Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (C) To : All From : Daryl Stout Date : Fri Mar 03 2023 02:25:30 FIRST-TIME PARTNERSHIP FOR WORLD AMATEUR RADIO DAY NEIL/ANCHOR: The theme of World Amateur Radio Day this year is a recognition of the vital role ham radio has played in a number of world crises. John Williams, VK4JJW, tells us what's planned. JOHN: In an unprecedented partnership, the International Amateur Radio Union is being joined by the United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security and the World Academy of Art and Science to mark World Amateur Radio Day on the 18th of April. The organisations have declared the theme of the day to be Human Security for All, or HS4A. The theme arises out of the partners' shared belief that hams have a unique means to fulfill the United Nations' mission of providing human security for individuals around the world. The campaign the partnering groups have launched together honours ham radio's proven track record in responding to natural disasters, the pandemic, climate change and even armed conflicts - the many things that undermine individual security without regard to national boundaries. This important concept was declared a priority by the United Nations in 1994. Ham radio gains its advantage as a responder by providing technical knowledge, practical skills and backup systems that provide a security net in times of crisis. The IARU, which has membership societies in more than 150 nations around the world, made the announcement on its webpage for Region 1. A two-week event will be held on the air from April 11th through to the 25th highlighting the HS4A campaign for World Amateur Radio Day. This is John Williams, VK4JJW. (IARU REGION 1) ** PARKS ON THE AIR INTRODUCES 48-HOUR CONTEST NEIL/ANCHOR: Operating portable in the park just gained a little more of a competitive edge. Dave Parks, WB8ODF, explains. DAVE: A new activity being introduced this June by the Parks on the Air organizers is going to be different from the casual portable outdoor operating experience activators and hunters enjoy. This is a contest. For 48 hours, hams will collect contacts and points as part of the new Parks on the Air Plaque Event, which is intended to become an annual competition. In a YouTube interview with Kevin Thomas W1DED, POTA president Jason Johnston, W3AAX, explained the different categories available to both hunters and activators and explained that anyone who made their first POTA contact after June 2, 2022, is eligible for the additional category of rookie. Participants must be registered with POTA and can use CW, SSB and the digital modes. Hams will not be permitted to use the WARC bands. As for multipliers, there are none. This keeps the playing field level so that everything - even multiple reference areas - will be worth a single point. This is Dave Parks, WB8ODF. NEIL/ANCHOR: The contest will be held on HF, VHF, UHF and SHF. For a look at the rules and other details for the event, see the link in the text version of this week's Newsline report at arnewsline.org [FOR PRINT ONLY: https://docs.pota.app/docs/award_events/plaque_event/plaque_event.html ] ** LONGTIME 40M NET IN INDIA AVAILABLE AS LIVE STREAM NEIL/ANCHOR: One of the oldest nets held among radio amateurs in India has begun a live stream. Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF, has those details. JIM: The origins of the Belgaum Hambel Net predate the internet by several decades, when a group of young shortwave enthusiasts in the city of Belgaum would get together to study for their ASOC examination in the physics lab of a local college where Pal, VU2PAL, was a professor. By 1973, the group - now licensed hams - had grown. In 1973 they formed the Hambel Amateur Radio Club. By 1988, the hams had agreed to have regularly scheduled QSOs with one another on 7.052.5 MHz - and little by little the on-air circle of friends grew to include those living outside the immediate area. The net was formally launched by Professor Pal in November 1989. He moved it to 7.050 MHz and gave it a name - the Hambel Belgaum Net. He was also its first and most active net control. According to the club's website, by the time he became a Silent Key in 2016, he had logged tens of thousands of QSOs via the net alone. The group's well-established 40-metre net tradition continues today from 7 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. Indian Standard Time, but the world has recently begun listening in. The net now uses YouTube to livestream its check-ins, with net controllers Bebu, VU2PNU, Omprakash, VU2KOC, Joshi, VU2BRJ, and Yaseen, VU3PMY. You can listen too. See the link to one of the more recent nets in the text version of this week's script at arnewsline.org This is Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF. [FOR PRINT, DO NOT READ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRw9qluW9WY ] (HAMBEL NET WEBSITE, YOUTUBE) --- SBBSecho 3.14-Win32 * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas (954:895/7) .