Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2455 for Friday November 15th, 2024 Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2455 with a release date of Friday, November 15th, 2024 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a QST. A new generation sets out for a challenging DXpedition. The FCC revisits the controversy over AI in broadcasts - and a 100-year-old transmitter tunes up. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2455 comes your way right now. ** BILLBOARD CART ** YOUNG DXPEDITIONERS TAKE ON CHALLENGE OF ROTUMA ISLAND SKEETER/ANCHOR: Our top story this week focuses on the next generation of DXpeditioners. Get ready and get on the air as the youthful members of this team take on the challenges offered by Rotuma Island. Jim Meachen ZL2BHF gives us those details. JIM: Listen for the pileups as a young generation of operators calls QRZ as 3D2Y. The strong presence of youthful operators is a hallmark of the Rotuma Island DXpedition, which is on the air from the 15th of November through to the 4th of December. The Pacific Islands DXpedition group has sent a team to the South Pacific island, including Gregg, W6IZT; Dean, W2FQ and Nathan, K4NHW. The other half of the on-island team comprises Jamie MØSDV, and Connor, KD9LSV, who are both 24; - and Lukas, LY7J, who is 22. The team's operation is from the beach on the island's north side. At the same time, young operators in shacks around the world will be calling QRZ to get their first sampling of what it's like to be on the end of a DXpedition pileup. The activation's remote component will be handled by Youth on the Air hams from their stations in Turkey, South Korea, Canada, France and elsewhere. The support team includes Kees [pron: CASE] WØAAE, this year's recipient of the ARRL's prestigious Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Award and the Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year for 2023. Kees will be coordinating operation of the remote stations which are set up as NexGenRiBs, self-contained radios in a box that are gaining popularity in a number of recent island DXpeditions. This is Jim Meachen ZL2BHF. (ROTUMA ISLAND DXPEDITION WEBSITE) ** FCC LOOKS AT BROADCASTER TRANSPARENCY OVER ADS' AI CONTENT SKEETER/ANCHOR: In the US, the FCC is taking a look at whether broadcasters should acknowledge that they are running political ads that contain AI-generated content. We have that report from Kent Peterson KCØDGY. KENT: An FCC plan that would mandate radio and TV broadcast transparency about AI content in political advertising on their stations has met with resistance along party lines. The commission's senior Republican, who is seen by many as the replacement to the current Democratic FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel, is leading the opposition against the proposal. The Democrats on the commission support the FCC's notice of proposed rule making, or NPRM, which does not seek to restrict or ban actual content in the ads and focuses only on disclosure about the use of AI. The senior Republican, Brendan Carr, is leading the charge against the measure. Carr who received his FCC appointment during Donald Trump's previous administration, said such controversial moves by the FCC should be stalled until the new administration is in place. This is Kent Peterson KCØDGY. (RADIO WORLD, FCC) SKEETER/ANCHOR: The FCC has received public comments on this proposal and a spokesman told Newsline it is now in the process of reviewing them. No announcements have been made about the next steps. ** TRANSMITTER'S CW MESSAGE TO MARK 100 YEARS AT GRIMETON SKEETER/ANCHOR: The 100th anniversary of a commercial radio station in Sweden is kicking off that jubilee year with a special CW transmission on the 1st of December. Yes, you'll can be a part of it too. Graham Kemp VK4BB tells us how. GRAHAM: It has been a century since the callsign "SAQ" was transmitted across the Atlantic Ocean from Sweden to New York. The commercial station's VLF signal from Grimeton was received by two stations on eastern Long Island. The date was December 1st. On December 1st of this year, that same transmitter will be back on the air at 10:00 UTC to mark the 100-year anniversary of that on-the-air ocean crossing. Its annniversary message will be sent in CW on 17.2 kHz from the historic World Heritage Grimeton Radio Station. This is the Alexanderson alternator which bears the name of pioneering electrical engineer, Ernst Alexanderson. Of course, technology has changed much in 100 years. Those who cannot be present in Sweden to see and hear the transmission in person - and those whose radios cannot receive a VLF signal can still witness the event. The transmission will be carried as a livestream on the YouTube channel of the Alexander SAQ Grimeton Radio Station beginning at 09:20 UTC. Fans of the transmitter typically hear its regularly scheduled messages twice a year - on Alexander Sunday in late June or early July and on Christmas morning. I'm Graham Kemp VK4BB. (THE ALEXANDER ASSOCIATION) ** BROADCAST ENGINEER WINS