Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2401 for Friday November 3rd, 2023

Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2401 with a release date of Friday
November 3rd, 2023 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. A government boost for hams in northern India.
Astronomers challenged by RFI from Starlink -- and a Chicago radio
legend becomes a Silent Key. All this and more as Amateur Radio
Newsline Report Number 2401 comes your way right now.

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BILLBOARD CART
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INDIAN STATE COMMITS TO CULTIVATING AMATEUR STRENGTH

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Our top story this week comes from northern India,
where amateur radio has been declared a top priority by the government
of one state. Officials there plan to heavily subsidize amateur radio
stations to ensure they thrive and become a valuable resource. John
Williams VK4JJW brings us those details.

JOHN: Officials in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh plan
to subsidize as much as 80 percent of the cost of amateur radio
equipment for licensed hams, recognising amateur radio as a lifesaving
means of alternative communication during disasters. The announcement
by the Himalayan state's chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu was made
in the aftermath of a season of deadly landslides and devastating
rainstorms.

The prime minister made the commitment on Monday, October 30th, calling
amateur radio [quote] "a lifeline when wire lines, cellphones and other
conventional means of communication fail." [endquote] He outlined a
strategy in which at least one amateur radio volunteer would be
available for emergency response in each of the state's subdivisions.
Each of the volunteers would maintain radio contact with state and
district emergency operation centres.

New ham radio clubs will also be established at schools and other
educational institutions and can expect to receive government subsidies
as well for promoting the training of new amateurs.

This is John Williams VK4JJW.

(TRIBUNE INDIA, ECONOMIC TIMES, TIMES OF INDIA)

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STARLINK SATELLITES LINKED TO RADIO TELESCOPE RFI

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: No one wants to deal with RFI, but when you are trying
to unlock the secrets of the universe, it's more than just a bother -it
can derail your research. Graham Kemp VK4BB explains.

GRAHAM: Starlink satellites are emitting RFI that is causing issues for
radio astronomers, even in so-called "radio quiet zones," such as the
outback of Western Australia.

That is the finding of a research team that published their findings
recently in the journal, Astronomy and Astrophysics Letters. Steven
Tingay of Curtin University writes on the Cosmos magazine website that,
using radio telescopes, the researchers detected signals at a number of
licensed radio frequencies but their greatest concern was over intended
and unintended emissions from elsewhere. They traced those to Starlink
satellites. The scientists' tests were conducted at the site where an
SKA-Low facility is to be built in Western Australia. The research
paper's purpose was to demonstrate that Starlink emissions were easily
detected by low-frequency radio antennas that the scientists were using
to represent the SKA-Low station such as one intended for that site.
Known as version 2 of the Engineering Development Array, the antennas
were utilised at 137.5 MHz and 159.4 MHz.

The scientists wrote in their conclusion that [quote] "Our results
indicate that both intended and unintended radiation from Starlink
satellites will be detrimental to key SKA science goals without
mitigation." [endquote] The team recommends dialogue with SpaceX to
work on a means of mitigation involving the use of version 2 of the
Engineering Development Array at the site.

This is Graham Kemp VK4BB.

(COSMOS.COM, ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS LETTERS)

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SILENT KEY: CHICAGO AREA BROADCAST LEGEND BILL CRANE, W9ZN

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: A Chicago area radio legend has become a Silent Key. We
hear about him from Andy Morrison K9AWM.

ANDY: For most of his 84 years, Bill Crane, W9ZN, was a welcome and
well-known personality on the amateur bands, where the former Navy
Radioman first class earned a reputation as a virtuoso of CW. For 45
years, Bill was also part of the core operation at WGN-TV in Chicago,
where the senior audio engineer was known as [quote] "the everyman
engineer and a gentleman genius," according to a station tribute that
went on the air on October 26th. Bill became a Silent Key following a
short illness.

Though CW enthusiasts knew him well for his strong signal and enviable
fist on 40 and 30 meters, Bill had been an unforgettable voice for
listeners of WVON radio who knew him as Bill "Butterball" Crane, one of
the WVON "Good Guys." He was one of the biggest and most popular DJs in
Chicago during the '60s and '70s. His career emerged from his early
enchantment with radio, when his tinkering with electronics at the age
of 11 led him to get an amateur radio license.

