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Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2475 for Friday, April 4th, 2025
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2475 with a release date of Friday,
April 4th, 2025 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a QST. Hams respond as a deadly earthquake rocks Thailand
and Myanmar. In the US, Voice of America gets a reprieve -- and a Fram2
spacecraft astronaut enjoys a QSO with her former school. All this and more
as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2475 comes your way right now.
**
BILLBOARD CART
**
HAMS RESPOND AS DEADLY QUAKE ROCKS THAILAND, MYANMAR
NEIL/ANCHOR: We begin this week with a developing story. A 7.7 magnitude
earthquake struck near Mandalay, the second-largest city in Myanmar, and
rocked the region on Friday the 28th of March. Hams in Thailand were among
those who were called up to help with communications, particularly amid the
wreckage in Bangkok. Jason Daniels VK2LAW has the latest.
JASON: As the death toll climbed in a number of countries, emergency
communication took on paramount importance in the South Asian nations hit by
the earthquake. Its strength was felt in Bangkok, Thailand, affecting that
city's high-rise buildings. The search for survivors continued beneath the
wreckage of one prominent tower that had been toppled while under
construction in the city. Jakkree Hantongkom, HS1FVL, emergency
communications director of IARU Region 3, told IARU Region 1's Greg Mossop,
GØDUB, that members of the Radio Amateur Society of Thailand have been
assisting the government with emergency communications in the city and in
the surrounding area utilising VHF.
The death toll in the region itself was climbing well into the thousands as
search and rescue efforts continued.
This is Jason Daniels VK2LAW.
(ABC.AU NEWS, JAKKREE HANTONGKOM, HS1FVL; GREG MOSSOP, GØDUB)
**
COURT HALTS WHITE HOUSE ACTION AGAINST VOICE OF AMERICA
NEIL/ANCHOR: We also begin this week with another developing story. Its long
run of disseminating news to overseas countries under restrictive regimes
may not be all over after all for the Voice of America. VOA has succeeded in
its court challenge to the US government's decision to dismantle the
international news service. Workers at the VOA were among a number of
international news services within the US Agency for Global Media who were
told they were being taken off the air and put on administrative leave.
Responding to a lawsuit by a group of VOA employees, a Manhattan federal
judge acted on March 28th to halt the order that originated from the White
House. The US District Court judge called the agency's action "a classic
case of arbitrary policymaking." Radio Free Asia, another international news
organization, is also seeking court action to halt its shutdown.
Meanwhile, the news service Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty was spared its
own announced shutdown after a different US District Court judge ruled that
the continued operation of these news services was in the public interest.
Funding has since been restored through the end of the current federal
fiscal year. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has been on the air since the
beginning of the Cold War.
(RADIO WORLD, ASSOCIATED PRESS)
**
SKYWARN YOUTH NET PREPARES NEXT GENERATION
NEIL/ANCHOR: Even as White House cuts to the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration leave the agency's future operations in question,
the next generation of amateurs has been training well to keep an eye on
dangerous weather for the public. Randy Sly W4XJ has that story for us.
“This is NØA, November Zero Alpha calling CQ CQ. Special Event Station for
severe weather awareness calling CQö
RANDY: If you worked NØA during the last half of March, you were talking
with a member of the SKYWARN Youth Net, which meets weekly to encourage
severe weather monitoring by young hams across the United States. As most
hams who are active during severe weather are beginning to age out, groups
like this can help encourage a new generation of SKYWARN supporters.
The net was founded in 2016 by Jim Sellers, NØUAM, who is now a silent key,
to encourage youth participation in reporting severe weather. Net manager
Caleb Sfair, KEØFOE, got his license in 2015 at age 11 and joined the net
two years later at the encouragement of his father, George, KJ6TQ. Caleb
told ARNewsline about the beginnings of the SKYWARN Youth Net by Sellers.
CALEB: “He was the Deputy Director of SkyWarn in Southwest Missouri. Simply
put, he just wanted to have a simple check-in net that young hams would run
to give them a chance to practice passing traffic and to try to encourage
other youths to participate and then share and learn about basic weather
information.ö
RANDY: The SKYWARN Youth Net uses a system of linked repeaters from various
parts of the United States along with AllStarLink, Echolink, DMR and Yaesu
Fusion. Meeting on Sunday evenings at 7:30pm Central time, the Net gives
young hams an opportunity to share weather reports and learn more about
participating in severe weather activations. Anyone, young or old, is
invited to check in. For more information, you can visit skywarnyouth.net.
