W6GRC TX (147.105 MHz) recordings for 2026-03-20

Get your morning started off on the right foot. Listen in for the Coffee Break Net Daily at 7:30 AM here on the W6GRC repeater.

Home of the original 105, with a PL tone of 110.9. This is the W6GRC repeater. Join us for our weekly net on Monday nights at 8 PM.

Broadcasting live from Red Mountain at an elevation of 3,673 feet, this is Sac Valley's original 105 machine, W6GRC, with a PL tone of 110.9.

Fill your coffee cup and join us for the Coffee Break Net Daily at 7:30 AM here on the W6GRC repeater.

Node 51018 connected to node 405480.

Speaker A: Okay, so you'll see if I get a tone.
Speaker C: Courtesy tone from the machine system.
Speaker A: KSFQB.
Speaker B: Good morning, this is WB6RVE, David Lima's net control for the Sacramento Valley Skywarn net. This net meets 5 days a week, Monday through Friday. The repeater is located near Grass Valley. The purpose of the net is to share weather information between interested amateur radio operators. We invite any amateur who is interested to report his weather roll call as complete. In times of emergency, this information is forwarded to the National Weather Service. Are there any announcements for the net? Uh, you're on the wrong repeater there, uh, Dave. AI6US standing by for the coffee break net on the W6EK 2-meter repeater. Ah, thank you, Brian. Have a good coffee.
Speaker A: WB6RBE.
Speaker C: And thank you for that, Brian. Good morning, this is the Coffee Break Net. I am Tom, November November 6 Hotel. Welcome to the 6th anniversary of the Coffee Break Net on the W6CK repeater, all-star node 51018, Echolink, and on Wires-X. We do this every morning. We do this every morning from 7:30 AM Pacific time to 10 AM Pacific time. Sorry, I'm doing something else here. Anyway, I don't see myself coming up here on Supermon. Brian, am I making the transmission on here?
Speaker B: Yes, you are. Good morning, and I have some stats to announce at the top of the hour, so back over to you. Thank you very much for running the 6th anniversary net, AI6US.
Speaker C: Okay, very good there, Brian. Thank you for that. Yeah, Supermont is not showing me as being transmitting here, so that's sort of why I was confused. Confused. I'm coming through on here in All-Star. Anyway, this is NN6H and this is the Coffee Break Net. And like I said, we do this every morning from 7:30 until 10 AM Pacific time. This is the 6th anniversary. We've been doing this for 6 years. So all the kudos out there to all the net controls and especially to Brian, AI6US, who started this 6 years ago as kind of an experiment for a couple months and it has continued on. I guess one of the stats probably that Brian will mention is we've had over 73,000 check-ins. Amazing for a net like this. This has been going on strong. We do this every day of the year pretty much. There's a few exceptions. I think we had one or two issues with equipment where the net has been down. Then other times we have given it up for some of the races here in the Tierra Fidel, some of the races that come through, the horse race question. In the foot race, and so they use a repeater for that for safety and emergency communications. But otherwise, it's been on every morning, so thank you for all the net control operators out there and also all the people that check in. I mean, without people checking in, we would not have a good net there. So anyway, we'll be inviting net control operators to come in and maybe give their stories, and also you to give your stories, maybe what your favorite moments are of the Coffee Break Net. What you enjoy and things like that, and maybe just different stories and also people that have passed and we can talk about them too. Anyway, that's what we'll be doing here for the next 2.5 hours for the Coffee Break Net. And so I'm going to start out here, and by the way, this is where the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the fish are jumping. That's Bill K, FKK. Silent Key, we want to thank him, and he was a regular, so that's how we remember him. All right, uh, as we generally start out here, let's do a quick in and out. We'll do quick in and outs, uh, and again, if you want to, you know, mention, uh, you know, some favorites about the Coffee Break Net, uh, you know, you're welcome to it. So this is Tom, November November 6 Hotel. Who's out there?
Speaker D: Good morning, Tom. Kilo Golf 6 November Lima Whiskey.
Speaker A: K3K3 Tom KC8 Fox Queen Victor Mark Ohio.
Speaker C: November 6 Charlie Kilo Victor. Kilo Oscar 6 Kilo Mike Romeo.
Speaker B: November 9 Romeo Echo Sierra, your all-star is definitely working. Kilo Delta 6 Charlie Delta Quebec, Rick, North Island.
