Subj : Newsline Part 2 To : All From : Daryl Stout Date : Sat Jul 16 2016 01:48 pm US ROUTE 52 TAKES ITS PARTY ON THE ROAD STEPHEN: Special event station W4A started in South Carolina earlier this month, but is really going places. You can find those places throughout July along historic U.S. Route 52. Amateur Radio Newsline's Heather Embee, KB3TZD, has this story about the hams' 2,000-mile journey. HEATHER'S REPORT: U.S. Route 52 has been called "America's Other Great Highway" and in many ways, the route has been greatly eclipsed by its more famous - and perhaps more romantic - east-west counterpart, Route 66. Still, this lesser-known route has much to celebrate too, along its more than 2,000 miles between Portal, North Dakota on the Saskatchewan border and White Point Gardens in Charleston, South Carolina. What better way to celebrate its 90th anniversary than with amateur radio, which pays similar homage along historic Route 66. This year, the mobile celebration of Route 52 began on July 7, and is now continuing west, traveling through 84 counties and 11 states, working CW and SSB. The party goes on until July 22. Hams who work the station in a minimum of three states or at least ten counties, can earn a certificate. Working seven through eleven states earns special recognition, as does working 20 or more counties, up to the full 84. There is a special QSL card in addition to the certificates. Listen for the call sign, W-4-A. The partygoers will be running about 400 watts as they move east to west in their pickup truck, and then again on the return trip. For more details, visit the W4A page on QRZ.COM For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Heather Embee, KB3TZD, in Berwick, Pennsylvania. ** LESSONS FROM HURRICANE SEASON STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Storm preparedness means more than just stocking up the fridge, and keeping batteries in the flashlights. For hams, preparedness comes from education, and the ARRL is providing that later this month as we hear from Amateur Radio Newsline's Bobby Best, WX4ALA. BOBBY'S REPORT: Storm season is upon us, and if last year's hurricane season can be considered history, then the ARRL webinar on Thursday, July 21 might be considered a history lesson. The 90-minute program is a guide to preparing for this year's Atlantic hurricane season and emergency response, and will include a look back at the roles amateur radio played during last year's season. The overview will touch on the Hurricane Watch Net, the VoIP Hurricane Net, the Canadian Hurricane Centre and the ARRL's coordination. Registration is open. If you have questions, contact Mike Corey, KI1U, the ARRL's emergency preparedness manager, at mcorey@arrl.org If you plan to register, do it now. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bobby Best, WX4ALA (ARRL) ** BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including the SPARC club repeater for the Sportsman's Paradise Amateur Radio Club, K4WAK, in Wakulla County, Florida in time for the Friday afternoon commute. ** IN PORTUGAL, REPEATER REACHES NEW HEIGHTS STEPHEN/ANCHOR: If it's height you're after for your new repeater, look to the highest mountain. That's what a group of hams did in Portugal. Here's Amateur Radio Newsline's Jason Daniels, VK2LAW. JASON'S REPORT: The highest mountain in Portugal has gained another distinction, thanks to some ambitious amateur radio operators there. Members of the Azores Amateur Radio Union, or URA, have assembled and installed a cross-band repeater on Mount Pico on Pico Island, in the Azores west of the Portuguese mainland. It is designed to work cross-band on 144.550 MHz and 439.550 MHz. The call sign for the station is CQ1EPIX. It's been a long way up for the two ambitious amateurs, Paulo Gomes, CR8ABI, and Antonio Paz, CU3AJ. The challenging radio work began with an especially challenging ascent on Saturday July 2: The mountain rises 2,351 meters - or 7,713 feet - above the North Atlantic Ocean. They were clearly *in* the air before getting *on* the air. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jason Daniels, VK2LAW. (SOUTHGATE, AMATEUR RADIO EUROPE) ** REMEMBERING NIKOLA TESLA STEPHEN: Where would we be without Nikola Tesla? Well, for one thing, we might not be on the air. Things would surely be very different without the work of the 20th century inventor, who was born 160 years ago in Croatia. It seems only fitting, then, that the weekends of July and August be devoted to honoring him in the venue that suits his memory best - radio. The Union des Radioclubs, F8URC, is using the special callsign, TM160NT, for just that purpose. Nikola Tesla, who died in 1943, might appreciate the inventiveness of that. (ARRL) --- þ Synchronet þ The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, AR - wx1der.dyndns.org .