This is Randy Sly, W4XJ.
**
SUCCESSFUL AMATEUR CONTACTS FOR FRAM2 SPACECRAFT
NEIL/ANCHOR: The first spacecraft to orbit the earth via the North and South
poles, the Fram2 has offered some unprecedented views of both poles - and
some high-flying ham radio transmissions, just as promised. John Williams
VK4JJW brings us up to date.
JOHN: Hours after the launch of the private Fram2 spacecraft from the US on
March 31st, astronaut Rabea [ROBBIA] Rogge [RAGGA], LB9NJ/KD3AID, began the
space team's scheduled transmissions of SSTV imagery, an exercise conducted
as part of a high school and university competition for students. It was,
however, a voice contact with the DKØTU amateur radio club at the Technical
University of Berlin that was among the Fram2's earliest QSOs. The brief
question-and-answer session from space took place at the university where
the German-born astronaut had been a student herself once.
Much of the Fram2's ham radio activity was designed to be SSTV transmissions
from space, carrying the four astronauts' views of the polar regions. They
were transmitted in fragments, puzzle-style, challenging students around the
world to piece them together to form a complete picture.
The Fram2 mission is named to honour the Norwegian-built ship, Fram, that
carried researchers on polar explorations in the late 19th and early 20th
centuries. This amateur contact -- and all transmissions that were to follow
- engaged in another form of exploration. In anticipation of the
decommissioning of the International Space Station by 2030, hams have been
in search of other possible sources for radio contacts from space.
To hear the QSO between the astronaut and the students in Berlin, see the
link in the text version of this week's script at arnewsline.org
This is John Williams VK4JJW.
[DO NOT READ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmyXfmfhTJE ]
(YOUTUBE, AMATEUR NEWS WEEKLY)
**
SILENT KEY: LONGTIME PITTSBURGH-AREA DJ, RADIO HOST JIM QUINN, W3VEX
NEIL/ANCHOR: An amateur radio operator who gained a following in western
Pennsylvania as a DJ and later the host of conservative talk radio, has
become a Silent Key. We hear more about him Travis Lisk, N3ILS.
TRAVIS: Jim Quinn, W3VEX got his start on the professional side of radio at
KQV-AM as a Top-40 DJ and later with the giant WTAE. In the years that
followed, his broadcast career delivered roles as a morning DJ on other
music stations during the rise of FM TOP 40 radio. Moving later to WPGB-FM,
Jim became cohost of a conservative radio talk show. He was a well-known
voice on the air, particularly among Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania listeners.
Jim became a Silent Key on Sunday, March 30th. No cause of death was
immediately given.
In all, he had more than four decades in commercial radio, from Pennsylvania
to Cleveland to New York City and upstate Buffalo, New York. His amateur
radio career lasted even longer, according to his page on QRZ.com. Jim was
first licensed as a teenager while living in his native New Jersey.
He was 82.
This is Travis Lisk N3ILS.
(RADIO INK, TRIB LIVE, FACEBOOK)
**
SILENT KEY: DAN CROUCH, KF7DC, MINGUS MOUNTAIN ROUNDTABLE MODERATOR
NEIL/ANCHOR: Hams in Arizona are grieving the loss of one of their own, a
well-regarded member of the Mingus Mountain Repeater Group. We hear more
about him from Ralph Squillace KK6ITB.
RALPH: It took very little time for Dan Crouch, KF7DC, to find a home with
the Mingus Mountain Repeater Group in Arizona. Not long after he got his
license in 2012, he found his way there and soon became part of the Mingus
Mountain Round Table. He served as a moderator of the roundtable for many
years..
Dan became a Silent Key during the weekend of March 15th.
He was a fulltime minister for more than 50 years, serving for 20 years at
the Fountain of Life Community Church in Prescott Valley.
In announcing his death on Facebook, Patrick Brower, N7ATG, vice president
of the Mingus Mountain Repeater Group, recalled the prayers and strength Dan
was able to provide for others, especially when members of the ham radio
community or their families experienced a loss.
