Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2486 for Friday, June 20th, 2025

Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2486 for Friday, June 20th, 2025 Amateur
Radio Newsline Report Number 2486 with a release date of Friday, June
20th, 2025 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1

The following is a QST. Scientists find radio waves with upward
propagation. A DXpedition honors a Silent Key -- and Newsline pays
tribute to cofounder Bill Pasternak WA6ITF, 10 years after his passing.
All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2486 comes
your way right now.

**
BILLBOARD CART

**
RADIO SIGNALS HAVE 'UPWARD PROPAGATION' THROUGH ICE, STONE

SKEETER/ANCHOR: We begin this week with a scientific discovery about
radio waves that researchers say defies the laws of physics. These
signals didn't come from somewhere above - but from deep down below the
surface of the earth. Kevin Trotman, N5PRE, tells us about this
so-called "upward propagation."

KEVIN: Radio signals picked up by a NASA high-altitude balloon have
been leaving scientists baffled. The balloon, part of NASA's experiment
known as Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna, or ANITA, was floating
40 kilometres above the continent, in search of neutrinos and other
particles when its sensitive radio antennas unexpectedly picked up
signals that were coming from someplace below - way below - the
Antarctic's frozen surface. Physicists say that for that kind of
reception to occur the radio waves would have had to have penetrated
6,000 to 7,000 kilometres, or 3,700 to 4,300 miles, of solid ice and
stone.

Although the balloon project has since been retired, researchers
continue to study these unexplained transmissions and recently
published their findings in the journal, Physical Review Letters. The
researchers say that by all models of physics, the signals should have
been absorbed by the rock and gone undetected.

Scientists know that these are not neutrinos - the particles that they
had expected - but are still trying to narrow down what kind of radio
signals they're dealing with. Meanwhile, with the ANITA project
retired, the next instruments to have a go at the mystery will be on
board a work in progress: A Pennsylvania State University team is
building something bigger and, they hope, better: The Payload for
Ultrahigh Energy Observation mission.

This is Kevin Trotman N5PRE

(GIZMODO, NEWSWEEK)

**''
ISLAND DXPEDITION WILL BE TRIBUTE TO SILENT KEY

SKEETER/ANCHOR: For one ham in the US, a return to a favorite
DXpedition spot in the North Atlantic will have another purpose this
year. It will serve as a tribute to a friend for whom that island was
home. Andy Morrison K9AWM brings us that story,

ANDY: For Eric Williams, KV1J, his planned trip to St. Pierre &
Miquelon Island, IOTA Number NA-032, is for a solo activation-- but
even as he calls CQ as FP/KV1J starting on the 28th of June, Eric will
not be totally alone. He will carry the memory of a local amateur who
was his friend, Jean-Pierre Carrere, FP5CJ. Jean-Pierre, who was known
in the ham community as a welcoming, helpful and personable radio
operator, especially to visitors, became a Silent Key last September.

Eric will remain on the air through to the 14th of July and will
participate in the IARU HF World Championship on the 12th and 13th of
July. It is his 17th trip to the island in the North Atlantic, not far
from Newfoundland.

This is Andy Morrison K9AWM.

(QRZ.COM)

**
TEEN CW CHAMP TRIES TO TOP OWN WORLD RECORD

SKEETER/ANCHOR: Here's one for the record books. A teenager from
Romania is preparing to beat the world record he set last year for
speed in copying callsigns sent in CW. It's set to happen this month in
Germany, as we hear from Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

JEREMY: Ham Radio 2025 at Messe Friedrichshafen, Germany, will have
plenty to offer international visitors when the three-day event opens
on the 27th of June. One scheduled event in particular is likely to
draw a crowd as it showcases the achievement of Ianis Scutaru, YO8YNS,
who set the world record in callsign receiving in Morse Code last year.

In a demonstration sponsored by the Romanian Federation of Amateur
Radio, Ianis will attempt to beat that record before a panel of judges
from Guinness World Records and the IARU. It forms part of a larger
exhibit by the Romanian amateur radio group which is demonstrating
high-speed telegraphy as its centerpiece.

