Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (C) To : All From : Daryl Stout Date : Fri Jan 12 2018 11:15 am COOPERATION AND CONSOLIDATION IN CANADA NEIL/ANCHOR: There's a new partnership starting up between Radio Amateurs of Canada, and the amateur organization in Quebec. Geri Goodrich, KF5KRN, has more details. GERI: With the start of the new year, two amateur radio organizations in Canada, are cooperating more closely with one another, on amateur education, and a QSL bureau. As of Jan. 1, Radio Amateurs of Canada and RAQI in Quebec, have agreed to share resources for bureaus. The RAC's Outgoing QSL Bureau is to become Canada's sole outgoing bureau for QSL cards. RAQI's outgoing bureau will now serve as a branch of the larger RAC bureau. The organizations said the move makes particularly good sense with fewer QSL cards being sent, and with postal rates rising. RAC has also agreed to promote RAQI's online amateur radio course to those outside the province of Quebec. According to the RAC, this will provide an alternate form of instruction available to Canadians, who are unable to receive instruction at their own local ham radio clubs. A portion of the registration fees paid by registrants outside Quebec, will be given to the RAC. This agreement was worked out last year between the two organizations. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Geri Goodrich, KF5KRN. (SOUTHGATE) ** WHY K3Y KEEPS THE CODE COMING NEIL/ANCHOR: If you couldn't get enough of Code on Straight Key Night, Skeeter Nash, N5ASH, has another option that's available for you, right now. SKEETER: The Straight Key Century Club knows how to keep a good party going: It was founded in 2006, after the ARRL's annual Straight Key Night. They simply didn't want the party to end. Now, it seems, they have another reason to continue that festive feeling: the club is marking 12 years, and more than 18 thousand members. So the club is inviting hams everywhere, to come and work its Special Event Station K3Y. The club has stations operating in the U.S., and around the world, including Europe, South America and Africa -- 19 areas in total. Working all 19 locations gives you 500 bonus points. Here's another reason to go for those points: If all the call signs you work have enough letters to spell out "Happy Twelfth Anniversary SKCC", give yourself an extra 100 points for each of the words you have managed to complete. Dust off your straight key, and visit K3Y's QRZ page for more details. To obtain a special spreadsheet for scoring, email Jerry, K6III, at Jerry dot Bliss at gmail dot com (jerry.bliss@gmail.com). For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Skeeter Nash, N5ASH. (CURT WA2JSG) ** HAMVENTION PICKS COMMUNITY SERVICE THEME NEIL/ANCHOR: No, it's not May yet, but Hamvention 2018 planners aren't waiting until the last minute to pick this year's theme. It's "Amateur Radio, Serving the Community", and according to event chairman, Ron Cramer, KD8ENJ, it's a nod to all the hard work hams have done locally in the past year, especially in times of emergency. There will be forums devoted specifically to emergency communications, and hams can get a closer look at vehicles used during such emergencies. Remember, Hamvention is being held May 18th through 20th in Xenia, Ohio at the Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center. (HENRY RUMINSKI W8HJR) ** FRIENDSHIP AND FOCUS IN THE PHILIPPINES NEIL/ANCHOR: Girl Scouts in the Philippines are getting ready for some DXing that's designed to build bridges of friendship. Here's Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF, with more. JIM MEACHEN'S REPORT: For five hours on Saturday, Feb. 17, Girl Scouts in the Philippines will be in search of good friends, and even better scores on the air, during the 2018 International Friendship Exchange, and DX Contest. Girl Scouts at the Senior and Cadet levels, will be assisted by amateur radio stations affiliated with the Philippine Amateur Radio Association. Stations may apply for special call signs from the National Telecommunications Commission after getting approval from the Philippine radio group. Stations will have both low power, and high power operations, and will be on 40, 20, and 15 meters, using phone only. Although this is a contest, its greater purpose is to foster friendships internationally, and to show the girls the important role radio communications can have, if needed in a disaster. The event is run by the Philippine Amateur Radio Association and "GSP SHARES," also known as the Girl Scouts of the Philippines Scouts Ham Radio Enthusiasts for Service. Participants need to register no later than February 1st. For more details, visit the website para dot org. (para.org) For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF. (PARA) --- SBBSecho 3.03-Win32 * Origin: RdoWxNet: The Thunderbolt BBS - wx1der.dyndns.org (802:2/3) þ Synchronet þ Temple of Doom BBS - tod.eothnet.com .