Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (A To : All From : Daryl Stout Date : Fri Dec 20 2019 05:27 pm Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2199, for Friday, December 20th, 2019 Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2199, with a release date of Friday, December 20th, 2019, to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a QST. A historic designation for hams in California. A ham who transformed retail transactions becomes a Silent Key -- and do you hear what we hear? It's time for a Christmas classic from the shack. All this and more, as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2199 comes your way right now. ** BILLBOARD CART ** 'HISTORIC' DESIGNATION FOR HAMS' AMERICAN LEGION POST QTH NEIL/ANCHOR: Although hams in the United States are most familiar with Technician Class, General Class and Extra Class, one group of California amateurs is about to be granted "Historic Class." Andy Morrison, K9AWM, has that story. ANDY: American Legion Post 519 in Palm Springs, California, will start the new year with a gift from the city: the building is being recognized by Palm Springs officials as a Class One Historical site. The designation follows work by K6TAL, the post's amateur radio club, which restored vintage equipment on an old soundstage housed inside the premises. The voices of such post-war luminaries as David Niven, Bing Crosby, James Cagney, and Bob Hope, were once heard there - but now it's the QTH where hams are heard regularly calling Q R Zed. The club is also heavily involved in disaster preparedness and emergency communication. The city Council's Historic Site Preservation Board typically identifies historic properties as candidates for designation in order to ensure that they are preserved. More than 100 buildings around the city have Class 1 designation, including Palm Springs' own City Hall, and the former homes of actor Cary Grant, and singer Frank Sinatra. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Andy Morrison, K9AWM. (AMERICAN LEGION, DESERT SUN) ** SILENT KEY: GEORGE LAURER K4HZE, LEAD DEVELOPER oF UPC BAR CODE NEIL/ANCHOR: An amateur who led the way to creating the UPC codes so familiar to shoppers, has become a Silent Key. With that story, we have Heather Embee, KB3TZD. HEATHER: The amateur radio operator who became the lead developer of what was to become the Universal Product Code bar code system, used in retail stores, has become a Silent Key. George Laurer, K4HZE, of Wendell, North Carolina, spearheaded the coding project as an electrical engineer at IBM in North Carolina during the 1970s. The native New Yorker later patented one of the first handheld UPC scanners, according to his obituary in a number of national media outlets. A Washington Post report noted that bar coding itself dates to the 1940s, with designer N. Joseph Woodland being inspired by Morse Code's system of dots and dashes. The two men later worked together at IBM. According to a National Public Radio report, Laurer held more than two dozen patents, but the UPC system wasn't among them. IBM never patented it either and, according to NPR, used it instead to help sell scanning equipment. George Laurer died on December 5th at 94. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Heather Embee, KB3TZD. ** MOROCCAN AMATEURS HEAD TO THE MOUNTAINS NEIL/ANCHOR: Hams in Morocco are heading to the mountains with a message. Ed Durrant, DD5LP, tells us more. ED: Fourteen operators are heading into the Imlil Valley, 64 kilometers from Marrakech in Morocco, for their annual activation acknowledging International Mountain Day. This year's activation will be from the 20th to the 22nd of December. The group, which has a number of young operators, is focusing on mountain safety and climate change -- two themes central to the UN's International Mountain Day, which took place on December 11th this year. The team will be calling QRZ as CN19JIM, using SSB, CW, and FT8 modes. The suffix of the callsign translates from the French words meaning International Mountain Day - La JournŠe Internationale de La Montagne. According to one of the team members, Ferti Rachid, CN8RAH, the event is taking place under the auspices of the Royal Association of Radio Amateurs of Morocco, bringing together hams from cities throughout the kingdom. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Ed Durrant, DD5LP. (RSGB, Ferti Rachid CN8RAH) ** ISRAELI STUDENTS' SATELLITE ENTERS ORBIT NEIL/ANCHOR: A group of Israeli high school students is feeling quite proud right now: their satellite is up above the Earth. Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF, has that story. JIM: An experimental satellite, built by a trio of Israeli high school students, is among nine satellites put into orbit on December 11th by India's PSLV-C48 rocket. The satellite has an amateur radio FM transponder with a 2 metre uplink, and a downlink on 70 cm, an APRS digipeater, and a camera to be used for earth imaging. The small satellite is piggybacked on the rocket's primary payload, which is a a radar-based imaging satellite for the military. According to firstpost.com, the students designed the satellite, and were present for the launch, along with their teacher. The Twitter feed for Israel in India, which promotes relations between the two countries, called it a "proud moment." For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF. (SOUTHGATE) --- SBBSecho 3.10-Win32 * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - tbolt.synchro.net (801:1/2) ţ Synchronet ţ Temple of Doom BBS - tod.eothnet.com .