This is Ralph Squillace KK6ITB.
(PATRICK BROWER, N7ATG)
**
BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio
Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including the W8WKY
repeater in Doylestown, Ohio on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. local time, right
before the weekly SARA net at 8 p.m.
**
NOMINATE NEXT YEAR'S YOUNG HAM OF THE YEAR
NEIL/ANCHOR: Each year, the Amateur Radio Newsline Bill Pasternak Memorial
Young Ham of the Year Award receives nominations of promising young hams who
truly impress our judges. It is time once again to give them an opportunity
at the recognition they deserve. Consider nominating an amateur radio
operator 18 years of age or younger here in the continental United States --
someone who has talent, promise and a commitment to the spirit of ham radio.
Do you know someone who might qualify to receive this year's honor? Find
application forms on our website arnewsline.org under the "YHOTY" tab.
Nominations are now open. We are accepting nominations through May 31st.
**
ANTARCTIC RESEARCH BEACON GOES SILENT AFTER 46 YEARS
NEIL/ANCHOR: The Antarctic beacon, VP8ADE, has gone silent after 46 years.
Graham Kemp VK4BB gives us those details.
GRAHAM: There are no more signals from VP8ADE from Adelaide Island, the ice-
covered island off the Antarctic peninsula's west coast. The last day on the
air for the 28-MHz low-power research beacon was the 21st of February. It
was put into service in the summer of 1979 at the British Antarctic survey
base of Rothera. Its tour of duty was originally supposed to have lasted
only 3 years as one part of a research programme, according to Laurence
Howell KL7L, who was the base radio operator at the time. The beacon's
collection of critical data on global ionospheric propagation at the F2
layer proved so invaluable that it continued operating for another four
decades. The beacon shared a small wooden hut with a 1950-era aircraft
navigation beacon and with research equipment used for ionospheric D-layer
scintillation research used by students of ionospheric researcher Dr. Roy
Piggott. VP8ADE was proposed by the Radio Society of Great Britain. It was
coordinated with the British Antarctic Survey and the Falkland Island radio
regulator.
This is Graham Kemp VK4BB.
(LAURENCE HOWELL, KL7L)
**
IOTA SEEKS VOLUNTEER TO SERVE AS CHECKPOINT FOR BRAZIL
NEIL/ANCHOR: There's a vacancy to be filled in the popular Islands on the
Air program and hams who are knowledgeable about IOTA are being encouraged
to apply for the volunteer position. Jeremy Boot G4NJH tells us more.
JEREMY: The Islands on the Air awards scheme is in need of an experienced
amateur who can serve in the voluntary position of checkpoint for Brazil, a
post filled since 2009 by Lucißno Sampaio de Souza, PT7WA.
However he has recently informed the board that he now needs to step down.
The ham who fills this post must demonstrate knowledge of the IOTA programme
and rules, have good English proficiency, and possess the ability to process
online applications.
Interested applicants should send details of the skills they would bring to
the task. Email Roger Balister, G3KMA, at the address that appears in the
text version of this week's newscast at arnewsline.org
Applications are due no later than the 21st of April.
This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.
[DO NOT READ: g3kma@outlook.com ]
(425 DX BULLETIN)
**
NOMINATION DEADLINE NEARS FOR CQ AMATEUR RADIO HALL OF FAME
NEIL/ANCHOR: The names included in the CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame
represent the best of the best that ham radio has had to offer through the
years. Originated by CQ magazine, the Hall of Fame is now overseen by
Hamgallery which selects amateurs with impressive personal operating records
as well as achievements that have enhanced the lives and experiences of
their fellow amateur radio operators.
Inductees may be living or Silent Keys and they are chosen via nomination.
The nominating window is drawing to a close. You have until the 15th of
April to submit the names of your nominees to Tom Roscoe, K8CX using email
address K8CX at ham gallery dot com. That’s k8cx at ham gallery - that’s one
word - dot com (k8cx@hamgallery.com)
Notifications will be sent out by the 30th of April as to whether the
nomination was accepted or not.
See the website hamgallery dot com (hamgallery.com) for more details.