Speaker A: Hello, Delta 3 Alpha Juliet November, KD3HAN. Alpha Kilo 6 Sierra Quebec.
Speaker B: And Alpha India 6 Uniform Sierra would like to make it in before the top of the hour. We have some repeater work to do. Thank you.
Speaker C: Okay, very good. Lots of check-ins here. And yeah, Brian, I thought you had mentioned that you wanted to be at the top of the hour, but I can actually put you first here to give you— you can give us the stats. So I have AI6US, I got AK6SQ, KJ5GWN, KA3AJN. Uh, that's right, the call sign, Anna, you're, you're stopping. Uh, and I got the CDQ Rick, got an NRS, got KO6KMR, uh, N6CKV Carl, I got KC8FQV Mark, um, but then I have, uh, uh, K83, I didn't get the station there, then I got Then I got K6NLW Frank. The KE3 station, can you come back again please?
Speaker A: Yes, this is KE3 Victor Golf Mike.
Speaker C: Okay, KE3 Victor Golf Mike, got you there, Jimmy. Okay, anybody else that I'm missing from this first round of quick in and outs? I'm amazed that I got all of the kerfuffle that was there. Alright, so let's go ahead. I'm going to go to Brian first. Brian has some statistics and stuff, and I know he has some things he wants to do on the repeater system, so I will go to Brian. And yeah, Supermod is now working. Yeah, that was kind of weird when I started out. I did not see myself come up and I kind of wondered if I was actually talking to anybody. Anyway, after you there, Brian. And you're going to tell us about this. And this is amazing, 6 years of the Coffee Break Net. Congratulations. AI6US and N6H.
Speaker B: Hey, good morning, Tom, and everybody on the net. No, good morning to everyone. Coffee Break Net started 6 years ago today. And it was just an experiment to see if folks would join in with the conversation. We have a lot of nets out there where you just check in and give a proof of life or a weather report. That isn't what we are about. We are about conversations. And it started 6 years ago today. So here are some numbers, quite interesting. The folks that jumped in there were people that weren't even around at the beginning of this net. So I'm just going to run by some numbers here. We've had over 70— we've had over 73,000 check-ins. On the books we have 7,280 approximately. So I'm going to let it drop and then I'm just going to run through the top 16 that have had made over 1,000 check-ins. Over the past 6 years. Okay, these are the top 16. These are the list of stations that checked in over 1,000 times in the past 6 years. WA6E with 1,005 check-ins. KN6GAA, Frank. 1,015. KN6WQU, Dan, with 1,137. K4LGI, our good friend Sam out of Denver, with 1,161. KB7DFP, Ken in Twin Falls, 1,189. Next up will be a silent key that we're recognized if he had— uh, Frank, uh, became silent key about 2 years ago and he's still in the, uh, over 1,000 check-ins. KA6FKK with 1,230 check-ins. Rest in peace because you are where the sun is always shining, the birds are singing, and the fish are jumping.
Speaker A: Break.
Speaker B: WB6BJN with 1,236, but I will nominate him for the most airtime outside of a net control. K6DLK, aloha Dan, with 1,272 check-ins. KB6SSN, Tom, with 1,399. And Mike, K6YMM, 1,417 check-ins. Our good friend from Never Neverland, W2VX, with 1,478. Um, and then, uh, let's see, KC6SLE, 1,524. 1,524 check-ins for Graydon. Into DIY, Patrick, who has been a tremendous help to our net through the years and to the, the all-star community in general. Thank you. And we always say good afternoon to Patrick into DYI with 1,563 check-ins. Another silent key, rest in peace Ray, comment. Yeah, KK6AM with 1,810 check-ins. Rest in peace, Ray, where the sun is always shining. N6CKV, number 2 position with 1,914 check-ins. Way to go, Carl! In the early days, you were giving us the COVID reports, and you have just been a rock-solid supporter of the Coffee Break Net. Number 1 position With 2,139 check-ins, it's— back to you, Tom.
Speaker C: Okay, I think my radio is broken because I did not hear the number 1 check-in. But yeah, congratulations to all those on the list there. I mean, that's amazing. So who was the number one check-in?
Speaker B: You know, I don't know, maybe that was deliberate. I, uh, I know you can see it on your list there because I typed it in there, but I'm gonna leave it out there for a moment. I wonder who the number one check-in was with 2,139 check-ins. Back to you, Tom.
Speaker C: Okay, well, we can open up to find out if anybody else wants to guess who the number 1 check-in is. So who— anybody have any guesses?
