Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (C) To : All From : Daryl Stout Date : Thu Oct 29 2020 20:49:39 GERMAN TOWN PREPARES FOR 'GOLDEN ANTENNA' HUMANITARIAN AWARD STEPHEN/ANCHOR: One town in Germany is preparing to recognize an amateur radio operator for extraordinary humanitarian efforts. Ed Durrant, DD5LP, brings us that story. ED: Who wouldn't wish for a golden antenna? In this case, it's the name of an award, not the description of a high-end Yagi or beam atop some lucky ham's tower. The town of Bad Bentheim in Germany has a 50-year tradition of recognizing the great public service ham radio provides to the community, and in the past, it has hosted Deutsch-Niederländische Amateurfunker Tage (DNAT), or German-Dutch Amateur Radio Days. This year, the mayor is taking things a step further because of the extra challenges posed by COVID-19. The Golden Antenna Award, a humanitarian award known locally as Gouden Antenne, will be presented by the mayor, and awards committee to the ham or hams who have answered amateur radio's highest calling. In 2018, Mayor Volker Pannen presented it to Johan Jongbloed, PA3JEM, recognising his rescue work as part of an international amateur radio team assisting after the devastating Nepal earthquake. Nominations can be made until April 1, 2021. The award will be presented in August, and the winner will be invited to Bad Bentheim. As Johan said during the 2018 ceremony "when the going gets tough, hams get going." Links and addresses for submissions appear in the printed version of this script on our website and arnewsline.org. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Ed Durrant, DD5LP. [FOR PRINT ONLY: Mail nominations to Stadt Bad Bentheim, P.O. Box 1452, D-48445 Bad Bentheim, Germany. Email nominations to juerriens@stadt-badbentheim.de] (SOUTHGATE, TWITTER, ARRL) ** TIME FOR HAMVENTION AWARD NOMINATIONS STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Speaking of awards, if you've already got Hamvention 2021 on your mind - and who doesn't? - it's OK to start thinking about Hamvention awards right now. Phil Thomas, W8RMJ, explains. PHIL: Nominations for awards at Hamvention 2021 are set to open this Sunday, November the 1st. The awards committee will be accepting nominations for "Club of the Year," "Technical Achievement,"Special Achievement," and the prestigious "Amateur of the Year Award." The nomination period for each award will be open until Monday, February the 15th, 2021. Hamvention awards have been held since 1956. Of note, the Dayton Hamvention was first held in 1952. Entry forms are available on the Hamvention website at: hamvention.org Reporting for Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Phil Thomas, W8RMJ. ** YL CONTEST HONORS MEMORY OF BELOVED SILENT KEY STEPHEN/ANCHOR: In the spirit of friendship and remembrance, an international group of YLs is running a contest in memory of the Silent Key, who died before she could see it come to fruition. Jeremy Boot, G4NJH, has that story. JEREMY: November 3rd will mark one year since the death of Carine DuBois, F5ISY, who was part of a circle of YLs around the world, who were close despite geographical distance. On the weekend of November 7th and 8th, Carine's friends are running a contest, The Day of the YLs, on the HF and VHF bands, to promote the kind of YL activity Carine herself encouraged. Operating modes will be CW, SSB, FT8, and RTTY. YLs, OMs, and shortwave listeners are encouraged to participate. Logs must be submitted no later than the 16th of November. Awards will be given to all participants who collect at least 33 points for contacts with YLs. For details, visit the Day of the YLs Facebook page. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jeremy Boot, G4NJH. (JENNI JONES M0HZT) ** PENNSYLVANIA AMATEURS CELEBRATE PROFESSIONALS STEPHEN/ANCHOR: It's time for radio amateurs to celebrate radio professionals. In the U.S., hams are marking the 100th anniversary of commercial broadcast station KDKA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Kevin Trotman, N5PRE, tells us more. KEVIN: Pennsylvania AM radio station KDKA has been on the air continuously since reporting the presidential election results of the 1920 contest between Warren G. Harding and James Middleton Cox. Ham clubs in the Pittsburgh area are marking the occasion, with a full month of special-event activations. There's an especially good reason hams take a special interest in KDKA. It first went on the air as an amateur radio station in 1916, using the call sign 8XK, and was operated by Frank Conrad, assistant chief engineer of Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company. Be listening all month for special-event stations from Pittsburgh area clubs such as the North Hills Amateur Radio Club, the Panther Amateur Radio Club, the Steel City Amateur Radio Club and the Wireless Association of South Hills. Beyond Pittsburgh, hams will be participating from the Skyview Radio Society, the Butler County Amateur Radio Public Service Group, and the Washington Amateur Communications Radio Club. Be listening for such call signs as K3A, K3D, K3K, and W8XK. A full schedule and other details can be found on the QRZ.COM page for W8XK or at kdka100.org. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Kevin Trotman, N5PRE. --- SBBSecho 3.11-Win32 * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - tbolt.synchro.net (454:1/33) .