Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (B) To : All From : Daryl Stout Date : Thu Mar 25 2021 19:28:05 FIRST-TIMERS SET SIGHTS ON ISLAND DXPEDITION JIM/ANCHOR: There's a first for everything, and one group of ham radio operators has decided it's time for them all to jump into the water (at least figuratively) for their first DXpedition. Jack Parker, W8ISH, has the details. JACK: This is going to be a summer of firsts for the amateur radio team descending on C6A IOTA NA-048 FL05, also known as Bimini Island in the Bahamas. According to DJ, N4RRR, one of the organizers, it will be a first DXpedition for everyone on the team, which includes some disabled military veterans. DJ said that because the Caribbean Island is also a prime tourist destination, some of the hams will be bringing their wives for vacation activities. The hams have applied to use the call sign C6AHA. He said some of their antennas will be positioned to enable Europe, the Pacific Islands and Australia to get C6A in their logs. DJ told Newsline: "We plan to light up C6A for everyone to get it in their log books" adding that "we hope people will be nice and forgiving with us and let us make the most of this trip, being first-timers receiving pile- ups." The trip is scheduled for July 14th through the 21st. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jack Parker, W8ISH. (DJ FINCH N4RRR) ** EMERGENCY BATTERIES HELP HAMS IN CARIBBEAN 'RED ZONE' JIM/ANCHOR: In the Caribbean, amateur radio stations in a hazardous region near a volcano got a gift to help their vital operations. John Williams, VK4JJW, gives us the full story. JOHN: A gift of emergency batteries provided to amateur radio operators in the highest hazard zone of St. Vincent and the Grenadines has put those stations back on the air. The 12-volt batteries, provided through the country's General Services office, have enabled hams to get on the air in the nation's northernmost settlement of Fancy, and in Rose Hall, the settlement with the highest altitude. The amateur stations are both in the Red Zone, a highly hazardous region because of its proximity to a volcano. Officials regularly monitor activity at the La Soufriere (soo-free-AIR) volcano in the north, where an activity known as effusive eruption has been noted in recent weeks. The hams received the batteries at the request of the Rainbow Radio League/Youlou Radio Movement amateur radio club. Its director Donald De Riggs J88CD made the request on behalf of Elna Michael, J88NEK, of Fancy, and Percy Lampkin, J88NEB, of Rose Hall. According to a news report on the Searchlight VC website, the station in Fancy now maintains contact with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency and the station in Rose Hall has been checking into local and regional nets. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm John Williams, VK4JJW. (SEARCHLIGHT VC, CDEMA) ** NOVICE RIG ROUNDUP CELEBRATES 'YESTERYEAR' JIM/ANCHOR: Hams who like getting on the air the old-fashioned way got that chance recently in a special operating event, as we hear from Randy Sly, W4XJ. RANDY: If you were beginning in ham radio 50 or so years ago, your amateur radio experience would begin with a Novice Class license, good for only a year, and you would operate a crystal-controlled 75-watt CW transmitter. Often, these rigs were homebrew, drifted in frequency, with chirps and key clicks on the signal. By modern standards, this all sounds archaic, but each year hams from around the country dust off their old radios, dig out their straight keys and return to the good ol’ days of yesteryear. This year, there were more than 292 such hams and they logged 4,300 contacts the old-fashioned way, most of them adhering to Novice restrictions. They were part of the annual Novice Rig Roundup, co-chaired by Dan Sands, N7SU, and Doug Tombaugh, N3PDT. The event, held annually during the third week of February, was established in 2015 by Bry Carling, AF4K, now a silent key. This year's event was a showcase for talking about such now-obsolete radios as Heathkit DX-40’s, Drake, and Hallicrafters, as well as homebrew rigs with exotic vacuum tubes like 807's and 6146's. Novice Rig Roundup is more than just an annual event. For information and to join in the fun, visit their webpage at novicerigroundup.org. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Randy Sly, W4XJ ** PLEASE PARTICIPATE IN NEWSLINE'S SURVEY JIM/ANCHOR: Amateur Radio Newsline would like some help from listeners. We want to know whether you would like to continue hearing the World of DX each week or if we should switch to a contest calendar instead. Please visit our website where you'll find a survey asking you to tell us your preference. The survey can be found on the right-hand side of the page at arnewsline.org --- SBBSecho 3.13-Win32 * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - tbolt.synchro.net (454:1/33) .