Speaker A: K06TH, maybe?
Speaker B: K06TH?
Speaker C: Yes, and you with 2,139 meters.
Speaker B: Greg in 1939, and Greg was one of the drivers behind, "Hey, let's put together a database." And this kind of started out with some just health and welfare checks during some wildfires and then snowmaggedons and other events. We just kind of fine-tuned this into what it is today. But anyway, that's kind of a big Thank you to all the net control operators. We certainly, you know, this net is not because of a person or one or two people. This is because it is a village and it's a wonderful group of folks. And primarily I want to thank all of the net control operators who step up and take that day or take days or take, you know, just run this net and have great conversations. So thank you to all the net control operators and thank you to everyone who checks into the net. 6 years and running strong. Back over to you, Tom.
Speaker C: Okay, very good there, Brian, and thank you for doing that. Thank you for starting this up, having this as an experiment. Thank you for Lynn, your wife, for putting up with it. Maybe she didn't think it was gonna last, but yeah, no thank you. And yep, so Brian does the net 3 days a week, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. We have Theta and Jerry on Thursday, myself on Friday. We have Orion AI6US on Saturday, and we have Jeff KW6U on Sunday, as well as we have a couple alternative net control, we have W1ATV, Aaron, We have WB6BJN— I was going to put Mark there as a net control— WB6LPJ, Don, and then we have Smitty, WB1G, and they helped fill in the spots there. So yeah, congratulations to Brian there. Thank you for all the other net control operators, and also thank you to you for all the people that check in. And help make this net going. And I have one correction there. You had mentioned KA6FKK. That's Bill. You had called him Frank, but that was Bill. The one that gave us the motto for the net here, which is the sun is always shining, the birds are singing, and the fish are jumping. So I want to thank everyone for all that. Anyway, thank you for that, Brian. And all that you do with the repeater system here also. Alright, so I do have my check-in list here, so let me go to the top and we'll go through that as quick in and outs. And again, if you want to give us some of your fond moments of the Coffee Break Net, you're welcome to it. So this is Tom, November November 6, let's go to KG6NLW. Good morning, Frank.
Speaker D: Uh, good morning, Tom and Annette. You know, uh, with how much activity Mark has, BJN has on the net, and how much he gets to talk, uh, for the weather, he might as well be part of net control group. That's just my two cents. Congratulations on 6 years. Here's to another 6 more years, and hopefully everything expands and makes things even better. Not much else for me this morning. Back to you, Tom. You have a great day. And I think you called Orion by Brian's call sign, AI6US. Yeah, they share a call sign now. 73, have a great day.
Speaker C: Okay, very good. Thank you, Frank. Yeah, maybe I did. Yeah, yeah, Orion, uh, Orion's call sign is AI6US. JP-A6JPA. It can't be confusing with the AI6US, same prefix here. All right, thank you, Frank, and thank you for also doing the YouTube live chat too, where you stream the Coffee Break Net. Anyway, you have a great day and thank you. All right, clearing with Frank. Next, Jimmy, KA3VGM. Good morning and aloha Friday to you, Jimmy.
Speaker A: Good morning, Tom and the 6th Age Gaming Group people across the net. Well, I'll just say this for you guys and the, the Sierra Photos Club in general. Uh, even though I'm living back here in Pennsylvania, you guys made me feel very welcome. And I was happy to find an active club again, 'cause a lot of the clubs/repeaters back here don't do much anymore. So I was happy to find an active, welcoming club. And if I was closer to California, I would join a lot of you guys' stuff. That you do because I think it's a very good club. With that, I'll say 73, but I will be listening to the rest of the net. I have computer work to do today. K3VGM, back to Utah.
Speaker C: All right, very good there, Jimmy. Uh, K3VGM, VGMNN6H, for the 6th anniversary of the Coffee Break Net. Okay, very good, thank you. And yeah, that is kind of one of the reasons why, uh, I think Brian started it too, because a lot of repeaters get kind of dead, especially outside of the, the morning and maybe the evening commute hours.

Speaker A: Whiskey Bravo 7 Uniform Kilo X-ray, WB7UKX. I don't know, I was totally off on that. WB7UKX, okay, got you, thank you. And then I have KO6COW. All right, uh, anybody else there for, uh, uh, uh, for the log only, for the coffee break now before we shut things down.
Speaker B: KI6LOP.
Speaker C: Kilo Mike Six Echo Papa.
