Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1899 with a release date of January
3, 2014 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a Q-S-T. Ham radio assists a rescue at sea off the coast
of South Africa; Amateur Radio stands ready as a winter storm hits Hawaii; IPAWS data storage may be headed to the Cloud; Tokyo Hy-Power files for bankruptcy in Japan; a winter DXpedition to Finland's far north is
underway and a ham radio astronaut takes the ultimate self portrait in
space. Find out who it was on the first Amateur Radio NewslineT report of
2014 coming your way right now.

**

RESCUE RADIO: HAM RADIO CRUCIAL IN SEA RESCUE OFF THE SOUTH AFRICAN COAST

Ham radio came to the aid of a stricken fishing boat off the coast of
South Africa after mechanical problems left it floundering at sea.
Amateur Radio Newsline's Bruce Tennant, K6PZW has more:

--

Trevor Brinch, ZS1TR, of South Africa's HAMNET became the main link in a
sea rescue of that nations South West coast on Sunday December 22nd. At
12:48 local time harbor authorities at Struisbaai reported that they
picked up a Mayday on 29 MHz from the commercial fishing vessel Maverick.
They could not make any further contact with Maverick and did not know its position. Information obtained from talking to other boats that picked up
the distress call was that Maverick could have run out of fuel and had
been drifting for about five hours.

Two hours into the search several 29 MHz transmissions were picked up from
the Maverick but could not be deciphered. That's where the assistance of
ZS1TR was enlisted. Using his amateur radio station and his experience in receiving weak signals Brinch obtained the position of the stranded vessel which he learned had drifted into shipping lanes. After it was located by
a South African rescue ship it was found that the Maverick had experienced
a complete failure on one of its engines and subsequently did run out of
fuel. Te rescue vessel took the stranded Maverick in tow and after a four
hour operation they were safely back in Struisbaai harbor.

Those involved in the rescue say that without the assistance of
Zed-S-1-T-R and HAMNET this operation would have extended far into the
night with search planes having had to be launched. Thanks to ham radio,
that was not necessary.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, reporting

--

HAMNET is the disaster communication division of the South African Radio League. (SARL)

**

RESCUE RADIO: HAMS ASSIST NWS AS SEVERE WEATHER HITS HAWAII

A strong thunderstorm brought penny sized hail to parts of the Big Island
of Hawaii Sunday night, December 29th and once again ham radio operators
were there as severe weather spotters.

The National Weather Service said the storm hit the island state shortly
before 11 p.m. local time with forecasters saying that wind gusts to 30
miles per hour and intense lightning were expected. A flash flood warning being issued for the Big Island until 6:30 a.m. the following morning.

As the severe weather approached, Todd Wilson, WH6DWF, of Waikiki Beach
began receiving reports from Glenn Kadota AH6IO on the BIWARN repeater
system of a freak electrical storm affecting the windward side of the Big Island. Wilson then relayed this information to the National Weather
Service office in Honolulu. As the storm progressed AH6IO was reporting lightning strikes due north of his station location.

A few hours later WH6WDF began receiving new severe weather reports that
he again forwarded to the National Weather Service. Soon the reports were
of downed trees, lightning strikes, heavy rains and dime size hail. News reports mentioned a sink hole that swallowed a full size pick-up truck on
a heavily traveled road. Fortunately, the truck's driver emerged with
only minor injuries. The storms continued for about 12 hours as did the
ham radio response.

Other hams involved in this severe weather alert included Mark Foster,
WH6IM, Scott Bosshardt KH7SB, Glen Kadota, AH6IO, Robert Oliver NH6AH,
Greg Datlof WH7FC and Bob Schneider, AH6J, and several other radio
amateurs. All in all, another good job well done by the ham radio
community of Hawaii, when they were needed the most. (WH6DWF, KHON,
Honolulu Star Advertiser)

**

SHORTWAVE NEWS: VOICE OF RUSSIA TO REMAIN ON SHORTWAVE

The Voice of Russia formerly known as Radio Moscow is not going QRT after
all. A few weeks ago we reported on an all-encompassing external media realignment edict that had been issued by Russia's President Vladimir
Putin. One that had at least on the surface spelled an end to Russia's external shortwave broadcast service.

But S-W-L blogger Tom Witherspoon, K4SWL, reports that he was curious if
this move might have changed so he contacted the organization to see if it
had any official word regarding its future. To his delight Witherspoon received the following response. We quote:

"We are glad to let you know that the Voice of Russia will stay on the air
in 2014, however, considerable changes in our frequency schedule are
expected. The information on the updated frequency chart will become
available on the Voice of Russia's web site before the New Year at voiceofrussia.com/radio_broadcast/frequencies, so please stay logged in."

