[continued from previous message]   
      
   WWFF and POTA, where each operator logged 24 QSOs.   
      
   If you're tuning in on a Wednesday, youll likely hear VK7HAM, VK7AN, and   
   VK7ZPE activating a park in the Northern region of VK7 so be sure to join   
   in and snag a contact with them!   
      
   (VK7WI NEWS)   
   Marty VK4KC POTA Admin., Australia reports:-   
      
   Only a few months away now till the 4th annual Park-fest weekend.   
      
   The Solitary Islands Beach/Park-Fest will be held Sat 3rd & Sunday 4th May.   
      
   It is a weekend where portable activators can set-up a portable station in   
   parks, forests and beaches around Corindi which is at the Mid North Coast   
   of New South Wales. Participants are welcome to arrive earlier or stay later   
   than the weekend and make it a longer stay if their time permits.   
   Participants run activations at their own pace. Some may just want to be   
   set-up in one location for the day whilst others may be attempting a rove   
   and trying to activate 10 locations in a day, where others may not want to   
   activate at all but just be there for the social scene.   
      
   We will be staying at Reflections Holiday Park Corindi Beach which is   
   suitable for caravans, motorhomes and tents. You can book directly with   
   Reflections and let them know that you are with the Ham-fest Amateur   
   Radio group so that they will allocate a site in a designated section.   
      
   For more information please contact Alan McDonald VK1AO, whose contact   
   details are on his QRZ page, or search Solitary Islands Beach Park-Fest   
   on Facebook.   
      
   On another note I would like to announce that the Parks on the Air (POTA)   
   program in Australia has now over 10,000 entities to activate. Besides the   
   United States of America we are the only other country with this quantity of   
   locations to activate from. I appreciate our POTA state mapping reps who   
   have been hard at work maintaining their areas.   
      
   This is Marty VK4KC, On the Sunny Coast.   
      
   WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - CW   
      
   There are CW contests a plenty for the morse officiano   
      
   BUT HERE IS A GENUINE HARD ONE TO ENTER.   
      
   The George Batterson 1935 QSO Party is a CW event in which participants   
   BUILD 1935 era transmitters and use them to contact other participants.   
      
   Transmitters must be 1935 or earlier TYPES of self-oscillators such as the   
   HARTLEY, TNT, TGTP, MOPA, COLPITTS, CRYSTAL POWER OSCILLATORS and   
   CRYSTAL MOPAS designed from QST, the ARRL Handbook, or any other publication   
   or source of the period 1935 or earlier.   
      
   Commercial transmitters manufactured during 1935 and earlier are also   
   allowed. Tubes must have been available up to and including 1935.   
      
   The QSO party takes place April 5th through 7th and April 12th through 14th   
   on 160, 80, 40 and 20 Meter bands.   
      
   The event honours George Batterson W 2 GB who helped form the   
   Antique Wireless Association.   
      
   (ard)   
      
   WORLD WIDE SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - DIGITAL   
      
   Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) will host a Community Meeting   
   March 15, 2025 starting at 17:00 UTC. The meeting will take place over the   
   Zoom platform.   
      
   Community meetings have become a tradition at ARDC. Its a chance to keep   
   up to date on the things that are being worked on and the grants ARDC   
   have made, and its an opportunity for you to share your ideas and opinions.   
      
   (twiar)   
   The Brandmeister DMR network will no longer support certain devices with   
   DMR IDs that begin with the number 1.   
      
   Hams utilizing the Brandmeister network with affected DMR IDs are encouraged   
   to request a new ID from RadioID. Brandmeister is requiring their users to   
   obtain DMR IDs that adhere to a Mobile Country Code (MMC) standard to help   
   facilitate automated process that make up the Brandmeister network.   
      
   5-digit CAP+ IDs will stop working June 1st.   
   7-digit personal radio IDs starting with 1 will stop working Jan 1, 2026.   
   Repeaters with 6-digit radio IDs starting with 1 will continue to work   
   indefinitely.   
      