HONOR FOR 2ND TIME SKEETER/ANCHOR: Congratulations to Jim Dalke, W7PB. The broadcast engineer has been honored by the Society of Broadcast Engineers with its Engineer of the Year Award, named for Robert W. Flanders. The Seattle, radio amateur is the only person to have received the society's recognition twice. He first received the award in 2014. The honor was given earlier this year and reported recently on the website of Radio World. It is presented to an SBE member whose career is marked by excellence and who advances the mission of the SBE. Having spent a lifetime at various broadast radio and TV stations, Jim continues to be active in the radio industry at age 85. His professional involvement includes assisting the operations of three AM stations in the Seattle area. Over the years his contributions and innovations have included creation of a digital weather display that helps TV weathercasters better show the National Weather Service radar on the air, a feature that was later purchased by some major-market TV stations. Jim remains a fervent believer in the value and future of AM broadcast radio, particularly to deliver alerts in times of emergencies. Emergency response is something he knows well: A ham since the age of 14, Jim is active in the Washington State Emergency Management Division. (RADIO WORLD) ** IARU ANNOUNCES YOUTH EXCELLENCE AWARD SKEETER/ANCHOR: The most youthful amateur radio operators among us can look forward to international accolades thanks to a new award created by the IARU. John Williams VK4JJW has the details. JOHN: Peter Young, VK3MV, has given much to amateur radio over many decades. Most recently he has given his name to an award that was created by the International Amateur Radio Union to recognise excellence among young radio operators. Hams under the age of 25 will be chosen as recipients by the IARU's Administrative Council and special attention will be those who showed particular promise in many of the YOTA programmes. The award is called the Peter Young, VK3MV, IARU Youth Excellence Award because it draws its inspiration from Peter's volunteer contributions as well as his professional achievements in radiocommunications, most recently in Southern Australia. Peter's varied volunteer involvement includes participation with the 2005 Review of the Amateur Service with the Wireless Institute of Australia, which he served as a member of the board until 2012, Peter was also the IARU Region 3 Monitoring System Coordinator from September 2011 to June 2014. In his career, he is an award-winner himself. In 2008, he received the Jonathan Livingston Award from the Australian Radio Communications Industry Association for years of excellence in the industry. He is also an honorary life member of the WIA. This is John Williams VK4JJW. (WIA, IARU) ** SAMUEL MORSE CLUB HOSTS "BUG ROUNDUP" SKEETER/ANCHOR: Whether it's summer or winter in your part of the world, one thing is for certain: It's a great season for bugs! Well, Morse Code bugs, that is. Randy Sly W4XJ tells us to get out those bugs and get on the air. RANDY: Just as the ARRL's Straight Key Night celebrates that style of traditional mechanical key, the Bug Roundup is a freewheeling festival of mechanical Morse Code music encouraging CW ops to ragchew in style using bugs, the semi-automatic key style made famous by Vibroplex. California's Samuel F. Morse Amateur Radio Club, W6SFM, is inviting hams to practice what it is calling "home grown digital music" this month. This is a semi-annual three-day event that the club also holds in May. It is taking place on Saturday, November 16th, at 0000 UTC and concludes on Monday, November 18th at the same time. Hams will be calling "CQ BR" and the exchange will include name, QTH, RST and of course the model, age and any other details about the bug you are using. This is just the kind of bug you want to catch! This is Randy Sly W4XJ. (SAMUEL F MORSE ARC) ** BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including the K7EFZ repeater on Tuesday nights at 9 local time in Idaho Falls, Idaho. ** GROWING GROUP COMBINES HAM RADIO WITH LIFE ON THE ROAD SKEETER/ANCHOR: Imagine life on the road - and life on the air - rolled into one great combination. One group of hams in the UK is doing just that - and you're invited along for the ride. Jeremy Boot G4NJH has the details. JEREMY: The Facebook group started as a bit of fun among friends but the UK Motorhome and Amateur Radio Group has grown into a community that organiser Linda Mary Maude, GØYLM, describes as "the perfect combination of two hobbies." She believes that amateur radio allows people to travel in one fashion and a van or motorhome simply allows travel in another fashion. Linda told Newsline in an email that the group began a little more than a year ago as a bit of fun between radio friends and has taken off in popularity since then. The advantages include being away from the electrical noises encountered at home and, of course, the chance to meet other hams in person at last. In fact, she said, there are even a few boat owners