Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2489 for Friday, July 11th, 2025

Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2489 with a release date of Friday, July 11th, 2025 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1

The following is a QST. A POTA activator suffers a tragic death. ClubLog is getting an upgrade -- and Hamshack Hotline prepares to say farewell. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2489 comes your way right now.

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POTA ACTIVATOR ELECTROCUTED IN NORTH CAROLINA

NEIL/ANCHOR: Our top story this week takes us to the scene of a tragedy in North Carolina in which a well-known Parks on the Air activator died after being electrocuted. We have more details from Jim Davis, W2JKD.

JIM: Tripp Owens, N4NTO, a well-regarded POTA activator died on Friday, July 4th, when, according to investigators, his antenna mast made contact with an overhead power line at the Chicora Civil War Cemetery near the Averasboro [pron: aver-us-burro] Battlefield Historic Site, US-11375. According to several local news reports, emergency crews were called to the scene after Tripp was found unconscious in the parking lot. One news report said that fire crews found him with his foot touching the mast beneath the power lines. Power company crews turned off the power to give the responders access. Tripp was pronounced dead at the scene.

A report on the QRPer.com website relayed information from Dave W4JL, who said Tripp had been spotted on the Reverse Beacon Network between 12:02 and 12:13 UTC that morning but noted on the POTA spots page that he was going QRT. QRPer's Thomas Witherspoon K4SWL added: [quote] "This is heartbreaking news for those of us in the Parks on the Air and WWFF communities. Tripp was a well-known and well-loved North Carolina POTA operator?a dedicated hunter and activator whose callsign appears in my logs many times over the years." [endquote]

Tripp's death was ruled accidental. Within hours of the news, the ham radio community offered condolences to his family on social media and shared memories of a man who they praised for his spirit of mentorship and his gentle sense of humor. Mark Gibson, N4MQU, praised him for his achievements as a top CW operator and a devoted contester.

He had been a ham since 1985. "Ambrose 'Tripp' Owens the third was 57 years old.

This is Jim Davis, W2JKD.

(ABC-11, WRAL NEWS, QRZ.COM, QRPer.COM)

NEIL/ANCHOR: On a personal note, Newsline would like to remind all our listeners, especially those operating portable stations, to please exercise utmost caution especially during setup and takedown.

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HAMSHACK HOTLINE TO BE DISCONTINUED

NEIL/ANCHOR: Say goodbye to Hamshack Hotline, the free VOIP telecomm service. The service announced it would be discontinued, effective the 29th of August. The project began in 2018 and grew to be a global communications network with a peak establishment of 7,000 interconnections across numerous servers. Hamshack Hotline's board of directors said it will donate whatever cash reserves it may have to a charity that supports military veterans.

(HAMSHACK HOTLINE)

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FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT TO SPEAK AT DALLAS 'MOON DAY'

NEIL/ANCHOR: In Dallas, Texas, a former NASA astronaut will be the guest speaker at an educational event that marks the anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing and celebrates advances in space exploration. Sel Embee KB3TZD has that story.

SEL: Retired Colonel Carl Walz, formerly K-C-5-T-eye-E, will deliver the keynote address at the Dallas Frontiers of Flight Museum during Moon Day, which celebrates space exploration and encourages attendees to participate in activities involving Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Moon Day is taking place on the 19th of July, a date close to the July 24th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969. The Ohio native, a former ISS astronaut, spent more than 18 hours conducting spacewalks to evaluate tools for the refurbishment of the Hubble Space Telescope.

AMSAT Ambassador Thomas Schuessler (Shoose-slur), N-5-H-Y-P, will join with satellite enthusiasts from North Texas to demonstrate CubeSats using models and a simulator, and talk about amateur radio in space. Members of the Dallas Amateur Radio Club will be on hand to also share amateur radio's role in supporting science education.

For details about attending - or if you live nearby and want to volunteer - email Tom at N5HYP-at-arrl-dot-net. (n5hyp@arrl.net)

This is Sel Embee, K-B-3-T-Zed-D.

