Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (A) To : All From : Daryl Stout Date : Fri Aug 14 2020 12:25:55 Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2233, for Friday, August 14, 2020 Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2233, with a release date of Friday, August 14, 2020, to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a QST. The first Virtual Ham Radio Expo breaks new ground. Hams in India activate for monsoons - and a father pays tribute to a son, who's a Silent Key. All this and more, as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2233, comes your way right now. ** BILLBOARD CART ** QSO TODAY VIRTUAL HAM RADIO EXPO STEPHEN/ANCHOR: In a year when ham expos were cancelled, scaled-down, or migrated to simple online platforms, this year's QSO Today Virtual Ham Radio Expo, broke new ground on August 8th and 9th. Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, was there. NEIL: The QSO Today Virtual Ham Radio Expo was an unprecedented gathering: An ARRL-sanctioned event, with major sponsors, 45 exhibitor booths, 65 speakers, and 26,000 amateurs registered to attend for free on a 48-hour accessible platform. With an exhibit hall, auditorium, and avatars, representing convention-goers and stall-holders, the specially designed online environment replicated the in-person convention experience -- minus the parking hassles, and the food trucks. It was the concept of Eric Guth, 4Z1UG, host of the popular QSO Today weekly podcast, who like the rest of us, was missing Dayton this year. The event came together through the summer, with the help of his team of marketing and convention experts. Eric told Newsline that anyone whose schedule prevented them from attending, can still attend the sessions in an on-demand format through September 9th. Lectures will also be available later on YouTube. If you left hungry for more, Eric said he is already committed to a second virtual expo -- this one to be held on March 13th and 14th -- and in the meantime, an idea is being explored to hold something for European amateurs in December. Eric told Newsline "amateur radio is like a huge tent", and this one was the biggest in his life, which made it a learning experience. Speaking of hunger - he also said he's thinking of ways to make food-delivery service happen next time too. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Neil Rapp, WB9VPG. ** HAMS IN SOUTHERN INDIA AID AFTER MONSOONS STEPHEN/ANCHOR: In southern India, hams were ready when the monsoons rolled in. Graham Kemp, VK4BB, picks up the story from here. GRAHAM: Authorities in the southwestern Indian state of Kerala (KER-uh-luh) have reported a growing activation of amateur radio operators in the monsoon-plagued state, which also suffered a deadly landslide. Several published reports noted that as rescue operations got under way in Idukki, hams got on the air as well on Friday night, August 7th, establishing a control unit of the radio station at the local fire station. As the storm submerged residential areas, red alerts were issued in six districts, with flooding in numerous low-lying areas. The chief warden of civil defence volunteers said hams were making use of satellites for communications support, and that more radio operators were joining them as rescue efforts progressed. The hams were helping with reports on evacuations of stranded people, equipment shortages, and providing coordination among agencies. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Graham Kemp, VK4BB. (HINDUSTAN TIMES, TIMES OF INDIA, SOUTHGATE) ** NEW ZEALAND EFFORT EXPLORES WIRELESS POWER DISTRIBUTION STEPHEN/ANCHOR: No wires, no problem! New Zealand innovators are exploring a new way to distribute power, as we hear from Jim Meachen, Zed L 2 BHF. JIM: Copper wire for electric-power transmission -- Who needs it? A startup company in New Zealand is suggesting it's not needed at all, replacing wires with high powered "radar like" RF beams on the ISM band. That's something that we amateur radio operators have known all along - wireless is the way to go. The company, Emrod, believes there is commercial potential in this, and the country's second-largest distributor of power has invested in Emrod's effort. Powerco is impressed with Emrod's technology, which advocates using line-of-sight relays to move large amounts of electricity between two points. Emrod hopes to deliver a prototype to Powerco by October, so that lab testing can begin in advance of field trials. Emrod says the transmission mode is reliable, and remains unaffected by rain, fog, and dust. Emrod also says it has the potential to transmit along thousands of kilometres, with less infrastructure and maintenance cost. The company also believes the method creates a much smaller environmental impact than does a wired system. Powerco's Network Transformation Manager, Nicolas Vessiot, said the concept shows promise for the delivery of power to areas where the terrain is either too challenging, or too remote. He also said it would prove useful for keeping customers' lights on, when the company is doing maintenance on its infrastructure. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF. (NEW ATLAS) --- SBBSecho 3.11-Win32 * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - tbolt.synchro.net (618:250/33) .