In the WGN tribute, reporter Mike Lowe called Bill "the twinkle of
everyone's eyes." Tributes posted online by fellow amateurs recalled
the artistry of his CW and the joy they had in their QSOs with him.

As reporter Mike Lowe noted in his tribute [quote] "A sudden illness
claimed his life but not his legacy." [endquote]

This is Andy Morrison K9AWM.

(QRZ.COM, YOUTUBE)

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DARC MEMBERS PAY TRIBUTE TO GERMANY'S 1st AM RADIO BROADCAST

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: In Germany, amateur radio operators celebrated the
100-year anniversary of the first AM radio broadcast in that country.
Here's Ed Durrant DD5LP to tell us how they marked the occasion.

ED: If you were in the centre of Berlin this past October 29th
listening to an AM radio transmission on 400 metres at precisely 8 p.m.
local time, you may have had an experience similar to the one listeners
enjoyed precisely one hundred years earlier - at that exact hour - when
the nation's first AM radio broadcast station went on the air. This
year, the historic occasion of that broadcast was marked by radio
amateurs paying tribute. Having received permission from the German
regulator, BNetzA, the D.A.R.C. - the national radio society
-transmitted a programme on the original medium wave frequency as part
of the day's celebrations. D.A.R.C. members were also present at the
nearby technical museum to speak about radio and conduct
demonstrations. The day's ceremonies included the unveiling of a plaque
at the site where the original "vox hause" (pron: FOX HOUSE) studio and
transmitter were located.

The D.A.R.C. of course is no stranger to AM broadcasting. Each week its
regularly scheduled news report is sent to listeners on the 49- 31- and
75-metre broadcast bands. It is, however, worth noting that this
special tribute broadcast on 400 metres likely had more listeners than
100 years ago, when few households had radio sets.

This is Ed Durrant DD5LP. (RADIO D.A.R.C)

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UNUSUAL WEST COAST HURRICANE SURPRISES RESPONDERS

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Late-October hurricane activity left responders in the
US surprised, especially because these were storms unusual - they were
in the Pacific. Randy Sly W4XJ has those details.

RANDY: A nightmare began for nearly 1 million Mexican citizens and
tourists in and around Acapulco when Hurricane Otis suddenly built to a
Category 5 hurricane and hit with devastating force on October 25th,
leaving at least 46 dead. This storm took many forecasters and
emergency personnel by surprise.

Hurricane activity on the west coast of North and Central America has
been infrequent but this year there were two storms back to back, with
Otis following close behind Hurricane Norma.

Bobby Graves, KA5HAV, manager of the Hurricane Watch Net, told AR
Newsline that while activating for Norma in the Eastern Pacific the net
was twice as busy, as they were also tracking Tropical Storm Tammy in
the Atlantic.

Graves mentioned that Pacific Hurricanes were rare for the West Coast
as most storms travel East to West. While the practices and procedures
are the same, the hardest part of Eastern Pacific activations is the
shortage of active operators. He is hoping that the recent hurricane
activity with Norma and Otis in Mexico may encourage more hams to check
in during weather activations. For more information on the Hurricane
Watch Net, go to hwn.org.

This is Randy Sly, W4XJ

(BOBBY GRAVES, KA5HAV)

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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 K6PVR repeater in Ventura, California on Sundays at 6:30 p.m.
localtime.

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HAMS IN INDIA HELP ACCIDENT VICTIMS GET WORD TO FAMILIES

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Hams in India played a crucial role following a deadly
collision between a bus and an SUV, as we hear from Jason Daniels
VK2LAW.

JASON: Amateur radio operators helped calm some of the chaos following
a deadly head-on collision between an SUV and a tourist bus in Tamil
Nadu, India. According to local media reports, the accident left seven
of the 10 passengers in the SUV dead on the scene.

According to news reports, Manjunath Shinganahalli [shin-GONNA-Holly],
VU3CJM, and Sankar Satyapal [SOT-yuh-POLL], VU2FI, at the Indian
Institute of Hams were alerted to the situation by a ham radio operator
who encountered the accident scene while riding his motorcycle. The
institute got in touch with members of the West Bengal Radio Club where
amateurs made arrangements with local officials for video calls to be
made so the tourists could assure their family members that they had
survived and were safe.