Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (B)
To   : All
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Thu Mar 31 2022 20:54:24

RADIO TRIUMPH ATOP CARIBBEAN'S HIGHEST POINT

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: There was celebration in the Dominican Republic, where 
one radio amateur achieved his longtime goal atop the Caribbean's highest 
peak. Jim Meachen, ZED L 2 B H F, brings us his story.

JIM: There was nothing easy about the climb up Pico Duarte, the highest 
point in the Dominican Republic -- indeed the highest point in the 
Caribbean -- but Yeudy Marte, HI5YJM, wasn't looking for this to be easy. 
When he set off on the morning of Saturday, March 12th with a group of 20 
or so hikers, he was looking for a challenge. Yeudy found it there in the 
Jose del Carmen Ramirez National Park. His goal was to successfully make 
the climb and then activate the peak.

He and his fellow hikers battled a steep path and faced strong winds - 
but within an hour of operating, Yeudy had a log he could be proud of. He 
told Newsline in an email that, operating on 2 metres FM, he first 
contacted Carlos, HI5CBB, followed by Gabriel, HI8GSP. He made 11 
contacts within the hour. He had also hoped to operate on 20 metres QRP, 
but told Newsline that conditions made that impossible.

Pico Duarte has an elevation of 3,098 metres, or 10,164 feet -- and to 
Yeudy, that marked the height of his success.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF.

(YEUDY MARTE, HI5YJM, SOTA REFLECTOR)

**

CLUB ASSIGNED CALLSIGN OF SILENT KEY IN HER HONOR

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: The former callsign of a friend, leader, and influential 
YL who became a Silent Key two years ago is now the callsign of the club 
she called home. Dave Parks, WB8ODF, brings us the details.

DAVE: You can detect the presence of Connie Ballantyne twice among her 
friends in the CIRCLE Amateur Radio Club. You'll find her in the name of 
the club itself, which is an acronym for Connie's International Radio 
Communicators Linking Electronically. And now, you'll find it in the 
club's callsign too: KB0ZSG, which had been Connie's callsign until she 
became a Silent Key in February 2020 from breast cancer. Connie's 
worldwide legacy included an international D-STAR Net held Sundays at 7 
p.m. Central Time in the US. As many as 150 hams check in regularly from 
around the world.

Club president Steven Reiners, KC9SIO, told Newsline that during the 
seven-hour net that followed shortly after Connie's death, hams pressed 
for the net's name to be changed to honor her. They asked if her callsign 
could be obtained for the club. Steven said: [quote] "They have all 
given me the best advice throughout this long, difficult process."
[endquote]

Steven, who had been Connie's main back up as net control since 2013, is 
now working with club members on a third way to keep Connie's presence 
among them: establishing a D-Star Repeater bearing her callsign to be 
permalinked to Reflector 91C. He said the net has been hosted there for 
nearly two years thanks to Clayton VK7ZCR, Ian, VK3JS, Nigel, VK3GY; and 
Phil, VK3PG. It's no surprise: The reflector is known affectionately as 
Ninety-One "C" for Connie.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Dave Parks, WB8ODF.

(STEVEN REINERS KC9SIO)

**

LICW CLUB LAUNCHES TALKGROUP ON DMR

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: When they're not sending CW, many hams just like to 
chat -- and sometimes those ragchews are about CW. Now there's a new home 
for discussions such as these. Jim Damron, N8TMW, tells us more.

JIM: Morse Code enthusiasts around the world have been checking into a 
new DMR Talk Group that's been launched by the Long Island CW Club. Talk 
Group 59973 is on the TGIF Network and is open to anyone with an interest 
in - or curiosity about - using CW. Traffic is slowly building on the 
Talk Group and activity goes on around the clock. Hams engage in general 
ragchews, handle technical questions or use the Talk Group to make a date 
to get on one of the HF frequencies for a QSO using CW. Hams with 
hotspots as well as those with TGIF repeater access are able to check in 
once they have registered their DMR ID with the network at tgif dot 
network (tgif.network). Then they simply push to talk and put their call 
sign out there.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Damron, N8TMW.

(GROUPS.IO)
--- SBBSecho 3.14-Win32
 * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas (618:250/33)

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