Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (A) To : All From : Daryl Stout Date : Fri May 31 2019 10:26:30 Amateur Radio Newsline 2170 for Friday, May 31, 2019 Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2170, with a release date of Friday, May 31, 2019, to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a QST. A tornado destroys a Hamvention icon. Indiana repeater operators call it quits -- and get ready for a global gathering in Germany. All this and more, as Amateur Radio Newsline Number 2170, comes your way right now. ** BILLBOARD CART ** TORNADOES DESTROY FORMER HAMVENTION HOME PAUL/ANCHOR: We begin our report this week as Ohio and several surrounding states recover from the destruction of violent tornadoes that left one person dead, and scores of others injured. Another casualty: Hara Arena, Hamvention's former home, which was already slated for demolition. Hams, as always, stepped up to help the region in whatever way they could. NEIL: Hara Arena, which hosted its final Hamvention in 2016, is gone, a casualty of a deadly tornado that was among 40 or so that spurred the activation of ARES groups throughout the region. Stan Broadway, N8BHL, told the ARRL, that the hams would remain active during the recovery process, as power outages struck pumping stations, leaving the Dayton area without usable water, and put at least one hospital on generator power. Ohio ARES was operating on HF, on both SSB and digital modes, and on various VHF repeaters, and DMR, and the hams were expected to remain active for several more days. Meanwhile, footage online and on TV, showed the remnants of Hara Arena, the venue ripped apart in the state's hard-hit Miami Valley. The National Weather Service confirmed that winds that struck around the already crumbling arena were clocked at about 140 miles per hour, classifying the tornado as an EF-3. A state of emergency was declared in the Trotwood area where the arena is located. National Weather Service officials said surveying the damage thoroughly throughout the region was expected to take several days. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Neil Rapp, WB9VPG. PAUL/ANCHOR: It should be noted too that while Greene County, Ohio, was hit hard by the same strong forces that ripped into Hara Arena, damage at the fairgrounds in Xenia, Ohio was reported to be considerably less. (ARRL, WRGT-TV, DAYTON DAILY NEWS) ** INDIANA REPEATER SYSTEM IS GOING DARK PAUL/ANCHOR: For hams, repeaters are a key component in ensuring public safety, but one Indiana group is calling it quits at maintaining theirs. Jack Parker, W8ISH, has been following that story. JACK: Fighting physical age, increased costs, and future interests, the Indianapolis, Indiana I-C-E Group, is pulling the plug on their network of high profile repeaters. FM and digital repeaters offering voice, APRS, D-Star and cross-band functions will cease to exist by Thanksgiving this year. The ICE group began building their systems in 1975. According to Dale, WB9YCZ, "We have tried to have great coverage system on all the FM bands, 6 meters through 1.2 Gigahertz." Dale says, "everything has a length of time to exist." The group is hopeful some younger individuals will step up, and take the challenge of providing equipment, and fighting for tower space on suitable sites around Central Indiana. According to Bill, K9YDO, all of the retirees are looking at other interests now, and don't want to commit the time, energy, or physical efforts to continue. This seems to be a growing trend across the county, as the amateur radio community moves into retirement, leaving a huge gap with technically qualified younger hams. One of those affected organizations is Indiana Skywarn, which advises the National Weather Service with severe weather reports. And, one critical area of coverage is the Freetown, Indiana remote base, which links southern and southwestern Indiana communities with the Indianapolis base. For over a decade, this link has been vital to the National Weather Service in providing Skywarn reports from rural Indiana communities. Bill, K9YDO, says they plan to sell the repeater equipment, as each site goes dark in the coming months. Reporting for Amateur Radio Newsline, this is Jack Parker, W8ISH. ** ON JUNE 1, A TEST OF HURRICANE READINESS PAUL/ANCHOR: Hurricane season is here - are you ready? Geri Goodrich, KF5KRN, tells us how to find out. GERI: With the arrival of hurricane season in the United States, WX4NHC, the amateur radio station at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, has been encouraging hams to test their readiness, their shack equipment, their antennas and computers. Part of that preparedness is a test on June 1, encouraging hams worldwide to make brief contacts with WX4NHC, exchanging signal reports, and basic weather information. The station's operation will include HF, VHF, UHF, 2 and 30 metre APRS, and WinLink, as well as the Hurricane Watch Net on 14.325 MHz. The exercise will include contacts on the VoIP Hurricane Net on IRLP node 9219, and the EchoLink WX-TALK Conference node 7203. Assistant coordinator Julio Ripoll, WD4R, noted that this is the station's 39th year of operations at the Miami center. Hurricane season runs through November 30th. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Geri Goodrich, KF5KRN. (NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER) --- SBBSecho 3.07-Win32 * Origin: ILinkNet: The Thunderbolt BBS - tbolt.synchro.net (454:1/33) .