(AMATEUR RADIO DAILY, CQ AMATEUR RADIO HALL OF FAME)
**
WORLD OF DX
In the World of DX, Flavio, IW2NEF, is operating holiday style as 8Q7EF
from the Maldives, IOTA number AS-013, until the 10th of April. He is using
digital modes and SSB on 40-6 metres. See QRZ.com for QSL details.
Koji, JI1LET [Jay Eye One Ell EE Tee] and Takeshi, JA1UII [Jay Aye One You
Eye Eye] will be on the air as JD1BOI [Jay Dee One Bee Oh Eye] and JD1BON
[Jay Dee One Bee Oh En], respectively, from Chichijima [CHEE CHEE JEE MUH],
IOTA number AS-031, and Ogasawara from the 8th through to the 17th of April.
They will be using CW, SSB and FT8/FT4 on 160-6 metres. See QRZ.com for QSL
details.
The Amateur Radio Society of Moldova is using the callsign ER100IARU to
celebrate the 100th anniversary of the IARU and can be heard on the air
through to the 30th of April See QRZ.com for QSL details.
Jim, K6EI, and Scott, KK6IK, are on the air as FJ/K6EI and FJ/KK6IK from St.
Barthelmy, IOTA number NA-146, until the 12th of April. They will be using
CW, FT8 and FT4 on 80-6 metres. See QRZ.com for QSL details.
Amateur Radio Newsline's own Ed Durrant DD5LP will be active as 5B/VK2JI/P
from Cyprus, IOTA Number AS-004, holiday style, between April 6th and 20th.
He plans to activate HEMA (Pron: Heee Ma), POTA and SOTA sites with even the
chance of a BOTA (Beaches on the air) activation. Ed will be using 20 watts
of power, SSB, on 40 through 10 metres but expects contacts into Europe,
North America and Oceania. Watch each of the scheme's spotting pages to see
when Ed is on. If you work Ed, let him know that you are an AR Newsline
listener.
(425 DX BULLETIN)
**
KICKER: COMMUNITY'S FONDNESS FOR TOWER IS A TALL ORDER
NEIL/ANCHOR: Community protests against unwanted towers are often in the
news. In this week's final story, however, we visit a community in the state
of Maine that has been very sorry indeed to say goodbye to one particular
radio tower. Kent Peterson KCØDGY tells us why.
KENT: American science fiction writer Stephen King is author of, among many
things, the "Dark Tower" series of books. Now another tower that used to be
his - an AM radio tower more than 400 feet tall - has gone dark. It was
formerly used by WZON 620 AM in Maine, one of three of the region's radio
stations that used to be owned by the writer. The tower had stood since 1937
when it was first used by WLBZ, the radio station's callsign in its earliest
days.
Citing the financial struggles of three area radio stations he owned in
Maine, King announced last year they were going to end their run. WKIT,
known for its classic rock format, is still on the air, having been saved at
the last minute after being bought by a media partnership known as the Rock
Lobster Radio Group.
WZON-AM and WZLO-FM went silent on the 31st of December. However, recent
local news reports say that both stations will return under new ownership: A
company called Mix Maine Media was buying them from King along with an FM
translator.
WZON's tower, however, still had to go. Local residents' affection for this
longtime familiar sight drew them out to the scene of the demolition on
Wednesday, March 26th. The prospect of the station's return, however, did
cheer them -- and so when WZON played its final song last December before
turning off its transmitter, its words rang true, but only for the tower.
The song was REM's "The End of the World As We Know It."
This is Kent Peterson KCØDGY.
(WABI, FACEBOOK, INSIDE RADIO, ASSOCIATED PRESS)
**
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 ABC.AU News; Amateur News Daily; Associated
Press; David Behar, K7DB; Facebook; 425 DX Bulletin; Greg Mossop, GØDUB;
Inside Radio; Jakkree Hantongkom, HS1FVL; Laurence Howell, KL7L; Patrick
Brower, N7ATG; QRZ.com; Radio Amateur Society of Thailand; Radio Ink; Radio
World; shortwaveradio.de; Space.com; TribLive; WABI; 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 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.
73 de Bill, PY2BIL
PY2BIL@PY2BIL.SP.BRA.SOAM
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+
BBS: PY2BIL - Timed 04-Apr-2025 09:45 E. South America Standard Time
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