Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2416 for Friday February 16th, 2024

Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2416 with a release date of Friday
February 16th, 2024 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. Hams in South Carolina rally for antenna
rights. Australia prepares for its new licensing arrangements -- a
simplex net provides a safety net in Hawaii. All this and more as
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2416 comes your way right now.

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BILLBOARD CART

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PROPOSED LAW WOULD PROTECT HAM ANTENNAS IN SOUTH CAROLINA

PAUL/ANCHOR: We begin this week in South Carolina, where hams are
planning to rally on the 21st of February for a bill that would remove
private land restrictions for some amateur radio antennas. This is one
state of many throughout the US where such restrictions are a paramount
concern. Kevin Trotman N5PRE has that report.

KEVIN: A rally is planned at the State House in Columbia, South
Carolina, as a show of support for the Amateur Radio Antenna Protection
act, which eight Republican lawmakers are introducing into session that
day. The bill is designed to ensure amateur radio operators' rights to
install antennas that let them get on the air effectively. According to
an email sent to amateurs in the state from E. Gordon Mooneyhan, W4EGM,
of the ARRL's South Carolina Section, a strong presence by radio
operators will go a long way toward making several points in favor of
the measure's passage. Calling ham radio a [quote] "incubator for
education, exploration and experimentation within the Science,
Technology, Engineering and Mathematics fields," Gordon also noted that
active hams have provided some 6,000 hours of volunteer community
service during the past two years. He said that although most log
periodic antennas and satellites used for TV reception over the air are
more obtrusive, Homeowners Associations, or HOAs, have imposed
restrictions that bar even the simplest amateur radio antennas,
providing an obstacle to short- and long-range emergency
communications.

The widespread concern about HOAs and amateur radio in many states
throughout the US has led to introduction of the Amateur Radio Parity
Act, which would provide antenna protection on the federal level. The
US Congress has not yet acted on the bill, which is opposed by
manyHOAs.

This is Kevin Trotman N5PRE.

(E.GORDON MOONEYHAM, W4EGM; CONGRESS.GOV)

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LAWMAKERS SEEK FEDERAL PROTECTION FOR HAM RADIO ANTENNAS

PAUL/ANCHOR: Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., a new effort to grant
sweeping protection across the country was introduced in the US Senate.
The bipartisan measure would mandate that private homeowners
associations accept the installation of outdoor ham radio antennas. The
Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act of 2024 was presented by
Senator Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican, and Senator Richard
Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat. The measure underscores the value
of ham radio's lifesaving potential during natural disasters and other
emergencies such as the hurricanes that are common in both of the
sponsoring lawmakers' home states.

(WICKER.SENATE.GOV)

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NEW LICENSE PROCEDURES TAKING EFFECT IN AUSTRALIA

PAUL/ANCHOR: A new way of handling and issuing amateur radio licenses
is about to take effect in Australia. John Williams VK4JJW tells us
what's changing - and what's not.

JOHN: A new era in amateur radio licences dawns in Australia on the
19th of February as the Australian Communications and Media Authority
implements the new Class Licence arrangements. The transition from
apparatus licences requires no action for most hams but holders of
recently renewed amateur apparatus licences may be eligible for a
pro-rated refund upon surrender of those licences. The changes include
the administration of examination services by the ACMA and a new
accreditation process for examiners that is intended to increase the
availability of assessors to those wishing to sit the exams. That
process includes working with volunteer assessors who previously
supported from the Australian Maritime College to bring them on board
with the new ACMA arrangements. The college's services to the ACMA do
not extend past the 18th of February.

The Overseas Amateurs Visiting Australia Class Licence is to be
available to those amateurs whose licence is conformant with the HAREC
standard under CEPT arrangements. Operators from overseas whose
licences are not HAREC compliant may be eligible, upon application, to
operate under an amateur class licence for 365 days if they meet
certain qualifications.

The arrangements have been designed to minimise the cost of licences
for ham radio operators and to reduce the regulatory burden on the
ACMA. Repeater and beacon licensing remains unchanged as apparatus
licences.

This is John Williams VK4JJW.

