Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (C)
To   : All
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Fri Mar 31 2023 04:47:20

BREAK HERE: 

Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline,
heard on bulletin stations around the world, including the W4HPL repeater
in Cookeville, Tennessee, on Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. local time.

**

COME TO OUR TOWN HALL FORUM AT HAMVENTION

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: If you're heading to Hamvention in Xenia, Ohio, here's
something to put on your calendar for that weekend: The Amateur Radio
Newsline Town Hall Forum is back. This popular and lively 90-minute
session was discontinued after the death of Newsline co-founder Bill
Pasternak, WA6ITF, in 2015. It returns on Friday, May 19th, from 11:30
a.m. to 1 p.m. local time with Mark Smith, N6MTS, cohost of the Ham
Radio Workbench podcast, who will discuss the proposed Open Headset
Interface Standard; Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, former FCC amateur
radio enforcement director, who oversees the ARRL's Volunteer Monitor
Program. We will also be hosting IARU president Timothy Ellam, VE6SH,
who will give an overview of issues the IARU is reviewing that affect 
hams worldwide. See you there!

**

TEMPORARY UK CALLSIGN PREFIX OK'D FOR CORONATION

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Hams in the UK have already planned a variety of events
to mark the King's coronation in May. They've just received approval for
yet another way to mark the occasion. Jeremy Boot, G4NJH, has those
details.

JEREMY: Ofcom has approved the use of the letter "R": as a regional
secondary locator prefix for callsigns used during the Coronation of
the King and the Queen Consort. Hams will need to apply for a Notice
of Variation, known as an NoV, and can do so through the Radio Society
of Great Britain website. Use of this special prefix is approved for
use during May and June. To apply, hams must provide their callsign,
and their email address, as well as the number of their amateur radio
licence. The application form is available at rsgb dot org. The
Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla will take place at
Westminster Abbey on Saturday the 6th of May.

(RSGB)

**

IN PURSUIT OF STOATS AND QSOS ON SECRETARY ISLAND

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: New Zealand's Secretary Island is traditionally a haven
for native wildlife, especially birds, and is prized for having a
splendid ecosystem. One amateur radio operator recently combined his
work as a conservationist there with his pursuit of QSOs. Jim Meachen,
ZL2BHF, tells us of his adventures.

JIM M: For five days, Matt Briggs, ZL4NVW, was both the hunter, and the
hunted. He spent five days on Secretary Island, helping the Department
of Conservation trap stoats, predators that made it across the sound to
invade this pristine island ecosystem. But Secretary also carries the
island designation of ZLI/SL-253, (Pronounced: Zed Ell Eye Slash Ess Ell
253) in the ZL-On-The-Air_scheme, so not all of the gear Matt carried
was used for trapping these carnivorous mammals. He was looking to catch
some QSOs -- and he did, on several SOTA summits. He started with SOTA
summit ZL3/FL-728, known as The Hub and went on to hut, Mount Grono Biv,
designated ZLH/SL-142. He wrote on the SOTA Reflector that his first day
on the island was a productive one: He brought in 10 SOTA contacts and -
oh yes - four stoats.

It was a good beginning.

Later, he was to tackle SOTA summit Mount Grono, ZL3/FL-616. In between
checking the stoat traps, he made good contacts from this, 4-point summit,
which is the island's highest. Despite some weather challenges, his good
fortune continued right up to the final day on the island.

Matt didn't just leave with a log; he has pictures too. You can share his
experience virtually by going to the SOTA Reflector. The link appears in
the text version of this week's script at arnewsline.org

This is Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF.

[FOR PRINT, DO NOT READ: 

https://reflector.sota.org.uk/t/secretary-island-conservation-and-radio-
do-mix/31910 ]

(above URL all on one line)

(SOTA REFLECTOR)
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 * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas (954:895/7)

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