Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (A)
To   : All
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Fri Jun 12 2020 08:05:23

Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2224, for Friday, June 12, 2020

Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2224, with a release date of
Friday, June 12, 2020, to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. Get ready for Solar Cycle 25. Organizers
cancel Ham Expo in France -- and we remember Newsline's cofounder,
Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF. All this and more, as Amateur Radio Newsline
Report Number 2224, comes your way right now.

**

BILLBOARD CART

**

WELCOMING SOLAR CYCLE 25 - AT LAST

JIM/ANCHOR: Our top story this week comes from the sun -- or rather,
it comes from Newsline's Science Editor Dr. Tamitha Skov, WX6SWW,
who has some encouraging news about the next solar cycle.

TAMITHA: After nearly a decade of waiting for astronaut launches to
return to American soil, SpaceX successfully launched astronauts Bob
Behnken and Doug Hurley into orbit on the 30th of May 2020. The flight,
which lasted 19 hours in the newly christened Dragon Ship Endeavor
before it docked with the International Space Station, has quickly
become known as the moment we ushered in a new era of human spaceflight.
Not since 1969 have we seen a rocket launch this anticipated.

But the astronauts were not the only ones making history. Just a day
prior, our sun decided it was time to wake up from its long slumber,
and remind humanity to always check the weather before flying - the
space weather, that is.

With almost no warning, it launched the first two big solar flares of
the new solar cycle on May 29th, 2020 less than one day before the
launch.

Welcome to Solar Cycle 25. Luckily for the astronauts, the sun's solar
flare radio bursts only lasted for a few hours, and then as if in
anticipation, the sun quieted down for the final countdown. The rest,
as they say, is history.

Of course, most will remember this week as the moment we returned the
power of human spaceflight to American soil. But amateur radio operators,
with a nod and a wink, will always know that our sun celebrated right
along with us in its own unique way.

This is Tamitha Skov, WX6SWW, for Amateur Radio Newsline.

**

WILDLIFE DRAMAS IN HAMS' CYCLONE RESCUES

JIM/ANCHOR: Amateur radio response took on a whole new meaning recently,
as one part of India began its recovery from a powerful cyclone. There
were some big surprises. Graham Kemp, VK4BB, picks up the story for us.

GRAHAM: Amateur radio played a key role in two very different types of
rescues following the vast destruction caused by the latest cyclone in
India. Still reeling from its own losses of radio equipment from the
storm, the West Bengal Radio Club was called in to assist, when an
endangered species of turtle displaced by the storm, turned up in the
home of a man in a North Kolkata neighbourhood on June 6th. Club
secretary Ambarish Nag Biswas, VU2JFA, told Newsline that the man was
unable to contact the local forestry office about the Indian flapshell
turtle, because the office was closed for the weekend. He contacted the
amateur radio club instead. Debdatta Mukherjee, VU3JXA, responded and
brought the turtle to the River Ganges, where it was released
successfully, following recommendations that district officials had
given the club. Video footage of the event was submitted to forestry
officials for their records. The second rescue also involved a displaced
animal: a 6-foot-long poisonous snake seen in a remote village. Ambarish
Nag Biswas went to the scene, and being familiar with snake capture, was
able to safely move the animal to a nearby river, much to the relief of
the villagers.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Graham Kemp, VK4BB.
--- SBBSecho 3.11-Win32
 * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - tbolt.synchro.net (454:1/33)

.