(AMSAT NEWS)

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YOTA AMERICAS CAMPERS LAUNCH FARTHEST BALLOON TRIP

NEIL/ANCHOR: Thirty two campers traveled from all over the world to Thornton, Colorado in June to attend the annual Americas wide camp for amateur radio operators aged 15 to 25 called Youth On The Air. Jack McElroy, KM4ZIA, has been the leader of the YOTA balloon launch team since he was 14 years old at the camp's first in person event in the Americas.

In 2022, Newsline shared Jack's story of one of his personal balloons becoming the closest any amateur radio balloon has been to the South Pole. At this year's YOTA camp, the youth team in cooperation with Edge of Space Sciences launched a high altitude balloon, tracked it by APRS, and brought back video from near space after reaching a height of 96,600 feet. But, thunderstorms prevented the launch of the two pico balloons scheduled for that afternoon.

Instead, the balloons were transported to NIST radio station WWV in Fort Collins the next day, where the campers were taking a tour of the facility and operated portable stations. The wide open spaces and clear sky at WWV proved to be a great launch site for these balloons as they started the longest journey of any YOTA Americas balloons yet. At the time of recording this edition of Newsline, one balloon is flying over Hawaii and is closing in on an entire orbit around the Earth, while the other balloon made it to western Iran before returning to the ground.

Jack told Newsline, "This all would not have been possible without the curiosity and efforts of the campers, for they were the ones assembling, balancing, and launching the balloons. I hope that through experiences like this, youth can be inspired to bring their amateur radio expertise into areas that they never thought possible, from research projects to future careers." The balloon launch was sponsored by the North Fulton Amateur Radio League. You can follow the trek of these balloons on WSPRNET.ORG under KM4ZIA and on APRS.FI under W?Y-1 and W?Y-11.

(YOUTH ON THE AIR)

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SILENT KEY: AUSTRIAN MILITARY RADIO SOCIETY's MONIKA WLCEK, OE3YUP

NEIL/ANCHOR: An active and influential YL in Austria has become a Silent Key. We hear more about her from Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

JEREMY: A near-fatal shooting in the head during an armed robbery in Vienna more than three decades ago nearly claimed the life of Monika Wlcek, OE3YUP. She ultimately emerged from a coma and recovered, though she was left partially paralyzed for the rest of her life. Her love of amateur radio, which she shared with her husband Helmut, OE3HCB, kept her in the forefront of the amateur radio community until she became a Silent Key on the 10th of June of this year. Her death was reported recently in the YL Beam newsletter.

Monika was an active member of the Forest District of the Austrian Military Radio Society and an active participant in YL activities each year at Ham Radio Friedrichshafen.

Monika was 79.

This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(YL BEAM)

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NYC PROPERTY OWNER GETS "PIRATE" LETTER FROM FCC

NEIL/ANCHOR: In New York City, which the FCC considers one of the most active locations for unlicensed radio activity, another broadcaster has been charged with radio piracy. Kent Peterson KC?DGY has the details.

KENT: The Federal Communications Commission has sent a letter to a property owner in the New York borough of the Bronx, charging them with permitting unlicensed broadcasting from that location. The FCC cited complaints about a broadcast on 89.3 FM coming from an apartment above ground-floor retail establishments in June and November of 2024 and again this past January.

The letter was sent under the PIRATE Act of 2020, which strengthened the FCC's enforcement authority and raised possible penalties against pirate broadcasters. The property owners are required to respond to the agency within 10 days.

Under the PIRATE Act, the FCC can issue a maximum fine of $2.5 million if the broadcasts continue after the response period has passed.

The RadioWorld website, which carried the report, said one of its readers in New York City identified the broadcast as coming from an entity known as "Digital FM WDYM."

This is Kent Peterson KC?DGY.

(RADIO WORLD, FCC)

**

BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including the multimode Jacksonville Hub which connects to such modes as the AB4KK-R Echolink node number 626636, Allstar 510740 and TGIF TalkGroup 33333.

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BRAZILIAN SPECIAL EVENT CELEBRATES 105-YEAR-OLD YL

NEIL/ANCHOR: At 105 years of age, the Brazilian radio operator known as "Grandma Alda" still keeps the word "young" in YL. Graham Kemp VK4BB tells us about the on-air celebration held for her.

