Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2464 for Friday, January 17th 2025

Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2464 for Friday, January 17th 2025
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2464 with a release date of
Friday, January 17th, 2025 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. A repeater system stays robust during
California's deadly wildfires. DXpeditioners pursue a "holy grail"
island in India for chasers -- and shortwave ingenuity saves a ham
radio program's debut.     All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline
Report Number 2464 comes your way right now.

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BILLBOARD CART

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REPEATER SYSTEM STAYS ROBUST DURING CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES

NEIL/ANCHOR: Our top story takes us to the US state of California where
deadly wildfires have been consuming much of the Los Angeles area and
beyond, destroying homes and causing electrical and cellular outages.
Even as SpaceX temporarily activated the test version of its
satellite-to-cellular service to help deliver emergency alerts and
texts, hams were relying on the region's robust and resilient PAPA
System of repeaters, as we hear from Ralph Squillace KK6ITB.

RALPH: As wildfires whipped through the Los Angeles area, the analogue
repeaters of California's wide-reaching PAPA System had their nets and
routine traffic communications cancelled for a number of days. The
repeaters were placed on standby for news and emergency traffic only
but by Tuesday, January 14th, all but three returned to net-hosting and
normal use. Three repeaters remained off the main network to continue
providing emergency coverage in the greater Los Angeles area. The PAPA
system's digital repeaters, which utilize DMR, P25 and D-STAR,
continued to host normal traffic.

Cecil Casillas, WD6FZA, president of the PAPA System, told Newsline
that as of Tuesday 14th, none of the PAPA repeaters had suffered
fire-related damages. He said that flames closely threatened repeaters
on Mount Wilson and at Saddle Peak, which overlooks Malibu, but the
fires stopped short of affecting the buildings, antennas or other
equipment. He said the Saddle Peak repeater had been knocked out of
service by an unrelated battery failure but that the fires blocked
access for anyone to bring up a generator.

Meanwhile, SpaceX gave temporary access to its Starlink satellites to
T-Mobile customers, even without its direct-to-cell constellation being
fully completed. According to an article in PC Magazine, only T-Mobile
customers with supported phones would have access to texting but
emergency alerts and evacuation notices could be received by any
cellular phone.

This is Ralph Squillace KK6ITB.

(CECIL CASILLAS, WD6FZA; PC MAGAZINE)

**
TEAM OF 6 FROM INDIA TO ACTIVATE 'HOLY GRAIL'  IOTA

NEIL/ANCHOR: This week we have word that a rare, largely inaccessible
island off the coast of India is about to be activated for only the
second time - and the first time in 23 years. Graham Kemp VK4BB has the
details.

GRAHAM: Writing in the December 2002 issue of the old 73 Magazine, Sri,
VU2SBJ, called Sacrifice Rock - a harsh, unwelcoming island off the
coast of Kerala in southern India - "a plain solid rock in the middle
of nowhere." Eleven months earlier, this treacherous bit of terrain was
activated for the first time by Sri and his DXpedition team, who were
challenged by its difficult access and changeable weather. No hams have
been there since.

That is, until now: IOTA Number AS-161, as it is also known, is about
to become base camp for Team AU2V, six amateurs who are among many to
consider it a holy grail. The DXpedition website calls it "a dream come
true for chasers."

Sara, VU2RS, told Newsline in an email that planning and preparation
have been intense in advance of the hoped-for visit in the second week
of February, when the three-month seasonal window for access closes.
The team will have two CW operators and four using SSB and digital
modes and is still working out logistics for its hours of operation.
The team also continues critical fundraising via PayPal to cover what
is expected to be $10,000 in expenses, covering generators, radios,
antennas and, of course, the boat that will make that challenging trip
across the water to the team's destination. If it is not possible to
arrive safely by boat, the team will need to use an airplane, which
will add to the costs.

See the text version of this week's newscast at arnewsline.org for the
team's website and PayPal address.

This is Graham Kemp VK4BB.

[WEBSITE: au2v.vu2rs.com      PAYPAL ADDRESS:  sarath@lven.in).

(DX-WORLD.NET, SARA, VU2RS)

**
SILENT KEY: TOP DXER, YHOTY SUPPORTER, DENNIS MOTSCHENBACHER, K7BV

NEIL/ANCHOR: The ham radio world has lost a top DXer, a friend and a
supporter of Newsline's Young Ham of the Year Award. We hear more about
him from Don Wilbanks AE5DW.

