Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2484 for Friday, June 6th, 2025

Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2484 for Friday, June 6th, 2025 Amateur
Radio Newsline Report Number 2484 with a release date of Friday, June
6th, 2025 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1

2 FCC COMMISSIONERS LEAVING AGENCY

PAUL/ANCHOR: We begin this week with a developing story. As Newsline
went to production, the FCC prepared for the departure of two
commissioners. Commissioner Nathan Simington announced on Wednesday,
June 4th, that he was leaving the post he has held since 2020 following
his appointment by President Donald Trump. His announcement follows an
earlier one from Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, a Democrat, that he
would leave the FCC. Both departures were scheduled to happen by June
6th, meaning that with one other seat already left vacant, the
president and US Senate must now fill three spots. Until then, the FCC
will temporarily have one Republican and one Democratic commissioner
each. Neither man's statement gave reasons for the departure.

(REUTERS, FCC) The following is a QST. A major antenna maker
discontinues its production for ham radio. NOAA's Weather Radio
stations go off the air for upgrades -- and new leadership for the
popular 13 Colonies special event in the US.  All this and more as
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2484 comes your way right now.

**
BILLBOARD CART

**
STEPP-IR TO END AMATEUR ANTENNA PRODUCTION

PAUL/ANCHOR: The popular amateur radio antennas manufactured by SteppIR
are being discontinued. The company announced that it is halting their
production this summer. Jim Damron N8TMW has the details.

JIM: SteppIR has announced that it is stopping production of all
amateur radio and other consumer antennas starting in August. The
company's statement, which appears on its website, said that it would
continue to honor all product warranties and provide technical support
as needed.

The company said: [quote] "Given our long history of impact and
innovation we don't take this decision lightly but have decided that it
is necessary for our ongoing operations and to make sure we can
continue to efficiently provide our existing customers with product
support services." [endquote]

All antenna and spare-parts orders will be fulfilled by the company
through to the end of August. After the 31st of the month, SteppIR will
sell spare parts as long as the inventory permits.

Based in Washington state, the company has been well-known in the
amateur radio community since 2001. SteppIR produces a variety of
mechanically adjusted, remotely tuned, frequency optimized HF/VHF Yagi,
Vertical and Dipole antenna systems which serve military, commercial,
emergency communications and consumer markets.

This is Jim Damron N8TMW.

(STEPP-IR)

**
WEATHER RADIO STATIONS GO OFF AIR FOR UPDATES

PAUL/ANCHOR: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is in
the process of temporarily taking its radio stations off the air for
scheduled updates - and Randy Sly W4XJ tells us what to expect.

RANDY: As some parts of the United States enter hurricane season, which
officially began on June 1st, the National Weather Service is
continuing with its nationwide update of their Advanced Weather
Interactive Processing System. The system is used for weather data
processing and communications, two functions that are especially
critical during storms and other weather-related emergencies.

The upgrades will be taking more than 1,000 radio stations of the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration off the air, on a
rolling basis, for 2 to 3 days in a scheduled roll-out for their 122
Weather Forecast Offices. Broadcasters and ham radio groups have
expressed concern about not having access to these emergency stations
during those periods.

NOAA Weather Radio, known as the "Voice of the National Weather
Service," is a nationwide network of radio stations broadcasting
continuous weather information directly from the nearest Weather
Forecast office. These stations broadcast official Weather Service
warnings, watches, forecasts and other hazard information 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week.

The NWS is using social media and other means to inform citizens in the
affected areas when their stations will be out of service. They are
also encouraging citizens to rely on alternate sources for weather
warnings during the outage, including local TV and radio, weather apps,
and NWS websites.

This is Randy Sly, W4XJ

**
DXPEDITION TEAM RETURNS TO SABLE ISLAND

PAUL/ANCHOR: The Sable Island DXpedition team is heading back there
next year - and they'll have company. John Williams VK4JJW has that
report.

