Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (B)
To   : All
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Thu Feb 17 2022 21:30:16

SOLAR STORM DISABLES SOME STARLINK SATELLITES

PAUL/ANCHOR: Satellites destined for the Starlink constellation were lost 
just a day after launch as the result of a solar storm. Andy Morrison,
K9AWM, picks up that story.

ANDY: A geomagnetic storm disrupted nearly 50 SpaceX Starlink satellites 
that were in low-earth orbit following their deployment one day earlier. 
The satellites went into safe mode to minimize atmospheric drag's effects 
on their orbits but Starlink said as many as 40 of them would likely be 
lost, becoming little more than space debris when they dropped out of 
their allocated orbit. According to several news reports, the storm made 
the atmosphere too dense for the satellites to make their way to the 
higher altitudes of their planned orbits. The February 3rd launch sought 
to add the new satellites to the 2,000 or so already in the Starlink 
constellation providing space-based internet access. According to CNN, 
there are about 145,000 Starlink subscribers in 25 countries.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Andy Morrison, K9AWM.

(CNN, SPACE.COM)

**

UK HAMS MARK 100 YEARS OF BRITISH BROADCASTING

PAUL/ANCHOR: Even as the London BBC Radio Group marks 100 years of 
British broadcasting by operating its special event station GB100BBC, a 
second group of hams in the UK is creating its own party. Jeremy Boot,
G4NJH, brings us those details.

JEREMY: The Chelmsford Amateur Radio Society is marking the centenary 
this month of a programme aired on the 14th of February 1922, one hundred 
years ago, from a hut not far from Chelmsford.

Preceded by the familiar station announcement of "This is Two Emma Toc," 
the programme itself featured talk and occasional piano music - all 
transmitted at 200 watts on a frequency of 428 kHz. This entertainment 
broadcast helped bring about the creation of what was to become the BBC 
in 1922.

The Chelmsford hams will be on HF, VHF and UHF and are operating all 
month as GB1002MT. They will confirm QSOs via eQSL and LoTW only.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jeremy Boot, G4NJH.

(SOUTHGATE, CHELMSFORD AMATEUR RADIO SOCIETY)

**

AMSAT SOUTH AFRICA SEEKS PAPERS FOR SYMPOSIUM

PAUL/ANCHOR: AMSAT South Africa is looking for presenters for its virtual 
symposium being held in July. Jason Daniels, VK2LAW, has that story.

JASON: With the COVID-19 pandemic still a major concern, AMSAT South 
Africa will be holding its annual space symposium as a virtual event 
again this year. The one-day event will take place on Saturday the 23rd 
of July, showcasing the theme "Space, the next frontier for expansion of 
amateur radio."

Organisers are still seeking proposals for papers and are asking that all 
prospective presenters send in their submissions by the 31st of March. 
Each presenter will receive a time slot of 20 to 30 minutes and will be 
given a 10-minute period for questions and answers.

Topics may range from the basics on how to use hand-held transceivers to 
work satellites all the way to more complex issues, such as building 
satellites or conducting space research with a space weather station.

Accepted presentations are due in by the 1st of July in Microsoft Word 
and PowerPoint format. For details, email organisers at admin at amsatsa 
dot org dot za (admin@amsatsa.org.za).

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jason Daniels, VK2LAW.

(AMSAT-SA, SARL)

**

SPECIAL EVENT BRINGS PLUTO A LITTLE CLOSER TO HOME

PAUL/ANCHOR: Want to work Pluto? Well there's still time and it's not the 
kind of DX contact you think. Here's Randy Sly, W4XJ, to tell you how.

RANDY: When tuning across the ham bands, you never know what you'll 
encounter. This week, for instance, you might hear operators talking 
about the planet Pluto and its discovery. The Northern Arizona DX 
Association is, again, hosting its annual Pluto Anniversary Countdown, 
celebrating the discovery of the planet by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930. This 
is the second year for the special event from the Lowell Observatory in 
Arizona. The special event will end in its centennial year of 2030.

You may hear stories like some from last year, when contacts talked about 
meeting the famed astronomer at their grade school, at star parties or 
through an astronomy course. One contact, Uno Carlsson, KC3EJS, was an 
aerospace engineer and part of the team for the New Horizons project that 
did a fly-by of Pluto in 2015.

Look for W7P on the air through February 21st. You might even have a 
chance to talk with Doug Tombaugh, N3PDT, nephew of the man whose 
discovery changed a bit of how we look at our galaxy. Doug and four
other hams are operating as W7P/0.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Randy Sly, W4XJ.
--- SBBSecho 3.14-Win32
 * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas (454:1/33)

.