DON: We at Amateur Radio Newsline are mourning the passing of Dennis
Motschenbacher, K7BV. Dennis passed from this world on Thursday,
January 9th after a 14-year battle with cancer. He was 76.

Dennis was passionate about amateur radio. He was first licensed at age
13. An avid DXer, he was equally at home on both sides of the pileup.
His amateur radio travels took him to 35 countries. He competed in the
World Radiosport Team Championships in Slovenia in 2000 and won
countless awards for his ham radio accomplishments. He served as a
radioman for two years in the US Navy in Vietnam on the USS Canberra.

From 1976 to 2002, Dennis worked in the fire suppression industry.

He was editor of the National Contest Journal from 1998 to 2002. After
that, he was sales and marketing manager for the ARRL. From 2006 to his
retirement in 2019, he was executive vice president of amateur radio
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
home callsigns, including S56DX, S51V, S57UN and several others. They
will also be participating in the CQ WW 160-Meter CW Contest as a
Multi-Single entry using the team callsign IG9/S51V, all from Lampedusa
Island, IOTA number AF-019.  QSL via the operators' home calls. See
QRZ.com for additional details.

Listen for OF60AP being used by members of the Central Uusimaa
[pronounced: ooo SEE' muh] Radio Amateurs Association OH2AP in Finland.
The club is marking its 60th anniversary with this year-long special
event.  See QRZ.com for certificate and QSL details.

Dwight, VE7BV, is using the callsign TG9BBV until the 28th of January
from Guatemala. He is operating CW, SSB and some FT8. Look for Dwight
on 40 through 6m. See his personal QRZ.com page for QSL details.

(425 DX BULLETIN)

**
KICKER: THE SHOW MUST (AND DID) GO ON

NEIL/ANCHOR: There's a saying in theatre that even if you encounter
hardship, "the show must go on." Well, the theatre of radio is no
exception to that rule. In our final story this week, we learn how an
important amateur radio program weathered the storm - literally - to
fulfill a promised short-wave broadcast premiere. Here's Jeremy Boot
G4NJH with the details.

JEREMY: Listeners had counted on hearing the first short-wave broadcast
of the D.A.R.C.'s amateur news programme from Woofferton, England -but
no one had counted on the severe storm that was bearing down on the
west of England. The damage rendered 7 of the station's 35 antennas
unusable leaving the 9670 kHz broadcast imperiled as the start of the
programme drew near.

The technical team scrambled and, on short notice, improvised: They
"Crash-Started" another transmitter and a different antenna so that
they were able to put the programme on the air, just as expected,
on-time and on-frequency.

In an announcement to listeners on Sunday, 12th January, Radio
D.A.R.C.'s Rainer Englert, DF2NU, thanked the Woofferton team, saying
[quote] "this incident shows once again that technicians help each
other and do everything humanly possible." [endquote].

Although reception reports varied unexpectedly because of the different
equipment employed, over 1,000 listeners' emails poured in, praising
the programme. Rainer proclaimed the premiere a success.

The Woofferton station had saved Radio D.A.R.C. for its listeners after
the closure of its previous short-wave broadcaster in Moosbrun,
Austria, had been obliged to close down.

Meanwhile, the station reports that the original antennas have since
been repaired and their original configuration restored. The show will
indeed go on.

(RADIO D.A.R.C.)

**
Have you sent in your amateur radio haiku to Newsline's haiku challenge
yet? It's as easy as writing a QSL card. Set your thoughts down using
traditional haiku format - a three-line verse with five syllables in
the first line, seven in the second and five in the third. Submit your
work on our website at arnewsline.org - each week's winner gets a
shout-out on our website, where everyone can find the winning haiku.

NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to the Amateur Radio Daily; Bangalore
Mirror; Cecil Casillas, WD6FZA; David Behar K7DB; Facebook; 425DXNews;
The Hindu website; PC magazine; QRZ.com; Radio D. A. R. C.;
RadioWorld.com; Sara, VU2RS; shortwaveradio.de; National Voice of
America Museum of Broadcasting; Winter Field Day Association; Wireless
Institute of Australia; YouTube; 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 Neil Rapp WB9VPG in Union, Kentucky saying 73. As always
we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright
2025. All rights reserved.