Obviously this will be a pleasant New Years gift to Shortwave Listeners
the world over. More is on Tom's SWLing Post blog at tinyurl.com/Russia-shortwave-2014. (SWLing Post Blog)

**

HAM RADIO IN SPACE: KF5LJG SHOOTS ULTIMATE SELF PORTRAIT FROM EARTH
ORBIT

NASA Astronaut Mike Hopkins, KF5LJG, has taken what might be the ultimate
self portrait from Earth orbit. This while on a spacewalk outside the International Space Station on Christmas Eve to help to change out a
cooling pump module on the exterior of the orbiting outpost.

The picture shows the space-suit clad Hopkins silhouetted against a blue
planet Earth with the International Space Station reflected in his helmet faceplate. And if we may be so bold, we predict could become a symbol of
mans conquest of the final frontier. You can see it for yourself at tinyurl.com/hopkins-in-space. (mercurynews.com)

**

WORLDBEAT: JAPAN HAM RADIO POPULATION IN DECLINE

An interesting statistic courtesy of the Southgate News. Quoting figures posted by Joe Speroni, AH0A's, website, Southgate notes that Japan which
at one time had more radio amateurs than any other nation in the world has
been loosing them at what we might b call an alarming rate.

Since 1996 the hobby has been in sharp decline with the number of J A
amateur radio stations falling by over 65%. Put into raw numbers, back in
1996 Japan has 1,350,127 license holders while in 2009 which is the latest
year for Speroni's statistics the number was down to 489,256.

It appears that 2001 was the biggest loss for ham radio in Japan with
135,395 hams leaving the hobby. You can see the numbers for yourself on
the web at tinyurl.com/Japan-ham-statistics. (Southgate, AH0A Statistics)

**
DX UP FRONT: ZD9KX OPERATION APPROVED FOR DXCC

In DX Up-Front, word that the ARRL's DXCC desk has confirmed that the 2012
and 2103 ZD9KX operation Tristan Da Cunha and Gough Islands has been
approved for credit. If you filed a prior request for this operation and
had it rejected, please contact Bill Moore, NC1L, via e-mail to bmoore
(at) arrl (dot) org to be placed on the list to have your DXCC record
updated. And we will have more DX related news later on in this weeks
report. (DXCC)

**

DX UP-FRONT: LOWBANDS AND WARC BANDS FROM NORTHERN EUROPE

Capitalizing on the current season of almost total darkness in northern
Europe, a sub-group of the Z81X and OF9X teams are in the Aland Islands to activate OG0A on low bands and WARC bands through January 13th. The OH0X contest site is being used as the base camp with 160 Meter slopers and a 2 element 80 meter beam atop a 140 foot rotating tower. Main activity will
be on CW, but there may be some SSB and RTTY used occasionally. QSL OG0A
via OH2BH. And as a side note, planners say that this operation is
dedicated to the next Youth on the Air summer camp due to be held in
Finland next July 15th through the 22nd. (Southgate)

**

RESCUE RADIO: EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM MAY GO TO THE CLOUD

Federal emergency managers are considering replacing part of its current Emergency Alert System with a commercial alternative. This is because the
data storage system has not met the government's expectations. Amateur
Radio Newslines Stephan Kinford, N8WB, has the details:

--

According to contracting documents posted by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency on December 27th, it is now looking for a commercially
built data storage alternative for its Integrated Public Alert and Warning System and Open Platform for Emergency Networks or IPAWS-OPEN system. One
that will enable faster action and better communication between federal,
state and tribal officials and the public. It also has to be a storage
and retrieval system that uses more advanced storage technology, including possibly placing some portions of the system in the cloud.

For those who may have never heard the term, in its most basic form the
Cloud is a euphemism for off-site secure data storage. This is a model of networked enterprise storage where data is accumulated in virtualized
pools which are generally operated by third parties. These are mostly
hosting companies that operate large data centers. Their customers are
people or businesses that require their data to be hosted off site so they simply buy or lease storage capacity from them.

FEMA says that its custom-built IPAWS-OPEN has not met a slate of minimum standards, such as operating with 99.9% uptime and allowing the president
and other officials to alert the public about emergencies within 10
minutes. Rather it has been dogged by glitches, too many layers of
technical bureaucracy and mainly insufficient storage space.