In case you were wondering, at the age of 13, Ianis won a gold medal at
the 20th IARU High Speed Telegraphy World Championship with a
record-setting maximum copy speed of 1,126 characters per minute - an
equivalent just exceeding 225 words per minute.

This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(LUCIAN  YO8SLC)

**
CHICAGO RACE PUTS HAMS ON THE RUN

SKEETER/ANCHOR: This month, hams in the heart of Chicago showed a good
bit of heart themselves during a popular half-marathon. Jen DeSalvo,
W9TXJ, takes us there.

CAREY PINKOWSKI: We've seen a lot of things over the years with the ham
operators. They're the most dependable way of communication.

JEN: For three and a half decades, Carey Pinkowski has been the race
director of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, and in that time, he
has watched his race grow from just a few thousand runners to over
fifty-thousand finishers in 2024.

CAREY: At the marathon last year, we had close to 2,000 medical
volunteers...

JEN: And of those, about 150  amateur radio operators coordinating
medical treatment and transport. The partnership began in 2008 after a
dangerous October heat wave cut the 2007 event short. On a course with
all asphalt and no shade, water became scarce, and communication was
lacking.

CAREY: We didn't have cell phones!

JEN: Runner Kate Saccany, Kilo-Eight-Sierra-Lima-Foxtrot (K8SLF), was a
participant in the Chicago Marathon that year, and like many hams, she
was trained in emergency communications. It was after that event that
she, Pinkowski, and other amateur radio operators devised a plan to put
hams on the run. Sixty-eight hams helped out that first year in 2008,
and since that time...

CAREY: They participate in our planning meetings and our operational
design of things. A lot of it's geared toward emergency or crisis
communications.

JEN: And it's not just for the 26.2-mile race in October. On Sunday,
June 1st, 40 hams assisted medical teams for the Bank of America 13.1,
the half-marathon version.  For their primary repeater, volunteer hams
used a Yaesu DR-2X in analog mode with a "pace" of 25 watts off the
rooftop of Chicago's Historic Mount Sinai Hospital. The backup repeater
had an inverted antenna mag mount and a world-class view, as it was
housed atop Chicago's tallest skyscraper, the Willis Tower, in the ABC
Chicago WLS-TV transmitter suite.

These special ham teams aren't unique to Chicago.  They also assemble
for other World Marathon Majors such as Boston and New York. They play
an important role at the Marine Corps Marathon and several others
across the globe.

So, when distance runners are in need of a hero,

CAREY: It's the ham operators that are there to save the day.

JEN: In Chicago, I'm Jen DeSalvo, W9TXJ

**
HAMS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN

SKEETER/ANCHOR: Let's face it: amateur radio can be hard work,
especially lately with the sun sending some geomagnetic storms our way.
Still, it's June and for many of us that signals a chance to have a
little more fun in spite of it all. Geri Goodrich, KF5KRN, offers us a
few options -- in a few modes.

GERI: Young hams around the world have once again declared this "Meme
Appreciation Month," even though this activity actually runs through to
the 15th of August. From Hungary to the Philippines, Canada and
Austria, the popular activity of sharing icons and text is spelled out
in the operators' clever callsigns used specifically for this event.
Most participants use FT8 and SSTV.

Meanwhile, CW operators in the Straight Key Century Club have just
wrapped up another round of the monthly RandomGram exercise, decoding
randomly generated letter and number combinations. The 24-hour event
began on Thursday, June 19th.

Finally, there's Hamword, in which amateurs sharpen their skills using
Winlink by playing a game based on the wildly popular mainstream
word-based guessing game - Wordle. This is the third year participants
will be transmitting five-letter words to the HAMWORD station. It's a
lively, highly competitive activity in which results are posted on a
leaderboard.

For technical requirements and rules, see the websites in the text
version of this week's Newsline script.

Don't forget that hams just WANNA have FUN!

This is Geri Goodrich, KF5KRN.

[DON'T READ: mememonth.ca skccgroup.com hambooks.org/hamword    ]

**

BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur
Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including
WA5AIR, the Texas Link System which carries Newsline on seven repeaters
on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 7 p.m. local time.