and campers using tents who have joined the parade of camper vans, caravans and motor homes. Linda would love to see the group become an international one. She told Newsline: [quote] "If you enjoy radio and enjoy traveling, that's all we ask." [endquote] This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH. (FACEBOOK, LINDA MARY MAUDE, GØYLM) ** GRANTS FUND 3 RADIO STATIONS' EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM SKEETER/ANCHOR: More funding has been released by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to support ongoing upgrades to the emergency-alert systems at US public radio stations. The three noncommercial stations will receive up to $587,704 in funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The three stations join 38 other public media stations that have already received the awards. The stations are KVPR in Fresno, California, WQLN in Erie, Pennsylvania and KRCL in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has been disbursing $40 million in these grants to eligible broadcasters. (RADIO WORLD) ** WORLD OF DX In the World of DX, listen for Krish, W4VKU operating in the Andaman Islands, IOTA number AS-001, using the callsign VU4A. Krish is activating in late November and will be on the air through mid-December. He will operate SSB and FT8 in multi-stream MSHV mode on 160-6 metres. For QSL details see QRZ.com. Oleg, ZS1ANF, can be heard operating as ZS7ANF from Wolf's Fang Runway, Queen Maud Land, Antarctica, IOTA number AN-016, from mid-November through to late February of 2025. Listen for him using CW on 40-10 metres. See QRZ.com for QSL details. The Radio Club des Ardennes, ON4RCA, will be on the air as OO8ØBB [OH OH EIGHT ZERO BEE BEE] from the 16th of November through to the 15th of December, commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge during World War II. QSLs can only be requested via Club Log's OQRS until the 31st of January 2025. Listen for Dave, WJ2O, who will be active as PJ6/WJ2O from Saba, IOTA Number NA-145, from the 17th through to the 26h of November. He will also participate in the CQ WW DX CW Contest. QSL via N2ZN. (425 DX BULLETIN) ** KICKER: VETERAN'S ACTIVATION IN SCOTLAND BRINGS A HOMELESS MESSAGE HOME SKEETER: We close this week by giving thanks to military veterans. In the US, we mark this occasion as Veterans Day on November 11th. In Scotland, it is Armistice Day and has one ham making use of his radio to help other veterans - ones whose battles are still going on. Jeremy Boot G4NJH introduces us to him. JEREMY: Meet George Crawford, MMØJNL, who is both a ham and a helper. Since the 22nd of October, the Royal Air Force veteran has been calling CQ as special event station GBØGTS to bring attention to those whose life after military service has reduced them to a life of struggle on the street. The special event station has grown out of George's original idea this past spring to be part of an effort known as the Great Tommy Sleepout. The organising group, The Royal British Legion Industries, assists homeless British military veterans by raising awareness and providing funds for them. In a first-time effort incorporating amateur radio, George has introduced the power of HF into the mix. Logging ragchew after ragchew, he has been hearing stories of veterans everywhere whose suffering is their shared battleground. George told Newsline in a phone call that this is what he has learned in those QSOs: [quote] "You join up, you are taught to fight, you are taught to serve your country. But no one teaches you how to be a civilian again." [endquote] So although this initiative originated as an event with the name “Tommy” - the first World War nickname given to British soldiers - George now calls CQ for every country's suffering veterans. He will continue to do so on SSB until midnight UTC on the 18th of November -- a forces veteran who continues his devoted service. This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH. (GEORGE CRAWFORD, MMØJNL; QRZ.COM) ** JUST SAY 'HI' TO HAIKU If a good day of radio is like poetry to you, pick up a pencil and join the Amateur Radio Newsline haiku challenge. Share your experience by sending an original haiku to us here at Newsline. Use the entry form on our website, arnewsline.org and please follow the rules for writing your three-line haiku. Sorry but we cannot accept any entries that aren't written in traditional haiku form with the correct number of syllables for each of the three lines. Share with fellow listeners the poetry that is inspired by your ham radio experience! NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Alexander Association; Amateur Radio Daily; AMSAT News Service; David Behar K7DB; Facebook; FCC; 425DXNews; George Crawford, MMØJNL; IARU; Linda Mary Maude, GØYLM; Radio World; Rotuma Island DXpedition website; Samuel F. Morse Amateur Radio Club; shortwaveradio.de; 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 Skeeter Nash N5ASH in Jonesboro, Arkansas saying 73. As always we thank you for listening. 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