Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (B)
To   : All
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Fri Mar 03 2023 02:25:28

SILENT KEY: FORMER FCC CHIEF ENGINEER RAY SPENCE, W4QAW

NEIL/ANCHOR: A noted contester and DXer who had once been the chief 
engineer for the Federal Communications Commission has become a Silent 
Key. We learn more about him from Jim Damron, N8TMW.

JIM: Raymond Spence, W4QAW, was so devoted to contesting and DXing that a 
1984 newspaper interview with him described the traffic-stopping view his 
collection of towers provided to motorists who would see them from a 
nearby highway. The Washington Post article noted that much of the six 
and a half acres of Raymond's property in Virginia served him well. 
Raymond, who was retired from the post as chief engineer for the FCC in 
nearby Washington, DC, became a Silent Key on February 18th, due to heart 
failure.

Born in 1929, he was an active ham for much of his life. His basement 
radio room served as his main contest station and he was a top performer 
in many major contests. He is listed on the DXCC Honor Roll and was a 
member of the National Capitol DX Association and the Potomac Valley 
Radio Club.

This is Jim Damron, N8TMW.

(WASHINGTON POST, DX NEWS.COM, QRZ.COM)

**

HAMVENTION AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED

NEIL/ANCHOR: If you want to know who's REALLY looking forward to 
Hamvention this year, consider this list of amateurs who'll be coming to 
Dayton to receive some awards. Paul Braun, WD9GCO, has the details.

PAUL: Hamvention has announced this year's award recipients. I spoke with 
awards committee chair Michael Kalter, W8CI, about them.

KALTER: First is the special achievement winner, Dr. Jason McDonald, 
N2TPA. He’s just been instrumental in promoting international friendship 
and community through amateur radio by forming scouting clubs in Canada, 
Philippines, and Florida. Right now there are more than 500 youth in 
these clubs that have been licensed and are on the air.

KALTER: This year's Technical Achievement Award goes to Dr. James Breakall,
WA3FET, and his work’s been so instrumental in amateur radio antenna
technology development for decades. He’s teamed with experts in the
field to develop state-of-the-art advancements with a wide range of
applications including the Numeric Electromagnetic Code, NEC.

KALTER: Amateur of the Year goes to Carsten Dauer, DM9EE. He’s been 
active in European amateur radio through WRTC and YOTA for 30 years. But 
more recently, he has spearheaded a group called DM9EE-Helping Hands, a 
movement to provide amateur radio equipment to war-torn Ukraine by 
collecting donations and delivering them personally to communities in 
Ukraine.

PAUL: Amateur Radio Club of the Year goes to The Delaware Valley Radio 
Association, formed in 1930 to serve the Trenton, New Jersey metropolitan 
area.

To read more, visit Hamvention's website, hamvention.org. Congratulations 
to the winners from all of us at Amateur Radio Newsline.

**

MAJOR INDIAN BROADCASTER HONORS WEST BENGAL HAM

NEIL/ANCHOR: Congratulations to Ambarish Nag Biswas, VU2JFA, secretary of 
the West Bengal Radio Club in India, who were Newsline's International 
Newsmaker of the Year for 2019 and 2022. At a recent ceremony in Kolkata, 
he was given the Ananya Samman award from Zee News, a Hindi broadcast 
channel that is part of one of India's largest media companies. He told 
Newsline this was a special honor for him as the first amateur radio 
recipient. The award is in recognition of the club's life-saving work 
during cyclones, the pandemic and in other areas of public concern. 
Newsline joins him in celebrating this achievement.

(YOUTUBE)

**

IN SEARCH OF 'YOUNG HAM OF THE YEAR'

NEIL/ANCHOR: We remind our listeners that young hams who live in the 
continental United States have an opportunity to make news, if they 
aren't already doing so, by being a recipient of this year's Amateur 
Radio Newsline Bill Pasternak Memorial Young Ham of the Year Award. 
Consider nominating an amateur radio operator 18 years of age or younger 
-- someone who has talent, promise and a commitment to the spirit of ham 
radio. Find application forms on our website arnewsline.org under the 
"YHOTY" tab. Nominations are now open and close on May 31st.

**

BREAK HERE: 

Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, 
heard on bulletin stations around the world including the WA7ABU repeater 
in Willamette Valley, Oregon, on Saturdays at 6 p.m. local time.
--- SBBSecho 3.14-Win32
 * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas (954:895/7)

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