JOHN: The CY0S team of DXpeditioners will be returning to Sable Island
in 2026. The operators announced in a press release that Parks Canada
-Sable Island has invited them to return next March and has approved
their plans for a 10- to 12-day DXpedition. As they set up to operate
on this remote island in Atlantic Canada, they'll have some welcome
company: operators from the CY9C DXpedition team who had activated St.
Paul Island in 2024. The CY9C operators knew that year that their
successful activation on St. Paul was likely to be the last for a long
time on that challenging, environmentally sensitive landscape. Like
Sable Island, St. Paul Island is considered one of the more difficult
DXpedition destinations in North America. Windswept Sable Island is
perhaps best known for its population of wild horses.

Team leaders for Sable Island will be Murray WA4DAN and Glenn W0GJ. A
website has already been set up at CY0S.com by webmaster Chaz W4GKF.

This is John Williams VK4JJW.

(425 DX BULLETIN, DX WORLD)

**
FCC PROPOSES $25,000 FINE AGAINST CB OPERATOR

PAUL/ANCHOR: A Citizens Band operator is facing a fine after the FCC
charged him with a series of operating violations. We hear more from
Kevin Trotman N5PRE.

KEVIN: An Illinois man faces a $25,000 penalty from the FCC for
unauthorized operation of a Citizens Band radio. The agency announced
its decision on May 30th, 2025, two years to the day after it issued a
Notice of Apparent Liability against Jayme John Leon. The agency's
Enforcement Bureau said that he repeatedly voided his operating
authority by sending [quote] "nonverbal, indecipherable sound effects
over long periods" [endquote], causing malicious interference and
engaging in one-way transmissions. According to the FCC document, Leon
did not file a response to the 2023 Notice of Liability.

Citizens Band radio is not a licensed service in the United States.
Operators retain the privilege of using CB by agreeing to comply with
relevant regulations stipulated in the Communications Act of 1934.

This is Kevin Trotman N5PRE.

(FCC, THE ROCKFORD SCANNER)


PAUL/ANCHOR: Meanwhile, the Australian Communications and Media
Authority has proposed that reported abuses of Citizens Band
regulations that are deemed serious should be referred to the police
for further investigation. Citizens Band operators are covered by a
class license in Australia under the Radiocommunications Act. The
current regulations are set to sunset on the 1st of October. Public
comment is being accepted through the 15th of July.

(ACMA)

**
NASA's 'SPOT THE STATION' WEBSITE BEING DISCONTINUED

PAUL/ANCHOR: NASA will no longer operate its "Spot the Station" website
for fans of the International Space Station. Sel Embee KB3TZD explains.


SEL: If you like to keep tabs on the International Space Station and
you've been doing so via NASA's Spot the Station website, you will need
to change your space-station viewing strategy starting the 12th of
June. NASA will be discontinuing the website as of that date and will
no longer display opportunities for sightings on their site. Subscribed
users who have been receiving text and email notifications linking them
to the website will no longer have this option either.

The announcement on the website now directs ISS watchers to instead
download NASA's official "Spot the Station" mobile app onto their Apple
or Android smartphones. The "Spot the Station" app expands notification
of viewing opportunities in the United States and across the globe, as
well as providing additional capabilities to improve user experiences.

This is Sel Embee, K-B-3-T-Zed-D.

(NASA.GOV)
**
SPECIAL EVENT STATION MARKS 65th ANNIVERSARY OF CANADIAN TRAIL

PAUL/ANCHOR; Throughout the month of June, hams are celebrating an
important hiking trail in New Brunswick, Canada. Travis Lisk N3ILS has
those details.

TRAVIS: There's a lot of history stretching along the distance of
nearly 60-kilometres, or 36 miles, that define Canada's Dobson Trail, a
pre-eminent hiking trail in New Brunswick. The nation's longest trail
to be maintained by volunteers, it is amply populated with a number of
sites in the World Wide Flora & Fauna programme. The trail is the first
part of the Fundy Footpath in Atlantic Canada.