   (twiar)   
      
   WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - FINAL FRONTIER   
   AMSAT-VK Secretary - secretary@amsat-vk.org   
      
   FAILED   
      
   MARRAKECH WE HAVE APROBLEM.   
      
   Royal Moroccan Air Academy, Marrakech, Morocco, direct via CN 8 ERA was   
   unable to establish comms with the ISS recently and ARISS has been working   
   to determine what exactly happened.   
      
   (ariss news)   
      
   WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - IOTA   
   iota-world.org/   
      
   Comoro Islands AF-007   
      
   Elvira, IV3FSG will be active as D68Z from the  Comoro Islands, a group of   
   volcanic islands in the Mozambique Channel, an arm of the Indian Ocean   
   lying between Madagascar and the African mainland now until at least   
   March 18.   
      
   D68Z will operate  SSB, FT8/FT4, CW and RTTY on 160 thru to 6 metres.   
   Club Log's Livestream will be enabled and IK 0 XBX is her pilot.   
      
   qrz.com/db/D68Z   
      
   QSL via Club Log's OQRS, LoTW or via IK2WAD for  direct and bureau cards.   
      
   During her trip, Elvira  will also be mentoring  three local youths who   
   will learn how to  raise antennas and work the pile-up before attending   
   this year's  YOTA Summer Camp  in August. There  are also plans in the   
   works  for  the station  to be  operated remotely, by  experienced   
   operators as well as YOTA Italia members.   
      
   (425dxnews)   
      
   -------   
   y   
   Arnala Island AS-169   
   The DX India Foundation is organizing a DXpedition to take place from   
   Arnala Island (AS-169) from 29 May to 1 June. This IOTA group was activated   
   back in the good years 2004 and 2006, BUT has been silent ever since.   
   Requested callsign is AU2M.   
      
   ----   
   y   
   Jamaica NA-097   
   Iain is active as G4SGX/6Y from Jamaica (NA-097) until the 21 March.   
   He is operating CW only on 80-10 metres (hopefully also "some top band   
   action"), and will take part in the RSGB Commonwealth (BERU) Contest   
   next weekend 8-9 March. QSL via LoTW, or via M 0 OXO's  OQRS.   
   --------   
   y   
   Maldives AS-013   
   Mamoru 8 Q 7VA from the Maldives (AS-013) now until the 5th of May.   
   QSL via home call JH 3 VA and LoTW.   
   (425 dx news)   
      
   WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RADIO AMATEUR YOUNG TIMERS - YOTA   
   (Youngsters On The Air)   
   WIA committee:- Steve VK6SJ, Alec VK2MV and Pete VK2LP.   
   ham-yota.com/category/yota-region-3/   
   facebook.com/groups/YOTAOC/   
   youtube.com/channel/UClAapljf0VQ751sOgu2IzaA   
      
   This week I want to share a happy discovery at a US high school where   
   students learning about professional radio have fallen in love with the   
   amateur side of things.   
      
   High school students in Kent County, Maryland, participated in their first   
   ARRL School Club Roundup last fall. With the support and some loaned   
   equipment from the Kent Amateur Radio Society, K 3 ARS, the students logged   
   contacts in the US and a number of others overseas.   
      
   Earlier this year, the sparks flew again, in a manner of speaking, during   
   Winter Field Day. Some of the teens, who are involved with WKHS, Kent County   
   High School's FM radio station, returned  to experience once more what the   
   amateur side of the medium can do - and just how far it can go - by calling   
   CQ from the school parking lot.   
      
   Chris Singleton, KE3MC, teaches the broadcasting course, where he is also   
   manager of the school's FM radio station, encouraging the students to study   
   for their license and to set their sights a little higher. They're hoping to   
   reapply for an astronaut contact through Amateur Radio on the International   
   Space Station.   
      
   WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - VIDEO   
      
   REMEMBER THE VIDEO SERVICE SKYPE?   
      
   In a move that could have been seen coming from at least a decade away,   
   Microsoft has confirmed that the Skype service will be shutting down May 5.   
      
   This comes after an intrepid person stumbled over a curious string in the   
   latest Skype for Windows preview. This string seemed intended to notify the   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)