Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (A) To : All From : Daryl Stout Date : Fri Dec 09 2022 07:40:58 Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2354, for Friday, December 9th, 2022 Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2354, with a release date of Friday, December 9th, 2022, to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a QST. A young amateur's balloon makes an incredible journey. A new record is set for the lowest ham band in Australia -- and meet the receipient of Newsline's International Newsmaker of the Year Award for 2022. All this and more, as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2354, comes your way right now. ** BILLBOARD CART ** A SOUTH POLE 'FIRST' FOR AMATEUR RADIO BALLOON NEIL/ANCHOR: Our top story this week asks: When is a transmitting error not really an error but a triumph? When those transmissions are coming from an amateur radio high altitude balloon that became the first of its kind to come so close to the South Pole. Kevin Trotman, N5PRE, has that story. KEVIN: When the high altitude balloon transmitting KM4ZIA, the amateur radio call sign of 15-year-old Jack McElroy, was launched recently in Antarctica, it became part of atmospheric work being done by University of Alabama researcher, Todd McKinney KN4TPG. Instead of just helping build mathematical models of the atmosphere, however, Jack's balloon soon embarked on a incredible journey. A little more than a week later, its navigational equipment began to spit out a series of error messages on 20 meters. One observer in the US, however, realized that nothing was really wrong. He knew, in fact, that something remarkable was happening. Family friend and high-altitude balloon expert, Bill Brown, WB8ELK, knew Jack's solar- powered balloon was a short distance from the South Pole. Mapping systems could no longer determine its position from data being sent on 20 meters because of the densely spaced lines of longitude there at the end of the Earth. Jack's father, Tom McElroy, W4SDR, told Newsline in a phone interview: [quote] "This is the closest any amateur radio balloon has come to the South Pole." [endquote] Tom said Bill phoned the family home in Georgia that morning from Huntsville, Alabama, on December 1st, and said Jack's balloon had literally gone off the map. Tom broke the news to an astonished Jack on the way to school. He said Jack had quite a story for his science teacher that day. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Kevin Trotman, N5PRE. NEIL/ANCHOR: You can track Jack's balloon at aprs.fi, using his call sign KM4ZIA. This isn't Jack's first balloon, either. He has launched several over the years, including two years at Youth on the Air Camp, in a team effort with his sister, Audrey McElroy, KM4BUN, who is this year's 2022 Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year. ** STAMP COLLECTING GETS HOLIDAY SPIRIT FROM HAMS NEIL/ANCHOR: The charitable spirit of amateur radio has always extended past direct involvement with radio activity. Here in the US, one club in Pennsylvania is looking for amateurs' assistance in a project that members have been committed to for a number of years. Sel Embee, KB3TZD, gives us those details. SEL: If you're starting to receive holiday cards from friends or eagerly awaiting the arrival of QSL cards from those treasured DX contacts, members of the Holmesburg Amateur Radio Club, WM3PEN, in Philadelphia are asking one more thing of you: Save those stamps. Hams in the Pennsylvania club support the "Stamps for the Wounded" program, which accepts donations of stamps from around the world for use in occupational therapy programs in convalescent centers and hospitals where veterans are receiving treatment. Although the everyday United States "Forever Flag" stamp is not needed for this program, all other stamps are welcome. Stamps should have at least a quarter-inch margin around them and should not be removed from the original envelopes on which they are sent. The hams in this club have been longtime supporters of the program, which was established in 1942 to encourage stamp collecting among the nation's military veterans who were at various stages of recovery. The program has more details on its website at stampsforthewounded dot org (stampsforthewounded.org). That's "stampsforthewounded" - one word, dot org. If you wish to donate stamps to help the club in their efforts, you can send them to Rich Shivers, K3UJ. You'll find his address in the text version of this week's newscast at arnewsline.org. This is Sel Embee, KB3TZD. [FOR PRINT ONLY: Rich Shivers, K3UJ, 9029 Eastview Rd., Philadelphia, PA 19152, USA ] (HARC newsletter) --- SBBSecho 3.15-Win32 * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas (954:895/7) .