Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (C) To : All From : Daryl Stout Date : Thu Apr 08 2021 23:35:24 CONTEST FOR YOUNG HAMS MAKES DEBUT IN REGION 1 PAUL/ANCHOR: The Youth Working Group of the IARU Region 1 has announced a new contest, as we hear from Ed Durrant, DD5LP. ED: Young amateurs in IARU Region 1 are hoping for a big turnout in May for the debut of the YOTA contest, an initiative designed to get more young amateurs on the air around the world. The 12-hour competition will be held three times a year, with the first one happening on the 22nd of May. There are eight categories, including ones for hams 25 and younger and the contest exchange will be the operators' ages.  Activity will be on 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10-metre bands in CW and SSB modes. The later contests will be in July and December. The Youth Working Group has arranged the event with the cooperation of the Hungarian Amateur Radio Society. Details are available on the website shown in this week's Newsline script at arnewsline.org. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Ed Durrant, DD5LP. PRINT ONLY: https://ham-yota.com/contest (YOUTH WORKING GROUP IARU REGION 1) ** ECHOLINK NET TO MARK WORLD AMATEUR RADIO DAY PAUL/ANCHOR: Speaking of the IARU, it's almost time to mark its 96th anniversary. The worldwide celebration includes this one happening on Echolink. Kevin Trotman, N5PRE, tells us about it. KEVIN: Like the International Amateur Radio Union itself, one net celebrating the IARU's founding has undergone plenty of changes since its inception. The net began modestly on Echolink in 2015 when John DeRycke (Duh Rikey) W2JLD said he noticed there were no celebrations being held in that mode to mark the IARU's founding in Paris in 1925. It has grown in subsequent years to include other modes and extended hours of operation. This year's net will span 16 hours with 10 to 12 net controllers from around the world and the special event call sign W7W. Hams will be checking in on the ROC-HAM Echolink conference node 531091 and on Allstar 2585. Other conferences will be linked in including the *DODROPIN* NODE 355800, WALES NODE 485040 and the South Wales Digital Group node 676659. Users of DMR, and the Hamshack Hotline will also be able to check in. For full details of the celebration, visit the QRZ page for W7W, and to view the QSL card marking the event. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Kevin Trotman, N5PRE. ** TWO-WAY RADIOS HELP NEW ZEALAND SEARCH AND RESCUE PAUL/ANCHOR: In New Zealand, there's promise for extra search-and-rescue success using drones outfitted with two-way radio. Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF, tells us more. JIM: Take a highly directional microphone array and processor, a team of drones and a wild landscape with the potential for the danger of getting lost and you have a promising search-and-rescue communications tool. At least that's what executives at Dotterel, a company in Auckland, New Zealand are hoping. Outfitting drones with this kind of audio payload is providing two-way radio capability that can conduct search-and-rescue over large areas by hearing people's cries for help. This adds one more tool to the versatile toolbox of public safety operations which already contains the ability to use thermal imaging, cellphone signals and visual imagery. According to an article in DroneLife, this radio installation will permit two-way communications with people on the ground calling for aid and who can provide details of their injuries.. Shawn Edlin, the company's CEO, said in a press release that the microphones are able to receive highly directional audio on the ground as the signal remains uncompromised by drone propeller noise and other sounds. Brandon McCarthy, Auckland search and rescue leader, said audio will provide an extra capability for the team's operations going forward. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF. (DRONELIFE) ** CONTEST UNIVERSITY TO BE HELD VIRTUALLY AGAIN PAUL/ANCHOR: With Hamvention being held virtually again this year, there are two programs figuring prominently on the calendar. We hear about them from Stephen Kinford, N8WB. STEPHEN: Hamvention's Contest University will be held virtually again this year, just like Hamvention itself. Classes get under way at 9 a.m. Eastern Time, or 1300 UTC, Thursday May 20th on Zoom. Registration is free and you can start signing up from the 20th of April. Please check contestuniversity.com for updates and a course outline. Lessons of a different sort continue the next day as Hamvention's 2021 Award winners make 45-minute presentations followed by a Q&A - again, all conducted virtually on Zoom. Presenters are Newsline's science editor Tamitha Mulligan Skov (SKOVE) WX6SWW, winner of the Technical Achievement Award; Wesley Lamboley W3WL, winner of the Special Achievement Award; Angel Vazquez, WP3R, Amateur of the Year; and the Vienna Wireless Society K4HTA Club of the Year. Don't forget the Hamvention QSO Party on Saturday, May 22nd from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Stephen Kinford, K8WB. (HAMVENTION) --- SBBSecho 3.14-Win32 * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - tbolt.synchro.net (454:1/33) .