Named for the outdoorsman Art Dobson who led the volunteers as they
carved out and built the trail by hand, it marks its 65th anniversary
this year. Throughout June, special event station VC9DT will be on the
air celebrating by calling CQ. The Atlantic Coast DX and Contest Group,
VE9ACC, and the Canadian chapter of World Wide Flora & Fauna will be
activating the special callsign on different locations along the trail
and on various bands using SSB and FT8/FT4.

Details - and more about the trail's history - can be found on the
QRZ.com page for VC9DT.

This is Travis Lisk N3ILS.

(QRZ.COM)

**
BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur
Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including
the N9IAA repeater system from Southern Michigan through Northern
Indiana to the South Side of Chicago, on 146.685 on Thursday evenings
at 8:30PM Central.

**
BROADCAST HONORS ARMSTRONG'S DEMO OF FM RADIO

PAUL/ANCHOR: Be listening on June 19th for a special FM radio broadcast
celebrating Edwin Armstrong's development of FM radio. Kent Peterson
KC0DGY tells us about the special programming that's planned.

KENT: The callsign W2XMN is etched in cement atop the doorway of the
small brick transmitter building in New Jersey, not far from the radio
tower where history's first FM broadcasts began in 1938. Those steady
transmissions became a reality only three years after engineer and
inventor Edwin Armstrong had given a public demonstration at an
engineering conference, showing that frequency modulation radio could
deliver static-free sound, graced with a remarkable fidelity that was
previously unheard of.

FM broadcasting will return temporarily to W2XMN's original VHF
low-band frequency, 42.8 MHz, beginning at noon on Thursday the 19th of
June. The northern New Jersey tower once used by W2XMN will broadcast a
repeat of programming first aired in 2005 to commemorate Armstrong's
successful FM demonstration in 1935. The content includes interviews
wth Armstrong's niece, Jeanne Hammond, and with Tom Lewis, author of
the book, "Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio."

According to a report on the RadioWorld.com website, a restored
Phasitron transmitter will be running 250 watts of power into a
vertical antenna.

The structure known as the Alpine Tower is still in use today. Radio
station WFDU, the public radio station licensed to Fairleigh Dickinson
University in New Jersey, is on the air at 89.1 -- FM, of course.

This is Kent Peterson KC0DGY.

(RADIO WORLD)

**
LEADERSHIP CHANGE FOR 13 COLONIES SPECIAL EVENT

PAUL/ANCHOR: One of the season's most popular HF operating events here
in the US is honoring its founder as he steps away from 16 years at its
helm. Mark Abramowicz NT3V has the details...

MARK: If you haven't heard of the 13 Colonies Special Event or heard
stations calling in the annual activity between July 1 and July 8, you
have missed a unique opportunity to celebrate the history of the US and
mark the American Revolution.

Ken Villone, KU2US, who conceived the idea of activating stations in
the 13 original colonies, is going into semi-retirement.

Villone is passing on the responsibility for event coordination to Tony
James N4ATJ, of McAdenville, North Carolina, long-time 13 Colonies
coordinator for his home state's K2J station, Villone will remain
involved as the New York state coordinator for K2A.

Bob Josuweit, WA3PZO, who joined Villone more than a dozen years ago in
his passion to promote American history via an amateur radio special
event, is helping to ensure a smooth transition.

Josuweit is coordinator for WM3PEN, a bonus station that recognizes
Philadelphia's role as the birthplace of the Declaration of
Independence.

Josuweit said that in its first year, the event recorded some 12,000
QSOs. That grew to a breathtaking 292,426 contacts in 2024. It also
attracted operators who now run bonus stations in Great Britain GB13COL
and France TM13COL, recognizing the role the two countries played in
America's war for independence.

This year's 13 Colonies certificate will recognize the work Villone has
done to make the event so popular. Villone, however, shared a different
perspective on why the event is such a success. In an email sent
recently to all hams involved, he wrote: [quote] "I just only started
this event and I tried to keep it going. But it was you folks who also
through your participation and dedication managing your states and
special bonus stations (Philadelphia, England and France) that made
this whole thing work!" [endquote]

To find out more about the 13 Colonies Special Event, go to the text
version of this story at arnewsline-dot-o-r-g and click on the
linkthere.

