Subj : Newsline Part 1 To : ALL USERS From : DARYL STOUT Date : Thu Nov 26 2015 08:07 am Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1987 November 27, 2015 Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1987, with a release date of Friday, November 27, 2015 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a QST. The FCC announces even more changes for its online visitors. A New Jersey grand jury indicts a 25-year-old suspect in the killing of an elderly ham. A nationwide club unites youthful radio amateurs in the UK. And, right after Thanksgiving, watch for Santa Claus, coming to a band near you. All this and more, in Amateur Radio Newsline report 1987, coming your way right now. (Billboard Cart Here and Intro) ** [ANCHOR/DON:] We begin this week's newscast with an announcement from an optimistic Federal Communications Commission as it emerges from embarrassing and inconvenient glitches in its Electronic Batch Filing System. Now that things are getting back to normal there, the FCC is launching its overhauled agency website. Amateur Radio Newsline's Skeeter Nash, N5ASH, has the details: MORE CHANGES ONLINE AT THE FCC [SKEETER'S REPORT]: As the FCC, and hams around the country, recuperate from the on-again, off-again outage that left the FCC with a backlog of license applications and exam sessions, the agency has announced yet more change coming online: A newly revamped website that is making its debut on Dec. 10, through a four-hour transition that will begin at 0100 UTC. The agency said, in a public notice released Tuesday, Nov. 24, that the changes were based on information gathered from user feedback over time and the new website should provide QUOTE "better functionality, an improved design and better searchability and navigability." ENDQUOTE The Commission's IT Department had run the site in a beta-test version earlier this year to collect input from visitors before the official launch. The new site is also optimized for use on tablets, smartphones and other mobile devices and offers different browsing options. The FCC says: Worry, not, because while the current agency website will no longer be available after Dec. 10, files and webpages on transition.fcc.gov will still be accessible until they too are migrated to the new site. The Commission has already upgraded its consumer help center and other interactive areas - and says it has been working toward fine-tuning those areas as well. So, stay tuned. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Skeeter Nash, N5ASH, in Topeka, Kansas. (ARRL) ** INDICTMENT IN HAM'S KILLING Out of New Jersey comes an update on the tragic killing of an elderly amateur radio operator earlier this year. A grand jury in Essex County has indicted the suspect, 25-year-old Ray Cooley, of Nutley, New Jersey on charges of murder, robbery and other offenses related to the death of William Fitzsimmons this past spring. Fitzsimmons, who was 85 years old and lived alone, was found badly beaten and bloodied outside his Belleville, New Jersey house the day after a May 16 home invasion and assault. He died of his injuries about two weeks later in a Newark hospital. Police arrested Cooley, then upgraded the charges after Fitzsimmons' death. Cooley was indicted on Nov. 13. Fitzsimmons, whose call sign was N2LMU, was a retired captain with the Army National Guard, and a member of the Roseland Amateur Radio Club, the Military Auxiliary Radio System and the American Legion. Published news reports said that, because he was by himself, he would often leave one of his doors open to enable neighbors to check on him. Cooley's arraignment is set for Dec. 14. (NORTHJERSEY.COM) ** PET PROJECT FOR "HAMSTERS" [ANCHOR/DON]: They call themselves the Young Hamsters, but this busy, friendly group of radio amateurs in Great Britain has nothing to do with pet rodents. Instead, this growing collective has a pet project: to provide a resource that caters specifically to hams under the age of 30 throughout the UK. Amateur Radio Newsline's Jeremy Boot, G4NJH, has more: [JEREMY]: Although they believe conventional radio clubs to be fine for most amateurs, Mark, M-ZERO-NCG, and Adam, M-M-ZERO-KFX wanted something more for the radio operator under the age of 30. That's how Young Hamsters was born. They believed that, just as the popular Youngsters on the Air program attracts youthful hams worldwide and in Europe, something specific to the UK could be a great success. In a recent email to Amateur Radio Newsline, Mark described the group's mission: He said "We have a focus on operating on the air - be it by promoting contesting and DXpeditions or just by being active on the bands!" Because members are scattered across the UK, the group makes use of Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp accounts to allow everyone to express their opinion on issues and to build community. The sites are also a resource for announcing the Young Hamsters' plans. Mark added "Not only do we hope to promote contesting and DXpeditioning, we actually hope to run DXpeditions and work together in contests to build a name for ourselves as the future of our hobby!" Mark also wrote that the club fulfills some of the social needs that younger operators have: "We decided to set up Young Hamsters instead of incorporating into an existing club as we feel the people best placed to showcase our hobby and retain the interest of young people in our hobby are young people themselves. It can seem quite lonely at times, especially in the UK, with so few young radio amateurs, and by bringing as many of us together, we can share our common interests and really help to further our hobby via innovative ideas and social networking." Membership is free. And the club call sign is M-ZERO-YHC. Be listening! For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jeremy Boot, G4NJH, reporting from Nottingham in the UK. [ANCHOR/DON]: You can find the Young Hamsters on Twitter with the handle younghamsters - one word - or on Facebook at facebook.com/groups/younghamsters. Or email the organizers at younghamsters@gmail.com ** DECEMBER IS YOTA MONTH According to the calendar, we're heading into December, but to European amateur radio operators in their early 20s -- or even younger - the next 31 days that lie ahead are really known as YOTA Month. December is being set aside for the program, Youngsters on the Air, a large group of youthful hams from Region 1 of the International Amateur Radio Union who support one another's projects and engage in QSOs with one another, and around the world. Throughout December, YOTA members will be active on the bands, using Y-O-T-A as the suffix in their call sign. Young South African hams participating will be using the call sign, Z-S-9-YOTA. And in the UK, the special call sign, G15YOTA will be on the air for 22 days during December, many from school amateur radio clubs and some from the RAF Air Cadets. Proponents of the event remind amateurs around the world that in many cases, a YOTA operator might be having his or her first experience on radio when giving a call, so try to make that QSO happen! And make it friendly. (YOUNGSTERS ON THE AIR, THE SOUTH AFRICAN RADIO LEAGUE, RADIO SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN) ** SUMMER PLANS Speaking of Youngsters on the Air, a good many of them are already looking toward the summer, when YOTA 2016 gathers in the Austrian Alps as guests of the Austrian Amateur Radio Society, OeVSV. The Austrian group is marking its 90th anniversary. Applications are now being accepted for the event, and the deadline is coming up fast - it's December 31. The program, which is set for July 16 through 23, will accept 75 youngsters. Email any questions to Austria@ham-yota.com ** BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including WB5ITT, the Triangle Repeater Association, in Beaumont/Port Arthur and Orange, Texas on Monday nights. --- BgNet 1.0a12 - The Thunderbolt BBS wx1der.dyndns.org Little Rock, AR .