Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (B) To : All From : Daryl Stout Date : Fri Jun 23 2017 08:30 am SOLSTICE: RADIO'S LONGEST DAY JIM/ANCHOR: The Northern Hemisphere's longest day is June 21st, and one group of hams in the UK think that makes a perfect opportunity for a long day of radio. Amateur Radio Newsline's Jeremy Boot, G4NJH, spoke to the Essex Ham group prior to the event, to hear just what their plans were going to be. JEREMY: On the day of the summer solstice, some people may choose to dance at Stonehenge, but in another part of the UK, amateurs plan on making the most of the longest day of the year, by making it a full day - a VERY full day - of amateur radio. PETE: It's a little bit of tradition now for some of our guys who've been doing it for a few years now. It is, of course, the longest day, so if you are going to do a day's worth of amateur radio, do the longest day. Why not? JEREMY: That was Pete, M0PSX, of Essex Ham, the group that plans on marking the solstice, with three activations this year: Sunday the 18th of June, Wednesday the 21st of course, and Saturday the 24th of June. Special Event Station GB1JSS operates from sun-up to sun-down - at a central location in Chelmsford - where there are passers by, a nice pub -- and some radio history. PETE: Chelmsford is what we call the birthplace of broadcasting. So 1922 was where all the braodcasting was started in the UK, and we are not all that far away, 4 or 5 miles away from where it all started. JEREMY: It all seems a good fit for the calendar and the location, which is what its creator, Charlie, M0PZT, of Essex Ham, had in mind when he first suggested the event - by that we mean the special event station, not the Solstice. They've been planning for a long day on the air! PETE: We will do as much as we possibly can on Saturday. For the U.S., it will be 9 a.m. GMT will be the start of our activities on Saturday. We normally tweet as soon as we are set up, so if people want to find out what we're up to, if they follow "at-essexham" (@essexham) or look on Facebook, we always announce the frequencies we're operating on. If anyone wants to work us, brilliant. If we can set up a sked, if someone would be keen to make that connection in Chelmsford, let us know. Really the twitter feed is the active one for us. We also have a Facebook page and a website which is www.essexham.co.uk , and yes, we will keep you all updated, we will be on as many bands as we can. Typically 40, 20, 30, we do CW as well as voice, and we even have DMR, some of the digital radio stuff as well normally. So if we know people are out there, and trying to work us, we will make sure we let you know where we are. JEREMY: As the hams in Essex would say: Who needs Stonehenge anyway? For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jeremy Boot, G4NJH. JIM/ANCHOR: We're happy to say that Amateur Radio Newsline's European correspondent, Ed Durran, DD5LP, caught up with the special event station on the longest day of the year, and here's a small part of his contact. ED's AUDIO: JIM/ANCHOR: Hams were expected to get one more try on Saturday, June 24, for contact with GB1JSS. (ESSEX HAM) ** ALABAMA'S ARISS MOMENT JIM/ANCHOR: There's big excitement in Pinson, Alabama right now, as Pinson Valley High School prepares for what it hopes will be its Space Station Moment. Amateur Radio Newsline's Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, has that story. NEIL: Pinson Valley High School in Alabama has become one of 13 educational facilities in the U.S. to be chosen for the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station program. What happens next? The school needs to submit its proposal and equipment plan for ARISS review, and demonstrate that the school can be available at those moments between next January and June, when NASA can arrange for amateur radio contact opportunities with one of the astronauts on board. English teacher Jennifer Moore, who is leading the faculty team behind the project, said the experience is designed to make the sciences real to students in a meaningful way, and encourage careers in related fields of technology, engineering and mathematics. The school's partners in the Space Station venture will include the Southern Museum of Flight, the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, and the Birmingham Amateur Radio Club's Amateur Radio Advancement Group. The excitement is real elsewhere too: Students and teachers are doing the same in a dozen other schools this year, including Mill Springs Academy in Alpharetta, Georgia; Freeport Public Schools in Freeport, New York, and Bellefonte Area Middle School in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. This is one effective way of getting students to aim high. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Neil Rapp, WB9VPG. --- þ Synchronet þ The Thunderbolt BBS - wx1der.dyndns.org .