Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (C) To : All From : Daryl Stout Date : Fri Aug 14 2020 12:26:01 PORTABLE OPERATIONS CONTEST LEVELS THE PLAYING FIELD STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Whether you're a big station or a little station, get ready for a contest later this year, that's about to level the playing field. Paul Braun, WD9GCO, has those details. PAUL: Now this is a first: It's being called the Fox Mike Hotel - Portable Operations Challenge, and this contest is making its debut this year, by posing one question: "Can the Super Station contester best the Little Pistol portable operator?" October may seem like a long way off but it's not - and that means the question will be answered on October 3rd and 4th, the weekend of the challenge, which uses scoring methods to level the operating field for both portable and home based stations. Organizers compare it to golf, which uses handicapping to equalize players facing different courses and different challenges. The scoring metric uses the distance-per-power value with multipliers for portable operations and transmission mode. Frank Howell, K4FMH, created the concept based on his own portable ops team's contest participation competing against bigger stations. The challenge's sponsors are the South African Amateur Radio League, the UK DX Foundation, the ARRL's National Contesting Journal, and the Hellenic Amateur Radio Association of Australia. For more details, visit foxmikehotel dot com slash challenge (foxmikehotel.com/challenge). No golf clubs required, but participants will need to be "on-the-ball" in October. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Paul Braun, WD9GCO. (FRANK HOWELL K4FMH) ** WHITE HOUSE PULLS NOMINATION OF FCC COMMISSIONER STEPHEN/ANCHOR: In the U.S., the White House has pulled its nomination of an FCC commissioner, who has served on the panel since 2013. Here's Heather Embee, KB3 T Zed Dee, with the details. HEATHER: The White House has withdrawn its nomination of FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly, who has served on the panel since 2013. O'Rielly has been praised by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai (PIE), for his work on issues related to the 3.5 GHz spectrum and related policies. O'Rielly, who was first appointed to the panel by President Barack Obama, recently spoke out against President Donald Trump for an executive order that would limit social media companies' liability protections. Trump did not give any reason for his withdrawal of the nomination, but according to various published reports, the White House and others on the political right have said that social media's practice of moderating content is biased against conservative views. Before his nomination was withdrawn, O'Rielly, who like Trump is Republican, would have faced Senate confirmation for a term that ended in 2024. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Heather Embee, KB3TZD. (DEADLINE.COM, FCC.GOV) ** SOTA ACTIVITY WEEKEND ATTRACTS HAMS IN ENGLAND STEPHEN/ANCHOR: As challenging as this year has been for many of us, if you're an enthusiast of Summits on the Air, or SOTA, things are always looking up. Ed Durrant, DD5LP, tells us about an upcoming activity weekend specifically for amateurs in the southeast of England. ED: If you've never operated from a summit before - and especially if you have - you might want to put your hiking shoes on during the weekend of August 22nd and 23rd, and head to one of 15 summits in the southern England region. That's the area from Wiltshire in the west, to Kent in the east and south, to the Isle of Wight and the South Downs. The organisers, Tim Price, G4YBU, and Richard Perzyna, G8ITB, have suggested these two days - which coincide with the ILLW weekend, be considered an activity weekend for SOTA activators. Individual operators are free to choose whatever bands and modes they please, but organisers are hoping there will also be 2-metre activations among the more typical HF activity. If this is to be your first activation, it might prove useful to visit www.sotadata.org.uk , where there are resources to guide you on recommended routes, available parking and other details. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Ed Durrant, DD5LP. (ICQ PODCAST) --- SBBSecho 3.11-Win32 * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - tbolt.synchro.net (454:1/33) .