The current IPAWS-OPEN system transmits emergency messages to citizens
through numerous channels, including local alert systems, traditional
broadcast media, the Internet and cellphones. It also needs to be quickly expandable to new public communications systems and platforms as they are created.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Stephen Kinford, N8WB, in Wadsworth,
Ohio.

--

The complete thirteen page document in PDF format can be downloaded at tinyurl.com/fema-ipaws-rfi. Just click on the link in the upper right
corner of the page. (FEMA, Mashable.com, nextgov.com)

**

RESCUE RADIO: MINORITY GROUPS PETITION FOR MULTI-LINGUAL EMCOMM ALERTS

The Minority Media and Telecommunications Council and several other such
groups are pushing FCC chairman Thomas Wheeler to act on an advisory
committee recommendation. One that tells the agency promptly resolve any financial and technical hurdles to providing emergency alert warnings to non-English speakers.

In a December 16th letter to Wheeler the groups note that the advice for
prompt action on this matter was given over eight years ago following
Hurricane Katrina. They point out that six rounds of pleadings since that
time have resulted in no steps to ensure that multilingual emergency communications will be available during and after major emergencies.

This latest letter follows recent meetings between Minority Media and Telecommunications Council executives and FCC officials to make the same
point face to face. (B&C)

**

RADIO BUSINESS: INNOVANTENNAS ACQUIRES FORCE 12

United Kingdom based InnovAntennas has acquired the Force 12 Antenna
Company and product line and has moved the Force 12 production from Texas,
to Grand Junction, Colorado. This is a facility to be shared with InnovAntennas America.

InnovAntennas founder Justin Johnson, G0KSC, was in Colorado late last
year to assist in laying out and setting up the factory. The company
expects full production to be underway sometime this month.

InnovAntennas says it plans to produce updated versions of classic Force
12 antennas as well as all-new models. Meantime InnovAntennas in the
United Kingdom is now manufacturing Force 12 products for the European
market at its Canvey Island plant. (InnovAntennas via Southgate)

**

HAM BUSINESS: TOKYO HY-POWER APPEARS OUT OF BUSINESS

RF amplifier manufacturer Tokyo Hy-Power formally known as the Tokyo High
Power Research Institute has filed for bankruptcy. Bill Pasternak,
WA6ITF, is in the newsroom with whats known so far:

--

Note: IPAWS is pronounced EYE PAWS

According to contracting documents posted by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency on December 27th, it is now looking for a commercially
built data storage alternative for its Integrated Public Alert and Warning System and Open Platform for Emergency Networks or IPAWS-OPEN system. One
that will enable faster action and better communication between federal,
state and tribal officials and the public. It also has to be a storage
and retrieval system that uses more advanced storage technology, including possibly placing some portions of the system in the cloud.

For those who may have never heard the term, in its most basic form the
Cloud is a euphemism for off-site secure data storage. This is a model of networked enterprise storage where data is accumulated in virtualized
pools which are generally operated by third parties. These are mostly
hosting companies that operate large data centers. Their customers are
people or businesses that require their data to be hosted off site so they simply buy or lease storage capacity from them.

FEMA says that its custom-built IPAWS-OPEN has not met a slate of minimum standards, such as operating with 99.9% uptime and allowing the president
and other officials to alert the public about emergencies within 10
minutes. Rather it has been dogged by glitches, too many layers of
technical bureaucracy and mainly insufficient storage space.

The current IPAWS-OPEN system transmits emergency messages to citizens
through numerous channels, including local alert systems, traditional
broadcast media, the Internet and cellphones. It also needs to be quickly expandable to new public communications systems and platforms as they are created.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Stephen Kinfordd, N8WB, in Wadsworth,
Ohio.

--

No reason was given for the sudden demise of Tokyo Hy-Power. Ham Radio
Outlet customers are advised to see www (dot) hamradio (dot) com/news.cfm
for more details. Another view of the story is on the ARRL newspages at www.arrl.org. (HRO, ARRL, others)


**

RADIO HAPPENINGS: NAB SHOW TO PARTNER WITH DUBAI WORLD TRADE CENTER ON
CABSAT CONFERENCE

The NAB Show and the Dubai World Trade Center announced they will partner
to produce the 2014 CABSAT Conference. Celebrating its 20th anniversary, CABSAT is the region's leading annual event focusing on the broadcast, satellite and broader media industry. The two-day conference, to be held
March 11th to the 12th at the Dubai World Trade Center, attracts attendees
from the Middle East, Africa and South Asia who are actively engaged in
the creation, management and delivery of entertainment and news content.
(NAB)

**

NAMES IN THE NEWS: YASME FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES 2013 EXCELLENCE AWARDS

The latest Yasme Excellence Award winners have been announced. The 2013 recipients include Tom Roscoe, K8CX; Lee Sawkins, VE7CC; John Devoldere,
ON4UN: Michael Carroll, N4MC; Eldon Lewis, K7LS; Dean Gibson, AE7Q;
Joseph Speroni, AH0A: Ken Claerbout, K4ZW and Ashraf Chaabane, 3V stroke KF5EYY.

