Subj : Newsline Part 2 To : All From : Daryl Stout Date : Fri Mar 17 2017 05:08 pm PUSH-TO-TALK MAKES CONTACTS - AND FRIENDS SKEETER/ANCHOR: Young hams in South Africa are making friends with young American hams living in Michigan. It's all because of ham radio, as we hear from Amateur Radio Newsline's Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF. JIM MEACHEN: You're never too young to form a long-distance friendship, but while children before the era of the internet did that by becoming penpals, some youngsters of the current digital age are going - not online - but on the air. Kids in the South African Radio League's Hammies Amateur Radio Club, ZS6ZU, have been building bonds with their counteparts in the U.S. for almost two years through a net organized by Ed Engelman, KG8CE, of the Young Amateur Communications Ham Team, in Menominee, Michigan. Hammies organizer Noel Hammond, ZR6DX, said it's fun - and it's working. NOEL: The aim and whole idea of the net and the group, is to get the kids to discuss, to talk about themselves, learning different cultures, and what it is like here in Africa, what it is like in the States, and hopefully, getting to learn each other's cultures. Kids have been very good ambassadors from both sides. JIM: Even with their days being many hours apart, Noel said the kids still find a way to bridge that huge time zone between them. NOEL: We have had some great conversations with the kids. The kids have had great conversations with each other. They ask about South Africa, of course, and there are a lot of questions about the States, what they do, and what they like about ham radio. The fantastic thing here is that the common denominator is ham radio. JIM: In South Africa, those twelve weeks of Saturday morning Hammies classes have taught the kids enough technical stuff to become confident operators, but it's the on-air get-togethers with the other children that provides unity. Maybe one day Noel, says, the radio can unite them in other ways. NOEL: I am hoping over a period of time, we can take it to the next level, and maybe we can get an eyeball QSO. That would absolutely be a dream, be a dream come true. Maybe take some kids there, or some kids come across here, and do some of those things, and get to know each other that way. JIM: That's ham radio building friendships, one child at a time. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF. ** YL DXER IS DAYTON DINNER'S HEADLINER SKEETER/ANCHOR: Ruth Willet, KM4LAO, isn't just an active YL and a DXer, she's the keynoter at an upcoming dinner at Dayton Hamvention. Let Newsline's Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, introduce her: NEIL'S REPORT: The SouthWest Ohio DX Association has announced that Ruth Willet, KM4LAO, will keynote its 32nd annual DX Dinner(R), held in conjunction with the 2017 Dayton Hamvention(R). Her topic will be "Experiencing the Hobby of a Lifetime." So, let's meet Ruth. She will tell you a little bit about herself. RUTH: I'm a freshman at Kettering University in Michigan, where I am majoring in mechanical engineering, and engineering physics. So, although I live in Georgia, I chose to go to Kettering in Michigan, because of the small size, and another big attraction to the school was the co-op program. So, basically the entire schedule is set up around co-ops. It's basically a quarter schedule, so you're in school for a quarter, about 11 weeks, an entire semester, and then you go and work for a company in an engineering field related to your major. So, I'm working right now for Textron Specialized Vehicles in Augusta, Georgia. I've been there since the beginning of January. I'll be there until the end of March, which is about 11 weeks, and then I'll be heading back to school. NEIL: Ruth is still basking in the thrill of last year's enviable ham radio DX adventure. RUTH: I was a member of the 2016 Dave Kalter Memorial Youth DX adventure. We traveled to the island of Saba last August. There were nine of us. We lived on the island for about a week. It was a lot of fun, getting the experience of traveling there, and operating from the island. We operated on satellites, as well as HF. So, satellites were pretty neat, since most of us hadn't experienced satellite operations before. Getting to put Saba on the air, was quite the adventure. NEIL: Ruth looks forward to sharing her adventures with everyone at the DX dinner. RUTH: I'm looking forward to basically sharing some of the stories of what I've been able to do in this hobby, thanks to the great people I've been able to interact with, and learn from. Building on that, share my ideas that I've learned from the different experiences I've been able to have regarding how we can promote this personal hobby, and attract people who will get licensed and stay interested in this hobby, and interested in amateur radio to keep it moving forward into the future. NEIL: You can hear Ruth's talk at the DX dinner on Friday, May 19, at the Dayton Marriott, 1414 S. Patterson Boulevard, starting with a social hour at 5:30 PM. For more information, and to order tickets, visit swodxaevents.org. Reporting for Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Neil Rapp, WB9VPG. Posted by VPost v1.7.081019 .