Speaker A: Kilo Charlie Six Sierra Lima Echo. Alpha Kilo Six Papa Echo. Okay, that was the last station was Alpha Kilo— Alpha Kilo 6 Papa Echo, is that correct?
Speaker C: Yes, that was correct. This is Jose from Tustin, California.
Speaker A: All right, got you there. Thank you, Jose. AK6 Papa Echo. Then I got KM6MM and I got Russ, KI6LOP. And Graydon, yes, I have you from before, so no problem there. All right, last call for log only for the 6th anniversary of the Coffee Break Net.
Speaker C: Kilo 6 Alpha Golf Whiskey. B7 DFP, Kennetwon Falls, Mobile.
Speaker A: Okay, very good. I got, uh, got, uh, got you there, uh, KB7DFP. And by the way, you are number 12 in all-time check-ins since for the last 6 years. You have 1189. And what is the lunch for today? P-Soup?
Speaker C: That's cool! That's neat.
Speaker A: Thanks for letting me know that. Alright, no problem. But you have to tell us what's for lunch.
Speaker C: I, oh yeah, split pea soup is what I'm thinking of.
Speaker A: All right, I'll put that in the log here. Thanks, pea soup. Yeah, and congratulations on the check-ins. And then another station I have, I didn't get the full call sign, but I got Alpha Golf Whiskey 6 Alpha Golf Whiskey. Full call and the name, please.
Speaker B: Roger, it's Kilo 6 Alpha Golf Whiskey.
Speaker C: The name here is Alan.
Speaker B: I'm in Sacramento on an HT, and for lunch is birria tacos.
Speaker A: Okay, very good there, Alan. K6AGW. You're doing pretty good. You're doing great from Sacramento with an HT. A lot of white noise, but was able to copy you there, so good job there from Sacramento. All right, that concludes the Coffee Break Net here. We definitely wanted to close down at 10. I'm sorry, Brian, that I went a little bit over. But yeah, this has been the 6th anniversary of the Coffee Break Net that Brian, AI6US, started 6 years ago. As kind of an experiment to see if you can get some activity on this repeater. So look what it's turned into. Started out locally and then because of AllStar and EchoLink and stuff, kind of branched out into the US as well as into the world there. So I want to mention that we do have the Hamfest coming up, which is going to be March 28th. Loomis train station. That's going to be a great event. If you are in the area and you want to volunteer, go to w6ek.org and you can sign up to volunteer there. We still need a few more things there. And tonight is trivia night. We have a trivia night, 7:30 PM Pacific time on this repeater, All-Star Node and Echolink. It will be a no-host trivia, so bring bring your own trivia questions, and it'll go from 7:30 to 8:30, and that will be— hopefully people can check in that. So this is a trivia night the first and third Friday. All right, I am Tom NN6H from Lincoln, California, which is up near the repeater which is in Auburn, California. We are sponsored by the Sierra Foothills Amateur Radio Club, and we do this every morning from 7:30 until 10 AM-ish. Pacific time on the repeater and on All-Star and all that. So definitely thank you everybody for your comments and your memories of the Coffee Break Net. Definitely is a nice anniversary for the Coffee Break Net. Anyway, this is Tom, NM6H, and I'm going to say 73. Wish everyone a happy Aloha Friday and have a great weekend, and we'll talk to you next week. NN6H will be clear and returning the repeater and the nodes back to normal operation. 73.
Speaker C: All right, AI6US here. Just want to thank you, Tom, for running the net today. Thank you for everybody for being part of the 6th anniversary. And just kind of a heads up, I am standing under the tower for the W6EK voter on Mountaintop, and we will be working on the equipment in here. Mountaintop may be going up and down for the next hour or so. So we will be making some announcements. Thank you everybody. Thank you, Tom. And everyone have a wonderful Friday. This is AI6US. All be clear. Tom, can you sneak me into the log please? KB6SSN.
Speaker A: All right, got you in the log there, Tom. And are you going to be at trivia night tonight?
Speaker C: I will be, uh, have some fun tonight. Hopefully some folks will show up. Uh, and yeah, that makes my 1,400th check-in. That's why I wanted to catch you before you were gone there. Thank you.
Speaker A: Uh, have a great day.
Speaker C: KB6SSN. Yes, congratulations.
Speaker A: Uh, yeah, you are, uh, well I don't know that I have you as number 8 and I have you as 11:18, 11:9, or 13:99. So this would be your, yeah, your 1400th check-in.
