, 30, 20, 17,   
   15, 12 and 10 metres. QSL via IK2DUW, direct. See QRZ.com for   
   additional details.   
      
   We also remind listeners that amateurs around the world will be on the   
   air for International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend on August 16th   
   through to the 17th. More than 250 lighthouse entries will be active in   
   more than 40 countries. For a list of registered lighthouses see the   
   link in the text version of this week's newscast at arnewsline.org [DO   
   NOT READ: illw.net   ]   
      
   (425 DX BULLETIN, ILLW)   
      
   **   
   KICKER: THE HEIGHT OF ACHIEVEMENT, HIGH ABOVE SEA LEVEL   
      
   PAUL/ANCHOR: Our final story is about both a "first" and  "last." The   
   last summit in the SOTA DL Association to be activated is a "first" for   
   a very determined ham in Germany. We hear about him from Jim Meachen   
   ZL2BHF.   
      
   JIM: Despite 18 years as a SOTA activator that have won him at least   
   two high-ranking awards for operating in the German Alps, Dzianis,   
   DD1LD, had some unfinished business. This month, it stood before him,   
   all two thousand four hundred and thirty metres of it above sea level:   
   the Tiefkarspitze, the single summit in the SOTA DL Association that   
   had gone unactivated in the 20 years since SOTA-DL was established in   
   Germany.   
      
   His harrowing mountain ascent on July 18th was punctuated by intense   
   rockfall - not unexpected but nonetheless terrifying. As he wrote in   
   his blog, he was compelled to ask: [quote] "Why do I keep doing this to   
   myself?" [endquote]   
      
   Still, he made it to the summit where he soon logged his first QSO with   
   his good friend Mario, DJ2MX. Then came the pileups. Finally, he went   
   QRT after one more QSO: another close friend, Andy, DL2DVE. With 66 in   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)