Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (A) To : All From : Daryl Stout Date : Fri Jul 03 2020 08:43:33 Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2227, for Friday, July 3, 2020 Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2227, with a release date of Friday, July 3, 2020, to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a QST. A former Newsline anchor becomes a Silent Key. A petition in India focuses on amateur satellites -- and a VERY special event station celebrates an equally special wedding. All this and more, as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2227, comes your way right now. ** BILLBOARD CART ** NO 'NIGHT OF NIGHTS' EVENT AT HISTORIC MORSE STATION STEPHEN/ANCHOR: A cherished tribute to radio history has been called off just before it was scheduled to happen. The annual Night of Nights event, held annually on July 12th, at a historic maritime commercial telegraphy station, will not be taking place at radio station KPH this year. The building is one of several shuttered inside the Point Reyes (RAZE) National Seashore by the COVID-19 pandemic. KPH was originally silenced on July 12, 1999, but was soon restored by the Maritime Radio Historical Society, which put it back on the air, with the station's vintage equipment, and the amateur callsign K6KPH. Idled once by history, it is silenced this time by a pandemic. Richard Dillman W6AWO, the society's founding member, said however, that hams may opt to activate on July 12th, from their homes instead, using their personal calls followed by slash MRHS. Watch for updates on the society's website radiomarine.org Meanwhile, the New England Historical Radio Society, licensed operator of commercial ship-to-shore station WNE, hopes to uphold the spirit of the evening. The station is expected to be on the air that same night at 8 p.m. local time, transmitting high seas weather for the North Atlantic, according to the group's president Stephen Russell WA1HUD. Be listening on 472 kHz. (TECHCRUNCH.COM. RADIOMARINE.ORG) ** SOTA ENTHUSIASM REACHES NEW HEIGHTS IN EUROPE STEPHEN/ANCHOR: What happens when a good idea for an activation just keeps growing and growing? Undeterred by COVID-19, that's what is happening in Europe among SOTA enthusiasts. Ed Durrant, DD5LP, explains. ED: This year's Austrian SOTA Activities Day is planned for September 19th. It's normally a radio event combined with a social event afterward, but with the COVID-19 safeguards in place, organisers are looking for a new way to gather safely in the bier garden outside the "Gasthaus." Meanwhile, SOTA operators in Switzerland have become inspired by the SOTA day announcement by Martin OE5REO. The Swiss association manager Jurg, HB9BIN, has suggested that operators there could hold a second activity day, coinciding with the one in Austria. Now, SOTA organisations in other German-speaking countries are hoping to expand this yet further, garnering interest from Alpen countries such as France and Italy. Could this become the first Europe-wide event of its kind? One thing is for sure, on September 19th. the Alpen hills will be alive with RF-music! For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Ed Durrant, DD5LP. (MARTIN OE5REO) ** HAMS IN INDIA KEEP WATCH DURING QUARANTINE STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Hams in India who put public service first, are taking on new responsibilities in the age of quarantine. John Williams, VK4JJW, explains. JOHN: Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, ham radio operators' roles have been evolving in India. Hams have helped distribute food where it was needed, and have helped direct airport and rail travelers, who have required quarantine. Now, hams are being dispatched to monitor individuals who must comply with home quarantine. According to a recent article in The Hindu newspaper, amateur radio operators throughout Bengaluru, have joined a volunteer task force, to ensure that the proper protocol is followed for persons who are mandated to stay home. The director of the Indian Institute of Hams, Shankar Sathyapal, VU2FI, told the newspaper that HF and VHF radio operators have been on the air, working in shifts, assisting with neighborhood watch, but said that the hams are limiting their mobility in the communities to minimize risk. He said that the risks of dealing with quarantine violators are also being mitigated. He said that the hams are not trained to intervene, but will instead transmit messages to senior officials who are better-equipped to handle the situation. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm John Williams, VK4JJW. (THE HINDU) --- * Synchronet * The Thunderbolt BBS - tbolt.synchro.net * Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (618:250/1) .