Speaker C: Yes, I heard Brian say that at the beginning of the net, and that tells me that I really need to get a life if I've checked in that many times. But I'm in good company. KVP6SSN73.
Speaker A: Yes, you are definitely in good company there, but Ray was number 3 at 1810. So he beat you by 410 check-ins there. And it would have been much higher though if he was still around, but unfortunately he was silent key. Anyway, 7 3s, and thanks for kind of helping to semi-host the, I guess, the trivia night tonight at 7:30. Uh, give me 6 SSN and then 6H. Yeah, that last station, you're just barely bringing up the repeater in N6H. Hey Tom, KM6LYW, copy? Yeah, that's much better, Craig.
Speaker C: Gotcha.
Speaker A: Yeah, I was just asking to be put in the log if you still got the logging software open. I didn't want to miss the 6-year anniversary.
Speaker C: Thanks, Tom.
Speaker A: All right, Craig, got you there. Yeah, a little on the scratchy side, but we will put you in the log, and thank you for being part of the coffee break, man.
Speaker B: KCFQV, I know I checked in.
Speaker A: I was going to just mention [FOREIGN LANGUAGE] Yeah, I heard you in there, Mark, but there was quite a bit of noise on you. But you said something about top of the hour. I know that Brian mentioned before when we first started that he wanted to give the statistics, so he did that.
Speaker B: Yeah, just at the top of the last hour, right at like 57, 58 or 59 after the hour. Yeah, when you threw out— you were calling for more people to check in or something, and you put your call out into the call or something. The, uh, the other Something was hooked, it was hooked over the, uh, the board, RCWA board and breaker net, and he called you, and he was trying to call you, and then, then it got dropped. So, uh, I was gonna just say that, yeah, there's, um, there's things that get connected and then dropped at top of the hour and moved to another net.
Speaker C: And that this is a high six, you have to really drop them.
Speaker B: You might have been that what you have been hearing, KC. KC8FQV.
Speaker A: Okay, Mark, thanks for that. Brian, I know that you want to get the repeater working, so basically you want people to stop talking on here, is that the case?
Speaker C: Yeah, well, I appreciate everybody wanting to chat and everything. I really am going to be shutting things down for a little bit. And I do appreciate it. We have some people just kind of waiting around. So thank you so much. I appreciate it, guys. AI6US, happy 6th anniversary. 73, Tom.
Speaker A: All right, thanks, Brian, and maybe Doug there for helping on the repeater system. Okay, yeah, so the repeater system will be down for probably another hour for some maintenance. So anyway, thanks. Everybody have a great day. NN6H, clear.
Speaker C: Thank you very much, Tom. WA6E, Jerry, are you available? Yes, I'm here, WA6E. Okay, very good. I may call on you. If you're going to be around, I can coordinate offline if you want, but I just wanted to do a couple of tests of carrier with PL and without, if you have that set up. I do. I'm at your service, WA6E. Okay, so I don't keep you hanging around, I'll just go ahead and text you when I'm ready to do that test, if that's good? That's excellent. Thank you very much. This is AI6US. I'm bringing down Mountaintop, but I would just appreciate a quiet repeater for a few minutes, please. AI6US.

Node 51018 disconnected.

K6SLM, local information. KSC, SLS.

Attention all ham radio operators, you have reached the world famous W6GRC repeater on 147.105 MHz, backslash broadcasting at least 3 watts more than necessary at all times, backslash please pause between overs, identify properly, and remember kerchunking is not a hobby.

Broadcasting live from Red Mountain at an elevation of 3,673 feet, this is Sac Valley's original 105 machine, W6GRC, with a PL tone of 110.9.

Your radio is on the right frequency. This is the home of Sac Valley's original 105.5 W6GRC with a PL tone of 110.9.

Speaker A: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. The following is a QST. The Bouvet Island team declares the trip a success. YL operators around the world conclude their first major event.
Speaker B: And coming soon, a documentary about the well-loved founder of MFJ Industries. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report #2525 comes your way right now.
Speaker D: From around the world, this is Newsline, amateur radio's first independent on-the-air news and bulletin service. Now reporting from Wadsworth, Ohio, here's Stephen Kinford, N8WB.
Speaker B: If you were one of the lucky ones to contact 3Y0K on Bouvet Island, our lead story is for you.
Speaker A: Raph Squallacci, KK6ITV, tells us more.