GRAHAM: The special event callsign PP105ASN was on the air for 11 days in June - but the YL being honoured has been on the air for 49 years - and she has been on the planet for 105. Her name is Alda Schlemm Niemeyer, who is known widely as "Grandma Alda."

To mark her 105th birthday this past spring, her fellow members in the Blumenau Amateur Radio Club used SSB and FT8 on HF -- as well as 2m FM simplex. The club's president, Mauro Cerqueira Leite, PP5BSD, told Newsline there were a total of 1,200 QSOs and they were acknowledged via digital QSL,

This is Graham Kemp VK4BB.

(YL BEAM, BLUMENAU AMATEUR RADIO CLUB)

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'NIGHT OF NIGHTS' HONORS LONG-GONE MARITIME TRADITION

NEIL/ANCHOR: Every year, devoted volunteers return the tradition of maritime radio to the air in California. Ralph Squillace KK6ITB tells us how.

RALPH: The silencing of the last maritime radio station in the US in California in 1999 gave voice to an effort to create the Maritime Radio Historical Society, K6KPH, to preserve its treasured Morse Code tradition.

Every year, the event, "Night of Nights," celebrates this tradition on the anniversary of the day that the station signed off - ensuring that July 12th would not mark the station's final signoff, after all. Broadcast engineers, radio operators and history enthusiasts have seen to that. They volunteered to bring new life to the receive site at the Point Reyes National Seashore and to the Bolinas Radio transmitter site - returning Morse service to the station known as KPH/KFS.

This year's 26th edition of "Night of Nights" is a collaboration of modern skills and classic style equipment, including "Marconi T" type antennas at both the transmitter and receive sites. KPH and KFS will be operating on assigned commercial frequencies while K6KPH will be operating on several HF amateur radio bands. For times, frequencies and QSL information, please check the Maritime Radio Historical Society website at radiomarine.org.

This is Ralph Squillace KK6ITB.

(MARITIME RADIO HISTORICAL SOCIETY; QRZ.COM)

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DOUBLE CENTENARY FOR AMATEURS IN JAPAN

NEIL/ANCHOR: The practice of amateur radio in Japan is feeling its age - 100 years old next year - and hams there are ready to send a message that the best is yet to come. Jim Meachen ZL2BHF tells us what's planned.

JIM: Japanese amateurs are marking a double anniversary - both spanning 100 years: They're celebrating the establishment of the Japan Amateur Radio League in June of 1926. The league was created to assist innovators and experimenters who were conducting their radio research without benefit of a licence. That changed in September of the following year, when the callsign JXAX was assigned by the government to the first of what would soon become a handful of radio telegraph and telephone stations. Ham radio kept growing so that just before the Second World War, the nation had 300 such stations.

Hams in Japan will be marking those two formative moments in history during a celebration designed to last 16 months -- the same time period between the events 100 years ago. Awards, ceremonies, special event stations, contests and an anniversary book are among the activities planned.

Clearly there's a lot to celebrate in that 100-year stretch which last year landed Japan in the Guinness Book of World Records for putting JS1YMG, the first amateur radio station, on the moon.

This is Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.

(JAPAN AMATEUR RADIO LEAGUE, AMATEUR RADIO DAILY)

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GRANT WILL HELP WITH CLUBLOG OPERATIONS UPGRADE

NEIL/ANCHOR: Expect improved operations soon from ClubLog, thanks to some grant money to cover the costs. Here's Jeremy Boot G4NJH with the details.

JEREMY: ClubLog, a service that has become a mainstay for DXers worldwide, has received an $8,000 grant in US currency for a hardware upgrade to improve operations. The funding from the Northern California DX Foundation is being given to Michael, G7VJR, ClubLog's author. In a DX foundation press release, ClubLog reminded users that the expensive upgrade of its servers is necessary to support expanded activity. Michael said: [quote] "...once the new servers are deployed, Club Log will be using cutting edge servers which are faster, more energy efficient and ready for years of high-endurance 24/7 work. " [endquote]

According to a press release from the DX foundation, the free ClubLog statistics service supports an estimated 130,000 callsigns worldwide and stores records of 1.25 billion QSOs.

