Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2400 for Friday October 27th, 2023

Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2400 with a release date of Friday
October 27th, 2023 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. The FCC takes a fresh look at wireless
emergency alerts. Russian amateurs make contacts on the 6m band -- and
a radio signal arrives after 8 billion years. All this and more as
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2400 comes your way right now.

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BILLBOARD CART

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FCC EYES NEW APPROACH TO WIRELESS ALERTS

PAUL/ANCHOR: We begin this week's newscast with a look at the
lifesaving communication known as the wireless emergency alert system.
Here in the US, the FCC has begun rethinking exactly how these alerts
should be transmitted. We have those details from Sel Embee KB3TZD.

SEL: The FCC is looking for alternative ways for delivery of wireless
emergency alerts that do not rely on functioning cell towers. Calling
cell networks unreliable, the commission's Public Safety and Homeland
Security Bureau is seeking ways to get messages to the public that do
not run the risk of cell towers being knocked out of service or having
coverage dead zones. In a public notice released October 19th, the FCC
said it was looking for partners to test alternative technologies for
emergency-alert use.

According to a report in Radio World, the FCC is willing to consider
satellites, high-altitude balloons, drones or similar technology to
make up for gaps in wireless coverage. The FCC recalled one of the most
recent incidents of cell coverage failing when in August, 21 cell sites
failed to function in Hawaii during the deadly wildfires in that state.

The commission is asking interested parties to use the Electronic
Comment Filing System to contact the FCC within 60 days of the notice's
publication.

This is Sel Embee KB3TZD.

(FCC, RADIO WORLD)

PAUL/ANCHOR: The FCC has also announced that the agenda for its next
open meeting on November 15th will include a vote that will modernize
and bring more flexibility for amateur radio operators who use the
digital modes. The FCC website says the commissioners plan to remove
[quote] "outdated restrictions" [endquote] and allow for more
innovation.

(FCC, AMATEUR NEWS DAILY)

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GRANT TO AID MISSOURI REPEATER SYSTEM UPGRADE

PAUL/ANCHOR: Residents in southwestern Missouri are about to benefit
from an amateur radio repeater system upgrade that will assist in times
of bad weather -- and in other instances. We hear about those changes
from Randy Sly W4XJ.

RANDY: A crucial weather-emergency communications system in southwest
Missouri will receive an upgrade to expand its reach as a result of a
grant of nearly $70,000. The Southwest Missouri Regional SKYWARN Ham
Radio Repeater System allows storm spotters to reach the National
Weather Service forecast office in Springfield, Missouri, providing
up-to-date eyewitness accounts. Funding for the improvements will come
from Amateur Radio Digital Communications which will channel the grant
through the Southern Missouri Emergency Communications Fund.

The 10-month-long overhaul of the linked repeater system, known as the
49 Repeater Group, will add new repeaters and replace aging equipment.
In the meantime, local amateur radio clubs will be learning more from
the group's Michael Blake, N0NWS, who will encourage radio operators to
become active in the project as well.

This is Randy Sly W4XJ.

(KRMS RADIO)

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REPEATER SYSTEM DISABLED BY TENNESSEE WILDFIRES

PAUL/ANCHOR: A repeater system elsewhere is trying to recover. Although
wildfires near Chattanooga, Tennessee have been brought under control,
the region's High Point Repeater site has been left disabled by cable
damage left behind by the blaze. The 220MHz repeater, the Wires-X
repeater and the APRS digipeater and iGate system of the Lookout
Mountain Amateur Radio Community, N4LMC, will not return to use until
further notice, according to the club's website. The damage also
temporarily knocked a broadcast FM station off the air. The Lookout
Mountain amateurs' website said the group will need to replace all
cables at the site. They are also awaiting word from the tower owners
about possible damage to the tower, guy wires and anchor points.

(AMATEUR RADIO DAILY, LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN AMATEUR RADIO COMMUNITY)

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RUSSIAN AMATEUR QSOs ON 6-METRE BAND DEEMED LEGAL

PAUL/ANCHOR: If you happen to hear an amateur with a Russian callsign
while you're listening on the band between 50 and 52 MHz, you're not
imagining things - and no, that ham is not violating any regulations.
Ed Durrant DD5LP tells us what's happening.