Speaker E: The 3Y0K D-expedition to Bouvet Island in the South Atlantic Ocean is done. And according to the team, was a great success. A report on their Facebook page stated, quote, the whole 3Y0K team is safely back on the vessel after a successful expedition to Bouvet. We made more than 100,000 contacts and achieved our goals. It was an extraordinary undertaking involving years of planning, complex logistics, and determination needed to succeed. The team worked well together under harsh conditions, cold, snow, and severe wind. Bouvet is known for its remoteness and unpredictable weather, and while it is a beautiful island, any attempt going onshore involves a risk. Despite all the challenges we encountered, the team stayed focused on our goals, determined, and the result is due to real teamwork. We had been working with professional expedition guides, pilots, crew, and vessel, along with our off-island support team who all contributed to our success. End quote. According to the team, logs will soon be available in OQRS. If you wish to check you made a valid contact but want to verify, you can search the logs at the link in the text version of this week's newscast at arnewsline.org. The group's next target is, according to them, another icy rock in the Antarctic Ocean, Peter I Island, in 2027. This is Ralph Squillaci, KK6-ITB.
Speaker B: The Voice of America broadcast service, which has been shut down amid controversy last year, is headed back into service.
Speaker A: Kent Peterson, KC0-DGY, has more details.
Speaker F: Judge Roy C. Lambert of the United States District Court in the District of Columbia reversed actions taken last year by the Trump administration to shutter the Voice of America and ordered VOA's journalists to return to work and the news service to resume broadcasting. Judge Lambert had earlier ruled that the appointment of Carrie Lake was illegal, hence voiding all layoffs and shutdowns which she made. The VOA, founded in 1942 to combat Nazi propaganda in World War II, had been broadcast broadcasting in 49 languages to over 360 million people around the world when it was shut down. If Judge Royce's ruling stands, their goal is to return to that level. Newsline would like to make it clear that the Voice of America Museum and Amateur Radio Club in West Chester, Ohio, a popular attraction during Hamvention, is not connected with or affected by this current situation. This is Kevin Trotman, N5PRE.
Speaker B: As National Weather Service forecast offices begin their spring education campaigns for the United States, The Skywarn Youth Net wants to bring that mission to the airwaves.
Speaker A: Randy Slye, W4XJ, fills us in.
Speaker G: This is N0A, November Zero Alpha, calling CQ, CQ. Special event station for severe weather awareness calling CQ.
Speaker D: N0A, the special event station for the Skywarn Youth Net, is back on the air for their second annual event, operating from March 15th through March 29th. This initiative aims to encourage amateur radio operators across the United States and around the world to prioritize severe weather awareness and emergency preparedness. Skywarn YouthNet Manager Caleb Speare, KE0FOE, told AR Newsline, quote, our goal with this special event station is to educate the amateur radio community about the dangers of severe weather and the importance of being prepared.
Speaker A: End quote.
Speaker D: The station will be operating single sideband and FT8 on all HF bands at various times during the day and night as time permits. In an environment where seconds save lives, the N0A event serves as a critical reminder for the ham radio community to establish situational awareness before severe weather strikes. For more information on the Skywarn YouthNet, you can visit skywarnyouth.net. This is Randy Slye, W4XJ.
Speaker B: Are the HF bands useful for long-distance communications to remote areas?
Speaker A: The U.S. military just did their own exercise to prove what hams have known for years. As we hear from Paul Brown, WD9GCO.
Speaker C: Communicating under simulated emergency conditions on HF, members of the military in Alaska demonstrated something that hams have known all along: radio carries the message. The recent activity known as Exercise Arctic Connect might well be called field day or an ARES drill for the military. According to the U.S. Army's website, over 30 operators in 28 different locations across Alaska recently took part in the exercise, a radio test to show that HF communications are vital in areas that are separated by extreme terrain, weather, and distances. The test was conducted by Alaska Organized Militia, which includes the Alaska Army and Air National Guard, the Alaska State Defense Force, members of the Civil Air Patrol, the State of Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, and representatives from the National Guard Bureau. Colonel Christie Brewer, Alaska National Guard Director of Joint Operations, said that, quote, our responsibility is to the people of Alaska. That means ensuring we can maintain command and control across a state where terrain, weather, and distance test every system. "This exercise validates the partnerships and redundant pathways that allow us to respond decisively when communities need us." You can read the full story at the link in the text version of this week's newscast at arnewslines.org.
