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From: newsline@arnewsline.org (Amateur Radio Newsline)
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Subject: Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2464 for Friday, January 17th 2025
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Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2025 08:00:06 EST
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Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2464 for Friday, January 17th 2025
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2464 with a release date of
Friday, January 17th, 2025 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. A repeater system stays robust during
California's deadly wildfires. DXpeditioners pursue a "holy grail"
island in India for chasers -- and shortwave ingenuity saves a ham
radio program's debut.	    All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline
Report Number 2464 comes your way right now.

** 
BILLBOARD CART

**
REPEATER SYSTEM STAYS ROBUST DURING CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES

NEIL/ANCHOR: Our top story takes us to the US state of California where
deadly wildfires have been consuming much of the Los Angeles area and
beyond, destroying homes and causing electrical and cellular outages.
Even as SpaceX temporarily activated the test version of its
satellite-to-cellular service to help deliver emergency alerts and
texts, hams were relying on the region's robust and resilient PAPA
System of repeaters, as we hear from Ralph Squillace KK6ITB.

RALPH: As wildfires whipped through the Los Angeles area, the analogue
repeaters of California's wide-reaching PAPA System had their nets and
routine traffic communications cancelled for a number of days. The
repeaters were placed on standby for news and emergency traffic only
but by Tuesday, January 14th, all but three returned to net-hosting and
normal use. Three repeaters remained off the main network to continue
providing emergency coverage in the greater Los Angeles area. The PAPA
system's digital repeaters, which utilize DMR, P25 and D-STAR,
continued to host normal traffic.

Cecil Casillas, WD6FZA, president of the PAPA System, told Newsline
that as of Tuesday 14th, none of the PAPA repeaters had suffered
fire-related damages. He said that flames closely threatened repeaters
on Mount Wilson and at Saddle Peak, which overlooks Malibu, but the
fires stopped short of affecting the buildings, antennas or other
equipment. He said the Saddle Peak repeater had been knocked out of
service by an unrelated battery failure but that the fires blocked
access for anyone to bring up a generator.

Meanwhile, SpaceX gave temporary access to its Starlink satellites to
T-Mobile customers, even without its direct-to-cell constellation being
fully completed. According to an article in PC Magazine, only T-Mobile
customers with supported phones would have access to texting but
emergency alerts and evacuation notices could be received by any
cellular phone.

This is Ralph Squillace KK6ITB.

(CECIL CASILLAS, WD6FZA; PC MAGAZINE)

**
TEAM OF 6 FROM INDIA TO ACTIVATE 'HOLY GRAIL'  IOTA

NEIL/ANCHOR: This week we have word that a rare, largely inaccessible
island off the coast of India is about to be activated for only the
second time - and the first time in 23 years. Graham Kemp VK4BB has the
details.

GRAHAM: Writing in the December 2002 issue of the old 73 Magazine, Sri,
VU2SBJ, called Sacrifice Rock - a harsh, unwelcoming island off the
coast of Kerala in southern India - "a plain solid rock in the middle
of nowhere." Eleven months earlier, this treacherous bit of terrain was
activated for the first time by Sri and his DXpedition team, who were
challenged by its difficult access and changeable weather. No hams have
been there since.

That is, until now: IOTA Number AS-161, as it is also known, is about
to become base camp for Team AU2V, six amateurs who are among many to
consider it a holy grail. The DXpedition website calls it "a dream come
true for chasers." 

Sara, VU2RS, told Newsline in an email that planning and preparation
have been intense in advance of the hoped-for visit in the second week
of February, when the three-month seasonal window for access closes.
The team will have two CW operators and four using SSB and digital
modes and is still working out logistics for its hours of operation.
The team also continues critical fundraising via PayPal to cover what
is expected to be $10,000 in expenses, covering generators, radios,
antennas and, of course, the boat that will make that challenging trip
across the water to the team's destination. If it is not possible to
arrive safely by boat, the team will need to use an airplane, which
will add to the costs.

See the text version of this week's newscast at arnewsline.org for the
team's website and PayPal address.

This is Graham Kemp VK4BB.

[WEBSITE: au2v.vu2rs.com      PAYPAL ADDRESS:  sarath@lven.in).

(DX-WORLD.NET, SARA, VU2RS)

**
SILENT KEY: TOP DXER, YHOTY SUPPORTER, DENNIS MOTSCHENBACHER, K7BV

NEIL/ANCHOR: The ham radio world has lost a top DXer, a friend and a
supporter of Newsline's Young Ham of the Year Award. We hear more about
him from Don Wilbanks AE5DW.

DON: We at Amateur Radio Newsline are mourning the passing of Dennis
Motschenbacher, K7BV. Dennis passed from this world on Thursday,
January 9th after a 14-year battle with cancer. He was 76.

Dennis was passionate about amateur radio. He was first licensed at age
13. An avid DXer, he was equally at home on both sides of the pileup.
His amateur radio travels took him to 35 countries. He competed in the
World Radiosport Team Championships in Slovenia in 2000 and won
countless awards for his ham radio accomplishments. He served as a
radioman for two years in the US Navy in Vietnam on the USS Canberra.
>From 1976 to 2002, Dennis worked in the fire suppression industry.

He was editor of the National Contest Journal from 1998 to 2002. After
that, he was sales and marketing manager for the ARRL. From 2006 to his
retirement in 2019, he was executive vice president of amateur radio
sales at Yaesu USA. Dennis was a fixture on stage at the Huntsville
Hamfest for the presentation of our Young Ham of the Year award. 

Some years ago, Gigaparts did a live online TV presentation at the
Huntsville Hamfest and it was my honor as one of the hosts to spend
about 20 minutes chatting with Dennis as my guest. You can find that on
the Gigaparts Youtube channel, or at the link in the printed edition of
this week's newscast. A devoted family man, we send our love to his
wife, children and grandchildren. Rest easy, my friend. I'm Don
Wilbanks, AE5DW.

(https://youtu.be/3SthKRC2bpM?si=gKqDUZFDkj9Sshzd)

**
GET READY FOR WINTER FIELD DAY

NEIL/ANCHOR: Are you ready for Winter Field Day? If you're in the US or
Canada, get your plans in order now. Travis Lisk N3ILS tells us more.

TRAVIS: In North America, Winter Field Day will be held, as always,
during the last full weekend of January but there are some changes this
year. This emergency preparedness test of portable equipment under
harsh-weather conditions has been extended past its previous 24-hour
period.

Clubs and individual amateurs are being encouraged to register their
stations for this event, which has grown since the first Winter Field
Day held in 2007. Operators are permitted to use HF, VHF and UHF bands
for CW, SSB and digital modes. The operating period is now 30 hours
long and will begin at 1600 UTC Saturday, January 25th and conclude at
2159 UTC the following day. Both indoor and outdoor stations are
permitted, as are mobile stations whether they be moving or stationary.

For more details about the rules and to register your station, visit
the Winter Field Day website at winterfieldday dot org. That's
winterfieldday- one word - dot org. (winterfieldday.org).

This is Travis Lisk N3ILS.

(WINTER FIELD DAY ASSOCIATION)

**
DMR RADIOS OPEN UP THE WORLD TO STUDENTS IN INDIA

NEIL/ANCHOR: Students in government residential schools in rural parts
of  the Indian state of Karnataka can now reach out and touch the world
with the help of Digital Mobile Radio, or DMR. John Williams VK4JJW
explains how the radios got there.

JOHN: Twenty new DMR radio base stations are opening up the world to
students in rural schools run by the state of Karnataka's Social
Welfare Department. The installation was done by the Indian Institute
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