(ACMA, WIA)

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EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY SEEKS HAM INPUT ON PROPOSED SATELLITE PAYLOAD

PAUL/ANCHOR: Satellite partners in Europe will soon be reaching out to
hams for suggestions for the next payload in geostationary orbit. We
have those details from Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

JEREMY: The European Space Agency expects to engage in dialogue soon
with amateur radio operators about a proposal for a geostationary
satellite payload that would serve as a follow-up to QO-100. The ESA,
the IARU and various members of the AMSAT community began pursuing the
concept last year. At the recent FOSDEM 2024, held on the first weekend
of February in Brussels, the ESA's Frank Zeppenfeldt, PD0AP, announced
that ESA's satellite communications group is now actively seeking the
ham community's input, especially from those operators familiar
withSDRs.

The Es'hail-2/Qatar-QO-100 satellite was launched in November 2018,
carrying the first amateur radio transponders to be in
geostationaryorbit.

This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(AMATEUR RADIO DAILY, FOSDEM)

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LIFETIME AWARD FOR 50 YEARS OF RADIO COMMITMENT

PAUL/ANCHOR: Congratulations to Jose [PRON: JOES] Jacob, VU2JOS, who
received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the North Bengal Amateur
Radio Society for 50 years of involvement in radio that included
broadcast DXing and later, amateur radio. The award was presented to
him on the 13th of February, which was World Radio Day. Licensed since
1985, he has participated in nearly a dozen DXpeditions by the National
Institute of Amateur Radio.

(NORTH BENGAL AMATEUR RADIO SOCIETY, QRZ.COM)

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SILENT KEY: CQ DX HALL OF FAMER BOB ALLPHIN, K4UEE

PAUL/ANCHOR: An accomplished DXpeditioner and veteran contester has
become a Silent Key. We hear about him from Jack Parker W8ISH.

JACK: When it came to contesting or participating in DXpeditions, Bob
Allphin [PRON: ALL FIN], KN4UEE, could often be found at the center of
activity. He had been involved in DXpeditions that traveled to most of
the DXCC top 10 most wanted locations. He was also a CQ DX Hall of
Famer and a competitor in two World Radiosport Championships.

Bob became a Silent Key on the 10th of February at his home in Georgia
of kidney failure and Merkle Cell carcinoma.

According to a posting on DX World, Bob's participation in 10 major
DXpeditions over the years helped the team log more than 1.25 million
QSOS, many of them from rare locations. He was also an avid contester,
qualifying for the WRTC events in 1996 and 2000. Thirty-eight of his
Dxpeditions during the mid-80s and into the early 200s were for
contesting. He also held the callsign VU3RQA and was a member of the
VU7RG Lakshadweep DXpedition organized by the National Institute of
Amateur Radio in India.

Bob was a member of the First CLass Operators Club and the Southeastern
DX Club Hall of Fame. At the time of his death Bob served as president
of the KP1-5 Project, which advocates for the use by amateur radio of
the environmentally sensitive Navassa and Desecheo islands by
coordinating efforts with the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Bob was 79.
This is Jack Parker W8ISH.

(DX-WORLD)

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SILENT KEY: DMR's TGIF FOUNDER MITCH SAVAGE, EA7KDO

PAUL/ANCHOR: One of the founders of the DMR Network known as TGIF has
become a Silent Key. A notice posted on the network website reports
that Mitch Savage, EA7KDO, died on the 6th of February. No other
details were given. The TGIF net that was held on Friday, February 9th
was dedicated to him.

Mitch wrote on his page on QRZ.com that he got his amateur radio
license in 1964 and was an active ham, gravitating into digital radio
starting in 2016. He was most active on DMR, Fusion D-Star, P25, NXDN
and WiresX. He relocated to Spain from Texas in 2017 and in October
2018 he became one of the founding fathers of the TGIF Network, which
grew out of a net the group originally held on a Brandmeister
TalkGroup.

A message on the TGIF site said: [quote] "Mitch leaves behind a
remarkable contribution to ham radio and beyond." [endquote]

(QRZ.COM, TGIF)

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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
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Sundays at 8 p.m. local time during the Weekly Information Net.