QUARTZFEST BRINGS A DESERT TO LIFE
The gathering bills itself as the ultimate in "hands-on for hams." And,
it's taking place in the middle of nowhere....well, almost. It's the
annual Quartzfest meetup just outside Quartzsite, Arizona. From Jan. 17
through 23. Quartzfest brings life, activity and good QSOs to a remote
publicly owned campsite in the Sonoran desert.
In addition to giving attendees a chance to preview the latest advances
in radio technology, organizers of this free specialty convention will
also be conducting classes in radio theory, and other ham-related
interests. With star-gazing, cooking classes, campfires and children's
programs listed as some of the many other non-radioactivities, Quartzfest
is not the typical hamfest. It grew out of years of informal meetings that began
in 1995 among ham radio operators who were also RV enthusiasts.
And then, it just grew from there. The hands-on classes are part of the
educational focus at Quartzfest, and workshops include everything from
global positioning, to portable antennas, to PSK.
Visit the website, quartzfest.org to see the complete program schedule.
(QUARTZFEST.ORG)
**
KOSOVO AMATEURS JOIN IARU
Hopes were on-again, off-again, on-again for quite some time among radio
amateurs in Kosovo, but the wait is over: It's on-again! The Kosovo
Amateur Radio Association, also known by the initials SHRAK, is now part
of the International Amateur Radio Union, following a second vote by its
member societies.
Kosovo, formerly known as Yugoslavia, had been a candidate for membership
as early as 2014, but failed to gain admission after the sufficient
number of votes did not materialize before balloting deadline. The IARU's Region
1 then requested a revote, which has since taken place, admitting
the nation into the union.
Meanwhile, the Kosovo amateurs will be on the air through the end of this
year as Special Event Station Z60IARU, commemorating the International
Amateur Radio Union's 90th anniversary -- and they'll be doing it as as
an official member of the union, at long last.
(ARRL)
**
BREAK HERE:
Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline,
heard on bulletin stations around the world, including WB3GXW, the Laurel
Amateur Radio Club, in Silver Spring, Maryland, on Friday, Saturday, and
Sunday nights.
**
ECHOLINK UPDATE
If you're among the Newsline rebroadcasters offering this newscast on
your nets via EchoProducer, we're aware you've had struggles with audio
and other technical issues. We've been working on it, too, because we'd
like to get things resolved. Well, thanks to some insights from longtime
friend Kevin Duplantis, W4KEV, a broadcast engineer in Knoxville,
Tennessee, we may, at last, have a solution. The issues may have been
the result of EchoProducer pointing to the wrong directory on our
Newsline website.
So if you are using EchoProducer to share our report, please visit the
Amateur Radio Newsline website where you'll find the correct URL for your
system. Kevin reports that it is working for him - and so it should work,
as well for you.
A big thanks to Kevin, W4KEV, for his hard work, as well as another
Kevin - Kevin Trotman, N5PRE, our web guru, who posts the audio files to
our website so they're available for downloading and podcast use.
Everyone here at Amateur Radio Newsline thanks you for your patience as
we have sorted things out.
http://www.arnewsline.org/storage/audio/news.mp3
**
KEYING IN ON FOR ROOKIE ROUNDUP
Think of it as Straight Talk for Straight Keys: The ARRL's Rookie Roundup
will be held Sunday, Dec. 20, and everyone who wants to get their Code in
shape - or perhaps up to a greater speed - is encouraged to jump in.
Anyone licensed for three years or less qualifies as a Rookie, and can
get on the air calling CQ RR. More seasoned amateurs are encouraged to
call CQ R, for CQ-Rookies, and go in search of newcomers.
The ARRL is also hoping that veteran operators will let new amateurs give
CW a try at their stations, or perhaps assemble a group of newbies at
their shack for a multi-op.
Practice now - Straight Key Night is coming too, on New Year's Eve.
(ARRL)
**
PEOPLE IN THE NEWS: ALEX SHOVKOPLYAS
Speaking of Morse Code, Radio Amateurs of Canada has presented its
Amateur of the Year award to Alex Shovkoplyas, VE3NEA, the developer of
the free software program known as CW Skimmer.
According to various reports, the honor is being given to the Ontario
resident for QUOTE "outstanding and consistent contribution to the
welfare of amateur radio" ENDQUOTE
Although various news reports list the honor as being given this past
fall, there is no official statement, or press release, on the Radio
Amateurs of Canada website.
The award is being given for the year 2014. CW Skimmer is a contesting
tool that interprets call signs sent in CW over a wide receiver
bandwidth, and also identifies waterfall traces by call sign. Once
extracted, the call signs can be exported for DX spotting.
(ARRL)
--- BgNet 1.0a12 - The Thunderbolt BBS wx1der.dyndns.org Little Rock, AR
* Origin: Temple of Doom BBS - tod.eothnet.com (57:57/1)
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