Speaker A: The YL Worldwide Award, the first international amateur radio event dedicated exclusively to female operators, just concluded on March 16th. Neal Rapp, WB9VPG, has the details.
Speaker H: YLs, which is short for young ladies, actually describes female amateur radio operators of all ages. Across the world, YLs joined together for a single operating event called YL Worldwide Award from March 9th through 16th. Using the ham award platform, YLWWA saw 300 activators from 51 countries generate over 300,000 QSOs in one week, chased by approximately 50,000 hunters from 203 countries. Veronica Wiegand, DL4VER, one of the event organizers, told Newsline, quote, "It was awesome to see the outstanding cooperation and enthusiasm of the YLs as well as the OMs. Complete beginners who had only obtained their licenses a few months ago worked hand in hand with experienced female radio operators." The pileup was overwhelming. At the close of the event at midnight UTC March 16th, even though conditions were very difficult, there were more YLs on the air than at any time during the week. The project was coordinated by the YL unit of the German Amateur Radio Club under the leadership of Heike, DL3HD, and Veronica, DL4VER, in collaboration with the international WWA team, Max, IW1FRU, and Carlo, IK1HJS. For more information about the YLWWA, visit hamaward.cloud.
Speaker I: This is Neil Rapp, WB9VPG.
Speaker A: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including the N9IAA repeater in Valparaiso, Indiana, on 146.685, Thursdays at 8:30 PM local time.
Speaker B: A story that we have been following about aircraft avionics now includes a federal mandate.
Speaker A: Skeeter Nash, N5ASH, tells us more.
Speaker I: The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered airlines flying Boeing 787 Dreamliners to inspect and repair faulty onboard transponders. According to a report at AviationAtoZ.com, The move is expected to cost U.S. airlines nearly $8 million. United Airlines, American Airlines, and Alaska Airlines, who operate from hubs including Chicago O'Hare and Los Angeles International Airports, are among those affected by the FAA airworthiness directive. It states that certain Boeing 787 transponders can fail when they are exposed to continuous wave signals, including those generated by Morse code from military transmitters and Amateur radio transmissions. Such signals, when encountered by the aircraft's Mode S transponder, may cause a failure to respond to radar interrogation. Air traffic control systems rely on those responses to track aircraft positions accurately. Without a correct reply from the transponder, controllers, quote, "may temporarily lose visibility on their radar displays," end quote. Additionally, the onboard traffic collision avoidance systems, quote, "may not generate alerts correctly." reducing a critical safety safeguard designed to prevent mid-air collisions. End quote. Tests conducted by the FAA showed a near 90% failure rate of interrogation attempts in environments with CW interference, which prompted the corrective solution order. The directive applies globally to Boeing 787 aircraft equipped with the affected transponder model. However, the FAA's financial assessment only covers aircraft registered in the US. Airlines have up to 4 years to complete the required inspections and modifications. The directive has the support of Boeing and the Airline Pilots Association. However, operational concerns were expressed by several airlines who have requested a delay. This is Peter Nash, N5AFH.
Speaker A: There is a new challenge to give more hams the chance to work Sardinia Island, as Dave Lee, M7TOB, tells us.
Speaker J: For 10 years, the Sardinia Regional Radio Group Team DX Koros, has focused on growing the community of amateur radio DXers. As its members mark the group's 10th anniversary, they have teamed up with the Porto Torres section of ARI, the national nonprofit organization representing hams in Italy, to help land Sardinia in as many logbooks as possible. The Sardinia Island DXCC 225 Challenge began earlier this month, offering gold, silver, and bronze certificates and a chance for some operators to record a new log entry. Their focus until the 1st of May is to call CQ as IR0SAR. Sardinia Island is recognized as an independent DX entity and a much sought-after one, long known and appreciated for its ancient ruins and other links to history. Sardinia can now be pursued with extra intensity for its standing amongst DXers. See the qrz.com page of IR0SAR for more details. This is Dave Lee, M7TLB.
Speaker A: Like Rip Van Winkle waking up from a very long nap, an elderly satellite just came back online. Bram Camp, VK4BB, brings us the story.
