Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (A) To : All From : Daryl Stout Date : Fri Jan 06 2023 06:35:57 Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2358, for Friday, January 6th, 2023 Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2358, with a release date of Friday, January 6th, 2023, to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a QST. There are two more callsigns to listen for from Bouvet Island. Smartphones are gaining increased satellite capability -- hams in Ohio get an exemption from a new distracted-driving law. All this and more, as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2358, comes your way right now. ** BILLBOARD CART ** BOUVET DXPEDITION ADDS TWO MORE CALLSIGNS PAUL/ANCHOR: We begin this week with a Bouvet Island Dxpedition update. As if the 3Y0J team itself weren't generating enough buzz in the ham radiosphere, two additional callsigns are expected to be on the air from that coveted DX location. John Williams, VK4JJW, gives us those details. JOHN: The long-awaited Bouvet Island Dxpedition team has a new twist to its plans. Two Norwegian radio operators who are part of the Dxpedition team intend to operate from the island under their own calls for a limited time. It is intended to happen toward the end of the 3Y0J team's expected 22-day activation late this month. The development was reported on January 1st on the website DX-WORLD.NET, which gave confirmation from Ken, LA7GIA, co-leader of the main Bouvet activation. Ken said that this would be the first time any Norwegian with an LB callsign activated from Bouvet. The gameplan is apparently to have the 3Y0J pilot stations inform eager DX hunters when the pair get on the air. Be listening for the callsigns used by Gjermund, 3Y/LB5GI, and Erwann, 3Y/LB1QI. This is John Williams, VK4JJW. (DX-WORLD.NET, 3YØJ WEBSITE) ** NEW SMARTPHONE MODELS GAIN SATELLITE ACCESS PAUL/ANCHOR: In this new year, sat-phone users and amateur radio operators won't be the only ones who can bounce radio signals off satellites. Here's Kent Peterson, KC0DGY, with that story. KENT: Some smartphones are gaining a new capability in the new year: direct satellite access. Text-messaging that uses satellite communications will be possible for some consumers using Hauwei and Apple devices, according to a recent report in the IEEE Spectrum. While Apple and Hauwei expect to use older satellites that are already in orbit by putting new chips in their flagship handsets, new low-Earth-orbit satellite networks are also being built. Those are in the works from startup companies Lynk Global and AST SpaceMobile, which hope to provide service to 5G phones in areas without terrestrial coverage. Observers note that this satellite functionality on smartphones will not include the ability to make phone calls or to stream data but its added capacity of texting will provide another means of calling for help in an emergency in regions where the caller has a clear view to the sky. Working in partnership with Globalstar, Apple devices have offered a service called Emergency SOS via satellite since last November. Huawei however has not yet announced the date of its rollout. Meanwhile, Lynk Global expects to begin operations in the new year and AST SpaceMobile expects to launch five of its satellites later this year. This is Kent Peterson, KC0DGY. (IEEE SPECTRUM) ** STRAIGHT KEY MONTH GETS GOING FOR SKCC PAUL/ANCHOR: It's not just a new year, it's Straight Key Month, according to the calendar of the Straight Key Century Club. Randy Sly, W4XJ, keys in on the action for us. RANDY: With the ARRL's Straight Key Night, a January 1st event, already in the books, the Straight Key Century Club is keeping the fun going for CW operators around the world through to the end of the month. On January 2nd, operators who are club members began calling CQ with various callsigns starting with K3Y from the 10 US call areas, as K3Y/0, through K3Y/9. Outside of the continental United States, club members are calling as K3Y/KH6, KL7 and KP4. Across six continents, operators will be on the air with stations for the special event, You will hear them calling "CQ SKM," using their own callsigns. These are stations in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania and South America. This annual event celebrates the founding of the SKCC in 2006 and pays tribute to the earliest telegraphy keys - the straight key, the bug and the sideswiper, also known as the cootie. This is Randy Sly, W4XJ. --- SBBSecho 3.15-Win32 * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas (618:250/33) .