**

THREE CHARGED WITH THEFT OF RADIO STATION'S COPPER WIRING

SKEETER/ANCHOR: There's been a setback for yet another broadcast radio
station that has been hit by copper-wire theft. Sel Embee KB3TZD brings
us the latest.

SEL: Three men were arrested in Memphis, Tennessee, and charged with
the theft of copper wiring from a local AM radio station, temporarily
knocking it off the air.

Radio Ambiente, WGSF 1030 AM, the city's first Hispanic radio station
which had been broadcasting for 30 years, went silent on Sunday, May
18th. The station, which serves a regional audience, was able to return
to the air this month after the FCC granted a license for its use of
the on-site translator at 101.5 FM.

According to news reports, the station's owner discovered copper wiring
and copper components were stolen after he visited the transmitter
towers to determine the source of the problem. Police said the
transmitter building had been broken into. Copper wiring that ran
underground to the radio towers had been cut - the copper cables and
other components were missing. The station's owner, Sergio Butron, told
local media that it appeared the thieves gained access after breaking
through a chain-link fence and several locks. An engineer at the
station said replacing the equipment will cost an estimated $170,000 on
top of engineering fees.

Police report that three suspects were arrested less than a half-mile
from the transmitter towers. The men were found with the stolen copper
cables in front of a nearby house.

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

(RADIO WORLD, WREG MEMPHIS)


**

GRANT HELPS ADVANCE ALBERTA GROUP'S IP400 DIGITAL PROJECT

SKEETER/ANCHOR: The Alberta Digital Radio Communications Society has
learned it can proceed with its IP400 Project by autumn, thanks to a
grant from Amateur Radio Digital Communications that will permit the
hiring of necessary technical personnel.

Many amateurs got a preview of IP400 at Hamvention in Xenia, Ohio. The
data communications system was demonstrated using Raspberry Pi Zero H A
T transceivers. "H A T" stands for Hardware Attached On Top. The
system's goal is to deliver over-the-air data speeds of at least 100
kilobytes per second, a speed that far exceeds that of most current
amateur radio data systems. According to the IP400 website, the project
first aims to present an assembled node to developers, experimenters
and others for testing.

(ARDC, IP400 WEBSITE)

**
WRTC ANNOUNCES WINNERS IN SPONSORED-TEAM BIDDING

SKEETER/ANCHOR: The World Radiosport Team Championship isn't taking
place until next year but this season, there was a bit of competition
before the big competition - and now there are two winners. Jason
Daniels VK2LAW tells us who they are.

JASON: Organisers of the World Radiosport Team Championship have
announced that two teams of seasoned DXpeditioners and contesters are
going to the 2026 competition in the UK after placing the winning bids
to secure a place in the running. All other competitors in this
international Olympic-style radio event qualify by virtue of their
contest records but these two sponsored teams -- one headed by Adrian,
KO8SCA, and the other by Cezary, SP5Y -- secured spots as winning
bidders in an auction. The minimum bid was 20,000 US dollars.

The opportunity to purchase spots in the competition is a way of
helping the event with its substantial budget. All teams are bound by
the same operating rules.

This is Jason Daniels VK2LAW.

(WRTC LIST)

**

WORLD OF DX

In the World of DX, HA8PX, HA8LLH and YO5OED [Y OH 5 OH E D] will be
active as TC0MAR from Marmara Island, IOTA number AS-201, from June
30th through to July 5th. Listen on 30, 20, 17 and 15 metres where the
operators will be using  CW, SSB and FT8.  They may also be operating
their personal callsigns with the TC0 prefix. QSL via their homecalls.

Michel, F5LRL will be on the air holiday style as CN2DX in Morocco from
the 25th of June through to the 30th of August using CW, SSB and FT8.
Look for Michel on 40-6 metres, QSL via his home call.

Listen for the callsign TM5RE from Re Island, IOTA number EU-032, in
the Bay of Biscay until the 22nd of June. It is being activated by the
team of F2VX, F4WEO and F9IE holiday style using SSB, CW, FT4  and FT8.
QSL via LoTW.

