Subj : Newsline Part 1 To : ALL USERS From : DARYL STOUT Date : Fri Mar 04 2016 12:28 pm Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2001, March 4, 2016 Amateur Radio Newsline report number 2001, with a release date of Friday, March 4, 2016 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a QST. Hams in Australia and New Zealand lose a longtime favorite retail giant. A satellite lets an unprecedented QSO happen between Antarctica and Argentina. Hamfests are gearing up in New Jersey and West Virginia. And, at long last, there's a reasonable explanation for the "space music" heard four decades ago aboard Apollo 10. All this, and more, in Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2001, coming your way, right now. (Billboard Cart Here and Intro) ** DICK SMITH ELECTRONICS CLOSING SKEETER: We begin this week's newscast with news that Dick Smith Electronics, a longtime mainstay for amateurs in Australia and New Zealand, is closing. The story of the closure of this electronics giant comes from Amateur Radio Newsline's Graham Kemp, VK4BB GRAHAM: It's the end of an era for loyal purchasers of gear and components from Dick Smith Electronics. The giant Australian retailer, which bears the name of its amateur radio founder, is closing its doors during the course of the next two months, shutting 301 retail locations throughout Australia and 62 in New Zealand. The closure follows an unsuccessful attempt by the company's receivers to complete a sale. Founded in 1968 in a Sydney suburb by Australian entrepreneur Dick Smith AC, VK2DIK, Woolworths Limited purchased a majority stake in the business and ultimately in 1982, became the electronics chain's sole owner. Woolworths sold the company to private equity firm Anchorage Capital Partners in 2012. But it was announced on Jan. 5 of this year that the electronics company, which had amassed large debt, was being placed in receivership under Ferrier Hodgson, with the hope that a sale would rejuvenate the enterprise. Receiver James Stewart of Ferrier Hodgson announced in late February, however, that none of the offers received for Dick Smith Holdings were considered acceptable, either as a bid for the group in its entireity, or for the stores in either Australia or New Zealand as standalone offers. Smith was quoted in the Australian media as characterizing the offers as either being too conditional, or too far below the liquidation values. Over the years, before he sold, the stores enjoyed a robust reputation as the go-to place for radio components as well as kits, including the Dick Smith HF, UHF and VHF transceivers. A fire sale began at all locations on Feb. 26, and Hilco, a liquidator based in the UK, will look over the sale of stock as locations shut. The move leaves a total of nearly 3,000 employees in both countries without jobs. The AC after Smith's name is an honor, an Officer of the Order of Australia awarded in 1999, for his services to the community, charity and business. In 2015, he was advanced to a Companion of the Order of Australia "for eminent service to the community as a benefactor of a range of not-for-profit and conservation organizations, through support for major fundraising initiatives for humanitarian and social welfare programs, to medical research and the visual arts, and to aviation. VK2DIK was Patron of the Wireless Institute of Australia for its 100 year Celebrations. The Dick Smith Electronics Chain is yet another of Outlets for VK Hams that has closed in recent times. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Graham Kemp, VK4BB. (ABC.NET.AU, SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, NEW ZEALAND HERALD) ** SILENT KEY: NZART'S BRUCE DOUGLAS, NL2WP Also from New Zealand, we receive word that the past president of New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters, and a longtime core member of the organization, Bruce Douglas, NL2WP, became a Silent Key on Feb. 13. Licensed since 1992, he became part of NZART's management team in 1999, to help with the organization's financial business. Bruce made use of his vast knowledge and experience as trust lawyer to assist NZART, and helped establish the group's Radio Science and Education Trust document that is still used today. He served as president from 2005 to 2009, stepping down for health reasons. (WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA, NZART INFO LINE) ** BEHIND THE BATTLE OF THE ANTENNAS SKEETER: In Ohio, where hams have been preparing for an April 23 event called Near Vertical Incidence Skywave Antenna Day, organizers are emphasizing that this isn't just an ARES event. Hap Holly, KC9RP, of the RAIN Report spoke recently with Stan Broadway, N8BHL, ARRL's Ohio Section Emergency Coordinator on how this one-day adventure in antenna research is designed to work for all hams. [CLIP OF STAN BROADWAY EXPLAINING VALUE OF NVIS IN EMERGENCIES] SKEETER: To hear more of this conversation between Hap Holly and Stan Broadway, visit the RAIN Report website, therainreport.com. You can also listen via Twitter at @therainreport and via iTunes. Our thanks to Hap Holly, KC9RP. (HAP HOLLY, KC9RP, THE RAIN REPORT) --- BgNet 1.0a12 - The Thunderbolt BBS wx1der.dyndns.org Little Rock, AR .