BREAK HERE
Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline,
heard on bulletin stations around the world, including W5NWA/R, a DMR
repeater in Harrison, Arkansas, on Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. local time.
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JOHNSON SPACE CENTER HAMS LAUNCH 50TH ANNIVERSARY
CHRISTIAN/ANCHOR: Few things are more exciting than space - except, of
course for ham radio. Combine the two, add in a 50th anniversary, and
you have the makings of a special event station at the Johnson Space
Center in Houston. Paul Braun, WD9GCO, spoke to the club's spokesman
about this year's big event.
PAUL'S REPORT: Everybody loves a good special-event station. And, a lot
of us love all things related to space exploration and the Space Program. Coming
up in mid-October, both of those things come together as the
Johnson Space Center Amateur Radio Club celebrates its 50th anniversary.
I spoke with club spokesman Ken Goodwin, K5RG, about the club's plans
for the weekend:
GOODWIN: In conjunction with our 50th year, we're going to have a
special event station, using our club call, W5RRR, which will be
operating the weekend of October 13th, 14th and 15th. We'll have the
station on air, with a number of dignitaries and club members, and
we've gotten support from the astronaut office - nowadays most of the astronauts
have their amateur radio license in support of amateur radio
onboard the International Space Station, the ARISS project. So, we'll
have the center director, who is also an amateur licensee, and come out
and just have contacts during that weekend.
PAUL: I mentioned to Goodwin that I was definitely going to try for a
contact, because I wanted their QSL card, and Goodwin told me:
GOODWIN: That's generally why we chose not to apply for a special call -
we get lots of business with the station's call, being associated with
the Space Program, which we've actively supported since 1967.
PAUL: The club is planning to work the General portions of 80 through
10 meters on all three days. The club has three HF stations, and a
satellite station in a building, supplied by the Johnson Space Center.
Details will be published in QST prior to the event, and you can follow
them on the club's website, www.W5RRR.org. I don't know about you, but
I'm hoping that by the end of that weekend, I'll be able to say,
"Houston, we've got a contact!"
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Paul Braun, WD9GCO.
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VIGILANT GUARD TESTS EMERGENCY READINESS
CHRISTIAN/ANCHOR: Emergency response teams mobilized recently for an
important drill in the region around Altus, Oklahoma. Mike Askins,
KE5CXP, tells us how things went.
MIKE's REPORT: The exercise was called Vigilant Guard. It was a Federal
Emergency Management Agency test of how to best manage emergency radio
response in the region surrounding Altus, Oklahoma. The exercise, which
took place between August third and sixth, went well, according to
Lloyd Colston, KC5FM, Altus Emergency Management Director. Radio
operators used remotes, WEBSDR receivers, and other equipment through
the region in Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and points beyond.
Lloyd said the drill helped fine-tune emergency response access to
offices at the state and federal levels, a necessary ingredient for
effective communications management, in the case of an earthquake, or
other disaster.
Citizens who were not radio operators even got to listen in, too, using
the broadcastify website.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mike Askins, KE5CXP.
(LLOYD COLSTON, KC5FM)
**
SENATE CONFIRMS FCC NOMINEES
CHRISTIAN/ANCHOR: The Senate has confirmed two commissioners to fill the
empty seats on the FCC. One of them is a returnee. With that story,
here's Stephen Kinford, N8WB.
STEPHEN: Former FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democrat, is
returning to the commission, and Republican Brendan Carr, the FCC's
general counsel, is joining the panel, following the two presidential
nominees' confirmation by the Senate this month. The FCC now comprises
two Democrats, and three Republicans, filling the panel's two
longstanding vacancies. Jessica Rosenworcel's previous five-year term
ended in late 2016, when the Senate did not act on her renomination by
then-President Barack OBama. The two join Republican Michael O'Rielly,
and Democrat Mignon Clyburn, as well as Chairman Ajit Pai (PIE), in
Washington.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Stephen Kinford, N8WB.
(REUTERS)
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