Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2419 for Friday March 8th, 2024

Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2419 with a release date of Friday
March 8th, 2024 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. Hams race against time to get medicine to an
ailing train passenger. A new look at recharging batteries, via
infrared - and Amateur Radio Newsline presents a special tribute to
Silent Key Bob Heil K9EID. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline
Report Number 2419 comes your way right now.

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BILLBOARD CART

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HAMS RACE AGAINST THE CLOCK TO DELIVER MEDICINE TO RAIL PASSENGER

PAUL/ANCHOR: Our top story takes us to India, where hams assisted in a
dramatic race against time - and a railroad schedule - to deliver
medicine to an ailing passenger on a train. Jim Meachen ZL2BHF brings
us that story.

JIM: Two hams in India raced against the clock - and a fast-moving
express train - to provide medicine to an ailing passenger en route
from Hyderabad [hydra-BOD] this month. According to several reports in
the local Indian media, the 35-year-old man had fallen ill and was
being accompanied back home on the train by his brother when his
condition worsened. His throat pain became severe and he began to cough
up blood. Another passenger who was a doctor suggested a remedy that
could help the man but the train was not scheduled to stop until the
next station. The ailing man's brother phoned their father, a social
worker, who put an alert out on social media via WhatsApp. It was seen
by Ambarish Nag Biswas, VU2JFA, of the West Bengal Radio Club, who went
on the air with an emergency call on behalf of the passenger. Sai
Likhith, VU2TFN, a member of the Dolphin Amateur Radio Repeater Club,
heard the call and responded, receiving the information he needed. He
was able to locate the necessary remedy. He arrived at the station just
in time to hand over the medicine during the train's five-minute stop.

This is Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.

(TELANGANA TODAY, THE TIMES OF INDIA)

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WIRELESS POWER TRANSFER USES INFRARED

PAUL/ANCHOR: Need to charge your batteries? Have you ever thought about
transferring that power wirelessly? A company in Israel doing just that
- and Kent Peterson KC0DGY tells us about it.

KENT: Technology developed 10 years ago in Israel to permit wireless
transfer of power has begun showing up in some world markets. The
over-the-air system uses infrared sent from transmitters that transform
electricity into infrared beams which they then send to nearby devices
that need their batteries recharged. Line of sight is necessary for the
transmission to be successful and one transmitter's signal can cover
about 130 square meters of area. For it to work, each device needs to
have receivers attached to convert the infrared signals back into
electricity.

The company, Wi-Charge, has trademarked this far-field wireless
technology under the name "AirCord." It is designed to replace the
traditional need to plug devices in using cords to recharge them.
According to the company website, the technology is already in use in
some countries in the retail, commercial and industrial sectors.
Wi-Charge states that AirCord sends narrow beams that focus only on the
devices equipped with receivers and has been certified as safe by the
Food and Drug Administration and Underwriters Laboratories in the US
and by the International Electrotechnical Commission in the UK.

This is Kent Peterson KC0DGY.

(FORBES, THE JERUSALEM POST)

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OVERSEAS HAMS GET EXPANDED PRIVILEGES UNDER AUSTRALIA'S NEW
LICENSESYSTEM

PAUL/ANCHOR: If you're planning to visit Australia anytime soon and
want to get on the air, John Williams VK4JJW has some encouraging news
to share.

JOHN: Whether you are a US Technician class operator, a Foundation
licence holder in the UK or a ham with entry-level privileges in
certain other countries, the new class licence arrangements in
Australia now permit you to get on the air - up to a maximum of 365
consecutive days. Visitors from a list of countries no longer need to
make a separate application for a licence; they need only append VK
slash before their home callsign.

The Australian Media and Communications Authority has posted a list of
countries with currently recognised foreign licence equivalents who may
operate under Australian licence rules. Visit the ACMA page at the
address given in the text version of this newscast script at
arnewsline.org

The ACMA makes it clear, however, that hams seeking to relocate to
Australia will still need to apply for a licence in VK and receive a
new VK home call.

[DO NOT READ:
https://www.acma.gov.au/overseas-amateurs-visiting-australia ]

This is John Williams VK4JJW.

