Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (B) To : All From : Daryl Stout Date : Fri Apr 21 2023 08:34:31 SILENT KEY: CONTESTER, WRTC 2022 REFEREE RICHARD KING, K5NA NEIL/ANCHOR: The World Radiosport Team Championship is going forward this summer in Bologna without one of its key referees, who has become a Silent Key. Graham Kemp, VK4BB, tells us about him. GRAHAM: The World Radiosport Team Championship Committee is grieving the loss of a fellow contester and avid DXer from Texas, Richard King, K5NA. Richard had been chosen to be a referee for the WRTC 2022 event in Bologna in July. According to a report on the Daily DX, Richard was electrocuted on April 12th while he was assisting another ham taking down a 40-meter antenna. The report goes on to say: [quote] "Richard jumped in at the last minute to try and keep the antenna from getting snagged on a guy wire. The antenna hit a nearby powerline." [endquote] Two nurses who live in the neighborhood began CPR until emergency services could arrive but Richard died shortly thereafter. He and his wife Susan, K5DU, are well-known as serious contesters and DXers. WRTC 2022 organisers issued a statement saying "Richard's contributions to the sport of amateur radio will not be forgotten and his legacy will continue to inspire and guide us in the years to come." Richard belonged to the Central Texas DX and Contest Club. This is Graham Kemp, VK4BB. ** WRTC CHAMPIONS WITHDRAW FROM COMPETITION NEIL/ANCHOR: Meanwhile, the defending championship team from Lithuania has announced that they will not defend their title when the World Radiosport Team Championship goes forward in July. The international high-profile contest was postponed from last year because of the pandemic. The withdrawal announcement by defending championship team members Gedimas, LY9A, and Mindaugas, LY4L, was posted on the WRTC 2022 Reflector, citing a number of frustrations and deeper differences with the organisers that they said will be keeping them at home. (WRTC 2022 REFLECTOR, WRTC WEBSITE) ** NEW COURSE IN 'LEARNING HOW TO LEARN' CW NEIL/ANCHOR: A free course in Comprehensive Instant Character Recognition is being offered by CW Innovations with the goal of helping active CW operators learn ways to increase their proficiency. The 10-week classes focus on teaching operators how to help themselves learn Morse Code, addressing the mental and emotional roadblocks that have typically halted learners' progress. The class is designed for hams who can currently copy 10 to 15 words per minute, and are already actively on the air having QSOs. Visit cwinnovations.net for details. The website includes an application form. (CWINNOVATIONS.NET) ** GRANT ALLOWS YOUTH ON THE AIR AMERICAS CAMP TO EXPAND NEIL/ANCHOR: What's better than having one great summer camp experience on the air? Having more of it, of course! That's about to become possible, as we hear from Kevin Trotman, N5PRE. KEVIN: Just as young amateurs prepare for this summer's Youth on the Air Americas camp in Canada, camp organizers themselves learned that their summer experience for young hams has received a $125,000 grant from Amateur Radio Digital Communications. The funds now assure that the camp experience will continue through 2025 and that each session will become open to more campers than before. The current threshold of 30 will increase to 50 in the two years ahead. So pack your bags if you're going this year: Camp starts on July 16th. And if you want to learn more or plan ahead for next summer, visit youthontheair.org This is Kevin Trotman, N5PRE. (ARDC, YOUTH ON THE AIR CAMP) ** SCIENTIST TEAM EYES EARLIER MAXIMUM FOR SOLAR CYCLE 25 NEIL/ANCHOR: If you've been wishing for solar maximum to come sooner rather than later in the current cycle, you might just get your wish, according to a group of solar physicists. Patrick Clark, K8TAC, has that story. PATRICK: The end of this year - or sometime next year, could bring maximum sunspot activity for Solar Cycle 25, according to Scott McIntosh of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, in Boulder, Colorado and a team of solar physicists. The team presents its findings in a paper in the January edition of Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences. In the paper, the solar scientists make use of a terminator event during the previous cycle - sometime in mid-December 2021 - to project the maxima of Solar Cycle 25 and to forecast the cycle's amplitude. Although some might project differently for the future, this team believes it's best to keep your eye on the skies during the fourth quarter of 2023 and thereafter into the new year. This is Patrick Clark, K8TAC. (FRONTIERS IN ASTRONOMY AND SPACE SCIENCES) --- SBBSecho 3.20-Win32 * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas (618:250/33) .