The Yasme Excellence Award is in the form of a cash grant and an individually-engraved crystal globe. More information on both the Yasme Foundation and its awards program is on line t www dot yasme dot org.
(YASME Foundation)

**

NAMES IN THE NEWS: KIM OWENS NAMED NEW SBE EDUCATION DIRECTOR

The Society of Broadcast Engineers' bimonthly newsletter, The Signal,
reports that Kim Owens has been named the organization's education
director. In her new position, Owens will coordinate the society's
education programming, which ranges from webinars to workshops and the SBE Technical Presenters Group. In fulfilling her duties, Owens will
regularly work with SBE Education Committee Chairman Wayne Pecena, N1WP,
and other committee members.

(RW)

**

SCIENCE CAREERS: NASA ANNOUNCES SUMMER 2014 INTERNSHIPS FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

According to Dr. Ken Silberman, KB3LLA, NASA is looking to increase the
number of students with disabilities pursuing science, technology,
engineering, and math or STEM careers through its internship programs.

Writing in the year end edition of the Handi Ham newsletter, KB3LLA says
that students can apply for summer 2014 internships immediately with the deadline for submitting applications being Saturday, March 1st. The
agency will begin extending offers to students as early as Thursday,
January 16th. Those interested can apply at intern.nasa.gov (Handi Ham Newsletter)


**

EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: MORE ELECTRONICS BUT LOWER POWER USE

The average amount of electricity consumed in U.S. homes has fallen to
levels not seen in more than a decade. This is likely due to the
introduction of more energy efficient appliances and other consumer
electronics leading to overall power usage being on track to decline by
the end of 2013 for the third year in a row.

According to the Energy Information Administration the end of 2013 level expected is around 10,819 kilowatt-hours per household. That is the
lowest level since 2001, when households averaged 10,535 kilowatt-hour.

And even more interesting is that this decline has occurred even though we
now use more electric and electronic devices in our daily lives. You can
read one of several in-depth reports on this phenomenon at tinyurl.com/less-electric-use. (Published news reports)

**

HAM HAPPENINGS: ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF LICENSED AMATEUR RADIO IN
QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA

Australia's Tablelands Radio and Electronics Club has been issued the
special event call sign VK4XQA. This to celebrate the centenary of the
first license issued in the state of Queensland.

On February 7th 1914 Marcus J.G. Brims, who lived in the far north town of Mareeba became the first licensed amateur radio operator in the state when
he was issued the call letters XQA. At that time he was permitted 76
watts output and limited to the 160 meter band. But his operating did not
last very long. A few months later on August 16th his permit was revoked
due to the outbreak of World War One and his equipment was surrendered to
the Post Master General's department for storage for the duration of the conflict.

Now, 100 years later his being the first Queenslander to take to the
airwaves will be commemorated in an on the air award program starting this February 7th and ending on August 6th. Those contacting three Tablelands members on any High Frequency amateur band will be eligible for a
commemorative certificate. A roster of operators with operating times and bands will be posted at www.treclub.org.au before the start of the award period. (VK4SDD)

**

HAM RADIO IN SPACE: CALL FOR PAPERS FOR 2014 SA AMSAT SPACE SYMPOSIUM

South Africa AMSAT has announced that its annual Space Communication
Symposium will be held on Saturday May 24. This at the Innovation Hub in Pretoria.

Proposals for papers to be presented at the gathering are now solicited.
Those interested in taking part are asked to submit a brief overview of
their planned paper by March 15th to saamsat (at) intekom.co.za.

Authors will be advised of the acceptance of their paper by March 31st.
Final written papers will be required by April 30th and PowerPoint presentations no later than by May 15th Also please include a short
biography and a photograph of yourself.

