Subj : Newsline Part 1 To : All From : Daryl Stout Date : Fri Oct 21 2016 04:43 pm Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2034, October 21, 2016 Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2034, with a release date of Friday, October 21, 2016 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a QST. Colorado wildfires keep hams vigilant. Three deaths shake the global radio community -- and schoolkids enjoy a radio roundup! All this and more, as Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2034, comes your way now. ** BILLBOARD CART ** SKEETER/ANCHOR: We begin this week's report with more Colorado wildfires. Amateur Radio Newsline's Kent Peterson, KC0DGY, has the latest. KENT: In what is becoming an all too common headline this year, amateur radio has stepped in to assist communications in another wildfire. This time, it's the Junkins Fire in southern Colorado. ROBERT: The fire is in mostly rural country. We've got some vacation homes. I think there are 200 homes evacuated. The amateur radio role right now is basically in standby unless it blows up. KENT: That's ARES Section Emergency Coordinator, Robert Wareham, N0ESQ, who is currently supporting efforts to fight the Junkins Fire at the Colorado State EOC. ROBERT: We had an interesting request from the Fremont County Sheriffs yesterday: because it's hunting season, they asked us to put out evacuation bulletins, so hunters with amateur radio in the back country would be aware of the fire danger. KENT: Wareham explains how they assist at the state EOC. ROBERT: They activate Colorado ARES, and then our personnel, who have been trained and qualified, come into the state EOC, and we become their communication function here. So, in addition to monitoring amateur radio, we also monitor the state 800 MHz trunked network -- all of the mutual aid channels, so it's a broader role than traditional amateur radio. Because it's a largely rural wildfire at this point, there just isn't a need to bring up a full time amateur net right now. KENT: He points out they have access to a statewide, interconnected ham repeater network as well as a new DMR network. ROBERT: The Rocky Mountain ham radio club, based out of Denver, here has over the past 5 years or so developed a very robust DMR network. So, right here from the state EOC, I can communicate directly into the southern part of the state. It's a dramatic improvement over what we had ten years ago. KENT: Disasters are nearly becoming commonplace for these Colorado hams. ROBERT:: We've had so many disasters in Colorado over the last five or six years, that we learn from each one of them. Believe it or not, they become routine after a while. We know what we need to do. We go in and staff the center. We work with the folks at the EOC, and we take it in stride. KENT: Hams are standing by to lend assistance where needed in the latest Colorado wildfire. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Kent Peterson, KC0DGY. ** SILENT KEY: KING OF THAILAND, HS1A SKEETER/ANCHOR: Meanwhile, three deaths have touched the radio world. Here's Newsline's Paul Braun, WD9GCO, with our first report. PAUL'S REPORT: On Thursday, October 13th, Thailand lost not only their King, but also their most prominent amateur radio operator. King Bhumibhol Adulyadej, was also known among hams as HS1A. Acceptance of amateur radio in Thailand took a lot of work by a very dedicated group of hams, both native and resident aliens. The movement took on a new meaning, starting in 1963, with the founding of the Radio Amateur Society of Thailand, or RAST. I spoke with Robert Leo, W7LR, who was actually working in Thailand in 1963, and was one of the founders of RAST. ROBERT LEO: "I was teaching up here in Montana, at Montana State University. I did that for twenty years. Early in that venture, in 1963, I was selected to go to Thailand, and so I did that for Stanford Research, and I was the research director. In Thailand, we had seven agencies to work with, but we got research done in spite of all that." "Along the way, I got to know all the hams - well, not all of them, but a bunch of hams over there. Some of them were in the military, some were in businesses, and we decided to form RAST, and I was one of the founders. At that time, that's when they didn't have regular call signs so I wondered "how can I operate?", so I went to the Thai military, and I said, "Well, what do I do? Can I operate?" and the guy said, "Yes, just pick out a call sign" so I picked out HS1L, the "L" is for Leo." PAUL: It's important to note that until RAST was formed, the Thai hams that were in existence, were not allowed to make QSOs with any DX stations. RAST joined the IARU in 1969, which opened Thailand's hams up to the world. RAST officers and members worked hard for the next 23 years to gain acceptance of ham radio by the government and communications agency and, in 1988, the official Thai amateur radio rules and regulations were adopted into law. King Adulyadej was presented with his license and call sign, HS1A, in 1989, and officially put RAST under his patronage in 1994. King Adulyadej was 88 years old, and had been king since 1946. At the time of his death, he had been the world's longest-reigning monarch. If you'd like to read more about RAST, please visit the official website at www.qsl.net/RAST. We here at Amateur Radio Newsline extend our condolences and sympathies to not only the hams, but to the entire Thai people during this time of national mourning. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Paul Braun, WD9GCO. Posted by VPost v1.7.081019 --- Virtual Advanced Ver 2 for DOS * ORIGIN: The Thunderbolt BBS - wx1der.dyndns.org (801:1/7) þ Synchronet þ The Curmudeon's Place .