Subj : Newsline Part 2 To : ALL From : Daryl Stout Date : Thu Jun 16 2016 08:08 pm HONORS FOR WEATHERING THE STORM STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Speaking of weather, one New York ham's devotion to watching for storm systems has won him special recognition. Here's Newsline's Heather Embee, KB3TZD. HEATHER'S REPORT: Dave Robinson, N-4-U-A-R, of Oswego County, New York, isn't exactly a fair-weather friend. What would be the point of that, anyway? His skills and volunteer efforts are especially needed when bad storm systems roll in. He is a trained weather spotter in the SKYWARN program of the National Weather Service, and a member of the county's Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services. More recently, Dave became an emergency communications honoree, receiving this year's RACES Service Award for his work in central New York, where he joined RACES in 2008. That work has not just garnered him honors; it has also kept him busy, and made him a leader during drills as well as real weather emergencies. Dave was praised at a recent RACES meeting by Radio Officer Fred Koch, K-A-2-H-P-G. Fred said: QUOTE "Dave is one of the first to show up for RACES work details. He is a quiet individual, who is invaluable to the group as a leader and mentor." ENDQUOTE He now has the award to remind him of that - just in case he gets too busy during the storm season ahead. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Heather Embee, K-B-3-T-Z-D. (OSWEGO COUNTY TODAY) ** IN THE AIR AND ON THE AIR STEPHEN: There's a new ham in town. Actually ABOVE town. He's way, WAY above town! He's NASA astronaut Scott Tingle, now known as KG5NZA. Having passed his technician exam on June 3, he is now getting ready to join the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station, or ARISS, program. Although amateur radio studies are optional during the two years of astronaut training, he began in Russia, his interest in ham radio grew during his studies, and he was determined to exercise that option. Meanwhile, three amateurs aboard the ISS are to be back home on Earth by Saturday, June 18. They are Expedition 47 Commander Tim Kopra, KE5UDN; Flight Engineer Tim Peake, KG5BVI/GB1SS, and Yuri Malenchenko, RK3DUJP. So with the crew up there always in transition, Scott Tingle can expect to find plenty of room when he launches with the Expedition 53 crew in the fall of 2017. (SOUTHGATE AMATEUR RADIO NEWS) ** BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including the W4WVP repeater in Arlington, Virginia on Tuesday nights at 7. *** AUSTRALIA HAM WITH NASA PROGRAM STEPHEN/ANCHOR: In amateur radio, as in most things, it's not just what you know, but WHO you know. One ham in Queensland, Australia found that out a few years ag,o when the "who you know", ended up being an astronaut from Australia. Here's Amateur Radio Newsline's Graham Kemp, VK4BB, with that story. GRAHAM: Shane Lynd, VK4KHZ, of central Queensland didn't exactly have high-flying ambitions on that day, 18 years ago, when his signal was picked up unexpectedly by Australia's man in space, Andy Thomas, VK5MIR, on board the Russian space station Mir. It turned out to be more than just a memorable QSO: That radio connection got him to thinking about his personal connections to space, and how many learning opportunities await in the great, vast void above the Earth. Not long after, Shane was invited to join as one of three Australian volunteers, working with NASA, supporting Amateur Radio on the International Space Station. Surely, Shane could relate to the thrill students would have connecting with voices in space, since he'd experienced that himself. He would also be on standby, having his shack available to NASA in case of an emergency, such as a lost communications link with the space station. Along the way, Shane made some important ground-based connections, too. Now, in local schools, he brings and demonstrates one of his tracking stations to students, and helps them have the same space experience he enjoyed with Andy Thomas. That happened recently, when he helped students at Glenmore State High School in Rockhampton contact Tim Kopra, KE5UDN, commander of the ISS. As part of the ARISS volunteer team, he is working to help plan plenty more connections like that. If space is a void, Shane Lynd hopes to be out there personally, doing his very best to fill that void -- with the sound of ham radio, of course. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Graham Kemp, VK4BB (ABC NEWS AUSTRALIA) --- þ Synchronet þ The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, AR - wx1der.dyndns.org .