Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (B) To : All From : Daryl Stout Date : Thu May 25 2023 21:52:34 A SUCCESSFUL HAMVENTION 2023 IS IN THE LOG NEIL/ANCHOR: This year's Dayton Hamvention was another success, with several vendors returning after an absence along with some great weather. The rain was mostly overnight on Friday and caused minimal disruptions. The main buzz was about 2 new handheld radios being announced, one from ICOM America and another from JVC/Kenwood who returned to Hamvention after being absent since the start of the pandemic. 2023 Hamvention Amateur of the Year Carsten Dauer, DM9EE, received a standing ovation in front of a large crowd attending his forum about his work to house evacuated Ukrainian family members as well as shipping donated radio gear, power banks, solar panels, and first aid kits for use to assist operators despite the partial Russian invasion. Steve Morgan, W4NHO, was recognized with the Spirit of Amateur Radio award for his work in coordinating disaster relief communications during the recent Eastern Kentucky flooding. The Voice of America Museum in nearby West Chester, Ohio, had expanded hours during Hamvention and reported record attendance of nearly 400 visitors. The youth socials at the YOTA booth were standing room only. And, many hams were greeted by the first known live duck to attend Hamvention, Mochi, accompanied by Junie, N1DUC, who was promoting her new YouTube channel, and educating people about domesticated ducks. Finally, 2023 marked the return of our own Newsline Town Hall. Attendees heard international updates from Tim Ellam, VE6SH, the president of IARU. Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, returned to the town hall to talk about the ARRL Volunteer Monitoring program, while Mark Smith, N6MTS, proposed a new open headset interconnect standard to assist with group activities and EMCOMM. ** US AUTOMAKER WON'T ELIMINATE AM RADIO IN NEW CARS NEIL/ANCHOR: AM radio isn't quite dead yet among those selling cars in the US. One carmaker has shifted gears into reverse - literally. Here's Kent Peterson, KC0DGY, with an update. KENT: In the United States, the Ford Motor Company has reversed an earlier decision to eliminate AM radios in its new cars, trucks and SUVs. The carmaker's announcement was made on Tuesday, May 23rd, on the heels of a bipartisan bill introduced in Washington, D.C., pressing for AM broadcast radio's retention as a public safety measure. Ford CEO Jim Farley announced on social media that the reversal comes came after discussions with government policy leaders who believe the elimination of AM broadcast radio in vehicles will cut motorists off from essential emergency alerts transmitted on those frequencies. The CEO wrote on Twitter that all 2024 Ford and Lincoln vehicles would include AM radio. He added: [quote] "For any owners of Ford's EVs without AM broadcast capability, we'll offer a software update." [endquote] The update would restore AM functionality. The US Federal Communications Commission has also thrown its support behind the proposed legislation that seeks to halt the trend toward automakers' removal of AM broadcast in US vehicles. The bill, introduced May 17th, is known as the "AM for Every Vehicle Act." The FCC cannot regulate what automakers do, but was nonetheless vocal about the value AM radio has to motorists who may need to receive emergency alerts while on the road. Other manufacturers, including Volvo, Tesla and BMW, have indicated they were dropping AM radio from their new electric cars because of interference between the vehicles' electrical operating systems and the AM broadcast band. The Associated Press did not immediately receive comment from the other carmakers. The bill's opponents, including The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents US automakers, called the AM radio proposal unnecessary. They said that the US warning system, operated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, can also deliver safety warnings by other means, such as FM broadcast, satellite and cellular networks. This is Kent Peterson, KC0DGY. (ASSOCIATED PRESS, HOUSE.GOV, INSIDE RADIO, VARIETY) ** EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION RANGE EXPANDS IN SOUTH CAROLINA NEIL/ANCHOR: Emergency preparedness got a needed boost in South Carolina and Kevin Trotman, N5PRE, has those details. KEVIN: Dorchester County, South Carolina is getting ready for hurricane season on the ground and in the air. High atop a 226-foot tower, members of the county's emergency management office have been installing an antenna system that will allow the county's amateur radio response team a wider communication range with first responders during emergencies. The hams are members of DART, or the Dorchester Amateur Radio Team. County officials told the local CBS TV station that the installation is designed to close a communications gap between Columbia and as far away as Charleston, South Carolina - a need that became apparent after Hurricane Ian struck the region last autumn. As storm season approaches again, the emergency management office is supplementing this antenna work high in the air by taking on some serious training on the ground. Emergency officials will soon be teaching classes to help get more volunteers prepared for their amateur radio technician license. This is Kevin Trotman, N5PRE. (NEWS2) --- SBBSecho 3.20-Win32 * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas (954:895/7) .