(ACMA)

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NEW LICENSE CLASS FOR ENTRY LEVEL OPS IN LUXEMBOURG

PAUL/ANCHOR: Luxembourg has introduced a new license class for entry
level ops. Jeremy Boot G4NJH tells us what happens next.

JEREMY: A third class of amateur radio licence has been introduced by
the Luxembourg Institute of Regulation to provide entry level operators
with access to selected bands. Known as the BASE level certificate, it
permits operation on 2 metres, 70 cm and 10m. Operators may use a
maximum power of 25 watts PEP and are limited to dipole-type antennas
and quarter-wave vertical ground plane antennas. They must have no more
than two radiating elements and a gain of less than 3 dBd.

The licence became available on the 26th of January and first exams are
to be offered this coming June. The regulator finalised the agreement
in consultation with the Radioamateurs du Luxembourg, whose education
team had submitted the proposal last year. BASE call signs will
beginLX7.

The Radioamateurs du Luxembourg says on its Facebook page: [quote]
"With this new licence class, the start with amateur radio now becomes
simplified. After just a short introductory course by our experienced
radio amateurs and a brief exam at the regulatory authority, you can
apply for a licence and participate in amateur radio." [endquote] The
Luxembourg amateur radio group said it hoped operators would eventually
sit for the exams for the higher-level NOVICE and HAREC class. The BASE
licence exam syllabus follows the CEPT/ECC 89 report.

This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(RADIOAMATEURS DU LUXENBOURG)

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DEADLINE FOR ARDC GRANTS IS APRIL 1ST

PAUL/ANCHOR: If you or your club or school have a project that helps
further the mission of amateur radio for everyone, now is the time to
consider a grant from Amateur Radio Digital Communications. Stephen
Kinford N8WB explains what's available.

STEPHEN: April 1st is the deadline to apply for grants from Amateur
Radio Digital Communications for this year. The grants are distributed
across three categories that are consistent with ARDC's mission. The
first type of grant supports and grows ham radio by helping to fund
emergency communications initiatives, licensing instruction and
repeater infrastructure.

In another category, ARDC also supports education in the schools
directly, funding support and mentorship of STEAM programs that link to
ham radio, digital communications or wireless technology. Education
grants also include support of scholarships.

Finally, research and development projects, such as the M17 Open
Protocol Project and Tangerine SDR - two previous recipients - are
given support to ensure ham radio has access to state-of-the-art
technology.

Any projects receiving an ARDC grant must be made available to the
public and in the case of software, must be open source. Visit the
website ardc dot net to read more about the grants and to find an
application form.

This is Stephen Kinford N8WB.

(ARDC)

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FRIEDRICHSHAFEN THEME IS IOTA'S 60TH ANNIVERSARY

PAUL/ANCHOR: Oceans separate us but because of one amateur radio
programme, oceans have also been uniting us. Sixty years ago, the first
amateur radio Islands on the Air operators began calling CQ from remote
ocean islands around the globe. That spirit of adventure is being
celebrated this summer at Europe's largest amateur radio event. Ham
Radio Friedrichshafen (PRON: FREED RICKS HAR VEN) has chosen IOTA's
60th anniversary as the theme for its 47th amateur radio event taking
place June 28th to the 30th on Lake Constance in southern Germany. In
the words of the promoters, it is a celebration of "60 years of Islands
on the Air: technology meets adventure!"

(HAM RADIO FRIEDRICHSHAFEN)

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DO YOU HAIKU?

Don't forget the Amateur Radio Newsline haiku challenge. If you're not
too busy tuning your antennas or chasing the latest DXpedition, pick up
a pencil and 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
haikuform.

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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
D-STAR Reflector 91 C at 7:30 p.m. Melbourne Australian time on
Wednesdays, or 0830 UTC.

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NASA RETIRES MARS HELICOPTER

PAUL/ANCHOR: NASA's Mars helicopter, known as Ingenuity, has officially
been retired. Images sent late last month to NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory by Perseverance, the Mars rover, showed that an upper rotor
blade had broken off, preventing additional takeoffs. After three
years, however, the mission is nonetheless being called a success. It
had been deployed to Mars to determine if controlled flight might be
possible from the surface of the planet - and it proved it was. Those
experiments were to include only five flights - not the 72 it had
completed by the time it became disabled.