This is Mark Abramowicz NT3V

[DO NOT READ:    http://www.13colonies.us/ ]

(13 COLONIES SPECIAL EVENT)

**
JUNE IS AMATEUR RADIO MONTH IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

PAUL/ANCHOR: It has been a productive year so far for amateur radio
operators in New Hampshire. A memorandum of understanding between the
state and New Hampshire-ARES has designated emergency operators as the
sole providers of ham radio communication support to the state's
Department of Safety, Division of Emergency Services and Communication.
Ham radio's important role to the community has since been underscored
by a recent proclamation from the governor's office declaring June as
Amateur Radio Month in New Hampshire. New Hampshire joins Hawaii in
this formal gesture of appreciation for the hams in their state.

(QRZ.COM)

**
WORLD OF DX

In the World of DX, Emil, DL8JJ will be using the callsign EA5/DL8JJ
from  Penyeta del Moro, IOTA number EU-151, between the 7th and 9th of
June. Listen for him on 40 through 10 metres where he will be using CW
and SSB. QSL via M0OXO's OQRS.

Listen for Bo, OZ1DJJ using the callsign OX3LX from Greenland, IOTA
number NA-018, where he will operate holiday style from two locations.
He will be at gridsquare GP47pa from the 5th through to the 9th of June
and at gridsquare GP44de from the 10th through to the 22nd. See QRZ.com
for other details.

Special  callsign  PA2025NATO is on the air throughout June to mark the
NATO Summit being hosted by the Netherlands for the first time on the
weekend of June 24th. QSL details and other information is on QRZ.com

Domenico, IK1MNF, is using the callsign IK1MNF/IA5  from Isola d'Elba,
IOTA Number EU-028 from early June until the end of September. Listen
for Domenico on 20-6 metres where he will be using SSB most of the
time. See QRZ.com for QSL details.

(425 DX BULLETIN)

**
KICKER: KOSOVO DXPEDITION DID NOT GO UN-"HERD"

PAUL/ANCHOR: A recent joint DXPedition to Kosovo was much anticipated
-after a series of postponements and delays. What was NOT anticipated,
however, were some of the contacts the two operators had toward the
activation's end. Jim Meachen ZL2BHF wraps up this week's newscast by
giving us those details.

JIM: Anne OH2YL and Marko OH2LG were finally ready for that
long-awaited 10 days of intense operating deep in the Balkans as Z68YL
and Z68OM, respectively. The contacts came in exhilarating waves as the
pair operated from May 20th through to the 30th. Then, just days before
the big finish, the two operators were confronted with a pileup like
noother:

Cows. A herd of at least 50 of them, rampaging through the antennas and
messing with the guy wires. A blog post written by Jari OH6BG, said
that [quote] "The guy wires were given the ride of their life,"
[endquote] As for the feedlines, well, the cows' teeth took the word
"feedline" quite literally. The feedlines for the end-fed half-wave
wire antenna and the 6-metre dipole were both chewed through.

With some repair work and a new vertical antenna, the operators were
soon back in business. By the time they went QRT, despite high winds,
QRM and bovine intervention, they managed to work their way to a total
of just fewer than 10,000 QSOs.

Resilient, determined and resourceful, they would not be cowed.....in
Kow-sovo.

This is Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.

(DX WORLD)

**
A good QSO can be like poetry - sometimes! So why not write a haiku
about amateur radio and join the Newsline haiku challenge? It's as easy
as writing a QSL card. We can only accept the correct haiku format
-that is, 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 Amateur News Daily; AMSAT News Service; ARISS; David
Behar K7DB; DX World; FCC; NASA.gov; NOAA; Radio World; Radio Society
of Great Britain; Rockford Scanner; Shortwaveradio.de; Stepp-IR;
Thirteen Colonies Special event; Wireless Institute of Australia; 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
Paul Braun WD9GCO in Valparaiso Indiana saying 73. As always we thank
you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2025. All
rights reserved.