ED: Russian amateurs holding that country's highest class of radio
licence are now being permitted to use the 6-metre band with up to 1
kilowatt under a verbal agreement with the Russian regulator. According
to a report in the November 2023 issue of Funk Telegramm, hams are
working to secure written permission for 6 meters which is not
officially defined as an amateur band in Russia. Hams with Russian
callsigns have been using the band since 2014 from Crimea when that
territory was annexed. This was a privilege carried over from the time
when 6-metre operation was permitted in Crimea when it was part of
Ukraine.

Funk Telegramm quotes Alexander Kozlov, RW5C, an active amateur who is
on the air from Moscow, as confirming to the magazine that a number of
amateurs like him are now being heard regularly on the band and are
making contacts. Russian amateurs have long contended that if
authorities recognise 6-metre operation from Crimea, the privilege
should be extended to all Russian hams.

This is Ed Durrant DD5LP.

(FUNK TELEGRAMM, NOVEMBER 2023)

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BROADCAST CELEBRATES 80 YEARS FOR UK SHORTWAVE SITE

PAUL/ANCHOR: Radio enthusiasts in the UK turned on their shortwave sets
for an on-air celebration - and Jeremy Boot G4NJH tells us about it.

JEREMY: One hundred people turned out on Tuesday, the 17th of October,
for an 80th anniversary celebration at the UK's last remaining
shortwave radio transmitting site. Countless others attended the party
from a distance -- as shortwave listeners who later sent in reception
reports.

The Woofferton Transmitting Station, which was built by the BBC during
the Second World War, is owned by Encompass Digital Media. Its
celebration broadcast was transmitted to listeners in Europe as an
analogue broadcast on 17.785 MHz and as a DRM broadcast on 11.725 MHz.

In a rare turn at programming, the station also used its oldest
transmitter - a Marconi BD272 built in Britain in 1963, to send
programming to North America on 15.245 MHz.

To hear the anniversary broadcast, click on the link that you can find
in the text version of this week's newscast at arnewsline.org

[DO NOT READ: https://www.mixcloud.com/EDMRadioOnline/woofferton80/ ]

This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(RADIO WORLD, ENCOMPASS DIGITAL MEDIA)

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YLS PREPARE FOR NOVEMBER ALARA MEETUP

PAUL/ANCHOR: YLs throughout Australia and beyond are getting ready for
a few days of socializing and talking about one of their favorite
topics: amateur radio. Graham Kemp VK4BB tells us what's on the agenda.

GRAHAM: It's been a tradition every few years since 1984: a national
get-together of the members of ALARA, the Australian Ladies Amateur
Radio Association. Next month, the in-person contacts will be made in
Hobart where YLs from the organisation will meet up - some for the
first time - without having to call CQ.

ALARAmeet, as it is known, is now held every three years. It features a
busy agenda on the 4th and 5th of November, a mix of amateur radio
activities and social outings, including a tour of historic sites and
an optional cruise. It's not unexpected to have an international
attendance: many of the 200 or so ALARA members live overseas and have
their membership sponsored by YLs living Down Under. Created in 1975,
ALARA works to nurture women's participation and enthusiasm for all
things amateur radio.

This is Graham Kemp VK4BB.

(ALARA)

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NEWSLINE TO PRESENT INTERNATIONAL NEWSMAKER AWARD

PAUL/ANCHOR: Once again, Newsline is preparing to select the recipient
for its International Newsmaker of the Year award. We launched this
award in 2019 with our editorial staff recognizing the individuals,
groups or formal clubs who have spent the previous year bringing
amateur radio into the spotlight showing its positive values and
contributions to the community. We are broadening the award's scope
this year by acknowledging that the dissemination of information to the
public about amateur radio's positive influence no longer relies solely
on mainstream media. This year, and going forward, the award will be
presented to a recipient who has illuminated amateur radio's role in
mainstream media or via internet channels. Stay tuned in the weeks
ahead. We will select a winner - to be announced in early December.

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BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur
Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including
the Utah Amateur Radio Club's W7SP repeater on Sundays as part of the
club's 9 p.m. net.