Speaker K: March 9th brought a sunlit awakening for the satellite known as Fuji Oscar 29A, veteran of the skies that was launched in August of 1996. Its batteries failed during the satellite's 30-year space journey, making it completely dependent on solar panels. AMSAT News called its recent arrival into a sunlit orbit, and I quote, "A welcome revival for one of the oldest active analog linear responders in the amateur fleet," end quote. The sunlit awakening has permitted continuous operation instead of the periodic eclipses experienced before. According to AMSAT News, SatNOGS reported CW beacon and telemetry receptions around the 12th and 13th of March, and data was logged by stations EA5WA and DL7NDR. Next came the successful QSOs on SSB and CW reported from Japan and China, with some hams making several contacts during a particularly busy pass. The AMSAT report said there was still no activity on the digital modes. There is also a DigiTalker on 435.910 MHz that is almost never used. AMSAT has been encouraging hams to monitor activity and to log contacts via the AMSAT OSCARS Status page. This is Graham Kemp, VK4BB.
Speaker A: In the world of DX operators, with the CY0SD expedition will be on the air from Sable Island, IOTA number NA0631, from the 19th through the 31st of March. There are 8 operators and as many as 6 stations on 160 to 10 meters using CW, SSB, FT8, and radio.
Speaker B: There will also be a 6-meter operation on FT8 and EME on 23 centimeters.
Speaker A: Listen for Brian, AD8FD, using the call sign C6AFD from Eleuthera Island, IOTA number NA001. In the Bahamas. He will be on the air from the 24th through the 31st of March, operating SSB and FT8 on 40 to 10 meters. You can also find him in the CXWWWPX SSB contest on the 28th and the 29th of March. McEwell EA1BP will be active holiday style on FM/EA1BP from Martinique. IOTA number NA107 from the 25th of March through the 2nd of April. Listen for him as well during the CQWWWPX SSB contest where he will be using the call sign TO70. Listen for the call sign DA0HEL as a group of about 20 operators call QRZ from Helgoland Island, IOTA number EU127, from the 23rd of March through to the 3rd of April.
Speaker B: There will also be occasional activity from the nearby Helgoland Island as DL0IH. The operators will be using CW, SSB, and digital modes on 160 to 10 meters.
Speaker A: For QSL details and updates on any of these activities, visit qrz.com.
Speaker B: A routine job for one Mississippi documentarian turned into a 2-year passion project. Jim Davis, W2JKD, wraps up this week's newscast.
Speaker A: With that story.
Speaker L: Filmmaker Preston Booth from Starkville, Mississippi was hired to shoot a small portrait documentary about a local businessman to celebrate his 82nd birthday. And that's when he met Martin F. Jew and learned about the company he had built, MFJ Enterprises. According to a post on Reddit, Booth said, and I quote, "Once I got to meet Martin and the team, I realized that their story really deserved a 'feature-length production to best tell their story, and I've been moonlighting this project in my free time ever since,' unquote. Booth said he spent a significant amount of time with Drew and his family, friends, and staff. Booth learned about his background, how he grew up, what drew him into amateur radio, and why he started MFJ. He learned that Martin grew up in a family that owned a small grocery store, developed a love of radio at a very young age, and had to to build his own equipment from spare parts supplied by a local electronics repairman because his family was poor. After earning his master's degree from Georgia Tech, he moved back home to run the family store so his brother could take time off to travel. It was there that he learned the fundamentals of running a business, marketing, and client relations. These would go on to help him when he started MFJ. According to Booth, Jew viewed MFJ not only as a way to provide affordable products for the average ham, but also as a way to offer locals the opportunity to work. He mentioned that MFJ's first production line was actually staffed by students from Jew's classes at Mississippi State University, where he taught. They built the products in exchange for extra credit and some spending money. You can learn more about the documentary and see the trailer at Booth's website in the link in the text version of this week's newscast at ARNewsline.com. Org.
Speaker A: I'm Jim Davis, W2JKD, with thanks to Amateur Radio Daily, AMSAT News Service, army.mil, AviationAtoZ.com, David Behar, K7DB, dx-world.net, Reddit, 425DX Bulletin, qrz.com forums, shortwaveradio.de, skywarnyouth.net, Wireless Institute of Australia, and you, our listeners.
Speaker B: That's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline. We remind our listeners that Amateur Radio Newsline is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization that incurs expenses for its continued operation.
Speaker A: If you wish to support us, please visit our website at arnewsline.org. And know that we appreciate you all.
Speaker B: 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 Paul Brown, WD9GCO, at the news desk in Indiana, and our news team worldwide, I'm Stephen Kinford, N8WB, in Wadsworth, Ohio, saying 73.
Speaker A: As always, we thank you for listening.
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