Registration for the symposium will open on February 1st. More
information is on the web at www.amsatsa.org.za. (SARL)

**

ON THE AIR: VK8NSB OFFERS 10 METER SSTV BEACON AWARD

According to VK8NSB his Slow Scan TV Repeater on 28.700 Mhz transmits a
beacon picture every 60 minutes and there are 12 pictures in total.
VK8NSB says that he is now offering those that receive all 12 pictures in
full a special award. Once you have received all 12 pictures please
e-mail Stuart to vk8nsb (at) hotmail (dot) com. Include all 12 pictures
in JPG format and VK8NSB will send you the award via return e-mail. More information can be obtained on the VK8SNB web page on QRZ.COM. (WIA News)

**

DX

In DX, word that the only two stations in the South Sudan are off the air
due to the current internal political strife. These are Z81B and Z81D and indications are that there will not be any further ham radio signals from
that new nation until conditions stabilize. More on this as information becomes available.

DX-World.net reports that WA5A will be on the air stroke 5Z4 from Kenya
until about January 28th. His operation will be holiday style on the High Frequency bands. QSL via his home callsign.

LA7GIA is expected to be active from Malawi as 7Q7GIA for one week in May
or June. QSL's will via his home callsign. No other information is
available at this time.

IK2PZC will be active from Morocco as 5C2P between February 6th and the
9th. His operation will be on the High Frequency bands using SSB and
RTTY. QSL via IK2PZC.

ON7WP stroke C5WP has announced that he and ON7YK stroke C5YK are or will
be the only two permanent licensed hams in The Gambia for 2014. At least
as of now. More information is at C5CP on QRZ.com

YV5IAL will be active stroke CE2 from Valparaiso, Chile through January
30th. His operation will be on 40 through 10 meters using PSK-31 with
some SSB. QSL via his home callsign either direct or via the bureau.

Lastly, F6BLP will be operational from Senegal through January 31st as
6W7SK through January 31st. His location will be about 80 kilometers
south of the city of Dakar. Activity will be holiday style operating
mainly CW on 80 through 10 meters. Some 160 meters is possible. QSL to
F6BLP, either direct or via the bureau.

(Above from various DX news sources)

**

THAT FINAL ITEM: STUDYING HOW A RECHARGEABLE BATTERY WORKS

And finally this week, have you ever wondered what happens inside a rechargeable battery? If so you are not alone as we hear from Amateur
Radio Newsline's Cheryl Lasek, K9BIK:

--

Scientists are still searching for clues to the processes that takes place inside rechargeable batteries. This as part of the ongoing quest to
create more powerful, longer-lasting and cheaper energy storage devices.

Now a team of researchers with the Department of Energy's Pacific
Northwest National Laboratory in cooperation with other research centers
have discovered how to unlock some of the secrets hidden within
rechargeable batteries.

So far most of the research into batteries has focused on studying the electrolyte interphase layer. This is a coating that accumulates on an electrode's surface and dramatically influences battery performance. But
until recently the research has been limited because most high-powered microscope work is done under dry conditions while most batteries contain liquids. As such the liquid has slowed the ability to conduct this type
of research.

To overcome this, researchers have created a special dry battery for their tests. The battery contains one dime size silicon electrode and one
lithium electrode sandwiching a bath of solid electrolyte. This
configuration permits the flow of ions but still allow microscopic study
which in turn has allowed the team to study the electrodes behavior.

The researchers say this new study could be the next step in the ongoing
quest to create longer lasting rechargeable batteries.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Cheryl Lasek, K9BIK, in Zion,
Illinois.

--

The work was published in a recent issue of The Journal Nano Letters,
could eventually lead to better rechargeable batteries. More is on line
at tinyurl.com/new-battery-research. (MNN)

**

NEWSCAST CLOSE

With thanks to Alan Labs, AMSAT, the ARRL, the CGC Communicator, CQ
Magazine, the FCC, the Ohio Penn DX Bulletin, Radio Netherlands, Rain, the RSGB, the Southgate News, TWiT-TV and Australia's WIA News, that's all
from the Amateur Radio NewslineT. Our e-mail address is newsline (at) arnewsline (dot) org. More information is available at Amateur Radio Newsline'sT only official website located at www.arnewsline.org. You can
also write to us or support us at Amateur Radio NewslineT, 28197 Robin
Avenue, Santa Clarita California, 91350

For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors' desk, I'm Skeeter
Nash, N5ASH, near Houston, Texas saying a very Happy New Year, 73 and we
thank you for listening.

Amateur Radio NewslineT is Copyright 2014. All rights reserved.

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R\%/itt - K5RXT


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