This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(425 DX BULLETIN)

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WORLD OF DX

In the World of DX, Nicolas, F5TGR will be on the air from Iceland as TF/F5TGR from July 26th through to August 9th on 40, 30, 20, 15, 12 and 10m. Nicolas will be using CW, SSB and FT8. See QRZ.com for QSL details.

Andre, HB9HLM is on the air holiday style as CN2NE from Morocco from the 15th through to the 22nd of July. Listen for him on 40-6 metres from grid locator IM63. See QRZ.com for QSL details.

Special callsign TM5VDL is on the air through to the 19th of July from Dunkirk. This activation is taking place during the second stage of the Tall Ships Races. QSL via F8KGS.

Take [TAH-KAY], JI3DST, is using the callsign JI3DST/1 from Shikine [SHUH KEE NAY] Island, IOTA number AS-008, on the 24th through to the 28th of July and will be in the IOTA Contest. See QRZ.com for details.

Listen for Vlad, OK2WX, using the callsign JW?V from Longyearbyen, IOTA number EU-026, Svalbard from the 14th through to the 23rd of July. Vlad will be using CW, SSB and FT8 on 80-10 metres. See QRZ.com for QSL details.

(425 DX BULLETIN)

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KICKER: HEADQUARTERS FIELD DAY FOR OUR 2022 YHOTY WINNER

NEIL/ANCHOR: On the amateur radio calendar, ARRL Field Day is one of the most anticipated days of the year. For one YL in particular - and for Amateur Radio Newsline, the late-June event was one for the logbooks. Our final story for this week is about her - as we hear from Don Wilbanks AE5DW.

DON: With 1,536 sites in ARRL's Field Day locator, one in particular stands out: Headquarters station W1AW in Newington, Connecticut. Operators at the Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station were, of course, calling "CQ Field Day" but if you were lucky enough to log this 6F-class station on Saturday, June 28th there's a good chance you may have worked Audrey McElroy, KM4BUN. Audrey was the Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF Memorial Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the year for 2022. The Georgia resident has been in Connecticut working on an internship in support of her electrical engineering studies at Georgia Tech. Audrey is, of course, a Field Day veteran and a former operator for the Dave Kalter Memorial Youth DX Adventure to Curacao. Dayton Hamvention attendees may have also met her in Xenia, Ohio, as a presenter.

This year's Field Day at W1AW was a proud moment for us here at Newsline and we wish Audrey continued success and, of course, good DX.

This is Don Wilbanks AE5DW.

(ARRL)

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IT'S HAM RADIO HAIKU TIME

A good QSO can be like poetry - sometimes! So why not write a haiku about amateur radio and join the Newsline haiku challenge? It's as easy as writing a QSL card. We can only accept the correct haiku format - that is, a three-line verse with five syllables in the first line, seven in the second and five in the third. Submit your work on our website at arnewsline.org - each week's winner gets a shout-out on our website, where everyone can find the winning haiku.

NEWSCAST CLOSE

With thanks to ABC News; Amateur News Daily; AMSAT News; ARRL; Blumenau Amateur Radio Club; David Behar K7DB; DX World; 425DX Bulletin; FCC; Japan Amateur Radio League; Maritime Radio Historical Society; QRPer.com; QRZ.com; Radio World; Shortwaveradio.de; Wireless Institute of Australia; WRAL News; YL Beam; YOTA Americas Camp; Zero Retries Newsletter; and you our listeners, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline. We remind our listeners that Amateur Radio Newsline is an all-volunteer non-profit organization that incurs expenses for its continued operation. If you wish to support us, please visit our website at arnewsline.org and know that we appreciate you all. We also remind our listeners that if you like our newscast, please leave us a 5-star rating wherever you subscribe to us. For now, with Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT at the news desk in New York, and our news team worldwide, I'm Neil Rapp WB9VPG in Union, Kentucky saying 73. As always we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2025. All rights reserved.

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