Eric, GM5RDX and Graham, 2M0IJU are using the callsigns J38DX and
J38LD, respectively, from Grenada, IOTA number NA-024, from the 5th
through to the 13th of July, operating mainly SSB with some FT8 on
80-10 metres. See QRZ.com for QSL details.

(425 DX BULLETIN)

**
KICKER: REMEMBERING NEWSLINE'S BILL PASTERNAK, WA6ITF/SK

SKEETER/ANCHOR: We leave you this week with these final thoughts:
Anniversaries aren't always for celebrating - and what follows here is
one of those examples. Ten years ago, on June 12th, 2015, Newsline lost
its cofounder, producer, writer - and friend, Bill Pasternak WA6ITF. We
thought it appropriate that Jim Davis, W2JKD, one of Bill's original
team members for 36 years, rejoin us this week to mark this very
personal occasion for Newsline. Jim?

JIM: I first met Bill Pasternak in the early 1970s on a very popular
2-meter repeater while I was working as a DJ in New York City. We
quickly discovered we shared many hobbies and interests. Bill was
deeply interested in broadcasting and was also an accomplished
multi-engine pilot. He and Sharon were newlyweds at the time, and my
family enjoyed spending time with them at many social events organized
by our local ham radio group.

But, as is typical in broadcasting, our careers took us in different
directions and to different cities. Maybe it was karma, but both Bill
and I eventually landed in Los Angeles�-"he had secured a job at the
Fox TV station, and I joined KHJ Radio. It was wonderful to reconnect
with my old friend.

Bill was incredibly ambitious. He had more hobbies than fingers and
toes! He shared with me his vision of creating a newscast for the
amateur radio community. In 1977, he brought that vision to life with
the launch of the WestLink Amateur Radio News. Bill invited me to be
one of the presenters. Little did I know that would be the start of a
36-year journey with what would eventually become Amateur Radio
Newsline.

Over the next three decades, my career took me to many cities�-"Dallas,
Detroit, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles (again), Charleston, West Virginia,
Daytona Beach, Grand Rapids, Long Branch, New Jersey, back to Daytona,
then Sarasota, and finally Vero Beach. I had Mayflower Van Lines on
speed dial!

In those early days during the '70s, Bill would gather the news, write
a script, and call me on the phone (remember when long-distance was
expensive?). He'd read the script aloud, and I'd type it as he spoke.
Once finished, I'd head to a production studio to record and edit the
script. Then I'd drive to the post office to air mail a 7-inch reel of
tape to Los Angeles. Bill would splice in the actualities and transfer
the final version to a 20-minute cartridge tape. That tape machine was
set to auto-answer the phone line at Bill Ornstein's home, distributing
the news to the ham community.

As technology evolved, so did we. In 1981, Bill and I each bought
Commodore 64 computers. With the addition of a telephone handset modem,
we reduced the scripting process from hours to minutes. Reels of tape
gave way to cassettes, and a decade later, digital audio revolutionized
how Amateur Radio Newsline was shared on the Internet. While the
delivery systems changed, one thing remained constant: our friendship
and Bill's unwavering commitment to this project.

This week marks the 10th anniversary of Bill's passing. His legacy
continues to resonate throughout the amateur radio community. Bill was
a deeply spiritual man, and I believe he would be honored to know that
the Amateur Radio Newslineteam continues to deliver this weekly missive
with the same passion and purpose he instilled in it from the
beginning.

They say we are known by the company we keep, and in Bill's case, his
presence and contributions to our hobby are truly enduring. I was
personally honored to be part of his vision for 36 consecutive years.

This is my first time back behind the microphone since his passing. I
find it poetic that Bill left us at age 73. In our world, that's no
coincidence.

73, my friend.

This is Jim Davis, W2JKD

**
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; ARDC; David Behar K7DB; DX
World; Gizmodo; Lucian,  YO8SLC; Newsweek; QRZ.com; Radio Society of
Great Britain; Radio World; Shortwaveradio.de; SKCC; Wireless Institute
of Australia; WREG Radio Memphis; WRTC List; Youth on the Air; 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
Skeeter Nash N5ASH in Jonesboro, Arkansas saying 73. As always we thank
you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2025. All
rights reserved.